M3U vs IPtv

[keegster17]

How come M3U can be offered in multiple connections, but Mac address is only offered as one connection only? Does anyone offer one mac and one m3u combined, at least? I am just use to Mac set up, so a bit stunned towards m3u.

[Emporium]

The whole concept of a MAC, is that it is a unique identifier for communications. The MAC address as we know it consist of 6 pairs of HEX digits, of which the first 3 pairs are unique to a specific manufacturer. So the typical 00:1A:79 prefix which most services use is because that prefix belongs to "TELECOMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES LTD", ie: TeleTec. Teletec is well known for the manufacturing of the MAG boxes for infomir, which are some of the first commercial iptv boxes.

The MAC address is not typically something you can (or at least used to be able) change. It is typically embedded in the hardware. Therefore it's uniqueness was the key to it's security. Hey try opening a command prompt on your PC, and type "arp -a" and you will see the MAC (at least the physical MAC) of many of your devices on your local network.

However at one point people (even on PCs) figured there was a need to be able to modify MAC addresses, and now it has become a common thing, at various different levels. I know many server class ethernet NIC have the option now to change the MAC address. Even on most Android phones now, one of the security options is to randomize the MAC it uses to connect, to leave less of a tracking footprint. And as we know, much of the software we use today for IPTV, allow you to change the MAC, since it is just using an emulation layer (like STBEmu), and not the physical layer. Therefore a MAC address is not necessarily secure any more if used on it's own. Therefore many new combinations are cropping up, equivalent to multi-factor authentication. You can use the MAC, along with DeviceID(s), Serial numbers, server tokens, username/password and and maybe other combinations in the future. Problem is, that the client software needs to allow for these combinations also.

Since MAC historically was unique, all the back end servers were designed to use the MAC to distinguish one client from another. But never designed to allow more than one client with same MAC (since technically, from a hardware point of view it was not possible). Hence the limitation (to single connection) which still exists in many of the backend servers.

It's a little bit like your cable modem from your ISP. It has a Unique MAC. When it powers up, it requests it's configuration (speeds, profiles, etc..) from a bootp/dhcp server based on it's MAC address and then also get's it's IP. This is only possible because no 2 cable modems on their network have the same MAC. Ages ago, I moved one of my digital cable boxes to my mom's house, and it was not long before the cable company figured out the box was broadcasting it's MAC to a different DHCP server, and therefore realized it was moved, and they remotely locked it down :) Oops..

Having said that, I have seen some servers which do offer multiple connection MAC, combination 1 MAC and an x number of m3u connections, and others only m3u. Don't ask me which ones, I don't recall, but I know all combinations exist, or have existed.

PS: Keep in mind, I did not go into ALL the technical reasons (because we'd probably lose 90% of the audience here), but tried to give a simplified global view.

[walter]

How come M3U can be offered in multiple connections, but Mac address is only offered as one connection only? Does anyone offer one mac and one m3u combined, at least? I am just use to Mac set up, so a bit stunned towards m3u.

Don't over complicate m3u. Some traditionally mac based devices also allow for using a "streaming line" method of connecting. Which simply means entering a username and password. Alternatively, installing an app that uses the m3u username/password is a fairly straight forward process. Any good reseller will assist you in doing that. I do it regularly for my clients.