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Overview
Conax Contego is a TV platform that streams content to Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and Over the Top (OTT) based subscriptions.
CRM.COM provides a ready-made implementation of Conax Contego Web Services Protocol, using the Conax Contego Web Services Provisioning module, which is primarily responsible for handling the activation and deactivation of signals transmitted to devices.
Major features
- Integration to Conax Contego 7.5 Web Services.
- Activation and deactivation of subscriptions is handled at real-time.
- Option to manage subscriptions out of sync through a batch process or through a utility for a single subscription.
- Send messages to all subscriber devices which can be displayed on the screen (OSM) or available in the device inbox.
- Detect piracy by sending a fingerprint to all subscribers, to detect illegal usage or ones that are not abiding by the contract agreement.
- Usage of utilities to handle one subscription at a time:
- Synchronize subscription information on the CAS/OTT side (new or deleted services, activate or deactivate services).
- Send a message to the subscriber device which can be displayed on the screen (OSM) or available in the device inbox.
- Detect piracy by sending a fingerprint to all subscribers, to detect illegal usage or ones that are not abiding by the contract agreement.
- Get information of how the subscription is on the CAS/OTT side, such as the device serial number, the services/channels that are activated etc.
- Pair or un-pair devices such as a decoder and a smartcard.
- Reset PIN on subscriber's device.
Using Conax Contego Web Services
- Conax Contego Web Services implementation submits requests on Conax Contego system at real-time
- Subscription actions update subscription provisioning state in CRM.COM and if associated with a change that should be also executed in CONAX, a request is constructed using Conax commands and sent to Conax.
- Subscription changes taking place during a downtime of Conax system, or any other communication issues between CRM.COM and Conax, a reset run is available that can identify all subscriptions that require update, construct a request using Conax commands and send to Conax.
Setting Up Conax Contego Web Services
Provisioning Provider
The parameters that are necessary to access the CA/OTT platform and to map the CRM.COM services and physical goods to be provisioned can be supplied from Provisioning Provider Data Entry page.
Provider fields
The table describes the standard sections of a Provisioning Provider Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory
Configurable
| Main Information | |
|---|---|
| Provider Information |
|
Connection Parameters |
User Name, Password: Credentials used to login to the CA system. Character Set Encoding used by the web services (defaults to UTF-8). |
Distributors
| |
Distributors are used to associate the services and devices (installed items) of a subscription with the provisioning provider. Multiple distributors on a subscription represent separate viewing locations. Each device can offer different services. In a pay TV subscription, for example, two distributors can represent the decoder and channels available in a living room and bedroom. Create the distributors that can be provisioned through the provider. One or more provisioning distributors must be present for a provider to be 'Effective'. ADD a new distributor and supply the information required in the modal. | |
| Main Information |
|
| Allowed Services | Define the services available through the distributor. Once a distributor is selected, only the services defined as 'Allowed' will be available for selection when adding subscription services. Two options are supported:
The available services are filtered and validated against those defined in the 'Services' section, which can be provisioned by the associated provider. |
| Restrictions | Minimum/Maximum Optional/Mandatory service restrictions determine the number of services that can be added to the distributor. Restrictions per Service Type: Define the minimum and maximum number of services that can be added to the distributor, from specific Restrictions per Physical Good Type: Define the minimum and maximum number of installed items that can be added to the distributor, from specific |
| Dependencies | Define |
Services | |
One or more service mappings must be present for a provider to be 'Effective'.
