System Management

The majority of SmartTUBE system functions are accessed and controlled through the web-based SmartTUBE Admin Console. Fine-tuning of platform functionality is carried out through configuration files of SmartTUBE SDP components. Together, these management tools provides System Administration Departments with complete control over platform aspects and features described below:

• End-user Device Provisioning: SmartTUBE SDP includes SmartTUBE Device Manager, a service with the web console for managing firmware, apps and configurations on all types of IPTV/OTT devices including Linux and Android STBs, mobile and Smart TV platforms.  This console enables software artefacts management (STB Linux and Android firmware, private app repository for AOSP, configuration files), device grouping (production, staging, etc.), HTTP and Multicast firmware distribution, software version tracking, update strategies management (soft update, force update, minimal allowed version), etc.​
• Process Automation: Various service tasks (e.g. EPG import, cache data reload, etc.) can be performed automatically at set schedule.
• Admin Console Access: Operators can manage users with specific access roles like Administrator, Content Manager, Business Manager, Technical Support Specialist, and Analyst. Multiple roles can be assigned to a user, defining access to different features within the console.
• Failure Alerts: Provides email alerts for failures related to OSS integration, EPG and VoD metadata import, database connection limits, and SmartMEDIA warnings.
• Device Geolocation:  To manage access to content based on IP address range, operators can assign IPTV devices to specific subnets or utilize data from third-party services like Maxmind (under a separate contract) to determine the geo or network location of OTT devices. Operators can also restrict access to services for mobile devices when transitioning between network connections (e.g., from home network to cellular one). 
• License usage statistics: Provides detailed information about installed licenses, including their types, number of service accounts and active devices used.  
• License features: Operators can manage the availability of features that depend on the license type. 
• Rebooting STBs: Enables remote reboot of STBs  by a list of UIDs or by matching conditions.
• Cache Server Data Reload: Allows to manually update metadata and system settings on cache servers to quickly pass changes to devices. 
• Data Export: SmartTUBE Admin Console allows to export any data stored in the SmartTUBE SDP database to CSV format.

Apps Localization and Customization

SmartTUBE provides a comprehensive toolkit for localizing and customizing SmartTUBE Apps’ UI and UX. This process occurs in two stages:

• Initial: Performed by SmartLabs specialists at the stage of system commissioning.
• Operational: Performed by the operator during the system operation.

Initial customization allows to adjust the UI within the existing structure (layout of the main components, animation logic, etc.) and includes the following possibilities:

• Interface Localization: SmartTUBE provides the ability to localize the interface to the operator’s language by the operator. English is supported by default. Localization in languages using fonts containing hieroglyphs, arabic script and other specific alphabets, is discussed separately.
• Operator Logo: Can be placed in the various parts of UI (upper left corner, placeholders, splash screen, etc.);
• Color of Selected Elements
• Animation of Waiting States

Operational customization allows the operator to change the representation of the Home screen and Movies/Series sections by uploading the corresponding configuration files to devices via SmartTUBE Device Manager, a service for managing firmware and apps on all types of IPTV/OTT devices.

Security Mechanisms 

SmartTUBE system protects IPTV / OTT services and confidential information from unauthorized access at different levels utilizing the following mechanisms:

• Device activation and user authorization: Each time a device attempts to connect to the SmartTUBE SDP, the system compares its device ID and serial number with the values stored in the DB when the device was activated. If the device ID and serial number do not match, the device is not allowed to access services.
• Connection sessions management: SmartTUBE SDP uses special identifiers to manage each connection session with devices. Each connection session lives for a limited period, after which the session closes and SmartTUBE SDP stops the information delivery to the device. This also avoids the memory shortage and related security issues on STB devices.​
• Token-based authorization: SmartTUBE SDP issues a unique token to each device upon authorization on the platform. This token is then passed by the device in all requests to the platform and SmartMEDIA streaming servers for the OTT TV channel streams. This process ensures that only authorized devices can access the SmartTUBE platform and view content securely.
• Secure access to SmartTUBE Admin Console: Provided by the authorization mechanism with the login and password issued by the system administrator.
• OSS/BSS API Access: Interaction with SmartTUBE SDP from the OSS/BSS side via API can be protected with login and password. 
• Network-level security: The HTTPS protocol with SSL certificate management is used for interactions between devices, external systems, and SmartTUBE SDP. Session control is used for interactions between platform nodes and the database.
• Protection against STB duplication: STB has built-in protection against duplication, which prevents the possible device counterfeiting.

Licensing 

The SmartTUBE licensing policy offers two license types, SmartTUBE Basic and SmartTUBE Ultra, providing operators with different levels of features and functionality to choose from.

