Last updated on April 30, 2014

Getting Started with Play

The purpose of this guide is to quickly bring you up to speed with the Play extension. To do so, we will cover five key sections:

Section 1: Adding your Content

Content for any Play application can be divided into two different types; Channel (streaming content) and On-Demand (prepositioned/external content). When creating a Channel, you’ll need your EPG Provider details to allow your audience to view all upcoming programming schedules, very much like a TV Guide. Before we create a Channel, let’s begin by adding the EPG Provider.

Adding your EPG Provider

Step 1

From the Play extension, select the Configuration tab and click the EPG Providers sub-tab. Click on the + button to begin adding a new EPG provider.


Step 2

Fill in your EPG provider details. When finished, click Save to confirm the EPG provider settings. The new provider will be listed on the main EPG Provider page.

Note

  • Provider Details – Name defined by the user to represent an EPG data provider.
  • Source – Source of the EPG provider.
  • API – The hostname/URL from which the XML/CSV EPG file is retrieved.
  • Duration – Sets the amount of EPG data to retrieve from the EPG provider (example: 7 = retrieves EPG data for the next 7 days).
  • Status – Status of the extension retrieving the EPG data from the source URL.
  • Valid file formats are of the XMLTV and CSV types.

Adding your Channel

Now that we have configured the EPG Provider, we can proceed to create a Channel for streaming content.

Step 1

From the Configuration tab, select Channels and click the + button to create a new channel.


Step 2

Fill in your channel details and click Save when finished.


Note

Content source formats are limited to formats supported by the VLC player used/leveraged by the Edge 340 devices.

  • Display Name – name of the channel set by the user.
  • Channel No. – this is a required field and is user-customizable.
  • Channel Code – short name/abbreviation for the channel’s display name (limited to 7 characters).
  • Description – brief description of the new channel.
  • Logo – this is an image file that will represent the channel icon.
  • Type – only Live Feed option is available in this version.
  • Schedule Provider – source of the EPG content configured in the Configuration tab.
  • Channel ID – the unique ID for the EPG of the channel to be linked to the new channel.
  • Content Source – the actual source of content for the channel itself (live/streaming video).

Important

When selecting a content source, you must select EDGE340 as Appspace Play is only supported on Cisco Edge 340 devices.

Tip

  • Remember to select the EPG Provider (Schedule Provider) you created previously. It may take some time for the schedule to sync before you can select your Channel ID.

Adding your On Demand Content

In addition to channels, you can add on demand content as well. Note that for this example, all content have been added to the Appspace Library prior to being added to the On Demand content listing.

Step 1

From the Play extension, select the On-Demand tab and click the + button to add new on-demand content.


Step 2

Add a name, description and icon for the content menu. Click Save when finished.

Note

  • Name - A unique name for the content menu.
  • Description - Details of the content menu.
  • Content Icon - On-demand menu icon (supported formats: JPG and PNG).

Step 3

Upon clicking the save button, a tab named Content Menu will be visible. To create a folder, click the + button in the Folders pane.


Step 4

Fill in the Folder Name, Description and upload an icon for the Folder Icon. Click Save.

Note

  • Folder Name - Name of the content folder.
  • Description - Description of the content within the folder.
  • Folder Icon - On-demand menu icon (supported formats: JPG and PNG)

Step 5

Click the Content Menu sub-tab under the Information pane.


Step 6

Add your content. Make sure to click the APPLY button when you have finished selecting your desired content.

Note

Media types are restricted to those supported on the Edge 340 only.


Step 7

The added content will be visible under the Content sub-tab. You can re-order the content by first clicking along the row of the item to select it (it will appear highlighted) and use the Up or Down arrows to re-arrange the content items in this folder.


Step 8

When you return to the main On-Demand page, the newly created on-demand content and associated information (folders, items, and total size) will be listed on the page.


Section 2: Creating your Subscription

After your content are created, we can proceed to create your subscription to list and manage all your content. We’ll start first by creating a subscription plan.

Creating a subscription plan

Step 1

From the Configuration tab, select Subscriptions and click the + button to create a new subscription plan.


Step 2

Give your subscription plan a name and description. Enable the plan and click Save.

Note

  • Name - A unique name for the subscription.
  • Description - Details of the subscription.
  • Status – the radio button for Enabled will be selected by default
  • If you click the Save button, it will return you to the main subscriptions listing page. To edit or add any additional settings to your subscription, see the below section on Updating Existing Subscriptions.

Adding channels to your subscription plan

After you have created your subscription plan, you’ll want to start adding content to that plan. At this point, you have the option to add channels and/or on demand content to your subscription plan.

Step 1

From the Configuration tab, select Channels and click the + button to add a new channel to the subscription plan.


Step 2

Select the channel(s) to add by ticking the box(es) next to the desired channel’s number or use the search bar to help find the desired channel. When finished, click OK to continue.


Step 3

If you’re done adding your channels and do not have any on demand content to add, you may click save and move on to Section 3: Application Themes.