An ID is not mandatory for a non-provisioning service (i.e. a service whose product type is not set as 'Used for Provisioning'). | |
Physical Goods | |
A list of devices that are necessary for provisioning through the provider. For example, a decoder and a smartcard, or only a decoder or only a modem. A specific device type may be mandatory for a certain provider. The Installed Item Alternative Code represents the ID of devices communicated to the CA/OTT platform. | |
Related configuration areas
Mandatory modules must be configured for the provisioning module to work.
| Manual Link | Area | Description | Configuration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products |
| Configure the physical good and service types, and the physical goods and services that will be offered to subscriptions, by adding them to the provisioning provider. | Mandatory |
| Communications | Communication Queue External System | Set up the external system that will be used to handle mail messages created for the provider. | Optional |
Handling Subscriptions Through Batch Processes
Billing > Provisioning > Conax Contego Web Services
Resetting subscriptions out of sync
Billing > Provisioning > Common Services > Perform Reset Subscription Runs
Reset subscription runs are used to identify and synchronize subscriptions that have gone out of sync, by communicating the necessary commands to the CA/OTT platform. It is possible to preview the subscriptions that will be reset by the run, by using Preview from the Actions menu.
The table describes the sections of Reset Subscription Runs Data Entry page and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory
Configurable
| Main Information | |
|---|---|
| |
Criteria (optional) (Used to identify the subscriptions that should be reset) | |
Subscription Creation Period: Define the period during which the subscriptions to be processed were created (otherwise, all subscriptions will be processed). Subscription Types that should be included in the run. |
Sending mail & bark messages
Mail runs are used to send messages to subscriber devices. The messages can be displayed in the set-top box (STB) mailbox or directly on the screen (once or repeatedly).
Messages can be scheduled to appear as soon as they are sent or at a specific time.
The process run does not create the messages; the messages are created in the system as communications (through notifications) and remain 'Pending' in the communication queue until the mail run is executed. The mail run identifies the communications that should be handled by matching each entry in the communication queue 'Communication Queue External System' with one defined in the mail run.
The table describes the sections of Mail and Bark Messages Run Definition Data Entry page, and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory
Configurable
| Main Information | |
|---|---|
Input Settings | |
|
Sending fingerprinting
Fingerprinting runs are used to detect piracy:
- The runs identify subscriptions that are not abiding to the contract agreement (e.g., the subscriber signed up as a home user and is using the subscription for public viewing).
- The runs identify users that do not have a subscription and are using one illegally.
Fingerprinting sends a message that is displayed on the screen of the subscriber. An employee must be on location to confirm whether or not the subscription is legal.
The table describes the sections of Fingerprinting Run Definition Data Entry page, and explains how the fields in the page are used.
Mandatory
Configurable
| Main Information | |
|---|---|
Criteria | |
Included in Segment: A list of segments which includes the subscribers which will receive the fingerprint Not included in Segment: A list of segments which includes the subscribers that will not receive the Fingerprint. | |
Input Settings | |
Determines the settings that will be used to identify and construct the 'Display Fingerprint' Provisioning Requests Display Date Time: Defines the date and time that the STB will display the fingerprint. If not specified, then the fingerprint will be displayed immediately. Display Duration in Seconds: Defines the duration of the fingerprint display. If not specified, it defaults to 10 seconds. Position (X,Y): Defines the position of the fingerprint, measured in pixels. The X value, defines the horizontal position of the fingerprint, starting from the left side of the video frame. The Y value, defines the vertical position of the fingerprint, stating from the top side of the video frame. If not specified, then the position is set based on the CA system settings. Height: Defines the height of the fingerprint in pixels. If not specified, it defaults to 12 pixels. Fingerprint Slot: Defines the CA client memory slot containing the fingerprint text to be displayed. The available options are: A = Slot A (default) and B = Slot B |
Handling a Subscription Through a Utility
Billing > Provisioning > Conax Contego Web Services
Utilities used to handle specified subscriptions.
Reset single subscription
Updates an out of sync subscription, so that the provider reflects the state in CRM.COM.
Get conax information
Retrieves information on a specific subscription from the provider, such as which services and devices are active.
Select the Type of the request and according to the type proceed by providing wither the smartcard or STB. The information retrieved depends on the Type of request, which can be one of the following:
- Get Active Subscriptions: Retrieves all the services which are 'Active' on that smartcard. The following information is presented to the user:
- The service CA ID, Code, Description
- Get Pairing Status for Smartcard: Retrieves all the smartcards and STBs which are paired with the specified smartcard. The following information is presented to the user:
- Smartcard CA ID, STBs CA ID, serial number, product code , product description
- Get Pairing Status for STB: Retrieves all the smartcards and STBs which are paired with the specified STB. The following information is presented to the user:
- Smartcard CA ID, STBs CA ID , serial number, product code , product description ,
Display fingerprinting
Sends a fingerprinting command to a single device to check for piracy.