	SmartTUBE Basic	SmartTUBE Ultra	Notes
SmartTUBE SDP
Multitenancy support	❌	✔	Multitenancy is a software architecture in which a single instance of software runs on a server and serves multiple tenants. Systems designed in such a manner are “shared”. A tenant is a group of users who share a common access with specific privileges to the software instance. For example, one global IPTV/OTT operator may have several regional divisions. The audience of these divisions may differ geographically, culturally, socially, etc. So may the content. For this case, SmartTUBE Service Delivery Platform (SDP) provides 2 options for multitenant architecture implementation.
Widevine Security Policies support	❌	✔	Google’s Widevine DRM technology offers three distinct security levels — L1, L2, and L3 — each designed to cater to different requirements of content protection. These levels are critical in determining the quality of content that can be securely streamed and accessed on various devices. – L1 represents the highest level of security provided by Widevine. It mandates that devices meet specific L1 security criteria to stream High Definition (HD) content. – L2 involves content decoding and rendering through a secure hardware component or a protected co-processor. – L3 is a software-only security solution, providing the lowest tier of Widevine’s DRM security.
Discounts and promo codes support	❌	✔	SmartTUBE provides two types of discounts that can be applied to service packages: – Overriding discounts — rewrites the price lists of the service packages with its own – Percentage discounts — allows to specify the percentage of discount applied to the service packages
System health monitor	❌	✔
SmartTUBE Apps for all supported platforms
Catch-up Content Library	❌	✔	Catch-up Content Library is a SmartTUBE feature that allows operator to record selected TV programs and provide them to subscribers as a separate VoD-like catalog (to be implemented in version 10.x) or content rails (available).
Kids profile	❌	✔	Kids profile allows the operator and subscribers to set: – The maximum age level for showing only children’s TV channels and VOD content – The viewing period (for example, from 8:00 to 21:00) – The viewing time limit (for example, no more than 2 hours per day) – The child-styled UI design
Open movies/series by actors/director	❌	✔	An option to open a movie catalog by the actor or director, when the user selects a person in the VoD detail card.
SmartTUBE Apps for Android TV, LG & Samsung Smart TV, Web Browser
AVoD support	❌	✔	AVoD (Advertising Video on Demand) — a service to provide access to movies/series is provided with an advertising which is periodically shown in video
Vertical main menu (configurable)	❌	✔
Horizontal main menu as text instead of icons (configurable)	❌	✔
‘TV Channels’ rail with program posters instead of channel logos	❌	✔
Faded top banner with trailer playback	❌	✔
Easy access to profile selection on Home Screen	✔	✔
QR code login	❌	✔	This feature streamlines the authentication process for large-screen applications, eliminating the need for users to manually input login credentials using a virtual keyboard. Instead, a user will be able to add the new device using SmartTUBE mobile app.
Auto-play of program/movie on poster rails when they are focused on Home Screen	❌	✔
SmartTUBE App for iOS
Push notifications support	❌	✔
Totally redesigned app (version 8+)	❌	✔
Legacy app (version 5.x)	✔	❌
Download content for watching in offline mode	❌	✔	This feature allows subscribers to download movies and series to mobile devices for later viewing in the SmartTUBE application in offline mode. In this case, time limits apply to protected content. For example, offline viewing will be possible for a week, after which a user will need to connect to the Internet to update the DRM keys (the user will not need to download the movie again).
‘HLS + FairPlay’ streams support	✔	✔
Chromecast support	❌	✔	This feature enables Screen Sharing from SmartTUBE Mobile Apps to Chromecast devices and TVs with built-in Chromecast using Google Chromecast technology.
SmartTUBE App for Android Mobile
Push notifications support	❌	✔
Totally redesigned app (version 8+)	❌	✔
Legacy app (version 5.x)	✔	❌
Download content for watching in offline mode	❌	✔	To be implemented in version 10.x This feature allows subscribers to download movies and series to mobile devices for later viewing in the SmartTUBE application in offline mode. In this case, time limits apply to protected content. For example, offline viewing will be possible for a week, after which a user will need to connect to the Internet to update the DRM keys (the user will not need to download the movie again).
Chromecast support	❌	✔	This feature enables Screen Sharing from SmartTUBE Mobile Apps to Chromecast devices and TVs with built-in Chromecast using Google Chromecast technology.
Hisense Smart TV support	❌	✔
Amazon Fire TV support	❌	✔
Legacy Linux STBs (Albis/SML/MAG/Motorola) support	✔	✔

How many licenses do I need? 

SmartTUBE is licensed according to the number of service accounts and active devices. You can purchase one or more simultaneously active licenses of the following subtypes:

• License by accounts: This method considers only active service accounts — accounts with the status other then Suspended, Trial closed, Closed, Deleted, regardless of whether the subscriber uses the services or not.
• License by devices: This method considers only active devices — devices with a non-empty UID and linked to the active account, which were authorized at least once and (optional) with the date of the last authorization is no more than N days ago. Operator can specify which device types will be considered by this license.
• License by service account with devices: This method considers only active service accounts to which only the specified types of devices can be linked. The operator should specify the number of active devices licensed under one license.