This section is an annex to the manuals and we strongly recommend you to read it. It gives answers of most Frequent Asked Questions we have received from our customers and we are sure you will find them useful in your research about what can DV Play software do. The customers already have used the DV Play software also should read this.

Q1. I want to start my new TV channel. What are the basic technical parts I need and how the DV Play software can help me?

Q2. I want to start an IP TV channel. Can DV Play software help me?

Q3. I need a playout solution. Does DV Play software work for me?

Q4. What kind of TV channels find the DV Play software useful?

Q5. My TV channel will broadcast only from files with schedule and without having operators 24/7/365. Why DV Play software is one of the best choices for such kind of TV channels?

Q6. What are the strong sides of the DV Play software?

Q7. What are the weak sides of the DV Play software?

Q8. What are the hidden benefits for the DV Play’s customers?

Q9. I need to remote control the playout server via Internet. Does DVPlay software support remote control?

Q10. Why in your price offer you want me to pay for training course? Your competition offers it for free!

Q11. How I can determine have I or have I not to buy the training course?

Q12. How the training course is executed?

Q13. What support is offered with the DV Play software?

Q14. Why the DV Play 6 still works with MPEG2 files? There are new formats like MPEG4, H264 and others.

Q15. I can’t effort to broadcast MPEG2 files at the signal distribution process as they take too much bandwidth which cost too much.

Q16. I will stream my channel via Internet. I already know that I can use the DVPlay playout to produce the signal and to send it to the encoder which actually makes the streaming. What type of output signal I should send to the encoder – analog or SDI?

Q17. My TV channel will be streaming via Internet. Why I can’t simply use my LAN card to make directly streaming and avoid external cost for specific hardware devices like DeckLink card which produce the video signal?

Q18. What should be the computer I shell use for video server?

Q19. Many software sellers recommend to buy a backup server which should be used in case of fail of the primary server. Should I buy a backup server?

Q20. What should be our HDD and should I use RAID?

Q21. I have been working well with the DV Play software a long time and suddenly it crashed while it was playing files which have been played well many times before.

Q22. I’m preparing a server for playout. How to ensure that my server is working properly?

Q23. I already do broadcasting with a DV Play software. What problems may I expect?

Q24. Can DVPlay play files from network?

Q25. Can I use other programs on the same computer while i run DVPlay?

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Q1: I want to start my new TV channel. What are the basic technical parts I need and how the DV Play software can help me?

In general, the technical questions you should decide before starting your TV channel are:

The Part 1 of the solution is not connected with the DV Play software. The video file formats created from this part should follow the standard MPEG2 used in most TV channels.

 The DV Play software is entirely responsible for the Part 2. It is designed to play your video files and to produce the output signal according to the TV standard. In addition it can overlay graphics/title/ over the video signal and to rule external devices via a COM port like a video switcher and others.

 The final result of the DV Play solution is a video signal creation in analog (composite and s-video) or SDI outputs (embedded sound) according to the TV standard. This signal is received from a device responsible for the Part 3. If the device in the Part 3 is designed for a TV broadcast it is sure that this device will support one of the video signals that DV Play is able to  produce.

Note that all these 3 parts of your solution should be set to work together. The process is called system integration and due to its nature it should be done locally at your TV station. If you or your technical staff has not experience in TV area we recommend you to get a local professional support. If you need to buy additional devices is far better for you that the company from which you buy them makes integration too. Although we are very experienced in this process we prefer not to answer on such questions as there are local differences that we do not know and primary we can’t do a support from distance. It is much cheaper for you to use a local professional than to pay us flight tickets, hotel and exc. If we have a distributor in your country we recommend contacting with him.

 If your TV channel uses only video files to make the output TV signal, the system integration process is far easier and exceptionally you may do it on yourself.

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Q2: I want to start an IP TV channel. Can DV Play software help me?

