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Technical Encyclopedia 2026

What is Bouquet Management & Category Masking?

Protocol Definition & Architecture: Reseller Configuration

Technical Definition

A bouquet is an ordered set of channel categories assigned to a subscription package. Panels let resellers mask (hide) bouquets per line, which is how trial lines exclude PPV and how family packages hide adult categories.

How It Operates Under the Hood

Each line stores a bouquet ID list; get_live_categories returns only the categories in those bouquets. Masking is applied server-side, so hidden streams return 403 even if the ID is known. Reordering bouquets changes the category order in every player.

Reseller Panel Configuration

Resellers should verify Bouquet Management & Category Masking on every new line with a 24-hour trial before invoicing. Document the expected values in your onboarding message so customers can self-serve, and escalate to the provider desk with a Wireshark capture when behaviour deviates.

Protocol Engineering Specifications

Stream Engineering Metric Reference Specification Governing Standard
Scope Per line / per package Server-side filter
Parental lock Adult bouquet masked by default Panel toggle
Order Reseller-defined category sort category_id sequence
Transport Container MPEG-TS (188 bytes: 4 B header + 184 B payload, 0x47 sync) ISO/IEC 13818-1
Manifest Specification Extended M3U8 playlist / LL-HLS 0.5 s parts IETF RFC 8216
Decoder Pipeline Hardware MediaCodec HEVC Main 10 (ExoPlayer / Media3) Android Media3

Bouquet Management & Category Masking FAQ

What is Bouquet Management & Category Masking in simple terms?

A bouquet is an ordered set of channel categories assigned to a subscription package. Panels let resellers mask (hide) bouquets per line, which is how trial lines exclude PPV and how family packages hide adult categories.

Can I create my own bouquet names?

Master panels allow custom bouquet names and ordering, which appear verbatim in player category lists.

How are reseller credits priced and how is the margin calculated?

Credits are bought in tiers: $3.00 each at 50 credits, $2.20 at 100, $1.80 at 250, and $1.40 at 500+. One credit creates a 1-month line that retails for $10-$15. At the Pro tier (100 credits for $220) sold at $12/month, gross revenue is $1,200 and net profit is $980, a 445% return on the credit purchase.

How does multi-screen concurrency work and what happens if I exceed max_connections?

The Xtream Codes player_api.php handshake returns max_connections and active_cons. Each live or VOD stream request opens one session counted against that limit; a second TV, phone, or multi-view tile is a second connection. When active_cons would exceed max_connections, the server answers the new stream request with HTTP 403 / 458 and the player shows "max connections reached". Resellers should sell lines with 2-5 connections for households and enable IP-lock only for single-device subscribers.

What is device MAC address binding and why does my MAG box or Smart TV app ask for it?

Stalker / Ministra middleware authenticates a set-top box by its 48-bit MAC address (MAG boxes use the 00:1A:79 OUI prefix) instead of a username and password. The reseller panel binds that MAC to a subscription line; apps such as IBO Player and Smarters on Samsung or LG TVs generate a virtual MAC that must be registered the same way. If you replace the device, the panel must re-bind the new MAC or the portal returns an "unregistered device" error.

Do providers offer a free trial and how long does activation take?

Every network in this directory issues 24-hour trial lines from the reseller panel. Activation is instant: the panel writes the line to the Xtream database and the player can authenticate within 10 seconds. Trial lines are usually limited to 1 connection and exclude PPV bouquets.

What is the difference between Xtream Codes API, M3U URL, and Stalker Portal login?

All three deliver the same channels. Xtream Codes API uses player_api.php JSON endpoints so the player lazy-loads categories and EPG in seconds. An M3U URL (get.php) downloads a single text playlist of every stream, which is slow with 45,000 channels but works on any player. Stalker Portal authenticates by MAC address through a /c/ portal URL and is used by MAG receivers and some Smart TV apps.

Verified Engineering Standards & Official Documentation
Authoritative Sources Only

Every external citation on this page points to a primary source: telecommunications RFCs, ITU-T and ISO codec standards, manufacturer and developer documentation, national regulators, or official sports governing bodies. No commercial IPTV competitor is cited.

Protocol Standard
IETF RFC 8216 (HTTP Live Streaming - HLS)
Official Internet Engineering Task Force specification for adaptive bitrate video chunking, master/media M3U8 manifests, and EXT-X tag semantics.
Read Official Documentation
Video Codec Standard
ITU-T Recommendation H.265 (HEVC)
International Telecommunication Union specification for High Efficiency Video Coding (Main / Main 10 profiles), enabling 4K 60fps delivery at roughly half the H.264 bitrate.
Read Official Documentation
Transport Protocol
ISO/IEC 13818-1 (MPEG-2 Transport Stream)
International standard defining MPEG-TS packetization (188-byte packets, 0x47 sync byte, PID multiplexing, PCR clock recovery) used in raw IPTV broadcast streams.
Read Official Documentation
Protocol Standard
IETF RFC 3986 (Uniform Resource Identifier Syntax)
Generic URI syntax governing how Xtream Codes stream URLs, query parameters, and percent-encoded credentials must be formed.
Read Official Documentation
Network Infrastructure
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 DNS over HTTPS Documentation
Global ultra-low latency resolver with RFC 8484 DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS endpoints that bypass ISP resolver throttling.
Read Official Documentation
Network Diagnostics
Wireshark Network Protocol Analyzer Documentation
The industry-standard packet analyzer used for auditing MPEG-TS continuity errors, TCP retransmissions, and jitter diagnostics.
Read Official Documentation
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