As SAP is a legacy protocol, many modern encoders do not generate the announcements that Exterity set top boxes require to learn channels. To get around this CT have produced a configurable SAP announcer software.

Information

This tool sends periodic SAP announcements onto a connected network formatted for the Exterity and DisplayCore IPTV Set-top boxes.

Installation

The tool can be downloaded from here:

Once download extract the SAP Announcer.zip file to the desired installation location.

Run the SAP_Announcement_Application.exe application from within the extracted folder.

Once running a console window will appear with the message:

Now listening on: http://localhost:5000

Open either Chrome or Firefox and enter the address into the address bar.

Hardware Setup

The tool is compiled for windows operating systems only, ensure that the device running this tool is connected to IPTV network.

Adding Announcements

Fill out the channel input form and click the submit button once complete.

Multicast Address: This is the multicast address that an encoder is streaming an IPTV channel to (will start with 239).

Multicast Port: The port number that an encoder is streaming an IPTV channel to (typically 5000).

Multicast Port Type: An encoder can be configured to either send UDP streams or RTP streams, pick the relevant option.

Channel Name: The display name for the channel which will be shown in the TV guide menus within the set-top boxes.

Channel Number: The channel number to be used when changing channels on a set-top box with a remote control.

Saving Announcements

Announcements will automatically be saved and persisted in the case of the application being terminated or the machine being restarted.

Sending Announcements

SAP annoucements will be sent to the network every 10 seconds, any channels in the list on the right hand side will be sent. Ensure the console application is kept running for annoucments to continure to published on the network. Channels will be removed automatically from set-top boxes if a regular annoucment isnt detected.

Removing Announcements

To stop a channel from being announced on the network a channel must be deleted, hover over the channel to remove within the available channels list and click the trash can icon. It may take a few minutes for the set-top boxes to removed the channel for its tv guide.

Amending Announcements

To edit a current SAP announcement hover over the channel to be amended within the available channels list and click the pencil icon. A popup dialog will display for the changes to be made. Some set-top boxes will not refresh the channel information until they have been rebooted. The best workflow would be to delete the channel and wait for 3 minutes for the channel to be removed from the listings on the set-top boxes and then re-add the channel announcement with the new details.