Dear readers, after part 1 of Xtream Codes Panel v.2.2.0 EVO review , here is part 2. I tried hard to get all in two parts, but “t o be exhaustive” there will also have to be a part 3…
Movie Editing Section
As we can see, it’s only possible to assign a movie into a single category, a SELECT BOUQUET Option under the Category would be more then useful. So while Movie Editor Section is useful right now, it still needs improvement.
Also taking each movie by hand for editing, after, for example, a Main server crash or changing the Main, is really something, a waste of time. Some of the issues / possible improvements include:
No mass edit of movies to bouquets If changing the category of a movie, I found no working method to change in a bulk.. Even if I tried to delete the “content” of a bouquet, it was denied. Left Hand Section, Mass Edit Streams allows only live streams to be edited. Stream Tools! To be able to delete the falsely assigned movies. With the result of the complete addition process later on, and the transcoding process has to be repeated all over again… I strongly advice customers/user’s of the Xtream Codes Panel to name their movies in a kind of unique, retrievable way later on. If not, and if you try to sort them later by assigning them in to a bouquets, you stand in front of all the movies, the way you loaded them up. No kind of Movie editing (re-naming) possible, before you load them to transcode. The mass edit movie section is simply missing. This great piece of Software NEEDS A MOVIE EDITING SECTOR The options available right now:
Manage Categories has to be more specific to meet the needs of the customer. Right now I was not able to really sort the categories to my preferred sequences. Did I miss here options? I couldn’t find it. Edit Category function is limited to change the name only.
Again, if you have already tons of movies assigned to a category there’s no other way to assign them in a bulk right now. A time waster. General Warnings
To be on the safe side, do not fill your HDD up to the limit. Max 70% should give more stability.
Attention: If you rent a dedicated server, seeing the offer for example, let’s say 2x 2TB, you should know that after a normal install, you’ll only get 2TB. That is because one is mirrored, in case you loose the first partition, it would be fatal, right?
So, better let it this way, do not use the whole size. Agreed?
Having issues with reconnecting interrupted streams, I filled Xtream Codes panel with over 200 streams, and around 500 movies. I checked the stopped streams, and most connected again after manually pressing the “start/restart stream” button. But these are rare cases only, overall I must say the platform is absolutely stable.
I found a few times the ‘Guilty-ONE” for this: It was not Xtream Codes Panel, it was the miserable Streams I got from a friend for testing purposes.
Security settings (Fight the Intruders by blocking them)Handle this setting carefully! Especially if you give a trial List to a customer, he will zapp through the channels quickly, or VLC crash often, how we all know..
Wrong or too hard settings will block him immediately.
A good setting should be as follows:
General Settings->Security Settings->Flood Limit to 6 or 8 Request Frequency in Seconds to 1. Security Settings SectionBack to the Security “plugins”
BLOCK IP/CIDR
We see the IP’s or better, the intruders (hint: After you set-up the Flood Limits in General-Security/Settings)
Here we go, nice to look at… but why not show directly the “customer by name with IP”?. In the end, we have to make the decision whether to unlock the IP or keep him locked. It’s only working if a server with a fixed IP started the attack, dynamic IP’s appear soon then if the IP changed.
And in case no internal customer, let’s say a simple “from outside” or no customer would be a great help. Going through the log files to find out if it us a customer or instead a competitor trying to slow down your server (we are all nosy, aren’t we?) makes no sense and no fun. Reason: time extensive if dozens or hundreds of logs!
Live Streams-Video on Demand SectionManage Stream/Add New Stream
There is also one relatively “unique” function; you should handle with care, or best ask the seller of the LEGITIMATE streams, if he allows that you use the “Use Direct Source & don’t restream it”. This means all coming traffics are not on your side, the connected server takes it all. You should be able to see the other side. But I guess you know already.
You can also redirect the Stream to the Original Source, so that your customers connect through your own DNS. Doing so, setting to yes, your URL will show up in the Bouquet List later. But again, be aware, choosing NO, your user will not connect to your server in any case. I tested it by letting the user connect over my DNS. I thought, I would see any client connecting through my DNS, but you will not, in both cases. No matter Client Connection Logs or in Manage Lines, he is simply invisible to you. I guess, after all not the smartest idea.
Security Section
General settings->Security Settings
Useful if you find the “right” setting. The Flood Limit shows the number of requests specified in “Request Frequency”. I started with 5 requests within 3 seconds, result: I got blocked myself and no idea why. I just watched one channel, no fast channel switching, no nothing. This seems to getting interesting, I thought.
Switched to 8 requests in 3 seconds range. Activated my test users… Result: 2 Android boxes getting blocked.
Mhhhh, I go deeper in this then after, and because of English is not my native language, haha, we “none-english” have sometimes a problem to understand the language. And…I found it! My mistake! Definitely to 90% only, haha! And 10% I give to Xtream Codes back, because they should really be more specific about this classy feature, which is highly useful!
Advice: Give 3 options, or 4, the ordinary customer can use! Like: LOW-Standard-HIGH-HYPER Settings, pre-configured!
I know I know…but remember this: Many customers are not common with these terms; they simply do mistakes resulting in blocking customers who do nothing wrong at all, which could lead to losing customers.
The standard should be 6:1 (flood limit:request frequency) in my opinion.
Resellers Registered Users Section
Reseller Section
Registered Users and Reseller
When I started to work with the panel and getting used to it, this was the first category