VOD, downloads and storage

Four different jobs

A provider catalogue entry is not a downloaded file. A completed download is not automatically a correctly entitled subscriber title. Review the library asset and its publication before selling access.

Download one film

1. Open Content → VOD → Providers and choose a service/account with VOD support.
2. Browse/search within its categories and pages. Open the film and probe available tracks.
3. Choose video/audio/subtitles and a storage destination. Main server uses the configured local path; a worker destination runs the job on that worker.
4. Queue the job and follow Transfers through download, processing and any remote transfer.
5. Verify the finished asset, duration and audio before publishing it in Library.

Download a season or a full series

1. Open the series, load its seasons and use Download season or Download full series.
2. Review the preview: episode identities, available items, existing jobs and destination. Do not assume an unavailable episode has a playable manifest.
3. Apply a consistent quality and language policy, then enqueue once.
4. Inspect per-episode outcomes. A partially completed batch is not a reason to requeue every successful episode.

Use the worker’s large disk

1. Mount and permission the real storage volume on the worker first. xOTT does not mount disks merely because you enter a path.
2. In VOD → Storage, add a native xOTT worker destination and choose a healthy licensed worker.
3. Open Storage folder / Configure worker storage folder. Browse or enter an absolute dedicated folder, for example /DTV/xott-vod.
4. Wait for active worker downloads to finish, then choose Test & save folder.
5. Test the destination and select it for the film or series download.

SFTP and cloud storage are different

SFTP and configured rclone remotes transfer a completed file assembled on the main server. They are not native worker processing destinations and do not eliminate local scratch-space requirements. Select a worker when the goal is to move both download processing and storage off the main server.

• For SFTP, verify the SSH host fingerprint independently and use a dedicated writable folder.
• For cloud, configure the rclone remote under the xOTT service identity, reopen the dialog, add a dedicated folder and test it.
• A remote destination is not an automatically mounted POSIX filesystem. Cloud playback/publication depends on the supported asset path; do not promise arbitrary bucket URLs will behave like local files.
• Keep enough temporary space for concurrent jobs and transfer retries.

For the standard installation, the UI points to this rclone configuration command on the main server. Configure credentials privately; do not share the generated configuration file.

sudo -u xott rclone config --config /opt/xott/data/config/rclone.conf

A remote configured only in root’s default rclone file will not necessarily appear in xOTT. This command configures a remote; it does not mount a disk or transfer worker jobs to the cloud.

Import your own media

Use VOD → Library to create/manual-import supported media from configured storage. Preview file candidates, metadata, season/episode numbering and duplicates before importing. Associate episodes with the correct series. Probing validates media; a filename alone does not prove codec compatibility or correct numbering. Publishing grants subscriber visibility only through a collection/package that includes the title.

Publish to M3U, Xtream and xOTT Play

1. Verify the asset is complete and supported, then publish the Library title.
2. Include the relevant VOD titles or rules in a collection.
3. Use a published package version with movie/series/recording outputs enabled as needed.
4. Test with an entitled access line in the native player and any intended Xtream client.
5. Check seeking and audio/subtitle support on the actual client; current VOD file delivery is not a live adaptive transcoding service.

When a download fails partway

Read the job’s error and processing/transfer stage. Check free space on the processing host, destination verification, proxy assignment, manifest expiry and selected tracks. A progress percentage is not an integrity check. Preserve diagnostic information before deleting job history. History cleanup is not a storage-capacity strategy.