Provide the information required by the utility and submit.
| Main Information |
|---|
Determines the settings that will be used to identify and construct the 'Display Fingerprint' Provisioning Requests Fingerprint Slot: Defines the CA client memory slot containing the fingerprint text to be displayed. The available options are: A = Slot A (default) and B = Slot B Height: Defines the height of the fingerprint in pixels. If not specified, it defaults to 12 pixels. Smartcard: The smartcard on which the piracy test will be performed Position (X,Y): Defines the position of the fingerprint, measured in pixels. The X value, defines the horizontal position of the fingerprint, starting from the left side of the video frame. The Y value, defines the vertical position of the fingerprint, stating from the top side of the video frame. If not specified, then the position is set based on the CA system settings. Display Date Time: Defines the date and time that the STB will display the fingerprint. If not specified, then the fingerprint will be displayed immediately. Display Duration in Seconds: Defines the duration of the fingerprint display. If not specified, it defaults to 10 seconds. |
Pair smartcards & STBs
Pairs a smartcard with an STB (New) or add a single STB to an existing pairing (Update).
Through the utility the following options are available:
New: If selected, a request of type Create Pairing is created and the smartcard and STB to be paired are specified. If the smartcard is already paired with another STB then it is cancelled.
When 'New' Type is selected then the smartcard on which the additional pairing will be done must be selected as well as the new smartcard and STB to be paired must be defined. On selecting the items the system provides you information associated to their current status and location
Update: If selected, a request of type Add to Existing Pairing is created. The smartcard that identifies the existing pair is specified as well as the smartcard and STB to be added to the pairing. This enables the pairing of multiple Smartcards and STBs.
When 'Update' Type is selected then the smartcard and the STB to be paired must be defined. On selecting the items the system provides you information associated to their current status and location.
Reset smartcard PIN
Resets the PIN of a single STB, either to its default value or to a value specified by the user.
Define the smartcard on which the reset will be performed. If you are resetting to a 'New Value' then you must also provide the new PIN, else the new PIN is reset to '1234'
Send mail & bark messages
Sends on-screen or inbox messages to a subscriber device.
.Start by selecting the Type of text to be sent and provide the rest of the required information Unlike Message Runs, no Communication is related to messages that are sent through the utility as the text to be included in the message is provided through the utility.
| Main Information |
|---|
|
Conax Web Requests
The table below displays the CRM.COM processes and actions that trigger requests sent to Conax, as well as the parameters sent for each request.
Request | Usage | Triggered by | Parameters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add Subscriptions | Activates subscription services | CRM.COM Subscription Actions
CRM.COM Service Actions
|
|
| Cancel Subscriptions | Deactivates subscription services | CRM.COM Subscription Actions
CRM.COM Service Actions
CRM.COM Installed Item Actions
|
|
| Create Pairing | Pairs smartcards and STBs | Pair Smartcards & STBs utility CRM.COM Subscription Actions
CRM.COM Installed Item Actions
|
|
| Add to Existing Pairing | Adds a new STB to an existing pair of smartcard and STB. | Pair Smartcards & STBs utility CRM.COM Subscription Actions
CRM.COM Installed Item Actions
CRM.COM Service Actions
|
|
| Get Active Subscriptions | Provides a list of the active Subscription services in Conax Contego | Conax Information utility |
|
| Get Pairing Status of a Card | Gets the pairing status of a card. i.e. whether it is paired with a Set-Top Box. | Pair Smartcards & STBs utility |
|
| Get Pairing Status of STB | Gets the pairing status of a Set-Top Box. i.e. whether it is paired with a Set-Top Box. | Pair Smartcards & STBs utility |
|
| Send Mail Message | Sends a normal Mail Message to the customer's device, available in the inbox. | Mail & Bark Messages utility Mail & Bark Message run |
|
| Send Bark Message | Sends a Bark Message to the customer's device, available on the screen. | Mail & Bark Messages utility Mail & Bark Message run |
|
| Send Repeating Bark Message | Sends a Bark Message to the customer's device, repeatedly, available on the screen. | Mail & Bark Messages utility Mail & Bark Message run |
|
Display Fingerprint | Check subscriber's devices for piracy | Fingerprinting utility Fingerprinting run |
|
| Update PIN to Default | Updates the CA PIN of a subscriber's device to the default value. | Reset smartcard PIN utility |
|
| Update PIN to Given Value | Updates the CA PIN of a subscriber's device to a value provided by the agent. | Reset smartcard PIN utility |
|
Conax Contego Web Services Business Examples
Subscription with multiple viewing points
Scenario 1
Company ZX offers to its customer's the option to have multiple viewing points per subscription. This enables its customers to have a separate box and card in each of the rooms, and choose between having the same channels or different channels available through boxes . The maximum number of viewing points that can be added to a subscription is 4.
