Managing Channels
This article provides the instructions to add, edit, delete, and search for Channels within the Play extension.
- Adding Channels
- Uploading HLS Player Package
- Editing Channels
- Searching for Channels
- Deleting Channels
Prerequisites
You must be one of the following users:
- Account Owner
- Account Administrator
- Portal Administrator
- Content Administrator
Adding Channels
To add a Channel, follow the instructions below:
Click the Configuration tab, and select the Channels tab.
Click the New Channel button to add a new Channel.
In the Create New Channel page, you may add a Channel with or without an EPG Provider. Select one of the two options below.
Add Channel with EPG Provider
In the Create New Channel page, select an EPG Provider from the drop-down list.
Note
If you cannot find your required EPG Provider in the EPG Provider drop-down menu, first add an EPG Provider as per the Managing EPG Providers article and continue with the instructions below.
When an EPG Provider is selected, a Channel field appears.
Select the EPG Provider channel from the Channel drop-down list.
The Channel logo and some of the following details may be auto-populated depending on the EPG Provider’s XML settings, which you may change:
- Name – a unique name for the channel.
- Number – a unique number for the channel display number.
- Call Letters – an acronym or short abbreviation for the channel’s display name; limited to 7 characters.
- Description – a brief description of the channel.
If you would like to add or edit the logo, proceed to Step “c” in the ‘Add Channel without EPG Provider’ section below.
If you are done, proceed to step 4 below.
Add Channel without EPG Provider
In the Create New Channel page, select ‘None’ from the EPG Provider drop-down list.
Fill in details such as Name, Number, Call Letters and Description as per the guidelines below:
- Name – a unique name for the channel.
- Number – a unique number for the channel display number.
- Call Letters – an acronym or short abbreviation for the channel’s display name; limited to 7 characters.
- Description – a brief description of the channel.
Click the image icon to add an image for the Channel logo.
In the Preview window, click the Choose Image button to browse and select an image from the Appspace Library.
In the Add Media window in the Appspace Library, select an image and click Apply. You may only select content from within your Play network.
In the Preview window, preview the selected image, and click Apply.
- Proceed to step 4 below.
Input the media stream link to the source of the content for your device. HLS media stream links can be tested for validity by clicking the Test link.
Note
By default, Play Web Clients use Flash based players for HLS playback on most browsers. If you do not wish to use Flash, please refer to the Uploading HLS Player Package section below to learn how to switch back to HTML based playback.
Review the details and click Save.
Uploading HLS Player Package
Note
This is only applicable to Portal Administrators.
By default, Play uses Flash based HLS player packages bundled with Appspace for web content playback. If you wish to use a HTML based HLS package, please use any commercially available HLS player packages. You may download the player package in .zip format from your vendor, and then upload it into Appspace Play.
To upload a HTML based HLS player package, please follow the instructions below:
Click the Configuration tab, and select the Settings tab.
Click ‘Upload package’.
In the Upload HLS Player Package window, click the browse button to select the HTML based HLS player package downloaded from a vendor of your choice, and click Upload.
The “File has been uploaded successfully.” message is displayed with the package filename. Click Save.
Editing Channels
To edit a Channel, follow the instructions below:
Click the Configuration tab, and select the Channels tab.
Select the desired Channel from the Channel list.
In the Edit Channel page, make the desired changes and click Save.
Searching for Channels
To search for a Channel from your Channel list, follow the instructions below:
Click the Configuration tab and select the Channels tab.
Type in a keyword in the Search bar and click the search icon or press Enter on the keyboard.
The search will return results with all Channel names that contain the keyword.