VBrick Systems ENTERPRISE MEDIA SYSTEM User Manual

VEMS v5.0 Portal Server

VBrick Enterprise Media System

User Guide

August 15, 2009 4410-0264-0000

This publication contains confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information. No part of this document may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any machine-readable or electronic format without prior written permission from VBrick. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and VBrick Systems assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies. VBrick, VBrick Systems, the VBrick logo, StreamPlayer, and StreamPlayer Plus are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United States and other countries. Windows Media is a trademarked name of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other products or services mentioned in this document are identified by the trademarks, service marks, or product names as designated by the companies who market those products. Inquiries should be made directly to those companies. This document may also have links to third-party web pages that are beyond the control of VBrick. The presence of such links does not imply that VBrick endorses or recommends the content of any third-party web pages. VBrick acknowledges the use of third-party open source software and licenses VBrick products. This freely available source code is posted at http://www.vbrick.com/opensource.

in some

About VBrick Systems

Founded in 1997, VBrick Systems, an ISO 9001 certified vendor, is a privately held company that has enjoyed rapid growth by helping our customers successfully introduce mission critical video applications across their enterprise networks. Since our founding, VBrick has been setting the standard for quality, performance and innovation in the delivery of live and stored video over IP networks—LANs, WANs and the Internet. With thousands of video appliances installed world-wide, VBrick is the recognized leader in reliable, high-performance, easy-to-use networked video solutions.

VBrick is an active participant in the development of industry standards and continues to play an influential role in the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), the MPEG Industry Forum, and Internet2. In 1998 VBrick invented and shipped the world's first MPEG Video Network Appliance designed to provide affordable DVDquality video across the network. Since then, VBrick's video solutions have grown to include Video on Demand, Management, Security and Access Control, Scheduling, and Rich Media Integration. VBrick solutions are successfully supporting a broad variety of applications including distance learning and training, conferencing and remote office communications, security, process monitoring, traffic monitoring, business and news feeds to the desktop, webcasting, corporate communications, collaboration, command and control, and telemedicine. VBrick serves customers in education, government, healthcare, and financial services markets among others.

Portal Server v5.0 User Guide

Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v

Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Font Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Printer-Friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

1. Introduction

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Optional Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Desktop Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Downloaded Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Home Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Search Filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Search Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Contents

2. Media Library

Playing Stored Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Customizing Stored Videos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Sharing Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Creating Thumbnails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Creating Bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Viewing Closed Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Viewing Stored Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3. Live Media

Playing Live Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Viewing Multiple Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Recording Live Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Customizing Live Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4. Channel Guide

Viewing Scheduled Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Recording Scheduled Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5. Scheduling

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Schedule Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Viewing the Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

VEMS Portal Server User Guide iii

Scheduling an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Recurrence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Create Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Delete Schedule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Live Broadcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Stored Broadcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Conference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Record by Program Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Record to NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Record to VBrick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Record by Manual Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Control Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

6. More Tools

Create Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Creating Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Authoring Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Viewing Live Presentations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Viewing Saved Presentations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Creating Playlists from the Media Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Creating Playlists from the Playlist Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Editing Playlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Add Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Priority Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

iv Contents

Portal Server v5.0 User Guide

This Portal Server User Guide is written for anyone who will be using or evaluating the VBrick Enterprise Media System Portal Server. This includes system administrators, software developers, network technicians, and end users in a variety of business environments. The VEMS Portal Server is a web-based portal for accessing and managing video assets including both live or stored audio and video files. The VEMS Portal Server is a key component in VBrick's Enterprise Media System. The VEMS Portal Server provides a simple, intuitive interface that easily discovers available media assets in your network. Key components in VBrick's VEMS solution include:

• VOD Servers – VOD-W and VOD-WM servers provide standard video-on-demand

features for H.264 and Windows Media files respectively.

• VBrick Hardware Encoders/Decoders – network video appliances that can reside

anywhere on your network to provide either distributed or high-density centralized

encoding/decoding for Windows Media and H.264 video.

• WM IP Receiver – digital set top boxes that provide a low-cost standalone decoder for

DVD-quality Windows Media video assets.

