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Inserting SCTE-35 Messages into MPEG TS with Alta TS

Updated

There are several methods for using Alta TS to inject SCTE-35 messages directly into an MPEG transport stream. This document summarizes these methods.

Additional Documentation

iCap Alta Data Sheet.

Injecting SCTE-35 Messages

Using TCP/IP

You can request SCTE-104 commands to any Alta channel over TCP/IP from any external device or system that supports the SCTE-104 API over TCP/IP through a configurable listening address/port (default is 5167) on the Alta instance. Alta then places them into the incoming transport stream, where they are executed as SCTE-35 messages.

  • Alta must support the full SCTE-104 Simple Profile, which includes Splice Requests, Splice Null Requests, and Time Signal Requests with Segmentation Descriptors, or any other descriptors supported by the protocol.
  • For more information, including diagrams, see SCTE-35 Insertion with iCap Alta. 

Built-In Presets

You can configure built-in presets on the Alta webpage, with each assigned to a GPI number, to trigger SCTE-104 commands that will then be injected as SCTE-35 into the TS, either via virtual GPI, using a GPI over IP protocol, or by sending HTTP requests to an API endpoint we provide.

  • These splice inserts are supported in this case:
    • Splice start
    • Splice start immediate
    • Splice end
    • End Immediate
    • Splice cancel
    • Also, inserting the basic fields program ID, break duration, and preroll time.

Virtual GPI

For GPI over IP, we currently support the JL Cooper eBox, either through their physical hardware or emulating the protocol by writing a program that serves as the "server" side on TCP/IP.

Sending HTTP Requests

In addition to the GPI presets option other options for sending API calls to trigger SCTE messages include:

  • Triggering those same SCTE-104 presets dynamically to an API endpoint, targeted to any Alta channel (without needing to pre-configure anything on the site or assign a GPI number).
  • Triggering SCTE-35 cue in/cue out messages (for starting and ending ad breaks) to an API endpoint, targeted to any Alta channel
  • Triggering SCTE104/35 time signals with segmentation descriptor parameters

Visit the Network GPI's, Presets + Cue Point Triggering section of the Alta TS API Documentation to find detailed information on these API endpoints (including JSON paramaters) for triggering SCTE messages.

PID Placements for SCTE-35 Data

To specify the PIDS that you would like SCTE-35 data to be output into (should be one for each message type), go to the Alta channel's SCTE-35 Settings page on the Alta web interface and input each, up to 8. You may input SCTE35 PIDs that already exist upstream or any unused PIDs.

If more than one PID is specified, the DPI_PID_index field in the incoming SCTE-104 messages is used to direct Alta on which PID each message is for. 

 

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