A: Yes. With the DV Play software you can play your video files and receive them in an analog or SDI output. This video signal will be used from an encoder /device in Part 3/ which will do the actual streaming via Internet. Very often the streaming device is located in the data center where the customers put their playout server.
 Many of our competitors tell that their solution makes streaming via Internet too. They do this with the help of a specialized hardware which they put in the server and you pay again. In this case you can’t select the encoder and should use their offer – even in cases where it costs 2 times more than the current price of other devices which can do the same job. If you are able to select yourself the device in the Part 3 you can use the best current offer on the market. The prices of such devices constantly are going down.

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Q3: I need a playout solution. Does DV Play software work for me?

A: As other software packages, the DV Play software has its strong and  weak sides. To find does it fit on your demands we offer you the following resources:

1. Demonstration movies - probably the fastest and the easiest way to take a look at the DV play software. You can find them HERE
2. FAQ page – it is designed to be found out from the top link between your demands and the DV Play features.
3. Manuals are designed to explain exactly how the specific question is solved by the DV Play software.
4. Demo version available on our WEB site.
5. Contact our staff support

Note: Our recommendation is to use the resources in order they are numbered, we mean first to see the demo videos, then to read this FAQ page and so on.

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Q4: What kind of TV channels find the DV Play software useful?

A: The profile of a typical TV channel using the DV Play software is small and a medium TV channel  working with schedule,  not having 24 hours human operator and making its  signal primary from video files. For such TV channels we can offer true 24/7/365 reliability, excellent quality of graphic overlay, perfect scheduling option which allows you to create a schedule for a day, a week or even for a month ahead. If your TV channel has such requirements we strongly recommend you to include the DV Play software in your research.
 For the channels having 24 hours operators and life shows we offer standard features that are expected from such kind of software.

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Q5: My TV channel will broadcast only from files with schedule and without having operators 24/7/365. Why DV Play software is one of the best choices for such kind of TV channels?

A:We have been producing TV playout software since 2001. Since 2007 we have realized that instead of trying to cover all kinds of TV channels we should focus on specific type of TV channels. From the begging the v.5 is designed with these requirements in mind. The DV Play 6 has been released in 2012 and consist significant improvements and new features based on our customer`s asks and feedbacks, so now we can offer you a product with amazing features features which you can implement in your TV channel incredible easy and fast.

For such kind of TV channels we can offer an enterprise solution for playout system – player + title, covering the TV standard for reliability and quality of the broadcast on an inexpensive price.

Here is the list with our advantages:

1. 1. Once you have set your schedule the only actions you should do it to create a playlist named dd.mm.yyyy – for example 02.02.2012 and it will be loaded totally automatically. Most of our customers create a schedule for few days or even weeks ahead. Because our software works so truly automatically we have customers which even forget to make the new playlists! For such case v.6 allows to be set an emergency backup playlist which is loaded and played automatically if the playlist for the current date is missing. So, your TV channel will continue broadcasting using the emergency backup playlist and a email notification could be send.
2. The scheduling system is incredibly powerful and covers 99 % of all actions you can send to the system with mouse and keyboard.
3. In your playlists you can put not only files, but also EVERY command. The most used commands are Show/Hide logo, show/hide clock, show/hide titles, commands to the external devices.
4. The schedule can be set when the video server is started automatically, to load and start the playlist FROM THE CORRECT TIME, not from the beginning. This allows in case of disaster when your server is restarted, that the advertisements scheduled to be broadcasted in 8 p.m. to be broadcasted in 8 p.m without need to do any changes in the playlist. We hope you that TV channel will never need to use this feature but our experience shows that many of our customers are small TV channels which are not so well protected from disaster cases like lost of power supply, or that their server works in dangerous environment like too high temperature etc. and a video server restart by accident could be happen.
5. The title solution is deeply integrated in the video player system. It does not require ANY additional hardware cost and now can play 3D titles too.
6. For the music TV channels we support the auto titling.

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Q6: What are the strong sides of the DV Play software?

A: Reliability in real 24/7/365 mode, features and low cost of ownership. The Version 6 is redesigned with focus on the  easier and faster playlists and titles design creation. Most of our customers recognize the build in DVPlay 6 meta tag library as a great feature and use it to make logical lists with their videos. Scheduling options are incredibly powerful – due to the special design of the software about 99 % of all commands that DVPlay software accepts via keyboard and mouse can be scheduled. The fact which we have to notice is that the DV Play software almost does not need a support. With most of our customers we communicate only one time in a year - to send each other greetings for a Happy New year!

