When a fresh-from-the-factory BrightSign player is unboxed, it cannot do much without first being provisioned.
Provisioning is the process in which a “Player Config” is applied to the player and a “Player App” is installed on the player. The Player Config applies various settings to the player (such as settings needed for the player to connect to the network) while the Player App provides instructions for what the player should do upon bootup.
When using BrightAuthor:connected, the Player Config and Player App are applied through a player Setup. Setups are created within the app and when applied to a player, the Setup applies the Player Config and creates the Player App which, in the case of BrightAuthor:connected, is often called the autorun.
Player Config
A Player Config establishes various player settings and may include the following:
Network settings (wired, wireless, username/password, etc.)
Player name and description (more descriptive info for the player beyond its unique serial number)
Time zone (especially relevant for geographically dispersed players)
Publishing mode (tells the player how to retrieve content)
Diagnostic web server (enables access to a wealth of diagnostic info on the player)
Logging (enables various logging options)
Debugging (enables access via various logging tools)
BrightSignOS version (enables the assignment of a specific OS version to the player)
By default, the player will search for a network connection via Ethernet. Therefore, explicitly applying a Player Config is not necessarily required if the player is intended to be connected via Ethernet to the local network.
Player Config for BrightAuthor:connected
When using BrightAuthor:connected, the Player Config is included in a file called a Setup. Setups can be created, saved to a library, and applied to a player or group of players.
Player Config for Partners
Partners who choose to use their own CMS can use our APIs to enable their CMS to apply Player Configs to players.
Alternatively, partners can use the free control.bsn.cloud to create Setups just like with BrightAuthor:connected.
Player App
The Player App is a script or set of scripts that instructs the player what to do upon boot up.
Player App for BrightAuthor:connected
When using BrightAuthor:connected, the Player App is known generically as an autorun and more specifically as an autorun.brs file (.brs denotes a BrightScript file). When a BrightAuthor:connected Setup is applied to a player, an autorun.brs and associated files are automatically created on the player.
Player App for Partners
Partners can write a custom Player App to connect players with their CMS and many partners use our basic autorun.brs as a foundation for writing their own Player App.
If a player Setup was created using control.bsn.cloud, applying that Setup to a player will automatically create the autorun.brs, just like with BrightAuthor:connected.
The term Partner App may sometimes be used when referring to the partner’s Player App.
Publishing Modes
The Setup created by BrightAuthor:connected also configures the player for the desired “publishing mode”, and this info is contained in the autorun.brs file that is generated from the Setup. Publishing modes define how and where the player should look for content to display. More info about these modes can be found here.
While these publishing modes are typically associated with BrightAuthor:connected, partners can also take advantage of similar functionality through their preferred CMS.