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.
Setup
A Setup 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; more details about these modes here)
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 and, if a connection is found, obtain an IP address using DHCP. Explicitly applying a Setup is therefore not required if the default Setup acceptable. The Player App (described below), however, is always required.
Setups can be created in BrightAuthor:connected or the free and unbranded control.bsn.cloud. In both cases, Setups can be saved to a library for future use.
Partners can use our APIs to connect their CMS directly to the Control Cloud. This enables their CMS to be used as the interface for player provisioning.
Setups can be applied to a player or group of players using BrightAuthor:connected or the free and unbranded control.bsn.cloud. Setup information can also be directly incorporated into the Player App (described below) and then manually copied to the player’s storage device.
Player App
The set of files and folders that instruct the player what to do upon boot up is collectively known as the Player App. At a minimum, the Player App must contain an autorun.brs file (.brs denotes a BrightScript file).
When a Setup is applied to a player via either BrightAuthor:connected or control.bsn.cloud, an autorun.brs file is automatically created on the player.
Partners can write custom Player Apps to perform certain actions. For example, the Player App may be designed to connect to the partner CMS to download content for the player to display. Many partners use our basic autorun.brs as a foundation for writing their own Player App.
The term Partner App may sometimes be used when referring to the partner’s Player App.