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Q7: What are the weak sides of the DV Play software?

A: The DV play software requires a professional work. We have designed it to be more flexible and not to  limit the operators, but in the same time this means that the operator can send wrong commands. For example if you in 2 seconds send Start Play, then Stop Play, then again Start play it is possible to face a problem.
The other weak side is that the file format should be strictly followed. If you put a video file with improper format it is possible that the DV Play software crashes. We offer some recommendations to avoid such scenario:

• Check every file before uploading it to the video server. For customers buying the TV or the HD version we will give for free installation of the DV Play Light version which they may use to check the files.
• In our manual we put recommendation how to convert easily and faster your videos and be sure that they are DVPlay compatible.

If you are new in the TV area may be you expect that you will just get the videos from somewhere and will play them. In any format you find them – in .mov, mpeg4, wmv, flv and in any size.The TV channel simply do not work in this style. The biggest TV channels check not only the technical format of every file, but also they have persons on salary who watch ALL the videos they will broadcast and stop broadcasting if the video is with low quality (frames which are technical fine but look unprofessional, for example if there is a part of the movie made with non professional camera and low quality of the picture).

Some features like subtitling that you may need are missing.

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Q8: What are the hidden benefits for the DV Play’s customers?

A:  Our statistics shows that once the working process is established our customers use the DVPlay software many years with success. About 50 % of our new orders come from the customers that already use the DVPlay software and prefer it for their next channels, or persons who have  been working with the DVPlay software and know it perfectly.

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Q9: I need to remote control the playout server via Internet. Does DVPlay software support remote control?

A: Yes and no in the same time. From our perspective the DVPlay software`s primary task should be the reliable TV signal creation, while the remote control via Internet is a task for your Windows, routers and specialized software like rAdmin, RealVNC and others. For more info how to set remote control via Internet read  the Chapter 10.2 of our manual.

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Q10: Why in your price offer you want me to pay for training course? Your competition offers it for free!

A: Well, our competition  actually DOES not offer it for free, they simply put this component of price in their products. No matter if you are professional person with 10+ years experience in the TV area or if you haven`t  any experience in the TV area you should pay this price. We do not like this style as we do not want to increase our price for professionals. That is why we show it like a separated price in our offer. You may not buy it, if you have a solid experience in the TV business. The training resources that we provide for free are videos, manuals, this FA Questions and they are quite enough for a professional technical person. If you are such experienced person we will help you with the installation and may answer  your questions via email.

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Q11: How I can determine have I or have I not to buy the training course?

A: If you have solid experience in computer hardware and software installations, if you  have been already working in the TV area, you know how to create your MPEG2 files and you have experience with other playout solution tell us where and how long you have been working and you may not buy it. But if you are new in the TV area you definitely  should buy it, because you need to learn not only how the DV Play software works, but you also need to learn the TV channel knowledge.
Note: You may be very experienced in the hardware and software installation, but if your experience is not in the TV area you should buy the training course.

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Q12: How the training course is executed?

A: The training course is done with remote connection to your or our DV Play video server. The communication is done via Skype – via Chat or with help of a microphone. The basic knowledge of English is required. We will make a short demonstration of the DV Play software`s features, the next step is to help you with the implementation of the DV Play software exactly for your business need. Finally you will learn not only how the DV Play software works, but also something which is not written in the manuals – how to apply the DVPlay software’s power for your TV channel.

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Q13: What support is offered with the DV Play software?

A: When  you buy the DV Play software we offer a support via email, Skype and phone   on regular working hours. In rare cases the support can be done with remote connection to the customer’s server.
  If you buy the software via our distributors you should ask and pay them for a local support. Anyway, we do not have special fee for email support as it is usual that the  TV channels work years without asking us for any support.

