VBrick Systems Understanding VBrick Login and Playlist Management in the Portal Server

Using the Portal Server

Playlists

Playlists are saved in the Asset Library. A playlist is a mechanism to consolidate multiple video files, or video file segments, regardless of format, into a virtual file. A playlist is a list of video streams, or parts of streams, that can be played as if they were a single video file. Playlists can include files encoded in different formats and at different bit rates including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and WM (Windows Media). Playlists have a special icon and are only created from stored streams. They are not available with live streams and they are not available when multiple windows are displayed. (Playlists and bookmarks are supported on WM IP Receivers; they are not supported on standard set top boxes or Amino set top boxes.)

You create a playlist from the Playlists page and they can be saved under any name and played back later. They can also be modified, re-ordered, or changed in a variety of ways as explained below. Playlists can only be played in realtime. They cannot be scheduled in the Portal Server to run at a later time. Bookmarks are slightly different. A bookmark is simply a pointer to a specific location in a file or to an entire file. In general, you can think of a bookmark as a playlist with a pointer to one segment in a video. You create bookmarks using the Mark button in the preview window. For more information, see Creating Bookmarks on page 19. Note that if the computer you are using to access a playlist does not support a certain encoding type, a bookmark to that item in the playlist will not be displayed.

Playlists are saved by default in the MyMedia folder. A MyMedia folder is automatically created for each defined user and is available and viewable only to the user who is currently logged in. If Access Control is enabled, each user has their own MyMedia folder which no one else can access. If Access Control is not enabled, everyone's playlists are stored in MyMedia.

TTo run an existing playlist:

1.Click on the Asset Library and navigate to the MyMedia folder or to any folder that has a playlist.

2.Click on any item with a playlist icon to launch the playlist in the preview window.

3.Use the Previous and Next buttons to move up and down the playlist. (Use the Forward and Rewind buttons to navigate to the beginning or end of the clip in progress—not to the beginning or end of the playlist.)

There may be a slight delay between clips—this is normal Portal Server behavior as the video loads. If

any content in a playlist is unavailable for any reason (for example the file was moved or the content expired), the Portal Server will skip that clip, advance to the next clip, and display an informational message. below the preview window. As explained below, there are two ways to create playlists. You can quickly bookmark a stream playing in the preview window using the Mark button; this creates a playlist with one bookmark. You can also create a playlist from the Playlists page. This is the standard way to create a playlist.

ETV Portal Server User Guide 25