Devices · BGPVR Operator guide

Find the devices that need a look (2.9.382)

Devices (it was STB Devices) opens on the In use tab: every MAG box, BGPVR Player app and browser that uses your service. The tiles count the devices, who is watching now and on how many channels, the devices that need a look (an error from the box or the app, or a viewer's report, in the last 24 hours) and the ones on an old version (apps not on the published version, MAG boxes not on the live portal). The list opens on "Need a look" when it has rows, else on All. Search by label, model, MAC, client name or username, and filter by kind (BGPVR Player, MAG, Browser) or state (Need a look, Watching, Offline 7+ days). Problems come first, then the most recently seen; 50 rows a page. Open a row: a MAG box or an app opens its own page, a browser opens the client's Security tab.

Troubleshoot a MAG box (2.9.382)

Open the box from the list. "What happened · last 24 h" lists portal starts, errors and the viewer's reports; errors the box sent on its own are marked "reported by the box", and viewing without a problem is summed up without channel names. "Likely cause" names the most likely reason (portal errors, an old portal, many channels failing = the box's connection, one channel failing = the channel, not the box) with a one-click fix: during remote help it runs at once, otherwise it opens "Ask for remote help…" with the reason filled in. "The box" lists its model, MAC, firmware, portal version, screen and last check-in, and the "Support log" lists everything support did on it. IP addresses are never shown here.

Ask a viewer for remote help and act on the box (2.9.382)

On the box's page press "Ask for remote help…", write why (3 to 200 characters: the viewer sees it) and tick "Also e-mail" if the viewer should get an e-mail too (it goes anyway when the box has not been seen for 5 minutes and the account has an e-mail). The TV shows who is asking and why, with "Allow for 30 min" and "No, thanks"; the request also waits in the viewer's My Account for 30 minutes. Once the viewer allows it, "Playing now" appears and for 30 minutes you can Reload the portal, Refresh the channel list, Play a channel…, Reboot the box, Get a report and change this box's settings (menu look, Live TV layout, time zone, Reset the PIN…). "Send a message…" works without remote help. The viewer can stop it any time on the TV or in My Account; "End remote help now" ends it from your side.

MAG boxes: Recordings picture, the full guide, Stop playback (2.9.387)

Recordings picture: a MAG box plays recordings in the Original picture or in Light (720p), which helps older boxes whose HD recordings cut out (MAG 250-275, TH200/TH300 start on Light, newer boxes on Original). The viewer changes it in the portal (Settings → Playback → Recordings picture, or MENU while a recording plays); during remote help you set it on the box's page under its settings. Light plays a 720p copy that the server makes at night for every HD recording (in the AI quiet window, after the AI jobs, on the graphics card only, about 1.35 GB per hour of recording, deleted with the recording); until the copy exists the server makes the light picture while it plays, and when no graphics card is free the original plays with a short note on the TV. Guide on the portal's home screen now opens the guide for all channels; EPG while watching still shows that channel's. Every box starts on the Modern home screen; a viewer who chose Classic keeps it. "Stop playback" (next to "Play a channel…") stops what the box plays and goes back to the menu; it is in the support log and in the viewer's Support activity.

MAG boxes: smooth recordings, unregistered boxes, audio names, the short portal address (2.9.388)

Recordings now reach every MAG box the way a live channel does: at real time after an 8-second start, so older boxes (MAG 250-275) no longer cut out on HD or 720p recordings; REW / FFWD start the recording again at the new time. A box whose MAC address is on no account sees only "This device is not registered" with its MAC address and where to add it (My Account → Devices → Add a MAG box); nothing else of the portal opens, and once the MAC is added OK on the remote goes on. The audio menu shows language names on every box (Bulgarian, English …, in Bulgarian on a Bulgarian portal) and "Track 2" when the broadcaster gives no usable language. Settings → Public access → "Short portal address (shown to viewers)": the address people type on the box (for example https://mag.example.com); the client's Streaming links (MAG / STB), the setup e-mail, My Account and the help show it, with a line for older boxes that cannot open https (the MAG address followed by /c/). Empty: the MAG address followed by /c/. Every older address (…:8095/stalker_portal/c/, …:8095/c/, the bare domain) keeps working, so boxes that are set up need no change.