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Q14: Why the DV Play 6 still works with MPEG2 files? There are new formats like MPEG4, H264 and others.

A: The video industry has needed a  long time  before accepting a standard for the video files. Currently the primary file format used in the  TV channels all over the world is the MPEG2 and we do not see any indication that  this is  going to  change. The reason is that the new format doesn’t bring really new benefits, but often brings additional problems. In our manuals and in the manuals of  our competition  you will read that a playlist with  multi format files in it  is accepted, but for  sure it does not help for a better reliability.  Also a mix of the formats often results in different quality and colors which may be seen from your TV users.  From our perspective the difference between the file formats is that they primary replace one parameter with other and finally there are more problems than   benefits. For example, the new format MPEG4 takes smaller size on the HDD due to a better compression, but this better compression becomes  a big problem when you need to edit the video at a specific frame. As the prices of the HDD are going lower and lower every year, the bigger size of the MPEG2 files is not a problem at all. So most of the TV channels use the MPEG2 files and have no plans to change them, of course when they send their signal to the satellite, or via IP they use an encoder which transfers the video signal produced from the MPEG2 files to MPEG4 or H264 format.

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Q15: I can’t effort to broadcast MPEG2 files at the signal distribution process as they take too much bandwidth which cost too much.

A: The fact that you play MPEG2 files do not mean that you will do the distributing / broadcasting in MPEG2. There are many encoders which accept the video signal in analog or SDI and convert it to  MPEG4, H264 or other formats.

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Q16: I will stream my channel via Internet. I already know that I can use the DVPlay playout to produce the signal and to send it to the encoder which actually makes the streaming. What type of output signal I should send to the encoder – analog or SDI?

A: The standard answer is to use SDI as you play digital video files and need to stay on the digital platform to preserve the quality. But actually in most cases you can use an analog signal  too with the SAME result.  Our opinion is that the analog signal represents better a real picture than the digital SDI. The problem with the analog signal is that it is distorted while it is carried on a long distance. In the case when the server and the encoder are on the same physical location this distance will be less than 1 meter in safety environment so you will not have distortion at all. If you use a good encoder the final signal after conversion of the video will be the same, no matter if you use an analog or SDI input signal.
 To produce a SDI signal you will need to use a DeckLink card which is more expensive than the hardware producing an analog signal. Also the encoder which can accept a SDI signal is more expensive than the encoder which accepts only an analog signal.
In almost all cases for the IP TV the real quality which the viewers get on their computer screen depends on the internet Bandwidth /speed/ for which you pay to a data center to broadcast your signal, than the quality of the signal you pass to the encoder.

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Q17: My TV channel will be streaming via Internet. Why I can’t simply use my LAN card to make directly streaming and avoid external cost for specific hardware devices like DeckLink card which produce the video signal?

A: The IP protocol has never been designed to deal with the video signal. It is designed to transfer information /which can be also a video signal information/ via Internet, but it  has no any specific functions allowing  you to modify the video signal. This means that the solution  streaming directly to the LAN card has no any option to overlay the titles, neither its logo. Even for the smallest TV channels is mandatory to put at least a logo over their signal and that is why the direct streaming to the LAN card is not acceptable for the TV channels. The TV channels should make a TV signal and overlay graphic over the video signal using devices and functions designed for this purpose and then to transfer the signal to the  IP and make the streaming.
 Some of our competitors do  directly the streaming, but in fact they do it with an expensive specialized computer hardware which they put in the server. In fact they put an encoder in the computer, but the price of this solution again is paid from you. That is why our offer is to use an external encoder on  your choice as this gives you more flexibility and saves your money because currently many manufactures of such device constantly improve their product and the price is going down.

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Q18: What should be the computer I shell use for video server?

A: The most important parameter of your video servers should be the reliability. Based on our experience we strongly recommend you to use a good power supply and to add as more additional fans as your case allows. The second parameter you should consider is the quality of your HDD. You may use an ordinary HDD, but if you are able to afford it you may consider to buy a  HDD which is pronounced from manufactures as used in the  servers. They are usually more reliable, but expensive too.
   Using SSD HDD is not recommended at all because you have no reason to pay more for a better speed which you actually do not need. Also is a fact that when the SSD  gets a damage this happens at once without no warning at all and your information is lost. In most cases when the standard HDD gets damages you have indication and your are  able to copy the  contents on another HDD.