Important Note

VEMS v5.0 supports Windows Media and H.264 technology (content, encoders and VOD servers). Existing MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 devices and content are compatible with VEMS

5.0 but have not been tested and will not be initially supported by VBrick. This means you can use existing MPEG content and devices at your own risk and that some VEMS functionality (e.g. video conferencing) that requires MPEG devices will not be available in VEMS v5.0 unless you have existing MPEG encoder/decoder assets. VBrick will provide full support for MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 in VEMS v5.1.

Similarly, the Portal Server client has not been tested and will not be initially supported on Macintosh PCs. Macintosh PCs will be supported in VEMS 5.1. Note that VBrick support for Linux PCs has been discontinued entirely. See the Portal Server Release Notes for other features not supported in this release.

Organization

Introduction provides a overview of the Portal Server. Describes login, logout,

help, and explains how the home page works.

Media Library explains how to play stored content and how to use all of the

functionality in the Media Library.

Live Media explains how to play live streams and how to use all of the

functionality on the Live Media page.

Channel Guide explains how to use the channel guide to view scheduled

programming. This is an optional module.

Scheduling explains how to schedule live or stored broadcasts, recordings, video

conferences, etc. This is an optional module.

VEMS Portal Server User Guide v

More Tools explains how to deliver live presentations (optional), create playlists,

add video, and other common tasks.

Getting Help

If you need help, or more information about any topic, use the online help system. The

online help is cross-referenced and searchable and can usually find the information in a few seconds. Use the tree controls in the left pane to open documents and the up and down arrows to page through them. Use the Search box to find specific information. Simply enter one or more words in the box and press Enter. The search results will return pages that have all of the words you entered—highlighted in yellow (Internet Explorer only). The

Search box

is not case-sensitive and does not recognize articles (a, an, the), operators (+ and – ), or quotation marks. You can narrow the search by adding words.

If you can't find the information you need from the online help, or from your certified VBrick reseller, you can contact VBrick Support Services

on the web. Support Services can usually answer your technical questions in 24 business hours or less. Also note that our publications team is committed to accurate and reliable documentation and we appreciate your feedback. If you find errors or omissions in any of our documents, please send e-mail to documentation@vbrick.com

and let us know. For more information about any VBrick products, all of our product documentation is available on the web. Go to www.vbrick.com/ documentation to search or download VBrick product documentation.

Font Conventions

Arial bold is used to describe dialog boxes and menu choices, for example: Start > All Programs > VBrick

Courier fixed-width font

Courier bold fixed-width font is used for user input in scripts, code examples, or keyboard

is used for scripts, code examples, or keyboard commands.

commands.

This bold black font is used to strongly emphasise important words or phrases.

Folder names and user examples in text are displayed in this sans serif font.

User input in text is displayed in this bold sans serif font.

Italics are used in text to emphasize specific words or phrases.

Printer-Friendly

Click on the following link to print a hard copy of this document.

VEMS Portal Server User Guide

T To save or print a PDF document:

1. Click once to open the PDF document in Acrobat Reader.

2. To save or print a PDF document, right-click and select

Save Target As or Print Target.

vi Preface

Introduction

Topics in this section

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Home Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Overview

The VBrick Enterprise Media System (VEMS) is a web-based portal for accessing Live and On-Demand audio and video files. The Enterprise Media System provides a simple interface to easily locate available media assets from Windows PCs, Apple Macintoshes, and IP Receivers. Upon accessing the main portal page, users can navigate or search for specific videos, select the video, and immediately begin viewing television quality video. For ondemand videos, users can Details on the specific functionality are included later in this document.

The Enterprise Media System Portal Server can be accessed by Windows-base PCs, Macintoshes, or by the VEMS IP Receiver (IPR). For the most part, the operation of the Portal Server is the same from a Windows-based PC, an Apple Macintosh (see note below), or an IPR but there are some subtle differences. The majority of this document is written from a PC perspective, so certain screen shots may be slightly different on a Macintosh or a IP Receiver. For example, the Macintosh client can be configured to use QuickTime Player (or the VBrick Player) to display video. With Apple QuickTime, the player window will look different from the screen shots provided here.