Record an OK given on the phone or by e-mail (2.9.382)

Only while a request is open, so the viewer has already been told on the TV, in My Account or by e-mail: press "Agreed on the phone…" or "Agreed by e-mail…", add a short note and save. Remote help starts at once for 30 minutes, and every log says how the OK was given and who recorded it. Whenever an OK is recorded (on the TV, in My Account, by phone or by e-mail) and the account has an e-mail address, the viewer gets an e-mail saying when and how, with a link to stop it in My Account; the Support log then shows "Confirmation e-mailed". It needs Settings → Look & brand → Public website → Website address; without it no e-mail goes out.

Help a viewer on the BGPVR Player app (2.9.396)

Devices → open the app → "Ask for remote help…" works as on a MAG box, once the app has remote help (a BGPVR Player version that has it, on a server reached over https; otherwise the page says which is missing). The app shows the viewer who is asking and why, what support can do (see this app's screen, press the app's buttons, change its settings, restart it, open a channel, get a report) and what not (see the password or payments, keep pictures of the screen, see other apps), with "Allow for 30 min" and "No, thanks". While connected: "Live screen" on (a new picture every 5 seconds) or "Take a screenshot", the remote control (arrows, OK, Back, Home, Play / Pause, volume, channel), Play a channel…, Stop playback, Restart the app, Get a report, "Reload the app's settings" (after you changed the account's settings in "Account's app settings") and this device's settings (sound decoder, frame-rate matching, surround, audio sync, HDR, live buffer, stream type, player engine): the support log shows each value before and after. Only the staff member who asked sees the screen; the first look is in the viewer's Support activity, and key presses are one line per burst ("used the remote, 12 presses").

Give staff the Remote help permission (2.9.382)

Admins always have it. For staff: Staff → edit the account → tick "Remote help" (new accounts and the built-in profiles start without it). Without it, staff can open Devices and read every device, but cannot ask for remote help, act on a box or change its settings; the card says "Ask an admin for the Remote help permission". Any staff member can send a message to a box. Each person can send 10 requests and run 60 actions an hour.

Choose how long remote help records are kept (2.9.382)

Settings → Clients → "Remote help records": 6, 9, 12 (the default), 18 or 24 months. Older entries are deleted by housekeeping and never shown, even when housekeeping is off. The content of a technical report is kept for 90 days; its entry stays and says "Report deleted after 90 days". Everything is deleted with the account.

What the viewer sees (My Account › Support activity) (2.9.382)

Every request, answer, action and end is one record shown in three places: the device's Support log, the client's Security tab ("Remote help" chip) and the viewer's My Account › Account & privacy › Support activity. There the viewer sees who, when, why, how they agreed and what changed (before → after), can open a report and can download the list as CSV; nobody can change or delete an entry. Changes made on the client's App tab are listed there too. The viewer sees only the first word of the staff member's display name, or "Support".

Sample wording for your own terms and privacy notice (2.9.382)

Sample wording for your own terms and privacy notice (adapt it; it is not legal advice): Terms: Remote help. If you ask us for help, our support team may ask to connect to one of your devices. We connect only after you agree: on that device, in My Account, by e-mail, or by telling us on the phone (we note that you agreed). Whenever your OK is recorded, we e-mail you (if we have your address) with the time, how you agreed and a link to stop the connection. A connection lasts up to 30 minutes and you can stop it at any time on the device or in My Account. While connected we can see what is playing and any errors, change that device's playback settings, open a channel, restart the app and ask the device for a technical report. On the BGPVR Player app we can also see the app's screen and press its buttons while connected, never other apps. We cannot see your password or your payment details, and we do not keep pictures of your screen. Without a connection we can only send a message to your device. Everything we do is listed in My Account › Support activity. Privacy: Remote help. When you allow a remote help connection, we read from that device what is playing, its errors, its playback settings and basic device facts (model, software version), and, if we ask for one, a technical report; on the BGPVR Player app also pictures of the app's screen, which support sees live and which are not stored. We use them only to fix the problem you asked about. We keep a record of each request and what support did (who, when, what changed, how you agreed) for [12 months], and the content of a technical report for 90 days; then they are deleted. Both are deleted when your account is deleted. You can see the record in My Account › Support activity and download it there.

