Feed Setup

The Feeds configuration is used to add and manage Live Streams for playout and recording of supported formats including: Transport Streams (UDP/RTP, Unicast, Multicast, and Source Specific Multicast), NDI, RTMP, HLS, DASH, RTSP, SRT, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live. On HyperCaster IP models, playout of live streams uses the IP StreamThru™ feature, while other models will decode the live streams on playout. NOTE: For HyperCaster IP only models, for smooth playout, you must ensure that the source stream data rates and codecs match your channel requirements. Recording NDI on AIO models uses Encoding, whereas recording other live stream types uses and requires IP Capture licenses. The Feeds configuration also allows managing Recording settings (for HyperCaster AIO models with Encoding, and all HyperCaster models with IP Capture), and supports a built-in NDI Access Manager for managing NDI source IP Addresses on different subnets. IP Capture requires a license. NDI is available on AIO, B100-SDI/ANA without external ProVues, and ProVue GFX models. NDI recording is available on AIO models only. Feed Configuration requires admin-level privileges.

Manage Live Feeds for IP StreamThru™, Playout, and Recording

To manage live feeds, click on the Live Streams option. The application displays the Feeds screen. If there are no feeds, the box will be empty.

From the Actions menu you can choose to Edit, Delete, Start, Stop or Restart each feed.

Start, Stop, and Restart are available for DASH, HLS, RTMP, RTSP, SRT, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live feeds.

For the IP stream types listed above, the running stream status icon indicates that the stream is started and the HyperCaster is pulling in the stream so it is ready for use. The stopped stream status icon indicates that the stream is stopped and that the HyperCaster is not actively pulling in the stream. For NDI, the running stream status icon indicates that the NDI source is currently discoverable on the network. The stopped stream status icon indicates that the NDI source is not discoverable on the network.

RTMP, HLS, Dash, YouTube Live and Facebook Live feeds allow previewing the live streams directly from the Feeds table. Click the URI for these feed types to view the stream. YouTube Live and Facebook Live will open a new browser page to watch the live stream directly on those sites. The other types will play in an integrated video player right from the Feeds page. Feed previews are also available on the Dashboard.

To add a new feed, click theicon, select either Stream (for all non-NDI stream types) or NDI from the sub-menu, and fill in the fields.

Add Stream Feed

The fields available when adding a stream depend on the stream type selected. Common to all stream types are the following fields:

• Type – Select a stream type from the drop-down list. The options are: Unicast, Multicast, Source Specific Multicast, DASH, HLS, RTMP, RTSP, SRT, YouTube Live (Experimental), and Facebook Live (Experimental). Unicast, Multicast, and Source Specific Multicast each support both UDP or RTP packetization.
• Name – Enter a name for the stream source to identify it when scheduling.
• Description – Enter a description of the stream source, if desired.
• Stop on Loss of Signal – By selecting this checkbox, any stream/record event created using this feed will automatically end when the source signal is lost. You can set a global loss of signal tolerance via the Schedule Configuration page to allow some number of seconds of signal loss before automatically stopping related events. This is useful to deal with noisy network or the Internet for example.
• Start on Trigger  –  By selecting this checkbox along with the Trigger Type from the pulldown, any stream/record event created using this feed will only start after it is triggered. For stream events, the channel will display Continuity while waiting for the trigger. Trigger Types supported included Manual and Custom Device. Manual trigger requires manually triggering the start of the stream and/or record event from the dashboard by clicking the Trigger action button from the Now Playing / Now Recording sections. Custom Device currently supports Drake PEG-NE and PEG Plus models. Additionally enter the encoder Device IP Address, Username, and Password. The HyperCaster will poll the encoder device API to determine whether the encoder source signal is present, and will automatically trigger the start of the event based on the schedule as soon as signal is present, or you can override the automation and manually trigger from the Dashboard.
• Spot ID  – For HyperCasters with CCMS enabled for Traffic & Billing scheduling integration, events in an imported SCH file with this Spot ID will schedule this stream.

The Captioning section is displayed if SmartCaption LIVE is enabled on at least one channel and allows setting live stream-specific captioning rules as follows:

• Caption?: Automatically Caption Live Events using this source. Live Event captioning requires a SmartCaption LIVE license per channel.
• Source Language: Identify the spoken language in the programming.
• Use Smart Formatting?: If selected, converts dates, times, series of digits and numbers, phone numbers, currency values, and internet addresses into more readable, conventional representations in the final transcript. Also converts certain keyword strings to punctuation symbols.
• User Profanity Filter?: If selected, filters profanity from all output except for keyword results by replacing inappropriate words with a series of asterisks. Uncheck the box to return results with no censoring.
• Custom Language Model: Optionally select a custom language model to be used when automatically generating captions. Custom Language Models are created and managed in TelVue Connect, and the HyperCaster automatically syncs the available models.
• Customization Weight: The customization weight tells us how much weight to give to words from the custom language model compared to those from the standard dictionary. 0.3 is the default and recommended setting. Higher values favor the custom model.