Fast Forward/Rewind and Seek to specific points in the video.

Chapter 1

Optional Modules

Various Portal Server functions are optional and may not be included with your system. Each of these items is a separately-purchasable option and requires a license. If these options have not been purchased, that particular functionality will not be available in the application. For example, if you do not have a Scheduling license, the Scheduling pages will not be shown on the VEMS interface. All of the items in the following table require a license from VBrick.

Tab le 1. Optional Portal Server Modules

Module Description

Scheduler Lets you schedule broadcasts, conferences, etc. in advance.

Network Video Recorder Offloads recording tasks to a separate machine.

Channel Guide Provides program content from a third-party content provider.

VEMS Reporter An analysis tool for examining Portal Server usage and statistics.

VEMS Backup Provides a redundant backup server for automated backup of

key files and directories.

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 1

Module Description

Presentations Allows you to create live and stored rich media webinars.

Distribution Server(s) Load-balances webinar delivery for large-scale presentations.

Zones As shown below a certain number of addressable zones are

available without charge. Additional zones require a separate

license and fee.

• Standard – 2 zones

• Professional – 10 zones

• Enterprise – 100 zones

Desktop Requirements

The following requirements show what is required on each end user desktop in order to run the Portal Server interface. The user interface in the VEMS Portal Server is designed for viewing at a screen resolution of 1024x768. Lower screen resolutions may not display properly. Note that the VEMS Admin Console runs only on Internet Explorer.

Table 2. Desktop Requirements

PC Type Requirements

Windows PCs • Windows XP (SP 3) or Vista (SP 2).

• 750 MHz Pentium III processor (Pentium IV required for H.264).

• 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended for H.264).

• SVGA video card 1024x768, video card acceleration and 32 bit color recommended.

• Minimum 250 MB hard disk space for installation.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher.

• Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher.

•Firefox 3.1 or higher.

• DirectX Media Version 8.1 and higher.

Table 3. Supported Operating Systems and Browsers †

Operating System Browser †

Windows XP Internet Explorer 7.0, Firefox 3.1

Windows Vista (SP2) Internet Explorer 7.0, Firefox 3.1

† Use version shown or higher.

Downloaded Components

Depending on the platform and browser you are using, you may need to download additional components from VBrick. Be aware that if you do not download required components for a particular encoding format (for example H.264), files encoded in that format will not be displayed in the Media Library, Live Broadcast, or Playlist pages.

Introduction

Table 4. Downloaded Components

Platform Comments

Windows The Portal Server uses VBrick StreamPlayer software-based components

to decode video streams on the desktop. Depending on how your system is configured, the Portal Server may need to download components to your computer the first time you access the server. No download is necessary for subsequent access. You must answer

Yes to security requests

when prompted to download components. The Portal Server may require the installation of up to five components. If you check the box

trust content from VBrick Systems

any required components will be

Always

automatically downloaded the next time they are needed. After a download, you don't need to restart—just close the browser.

Macintosh The Portal Server may need to download components to your computer

the first time you access the server. If so, the Home page (see Figure 1) displays a link prompting you to download components that are appropriate for your computer. If you agree, these components are automatically installed and no additional download is necessary for subsequent access.

Firefox Firefox browser users will also be prompted to install additional

The VEMS Portal Server Home page is automatically displayed when you logon with a valid

Username and Password. All VEMS Portal Server functionality and commands are available

from this page but you may not have access to all features and functions depending on your user privileges. For example, you may not be able to access certain live media or VOD servers. Note that after three unsuccessful logon attempts, you will need to close the window and start

again.

components the first time you launch a stream—if you are configured to receive these download components. Links for the appropriate stream types (WM, and/or H.264) will be displayed in the area where the embedded player is normally displayed. These additional plugins must be installed. You will also be required to install an additional plugin when you

Add Video for the first time (if you have permission).

use

T To launch the VEMS Portal Server Home Page:

1. Open a browser that is appropriate for your operating system Supported browsers for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux are shown in Table 3.