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Q19: Many software sellers recommend to buy a backup server which should be used in case of fail of the primary server. Should I buy a backup server?

A: If you can afford it we also recommend to  use this  option. In such case the  price of a second DVPlay license is available with  20 % discount on  the original cost. But we have many customers who do not buy a second backup server.  In such case we strongly recommend you to read our manual Chapter 10 – DV Play Maintenance. A property Make backup plan allows you in case of disaster like hardware failure to recover your  DV Play video server to an operational state faster and with minimal complications. In any case, if you not buy a backup server you should be ready in 2-3 years to have a situation in which your server is  down.

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Q20: What should be our HDDs and should I use RAID?

A: A RAID ensures you basically 2 features:

• Better speed  
• Reliability in case of  HDD fail

 The current HDDs are SATA-2 and they are enough fast to allow you when the DV play software plays videos, that in the same time an user copies files over the same HDD.  If you require 2 or more users to manipulate the files on the video server while it plays, then you should consider using RAID or using a external computer as file server.
The reliability when using RAID is better, but only if you use a good (and expensive too) RAID hardware and if you are   experienced with RAID.  Our experience shows that in many cases one of both conditions is not true and usually the customer understands this when it is too late. It is a real option just to have copy of your files on other devices.

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Q21: I have been working well with the DV Play software a long time and suddenly it crashed while it was playing files which have been played well many times before.

A: If there is no any change in the hardware and the software on the video server we strongly recommend you to test your HDD for errors. If your HDD is damaged and has bad sectors, replace it immediately. If many cases the HDD has a damage and still works, but with speed slower than 1 MB/s which is required. In case of bad sectors this lower speed is only for some part of the HDD (some files), while the others parts are working normally. Usually the manufacturer provides a tool for free which can be used for such a test.  Take in mind that the most ordinary HDD are not intended to be used for real in a 24/7/365 mode so after 3 years even they work well you may change it.

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Q22: I’m preparing a server for playout. How to ensure that my server is working properly?

A: You should make a standard test for a correct  work of the computer hardware. Here you are some recommendations:
 1. Check the HDD for bad sectors. The best way  is to use a software from manufactures.  Even the best and the most expensive HDD produced for being used in servers  should be checked.
 2. Check the RAM
 3.  Launch the  stress test
 4. Install the DV Play software and leave it to play videos for 2-3 days on 24 hours mode.

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Q23: I already do broadcasting with a DV Play software. What problems may I expect?

A: To avoid hardware problems before they appear our recommendation is explained in the next points:

  • Check if the fans work every 2-3 months. It is a real scenario when a fan of the Matrox video card is damaged but it works in the winter and nobody realizes the problem, but when the summer comes and the temperatures rise the Matrox card burns.

  • Check your HDD for bad sectors every 6 - 12 months. If your HDD is more than 4 years old you have to replace it. • If your server is more than 5 years old you have to replace it.

  • Ensure a constant power supply. Note that in rare cases when the power supply fails and you server is restarted the Windows or the DV Play software installation can be broken.

  • Make image with software like Acronis, Ghost of letter C where the Windows and DVPlay software is installed every 3 or 6 months. In case of HDD failure or broken software installation you will be able to restore the old working state in an hour. Making the new installation of Windows and DV Play software while you TV channel is off-line is a real case and you should try to avoid it. back...

Q24. Can DVPlay play files from network?

Yes, it can, if file source is able to supply data with necessary speed. Usually any PCI 1000MB LAN card will be enough, but it is recommended to use LAN card and cable of good quality and good Swhich that transfer hude without ANY crashing. back...

Q25. Can I use other programs on the same computer while i run DVPlay?

Yes, you can if the other programs don't use all of the CPU power. You have a CPU indicator on your Control Panel - it wil become red if you get into dangerous values. back...