Import a pallet

Import tab → "Download a template" if you need one → choose the CSV (only a MAC column is required; comma, semicolon, tab or pipe separators and Excel encodings are accepted) → fill Supplier, Batch reference, Purchase date, Unit cost, Warranty (months), "How they go out" (Provided / Rented out) and "Rent per month" → "Preview" (nothing is written) → "Import these devices". Re-importing the same sheet updates known boxes and never puts an allocated or written-off box back into stock.

Add one box, or bring in the ones you already have

"Add a device": one MAC, typed with or without colons. "Adopt existing devices" brings every MAC already registered on your customers into the list as customer-owned.

Hand a box to a customer, and take it back

Row → "Allocate" → search the customer → label. This is the moment the box can log in. "Release" ends it: a rented box goes to Returned (check it, then "Restore" it to stock); a provided or customer-owned box goes to Retired.

Swap a faulty box at the counter

Row → "Swap" → pick a box in stock or type a MAC. The customer keeps their service and the new box takes over. Your old box is written off (a customer's own box is retired).

Write off a box

"Write off" with a reason: Dead on arrival / Failed under warranty / Failed out of warranty / Lost / Stolen / Customer damage / Other. The row is kept so the batch cost stays honest, and "Restore" undoes it. "Delete" is only for mistakes, and it is refused while a box is with a customer.

Rent boxes out and see whether they pay back

Select boxes → "Set rent" (per day, week, month or year). Earnings to date stay at the old rate; the new one runs from now. The "By batch" table shows what each batch cost against what it has earned while out, and how many failed.

Make remote help ready on your server (2.9.397)

Settings → Clients & privacy → "Remote help readiness" checks, through your own web address, the three things remote help on the BGPVR Player app needs: "Your reverse proxy is named" (trusted_proxy_cidrs or BGPVR_TRUSTED_PROXIES, never auto), "Pictures go through your proxy's hardened location" (the picture key arrives from it) and "Your address is https". Each line says Ready or Not ready; a red one shows the command for this install with Copy (the picture key is piped from the container into nginx's file and never shown). Press "Check again" after a change. The full steps, with nginx and other proxies: the guide's "Make remote help ready on your server". Admins only.

Watch out

Stock is the STB inventory as before: its tab shows only with the Business licence and the "STB Inventory & Rentals" module, and nothing in it changed in 2.9.382.
Remote help on the BGPVR Player app needs a version of the app that has it and an https server address (the app never takes remote help over http, so nobody on the network can fake a request). Only an OK on the device itself opens the screen, the keys, play / stop, restart and settings: a phone, e-mail or My Account OK allows only "Get a report" and "Reload the app's settings" (ask again so the viewer answers on the device). Only the staff member who asked acts in the session; anyone with the permission can end it. A session belongs to the one device that answered, even when two identical devices share a sign-in. While a PIN or password is typed, or a PIN-locked or adult item plays, the picture is hidden. Pictures are never stored: they stay in the server's memory and go when the session ends; a server whose web front is not updated yet refuses them ("Live screen needs the server update").
Native Stalker boxes (not running the BGPVR portal) can't show the request: the viewer answers in My Account, by e-mail or on the phone. They still get the commands.
During remote help a command reaches the box within 15 seconds; otherwise (a message) it can take up to a minute.
Reset the PIN clears the parental PIN and leaves the lock on: whoever is at the TV sets the new one the next time a locked group opens.
Requests per box: 3 an hour, and none for 10 minutes after the viewer says no.
Stock is admin only: staff accounts cannot use the Stock tab.
Release, write-off and swap stop the old box working immediately, by both of the routes a MAG box authenticates with.
A box marked Faulty or Returned (not yet checked), or written off, goes to no client until you check it and press "Restore" (back in stock). Its row offers Restore instead of Allocate, and its MAC is refused by Allocate, Swap, the device list in a client's Edit User form, the account's own MAC when a client is created or changed (also through the API), sign-up (trial, free, paid, invite or referral code) and the customer's own page (the customer only reads "This device cannot be added to an account. Please contact your provider."). A MAC already on an account stays as it is. A retired box and a MAC that is not in this list are accepted as before; while the module is switched off nothing is held back.
"Earned while out" is an accrual, not money received. Rental billing is not built, so charge the rent through plans or add-ons.
The Available tile counts only your own boxes in stock, never customer-owned ones.
A "Duplicate MAC addresses" banner lists boxes registered to two customers. Resolve them: the uniqueness check stays off until you do.
Deleting a customer's own box from this list does not deregister it from their account.