2. Enter the VEMS 5.0 Portal Server

<vems_servername>

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 3

) in the address bar.

hostname or IP address (e.g. http://

3. Log in with a valid User Name and Password to launch the Portal Server (Figure 1). If your site uses multiple authentication servers, you may need to select a Domain name as well. Contact your system administrator for more information.

4. Depending on how your system is configured, the Portal Server may need to download additional components the first time you access the server. If prompted to download components, you must answer

5. Use the navigation bar at the bottom of the page to access other Portal Server pages. All Portal Server features and functions are briefly described below and explained in detail later in this guide. Remember that depending on your privileges you may not have access to some functions in which case these items are not shown on the navigation bar.

The

Logout command logs you out of the application and lets you log back in as a different

user. This may be necessary to gain access to certain functionality. For example, some users may not be allowed to create thumbnails and you may want to login as a user who has the permissions to do this. The by an administrator.

Home Page

There is no specific Portal Server "home" page. When started, the Portal Server displays the last page you were on when you logged out or closed the application. For example if you were on the log back in. All of the options on the navigation footer are explained below. Remember that not all of these items may be available at your site.

Live Media page when you logged out, that's the page that will be displayed when you

Yes to the security requests.

Logout hyperlink is only shown when Access Control is enabled

Figure 1. Media Library Page

Media Library View pre-recorded content available from the VOD (Video-on-Demand)

servers on your network. See Media Library

on page 9.

Live Media View live streams (for example, TV channels) currently available on the

network. See Live Media

on page 19.

Introduction

Channel Guide VBrick has partnered with a leading content provider to provide news,

information, and entertainment programming for the Portal Server. This optional service requires a license and may not be supported at your site. The program listing includes some 80+ television programs and comes from a VBrick-maintained server.

Scheduling View or create scheduled broadcasts of live or stored content. See

Scheduling

More Tools • Create Presentation – launches a page from which you can create rich

media presentations with PowerPoint slides. See Create Presentation on page 49.

• Playlist – opens the Playlists page from which you can create and manage playlists. See Playlist

• Add Video – if you have publishing permissions you can publish a Windows Media or H.264 video that you recorded using a VBStar or StreamPlayer Plus. See Add Video

• Status – shows the status of any videos currently being added or recorded. See Status

• Priority Alert – launch a previously-defined emergency broadcast that preempts all other content. See Priority Alert

on page 27.

on page 60.

on page 65.

on page 67.

Help Get help for any Portal Server feature or function. See Help

Logout Always log out when done. The system will automatically log you out if

idle for more than a few minutes.

on page 5.

Help

This command launches an online version of the Portal Server User Guide in a new window. This online help system provide fast full-text search and makes it easy to find the information you need. To navigate in the help window, use the tree controls on the left to expand a topic and the navigation buttons at the top to move to a different page. See Getting Help page vi for more information.

Figure 2. Online Help

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 5

The Portal Server has a search feature that makes it easy to find video assets. You can search for keyword tags or text using the search box, or you can use the dropdown list boxes to filter the results for different "types" of content (e.g. presentations). In general you search for a broad category of content using the search box; then you can get more granular using the date and folder filters. As shown in Figure 3 the options below the search box are page-based. This means that on the page you can search for stored assets; on the Channel Guide you can search for channel assets. The search ‘box itself is not case-sensitive and you can enter any combination of words, numbers, and special characters. You can also limit the search by selecting Title, Description, or Tags. After a search, you can launch any stream by simply clicking on the results in the content pane.

Figure 3. Page-based Search (Live Media, Media Library, Channel Guide)

The search feature is extremely flexible; the following steps show the basic steps you will typically follow in order to search effectively.

T To search for specific content:

Live Media page you can search for live assets; on the Media Library

1. Use the Search box to find specific text or keyword tags associated with a stream, or to specify a broad category of content. For example on the Media Library page you can select

Search Presentations from the dropdown menu.

2. Click the

Search button to launch the search and the results will be displayed in the

content pane below.

3. Then you can use the filters to refine your search. Start by selecting a "folder" filter. You can search the

My Media folder or any folder you wish. (The search will include all

subfolders if any.)

4. Then select a "date" filter. For example you can select all content created this week or this month.

5. Click to display the new search results in the content pane; click to discard the results and start another search. (You can also launch a search by clicking on a hyperlinked "tag" associated with a stream. This search will return all streams that have the same tag.)

