Troubleshooting/FAQs

Is Haivision Helper Secure?

• Both Haivision Helper and its installer application are signed by using Haivision's publicly issued and known developer code signatures, which prevents tampering with software releases.
• Neither the Haivision Helper installer nor the application itself asks for administrator credentials, and therefore neither has root access.
• Haivision Helper uses the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol to communicate with the Haivision update server using a valid SSL certificate. Downloaded Haivision Helper binaries are cryptographically signed with a 2048-bit key that the Haivision Helper verifies before proceeding with installs/updates.
• Haivision Helper opens the previously mentioned random port in the 17210–17219 range, which is only used for communications between the Web browser and the loopback interface localhost. In addition, port 443 is used for outbound HTTPS communications with the Haivision update server.
• For HMP versions 3.7 and earlier, the HMP Multicast Agent (see Haivision Media Platform Integration) sends RTMP streams to the browser (localhost) over port 1935 by default, but will choose a different port if 1935 is already in use.
• Haivision Helper logs diagnostic information that may be useful to a customer’s IT administrators for debugging purposes.

Why have I been getting an “…application has failed to start…” error in Windows 10 when running Haivision Helper?

Try uninstalling all versions of Haivision Helper and then re-installing the latest version.

After installing Haivision Helper with the Enterprise .msi, I have rebooted my PC but I do not see it running in the Task Manager — what is wrong?

Try uninstalling and reinstalling, and then checking the Event Viewer for any errors.

Why can I not see the Haivision Helper web GUI in Microsoft Edge, even though I can see it in Chrome?

Enable "Allow localhost loopback" in the Edge developer settings:

Can I use Haivision Helper with a Chromebook?  

Haivision Helper and its multicast agent are not supported on Chromebooks. Our field experience is that Chromebooks tend to be underpowered for HD video.

How can I temporarily disable the Haivision Helper in macOS?

To temporarily disable Haivision Helper, open Terminal and enter the following command:

/bin/launchctl unload -w ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.haivision.helper.plist

How can I enable Multicast Agent logs?

Haivision Helper has an option to enable logging and input file dump via a config file. This makes it much easier to enable the functions on a target system.

• Windows path: C:\ma.conf
• macOS/Linux path: /opt/haivision/etc/ma.conf

Content of ma.conf:

logfolder=<log folder>
dump=<dump file path>

For example:

logfolder=/home/myname/logs/ma
dump=/home/myname/logs/ma/ma-input.ts

To set up a Windows system to capture multicast agent logs:

1. Create a log directory, C:\mcast-agent
2. Create a log file, C:\ma.conf
3. Add logfolder=C:\mcast-agent to ma.conf

Start a test stream with Chrome using the Developer Tools to verify that the mcast-agent folder has log files in it. After the video appears, right click on any of the network items in Chrome and choose Save as HAR with content. The .har file and the log files from mcast-agent can help with troubleshooting.

If you do not see log files in the mcast-agent folder, ensure the config line is "logfolder=C:\mcast-agent".

What does the "Enable multicast" button do on the iOS app?

It enables the multicast agent, assuming the targeted access points support multicast over wireless.

I have an HMP configured for View Direct with Multicast. When User is logged into HMP as viewer (or admin), is the viewer/admin seeing live content (session) from the HMP, or is the stream bypassing the HMP and being delivered directly from the encoder?

The content is being viewed via direct multicast from the encoder. The multicast agent is directed to request the multicast from the same address as is configured in the source. But if the player falls back to unicast (if configured) it retrieves that from the destination. The multicast stream is processed by the multicast agent. For HMP 3.8 and later versions, the multicast agent creates an HLS stream. For HMP 3.7 and earlier versions, the multicast agent creates an RTMP or HLS stream depending on the system configuration.

Does the "View Direct" option on an HMP multicast source tell players to tune directly to the original multicast stream?

Yes. Enabling View Direct directs a Haivision Set-Top Box to use the configured Source URL directly and not use an HLS version of the stream. If a multicast Source has View Direct enabled, the Web player starts the multicast agent to receive the source directly on the client and flip to the browser. If the source is embedded in a session or does not have View Direct enabled, the video should still flow through the normal multi-site live distribution mechanism, which requires at least one Media Gateway.

If I have a network with no Media Gateway, how can Helper be configured to download and run the agent for HMP?

Offline networks should not behave any differently, except that their DNS servers need to resolve *.apps-local.haivision.com to 127.0.0.1 when "Static Helper URL" is enabled on HMP.

Does the Mac Helper install for all users or just the current user? How does a non-admin user install it on a Mac?

Haivision Helper for macOS always installs as the user that runs the installer. Each user account on a Mac can and should install it. The installer does not require admin privileges.

If you have a policy that does not allow users to run any apps that are not in an approved image, then you must add Haivision Helper to the approved image:

~/Library/Application Support/com.haivision.helper/*
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.haivision.helper.plist
~/Library/Logs/HaivisionHelper.log

What is the Haivision Helper binary app called and where is it installed in macOS?

For the default installation path, see Downloading and Installing Haivision Helper. The default may also be customized using Advanced Deployment Options .

The plist file in ~/Library/LaunchAgents is constructed during the installation and cannot be copied verbatim. It contains a path unique to that user/environment.

Is there a way to define the log file location?

Yes, see Environment Variables. The filename is appended to the path.

How do we check the version of Haivision Helper following installation?

There are three ways to check the version:

1. (Windows) Click on the Details tab in the Haivision Helper Properties window.
2. (Windows) Open the Control Panel and go to Programs and Features.
3. (Windows & macOS) Navigate to Helper’s dashboard in a browser.

What is the default URL used for "Update URL Override"?

https://helper-updates.haivision.com/release.xml

Where can we get a Haivision Helper manifest file for our update server?

Please contact Haivision Tech Support.

What stats are collected and what protocol is used by Haivision Helper?

The stats being collected are CPU architecture, OS version, Helper version, and OS Language. These stats are sent as query parameters over HTTPS.

In HMP 3.7 and earlier, the Multicast Agent flipper seems to use a free port between 1935-1949. Is this for RTMP streaming, and therefore needs to be whitelisted by a local Windows/Desktop firewall?

Yes, that range applies to RTMP video streams in HMP 3.7 and earlier versions. When multiple browser sessions are open on the same computer, the range is used to select an additional port, but 1935 is always the first chosen (next would be 1936, and so on).

Is there a way to make the Helper app globally accessible to all Mac users on a network, without having each user install it individually?

As of version 1.3, Haivision Helper supports enterprise macOS deployments.

Does Haivision Helper support delivery of encrypted multicast streams with multiple audio tracks to desktop players via HLS?

Haivision Helper itself does not touch any of the video streams. Its sole responsibility is to be there to launch other applications as directed to by the HMP (or Furnace) web application. In this case, it launches the multicast agent which does support HLS streaming as the default configuration, and which provides multi-track audio support.

What paths are used when multicast and low latency agents are downloaded?

When Haivision Helper downloads and installs the multicast and low latency agents, the following paths are used:

Where <checksum> is the checksum of the build of the agent, which may vary per HMP release. The checksums for each release are published in the HMP Release Notes which are posted on the Haivision Support Portal.