Transport Streams

For Unicast, Multicast, and Source Specific Multicast, the additional fields are as follows:

• IP Address – Enter the IP address of where the stream source originates. This is typically used for the HyperCaster to allow traffic from that IP address on the corresponding port to pass through the firewall, such as the IP address of an Encoder streaming to the HyperCaster on the LAN.
• Source Address – For Source Specific Multicast (SSM) only, enter the IP address of where the stream source originates. The IP Address field in this case will be the multicast address to receive the traffic, so the Source Address identifies the sender for SSM.
• Port – Enter the 5-digit IP port number between 1024 and 65535 to receive the packets for this stream source. Many installations select a random 5-digit number in this range. Make sure it is not the same as an existing stream source IP port number.
• Max Bit Rate – Enter as accurate an estimation of the total multiplex rate of the incoming stream as possible. If your channel output requires a specific multiplex rate, it is up to you to ensure that your incoming feeds match. This setting is only used by the application to prevent scheduling a feed with a total rate that is too high for a given channel based on the channel bit rate settings.

The HyperCaster will automatically manage the internal firewall rules to allow traffic through from added Transport streams. If the HyperCaster is behind an external firewall, and the stream is coming from the outside, you must configure the external firewall to allow the traffic through.

SRT (Secure Reliable Transport)

When using SRT streams, the HyperCaster acts as a Listener and will listen for an SRT stream on a certain port. For SRT, the additional fields are as follows:

• Port – Enter the 5-digit IP port number between 1024 and 65535 to receive the packets for this stream source. Many installations select a random 5-digit number in this range. Make sure it is not the same as an existing stream source IP port number.

The HyperCaster will automatically manage the internal firewall rules to allow traffic through from added SRT streams. If the HyperCaster is behind an external firewall, and the stream is coming from the outside, you must configure the external firewall to allow the traffic through.

DASH, HLS, RTMP, RTSP, YouTube Live and Facebook Live Streams

For DASH, HLS, RTMP, RTSP, YouTube Live, and Facebook Live, the additional fields are as follows:

• Address – Enter the stream URL address using the proper protocol:
  • For HLS: https://… (example: https://somedomain.com/astream.m3u8)
  • For RTMP: rtmp://… (example: rtmp://somedomain.com/appname/astream)
  • For RTSP: rtsp://… (example: rtsp://somedomain.com/astream)
  • For YouTube Live: https://… (example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg)
    • You can typically obtain the URL for a YouTube Live video by copying the URL in your browser when viewing that video on YouTube. Or you can right click on the video in YouTube and select Copy video URL.
  • For Facebook Live: https://… (example: https://www.facebook.com/NASA/videos/10155497958441772)
    • You can obtain the URL for a Facebook Live video by right clicking on the video in Facebook and selecting Show video URL.
• Silent Audio – HLS and RTSP offer a Silent Audio option. If the streaming source does not have an audio track, enable Silent Audio to insert silent audio as the HyperCaster requires an audio track.

When you have finished, click Save to add the feed or Cancel to stop. The new feed will be displayed on the list and is available for scheduling.

Add NDI Feed (Newtek’s Network Device Interface)

• Name – Enter a name for the NDI source to identify it when scheduling.
• Description – Enter a description of the NDI source, if desired.
• URL – Enter the NDI source name, this must match the source’s name exactly as it announces itself over the NDI protocol. For convenience, the Sources section will show a list of all available sources that are auto discovered on the network. Sources that are grayed out have already been added to the HyperCaster. Other sources simply click to have the URL field automatically populate with the proper name rather than manually entering. Click the refresh icon to have the HyperCaster rescan the network for available NDI sources. For NDI sources to be discoverable, they must be reachable by the HyperCaster on your network and must either be on the same subnet, or must be manually added to the integrated NDI Access Manager.
• Quality – If the NDI source supports sending multiple qualities, select whether you prefer the highest or lowest available. There can be a tradeoff between signal quality and network bandwidth utilization.
• Stop on Loss of Signal – By selecting this checkbox, any NDI/record event created using this feed will automatically end when the source signal is lost.
• Start on Trigger  –  By selecting this checkbox, any NDI/record event created using this feed will only start after it is manually triggered from the dashboard by clicking the Trigger action button from the Now Playing / Now Recording sections. For live NDI events, the channel will display Continuity while waiting for the trigger.

Record Configuration

To set the default configuration for recordings, go to Config Tab → Feeds → Record and click on the on the Record option. The application displays the Record Configuration screen.

To set defaults for recordings, fill in the fields.

• Record Destination Directory – Type the path to the folder where you normally want your recordings to be saved. Leave it blank to default to the directory where content is saved, typically /media/psg/vol1.
• Record Default Auto Delete Days – Select from the pulldown the number of days after a recording you normally want it deleted from the server. To leave recordings on the server until you delete them manually, leave the box blank.
• Default Capture Duration – Set the default record duration in HH:MM:SS format for the Record tab and Record events.
• Insert Black Frames During Suspend? – When this setting is enabled, all IP recordings will use black frames to fill gaps during suspends filling out the full duration. Disable this setting if you do not want black frames inserted into the recording during suspends. Instead, the recording will pause during suspends resulting in a file that will be shorter than the originally scheduled duration.
• Archive on Record – Checking Archive on Record will display any integrated archive servers (requires Archiving license). You can choose to automatically archive a file after the recording is done. The servers on this list are added as described in the “Remote Server Configuration” section of this manual.
• Delete Recorded File After Transfer – If you want to delete the recording locally after successfully transferring the file to the remote server, check this box.

When you have finished, click Save to save the configuration information or Cancel to stop.