Note The first time you launch the Media Library it will display the first five videos in the

"root" folder by default. The root folder (/) is the highest-level folder.

Search Filters

You can filter your search by "folder" or by "date" using the search filters on the left side of the page. The options vary depending on which page you are on. On the Live Media page you can only filter the content by date (it is not stored in any folder); on the Media Library page, you can filter the content by date and/or by folder.

Introduction

Filter by Folder The Media Library lets you filter stored content

by folder and/or date. If you select a folder, the search results will also include content in any subfolders. The search executes as soon as you select a folder. You typically select a folder first and then specify a date range. The following folders have a special meaning:

My Media – this is a special, private folder

• belonging to the user who is currently logged in. It can be used for playlists, personal content, or whatever. No one else can see your My Media folder.

•

/ – a forward slash indicates the root folder.

The root folder is the highest folder at the top level of the file system. It contains all other folders and can also contain files.

Filter by Date On the Live Media page you can filter the

content for upcoming events by date (day, week, month, or date range) only. Use the radio buttons or specify a date range in the format:

mm/dd/yyyy. For example 12/25/09 is a valid

date. After selecting options, use the button to execute a search; use the to reset the filter to the default (

Filter

Clear button

All).

Search Parameters

The currently selected search parameters are shown as read-only information on the left side of the page. Check this information as you search to see what folder and date range options are currently selected.

Current Folder Shows the folder currently selected in the Folder filter.

Date Range Shows the date range currently selected in the Date filter.

Tags Shows the currently specified search tags. A tag is any descriptive

information associated with a library asset.

Clear Filters Resets the folder filter to root (/) and the date range to All.

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 7

Media Library

Some Portal Server functionality and features may be restricted for certain users. If you are not authorized to launch a Priority Alert or Add Video, for example, those menu items will not be displayed on the navigation footer on the Portal Server home page as shown in Figure 4. Similarly if you do not have "record" privileges, you will not see a "record" button in the preview window. Contact your system administrator if some functionality is not available or does not work as you would expect.

Topics in this section

Playing Stored Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Playing Stored Streams

If the VEMS Portal Server installation includes one or more VOD Video-on-Demand servers, the Media Library link on the home page displays a list of content files stored on the server. Note that you will only see files for which you have been given permission. To launch a stored video, simply click on any video and it will launch in the preview window. Note that video content may be limited to a specific number of viewers. If you receive a message indicating the stream exceeds the maximum number of concurrent viewers, contact a system administrator.

Chapter 2

Figure 4. Media Library Page

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 9

Filter By Folder Shows all content available in the selected folder(s) and includes any subfolders

(if present). See Search Filters

on page 6 for more information.

Filter By Date Shows all content available on the selected date(s). You can filter the content by

Day, Week, Month, or Date Range). See Search Filters

on page 6 for more

information.

Display Options

Show per page – Select the number of streams (5–100) to display on page. Page – jump to any available page. Showing – shows current page number.

Title The title of the video clip is displayed after the icon indicating it is a video clip. A

thumbnail image may provide a visual preview as to what is in the clip.

Add to Playlist – create a new playlist or append to an existing playlist. See

Playlist

Edit Playlist – modify an existing playlist. Jumps to the Playlist page.

Info – shows any descriptive text, keyword tags, or links associated with

on page 60.

the stream. You can also use this page to share content with other local (and remote) users if this feature has been configured. See Sharing Content on page 14.

Bookmark – adds a bookmark. See Creating Bookmarks on page 15.

Remove Thumbnail – replaces thumbnail with generic image.

Play – plays the selected stream.

Tags – these are searchable keywords entered by stream viewers using the

Info button. See Customizing Stored Videos

on page 12.

Media Library

Content Each listing displays either a default file icon or a thumbnail image of the clip

(see Creating Thumbnails

on page 15), as well as information about the clip such as duration and tags. The scroll bar on the right of the table of available videos allows the user to scroll up or down through the entries. You can also scroll up or down through the entries using a mouse wheel or Page Up and Page Down. Scrolling may be limited by the

Show per page setting.