Note

If you click the Save button, it will return you to the main subscriptions listing page. To edit or add any additional settings to your subscription, see the below section on Updating Existing Subscriptions.


Adding on-demand content to your subscription plan

If you have on-demand content, you can add it to your subscription.

Step 1

Click the On-Demand sub-tab and the + button to add new on-demand content to the subscription plan.


Step 2

Select the on-demand content to be added by ticking the box(es) next to the desired on-demand content. Click OK and then the Save button when finished to confirm the subscription details.


Step 3

Click save to add the on demand content to the subscription plan.


Section 3: Application Themes

You’re now done with your subscription plans and will now be able to apply these subscription plans to any Play application.

Before creating your Play application, you’ll have to decide if you’d like to use a ready-made theme or import your own application theme. In this guide, we’ll be using a ready-made theme called Appspace Play.

Adding an Application Theme (Optional)

Step 1

From the Configuration tab, select the Themes sub-tab and click on the + button.


Step 2

On the Theme Settings page, fill in the theme details (Name and Description) and click on the folder button to browse to the desired file. Click on the Save button to confirm and add this theme into the Play extension.

Note

Theme files are in .tpkg format.


Creating your Play application and assigning your theme and subscriptions

Now let’s create a basic Play application.

Step 1

From the Apps tab, click the + button to create a new Play application.


Step 2

Give the application a name and description.


Step 3

Select your preferred theme by clicking the theme drop-down menu.


Step 4

Add a subscription by clicking the + button.


Step 5

Select your subscription and click OK.


Step 6

Click Save.


Checklist

At this stage, you would have already:

  • Added your content
  • Created a subscription
  • Created an application
  • Assigned a theme to the application
  • Assigned a subscription to the application
  • Previewed your application

The next thing you’d want to do is to use a remote control to navigate your Play application.

Section 4: Remote Control Support

The Play extension comes with out-of-the-box support for the Digital Media Player (DMP) remote control and Apple TV remote control. While the Play extension is not limited to these two types of remote controls, these two out-of-the-box remote controls are sufficient for Play navigation.

../../_images/042.png

The following tables list the button functions of each remote.

Apple TV Remote

Name Button Mapped Functionality
Menu ../../_images/32.png Go back to previous page
Play/Pause ../../_images/33.png (not programmed)
Enter ../../_images/34.png Confirm/make selection (enter); functions as play/pause when viewing On-Demand content in full screen
Up ../../_images/35.png Navigate up; functions as next channel (channel up) when viewing live content
Left ../../_images/36.png Navigate left; functions as rewind when viewing On-Demand content in full screen
Down ../../_images/37.png Navigate down; functions as previous channel (channel down) when viewing live content
Right ../../_images/38.png Navigate right; functions as fast forward when viewing On-Demand content in full screen

Cisco DMP Remote

Name Button Mapped Functionality
Power ../../_images/012.png Turns off/on the DMP device
Input ../../_images/021.png (not programmed)
Menu ../../_images/032.png Jump (direct access) to Menu page
Help ../../_images/043.png (not programmed)
Rewind ../../_images/052.png Rewind Play content
Play ../../_images/062.png Play Play content
Fast Forward ../../_images/07.png Fast forward Play content
Stop ../../_images/08.png Stop Play content
Pause ../../_images/09.png Pause Play content
Skip Forward ../../_images/10.png (not programmed)
Channel Up ../../_images/11.png Go to next channel (channel up)
Channel Down ../../_images/12.png Go to previous channel (channel up)
Last ../../_images/13.png Go back to previous page
Mute ../../_images/14.png Mutes the audio
Volume Up ../../_images/15.png Increases audio volume
Volume Down ../../_images/16.png Decreases audio volume
Guide ../../_images/17.png Launches electronic programming guide
Exit ../../_images/18.png (not programmed)
Page Up ../../_images/19.png Go to next page
Page Down ../../_images/20.png Go to previous page
OK ../../_images/21.png Confirm/make selection (enter)
Up ../../_images/22.png Navigate up
Left ../../_images/23.png Navigate left
Down ../../_images/24.png Navigate down
Right ../../_images/25.png Navigate right
0-9 ../../_images/26.png Input number (digit) 0 through 9
A ../../_images/27.png -24 hours navigation on EPG
B ../../_images/28.png (not programmed)
C ../../_images/29.png (not programmed)
D ../../_images/30.png +24 hours navigation on EPG
Information ../../_images/31.png Displays information regarding current channel/content

Section 5: Getting a Play Application onto your Device

Now you are ready to assign the Play application to your Appspace registered device.

Step 1

Navigate to the Networks extension from the extensions drop-down menu and select the Players tab. Select (check the box next to) the desired device to be associated with your Play application and click the + button.

Note

Remember that you are only able to select registered Edge 340 devices.


Step 2

On the pop-up screen, select the desired Play application for the device and click Proceed.

Note

Your Play application will be displayed once the device has completely downloaded the content files and media assets.


Recap

Now that your Play application is now fully set up, you should be able to:

  • View your application on your device
  • Navigate through your application
  • Play selected content