I I T S Home Instructional & Information Technology Services Cal State San Marcos
IITS Home  
IPTV Install Help

[Home] [Up]

The First Time You Play IPTV Video

...on a particular computer, some software installation will occur. Here are the steps for different platforms:

Windows XP - All lab computers have the necessary software installed, but not all faculty/staff machines will. IPTV only works in Internet Explorer.

  1. Launch Internet Explorer and click on this MCS link or type "mcs" into the address field and press Return.
  2. You will be asked five times if it is ok to install various pieces of software it needs to run. Please authorize these installs. When the installs complete, the Media Control Server (MCS) will launch.

Note: On some machines, depending on security settings, your browser's pop-up blocker may stop this software installation until you right-click on the yellow bar at the top of the screen and "Allow ActiveX Install."

  1. Next you will see is a login screen. Login using your usual email name and password. Please see the following section: Using the MCS Interface.

Macintosh (G5 processor - older)

  1. Launch Safari and click on the MCS link or type "mcs" into the address field and press Return.
  2. Next you will see is a login screen. Login using your usual email name and password.
  3. The MCS screen will open and at the bottom you will be asked if it is okay to install the VBrick MPEG2 software for Safari.
  4. Click on the text to allow installation. The installer will download. You will probably be asked if it's ok to download the installer - click on OK.
  5. The Installer interface will appear. Use the blue buttons to authorize installation. When it completes, the machine will reboot.
  6. Return to steps 1 and 2 above.

You only have to install the first time you use IPTV. Please see the following section: Using the MCS Interface.

Macintosh (Intel processor - newer)

  1. Find the Safari application in the Applications folder.
  2. Click on the Safari icon to select it and press command-I. This will open the information window for the Safari application.
  3. About halfway down the info window you will see a check box labeled Open using Rosetta. Click on the box to place a check mark in it.
  4. Launch Safari and click on the MCS link or type "mcs" into the address field and press Return.
  5. Next you will see is a login screen. Login using your usual email name and password.
  6. Click on the text to allow installation. The installer will download. You will probably be asked if it's ok to download the installer - click on OK.
  7. The Installer interface will appear. Use the blue buttons to authorize installation. When it completes, the machine will reboot.
  8. Return to steps 4 and 5 above.

You only have to install the first time you use IPTV. Please see the following section: Using the MCS Interface.


Using the MCS Interface

The MCS interface has two sections:

Watch Television - this is where we webcast live TV from cable and live events on-campus. If you click on Watch Television, you will go to a list of available cable station that you can watch. Click on one of the stations listed and it will begin to play in the screen on the right.

Video on Demand - this is where we webcast archived materials stored on our server. If you click on Video on Demand, you will go to a list of available archived videos. These are organized into folders. Click on a folder to see the contents. Click on a video file to play it back.

Typical video playback controls are located under the video playback window, play, pause, stop, etc. The Full button will make the video playback full screen - to toggle back to a small video window, press the Esc key. The slider on the right will let you adjust the audio volume.

Troubleshooting

Problems have been encountered on some Windows systems with two monitors. IE will lockup when played on the screen 2 until hardware acceleration is turned off in the Display control panel. If you encounter an issue like this and are uncomfortable applying this fix yourself, please call the IITS Help Desk 750-4790, or just make sure that you are playing IPTV video on the main monitor.

For more information on this system, please contact Will White (8670).

VBrick company site.

[Home] [Up]

This page created and maintained by Chuck Allen. Last revised Friday, March 16, 2007 .