This icon denotes standard library content. It can be replaced by an image or a thumbnail.

This icon is used for bookmarks and playlists. Playlists are used to consolidate several video files, or video file segments, into a single, virtual video file.

You can replace the standard video icon with a custom image or a thumbnail of any frame. See Creating Thumbnails

on page 15 for details.

This icon denotes rich media presentations (those with both video and PowerPoint slides, for example) that were recorded using VEMS. Presentations recorded on the Rich Media Studio appliance (and added using VEMS) have the standard library content icon. Create Presentation on page 49 for more about rich media presentations.

This icon denotes documents (PDFs, Word documents, etc.) that were manually entered by an administrator.

This icon denotes content (PowerPoint presentations, Flash demos, etc.) that was manually entered by an administrator.

Preview Window The preview window is embedded on the right side of the window. When you

select a library stream, it plays in the preview window. In certain instances an external player, such as Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player, may launch to play the stream.

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 11

Player Controls

The icons at the bottom of the preview window control the video. (Note that the

controls here are different from those used for live media, for example, there is no Record button for stored media.) Mouseover each button to see the title.

Seek – use the slider to navigate to any point in a stream.

Play – starts the video stream if it was previously stopped. Pause – pauses the video stream until restarted. Stop – stops the video from playing. Rewind – rewind to beginning of stream. Fast Forward – fast forward to end of stream.

Full Screen – click to display stream at full size. Press Esc to

exit. You can also double-click on any video to go full screen.

Volume – use slider to adjust volume. If necessary, adjust the

volume setting on your computer.

Mute – click or unclick to mute volume.

Toggle CC On – turn closed captions on or off. See Viewing

Closed Captions on page 16.

Create Thumbnail – creates a thumbnail from the next frame in

the stream. See Creating Thumbnails

Upload Thumbnail – browse to an image on your computer. See

Creating Thumbnails

Create Bookmark – Use to bookmark a stream. This creates a

playlist in

My Media with one bookmark. Press again only if you

on page 15.

want to create another bookmark to the same stream. See Creating Bookmarks

on page 15 for more information.

Pop-Up – Launches the player in a pop-up window along with

the control buttons. Once the window is launched, subsequent selections will play in the external player. The launched window can be moved or resized. Closing the main VEMS Portal Server window leaves the smaller player on the screen (if this behavior has been configured by an administrator). The viewer may be resized after launch by dragging from the corners or from any side. If enabled by an administrator, you may be able to launch multiple pop-up windows. See Viewing Multiple Streams

page 21 for more information.

Time Counter The time counter displays the amount of time elapsed since the viewer began

running the currently selected video.

Show|Hide Info Show or hide error messages and other system information.

Customizing Stored Videos

Users (with Content Publishing permission) and administrators can customize or delete stored videos; they can change the name, the folder, keyword tags, etc. All stored videos have an Info hyperlink button that displays additional information (if available) about the video. For example it may have a description or tag that can be used for searching, as well as links to

Media Library

external web sites and desktop files. (You must have the appropriate application installed locally; for example, you need PowerPoint to open a PowerPoint presentation.)

T To delete a stored video:

1. Click on the

2. Click

Delete Video and confirm. If you have permissions, this will permanently remove

Info button to the right of any stored video.

the video from the Portal Server.

T To customize a stored video:

1. Click on the

2. Click

Modify Info to display the customization page.

3. Change the appropriate. For video

Info button to the right of any stored video.

Name, or Folder, and add a Description and Tags (separated by spaces) as

Name, use any combination of alphanumeric characters and the

following special characters .!~()_-

4. Click

Add New Link to create a link to a web page or a file.

a. Enter a

b. Click

Link Title and Link Type.

Add Link when done. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Link Title The title actually displayed on the Info page, for example "Click

Here for More Information."

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 13

Link Type • Web page URL – Enter a valid URL or copy and paste one

from your web browser.

• Uploaded File – Browse to select an upload file. This can be a PowerPoint, an image, or any file you want to make available to end users.

