Enabling outage mode

Overview

The OpenTV ION application version 25.24.xxx includes a new feature that enables it to detect network (AWS) outage and switch to an outage functionality mode called Red Button mode.

In Red Button mode, the end user will be able to play back live clear channels, provided the CDN network is reachable.

Operator instructions

To enable this feature:

Host a file on an operator-specific server that provides the following details in JSON format.
This server must be accessible via the local network even if the international network is not available.
JSON
```
{
	"outage": "false",
	"pollingInterval": 600,
	"Max": 1
}
```
The fields in this file are as follows:

Name

Default Value

Purpose

outage

false

This signals to OpenTV ION to switch between full and limited functionality (outage) mode.

Value: true or false

pollingInterval

600

When the OpenTV ION application has switched into Red Button mode, this parameter specifies how often it should re-check the outage value in polling mode.

The value is in seconds.

Max

1

When the OpenTV ION application switches to Red Button mode, this parameter specifies the maximum time that the end user can use OpenTV ION in Red Button mode.

Once this time expires, the application logs the user out.

The trigger for OpenTV ION to start monitoring this time is access token expiry.

The value is in days.

Before setting the outage flag to true, ensure that encryption is switched off for all live channels and ensure that the playback URLs for clear and encrypted channels are the same.
And vice-versa when setting the outage flag back to false.
Customise the OpenTV ION application with the following configuration to enable the Red Button feature:

Name	Default value	Purpose
`redButton`	`true`	Enables/disables the feature.
`dataRefreshInterval`	`24`	This enables the OpenTV ION application to update its internal cache to manage service-related information used during Red Button mode. The value is in hours.
`serverEndpoint`	https server end point	The URL of the endpoint where the network outage-related configuration mentioned in Step 1 (above) is hosted.
`logoEndpoint`	https://xxxx/folder	The URL of a folder in a location on a custom operator-specific server that hosts all the channel logos to be used when in Red Button mode. If this URL is not available, OpenTV ION displays default channel logos and names. Each logo file should be named according to the convention: `{channelNumber.jpg}`.

Install the OpenTV ION application on a devices and verify that Red Button mode functionality works correctly before performing a mass update of theapplication on all devices.

Supported devices

Flavour	Device	Manufacturer	OS	OS versions (all unless specified)	Included
Handheld	Mobile	Any	Android		Yes
	Mobile	Apple	iOS		Yes
	Tablet	Any	Android		Yes
	Tablet	Apple	iOS		Yes
10ft distance	FireTV Stick	Amazon	FireOS		No
	FireOS TV	Amazon	FireOS		No
	Android TV Launcher	SDMC	Android TV		Yes
	Android TV Standalone Android TV Launcher	Intek	AOSP	8 and 10	Yes
	Smart TV	Samsung	Tizen		No
	Smart TV	LG	WebOS		No
Web	Desktop	Any	Chrome		No
			Safari		No
			FireFox		No
			Opera		No

End-user experience

When Red Button mode is enabled:

The OpenTV ION application checks the outage flag and switches to red button mode if it is set to true in the following scenarios:
- Open TV Platform API Failure: when OpenTV ION detects a failure in critical API endpoints
- Reboot: during the app's reboot process
- Network state change: network connectivity is interrupted or unstable
- Background/foreground (BG/FG) transition: when the app transitions from background to foreground and detects a service disruption
- Encrypted content playback failure
The end user is notified when switching to Red Button mode and vice-versa.
In Red Button mode, the following limited functionalities are enabled for the end user:
- Guide Screen: displays channel list
- Apps and Games screen (only on Launcher STBs): accessible with limited functionality
- Settings screen: available with minimal options for basic configurations
- Audio/video playback of clear channels: minimum playback controls from playback surfer
- Playback using Direct Channel Entry
- Playback CH+ and CH- via remote
- Channel logos are displayed (if hosted on an alternate server, otherwise name)