Solution
For each set of box and card that will be made available to subscribers, CRM.COM must have a different provisioning distributor available, in order to set the channel availability and restrictions per box.
In order to support this, the following distributors must be set up in the Provisioning Provider.
- Main
- TWIN1
- TWIN2
- TWIN3
Provisioning of flexible and fixed bundle products
Scenario 2
Company ZX offers its customers, flexible and fixed bundle products as well as single channels . Subscribers can request to switch between the available product offerings at any time. It is required that the agents can view the requests that are being sent, to ensure that the signals are provisioned to the customers.
Solution
Consider the following provisioning mapping:
- Components of Flexible Bundle A
- Geological CA ID = GFA1
- Entertain CA ID = EFA2
- Components of Flexible Bundle B
- Religion CA ID = RFB1
- Baby Channel CA ID = BFB2
- Flat Products
- Agriculture CA ID = AF1
Example 1: Provisioning of a Flexible Bundle
On provisioning a Flexible Bundle A, having Geological and Entertain, the following requests will be sent:
- 1 Create Pairing (Smartcard and Decoder)
- 2 Add Subscriptions ( Gold and Silver)
- CA ID=GFA1 which represents the Geological channel
- CA ID=PFA2 which represents the Entertain channel
Example 2: On swapping from Flexible Bundle to a flat product
On swapping Flexible Bundle A, to Agriculture the following requests will be sent:
- 1 Add Subscription
- CA ID = AF1 which represents the Flat product channel
- 2 Cancel Subscriptions
- CA ID=GFA1 which represents the Geological channel
- CA ID=PFA2 which represents the Entertain channel
Example 3: On upgrading the Flexible Bundle A to Flexible Bundle B with Geological and Religion
On upgrading from one Flexible Bundle to the other the following Requests will be sent:
- 2 Add Subscription
- CA ID = RFB1 which represents the Religion channel
- CA ID = BFB2 which represents the Baby Channel
- 2 Cancel Subscriptions
- CA ID=GFA1 which represents the Geological channel
- CA ID=EFA2 which represents the Entertain channel
Send mail messages to subscriber's box
Scenario 3
Company ZX would like to send personalised messages to its subscribers, that will be directly accessible via their Set-Top Boxes (STBs). Specifically, it wants to be able to send:
- Messages that can be accessed via the subscriber's STB inbox.
- Messages that are shown on the subscriber's TV.
Solution
Agents should use the "Mail & Bark Messages Utility" and the appropriate type for each of the above method of communication. The agents should type the message that they would like to send to the subscriber.
Messages that can be accessed via their STB inbox | Mail Message |
|---|---|
Messages that are shown on their TV | Bark Message |
Notes
- If you are using a previous release, view CRM.COM Release Changes.
- Use the WEB API to create and manage Conax Contego Web Services from an external system, such as a customer portal. Refer to the Conax Contego Web Services WEB API for a comprehensive list of available actions.