Sharing Content

The envelope icon at the bottom of the Info page associated with each video lets you share a stored VOD stream with other local or remote users via an e-mail message. Simply click on the icon and an e-mail (see below) is auto-generated with links for local network viewing and for outside Internet viewing (if this has been configured by an administrator). The user receiving the e-mail can click on the link (or paste the URL into a browser), and enter a user name and password if prompted, to launch the stream on a VBrick player page.

Note The

LAN Link is always present on the Info page and let's you share content with users

on your local area network. The

Internet Link must be configured by an administrator

and let's you share content with users on the web.

When the e-mail is auto-generated you can add an e-mail address for the recipient and modify any of the text as necessary. For example, if the intended user is on the local network, you may want to delete the outside Internet hyperlink, and vice versa. You can also use the and

Internet links at the bottom of the page to obtain the URL for use with PDAs or other

handheld devices. Simply click on the appropriate

[Get URL] link, then right-click and copy

LAN

the entire URL so you can paste it into a handheld device.

Creating Thumbnails

Media Library

You can create thumbnails for all videos stored in the Media Library that were recorded on the Portal Server. If given publishing permissions, you can replace the generic video clip icon with a

snapshot of the video or with any .jpg or .gif image you choose. The folders to which you can upload thumbnails are configured by an VEMS Portal Server administer. (Note that thumbnail images that exceed 512 K in size are not displayed in the VOD list on a WM IP Receiver; a special icon is used instead).

T To create a thumbnail:

1. Launch a stored video and click

Create Thumbnail on the Options menu at anytime to

capture the first frame in the video. This will automatically replace the existing thumbnail if any.

2. Repeat until you are satisfied or mouseover the title and click the Remove Thumbnail icon to replace it with the generic icon.

T To upload your own thumbnail image:

1. Launch a video and select

2. Browse to the jpg or gif image and click

3. Click

Cancel to close the window.

Upload Thumbnail from the Options menu.

Upload Image.

Creating Bookmarks

You can quickly bookmark any location in a stream playing in the preview window using the

Bookmark button or selecting Create Bookmark from the Options menu. This basically

creates a playlist in editing functions, open this bookmark from the

My Media with one bookmark. To add additional streams or perform other

Playlists page.

T To bookmark any point in a stream playing in the preview window:

1. Launch any video from the

2. Click the

Bookmark button at any point in the video. This displays a message and creates

a bookmark/playlist in the

Media Library.

My Media folder. The bookmark defaults to the end of the file

and has the following format:

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 15

<video_title><date><time>, for example: VBrick Rules_09_14_2007_13_27:59

3. To edit the bookmark, go to the Playlist page, mouseover the bookmark you just created, and click Edit Playlist.

4. You can change the name, folder, duration, etc. using the editing options. See Editing Playlists on page 63.

Note Use the

with one bookmark. To add additional streams, open this bookmark on the page. Press video file. For more about playlists, see Playlist

Bookmark button to bookmark a stream. This creates a playlist in My Media

Playlists

Bookmark again only if you want to create another bookmark to the same

on page 60.

Viewing Closed Captions

The VEMS Portal Server supports closed captions for hearing-impaired viewers. Captions can be turned on or off for using the Options menu. If a video stream (either live or stored) is encoded with captions, they can be set to on or off; if a video stream is not encoded with captions, captions will not be displayed regardless of the setting. If set to displayed for all caption-enabled streams subsequently launched from the Portal Server, until turned to

CC OFF. A video stream must be encoded with captions in advance. VBrick can add

a date/time stamp to a live stream from a security camera, for example, but it provides no other functionality to encode live or stored video with closed captions. Closed captions (if enabled) are superimposed on the video as shown here. The actual placement of the closed captions will vary depending upon how it was encoded.

CC ON, captions are

Viewing Stored Presentations

Stored library presentations are those rich media presentations (with content and video) that have been recorded and saved in the Media Library. Create Presentation how to create and publish rich media presentations.

on page 49 explains

Media Library

Figure 5. Stored Rich Media Presentation

VEMS Portal Server User Guide 17

+ 53 hidden pages

VBrick Systems ENTERPRISE MEDIA SYSTEM User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual