A system and method for controlling and testing at least one remote media player device using a corresponding remote testing device and at least one user device not collocated with the remote testing device includes receiving from a user a selection of an available remote testing device, displaying on the user device a remote-control image or a list of automated tests, receiving from the user a selection of one of a remote-control command or an automated test as the selected remote command, sending the selected remote command to the selected remote testing device, receiving from the selected remote testing device a video output signal indicative of a medial player video output signal from the media player device in response to the selected remote command, and displaying the received video output signal on the user device simultaneously with the displaying of the remote-control image, while simultaneously performing the receiving and the sending of the selected remote commands.
BACKGROUND
Streaming content providers, such as Disney+®, Hulu®, ESPN+® and other multimedia content applications, are viewed and enjoyed by millions of people on thousands of different types of set top boxes (STBs) and over the top (OTT) devices and other media player devices (collectively, STBs or STB devices or media player devices) around the world. In order to ensure exceptional performance and quality of the streaming content, the operation and performance of the streaming services on these STB devices must be tested periodically for different reasons, such as significant new hardware or software releases or triaging/troubleshooting issues with the hardware, software, or firmware of the STB boxes. Currently, the only way to fully test production content streaming applications on these STB devices for video playback performance, subjectively or otherwise, is to test them in person.
Many of the STB devices tested may be pre-release development hardware or the property of third parties, such as a streaming provider partner. Checking these STB devices in and out of storage and shipping them between testing locations leads to wear and tear on the STB devices and potential loss of STB devices that, in many cases, cannot be replaced.
Currently, quality assurance (QA), Media Experience Performance Engineering (MXPE), operations, and partner certification personnel test STB devices manually, in person. This requires STB devices to be set up at desks in an of
1. A computer-based method for controlling and testing at least one remote media player device using a corresponding remote testing device and at least one user device not collocated with the remote testing device, comprising: displaying on the user device selectable available remote testing devices and corresponding media player devices; receiving from a user a selection of at least one of the available remote testing devices as a selected remote testing device; displaying on the user device a remote-control image having selectable remote-control commands corresponding to the selected remote testing device and its associated media player device; receiving from the user a selection of one of the remote-control commands, as a selected remote command; sending the selected remote command to the selected remote testing device; receiving from the selected remote testing device, a video output signal indicative of a medial player video output signal from the media player device in response to the selected remote command; and displaying a video image of the received video output signal on the user device simultaneously with the displaying of the remote-control image, in separate portions of a display on the user device, while simultaneously performing the receiving and the sending of the selected remote commands. ||
15. A computer-based method for controlling and testing at least one remote media player device using a corresponding remote testing device and at least one user device not collocated with the remote testing device, comprising: displaying on the user device selectable available remote testing devices and corresponding media player devices; receiving from a user a selection of at least one of the available remote testing devices as a selected remote testing device; displaying on the user device at least one of a selectable remote-control image and a selectable list of automated tests, corresponding to the selected remote testing device and its associated media player device; receiving from the user a selection of one of: a single remote-control command and an automated test command, as a selected remote command; sending the selected remote command to the selected remote testing device; receiving from the selected remote testing device, a video output signal indicative of a medial player video output signal from the media player device in response to the selected remote command; when the selected remote command comprises a single remote-control command, displaying a video image of the received video output signal on the user device simultaneously with the displaying of the remote-control image, in separate portions of a display on the user device, while simultaneously performing the receiving and the sending of the selected remote commands; and when the selected remote command comprises an automated test command, displaying a video image of the received video output signal on the user device simultaneously with the displaying of a selectable list of test results from the automated test on the user device, in separate portions of a display on the user device, while simultaneously performing the receiving and the sending of the selected remote commands. ||
23. A computer-based method for controlling and testing at least one remote media player device using a corresponding remote testing (RT) device and at least one user device not collocated with the remote testing device, comprising: receiving from a user a selection of an available one of the remote testing devices; displaying on the user device a remote-control image or a list of automated tests; receiving from the user a selection of one of a remote-control command or an automated test as the selected remote command; sending the selected remote command to the selected remote testing device; receiving from the selected remote testing device a video output signal indicative of a medial player video output signal from the media player device in response to the selected remote command; and displaying the received video output signal on the user device simultaneously with the displaying of the remote-control image while simultaneously performing the receiving and the sending of the selected remote commands. ||
27. A computer-based method for controlling and testing at least one remote media player device using a corresponding remote testing (RT) device, comprising: receiving a remote-control command from a user device; providing a command signal to the media player device, the command signal indicative of the remote-control command; receiving a media player video output signal from the medial player device in response to the remote-control command; and scraping the media player video output signal as a scraped video signal; and providing the scraped video signal for use by the user device as the RT box video output signal, which is an unprotected video signal for transmission to the user device, not collocated with the RT device.