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 configuration” (or “player config” for short) 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.
Player Config
A Player Config establishes various settings for the player and may include the following:
Network settings (wired, wireless, etc.)
Player name and description (players can be uniquely identified by their serial number, but adding more descriptive info can be useful)
Time zone (especially relevant if players are geographically dispersed)
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.
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 more 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 will be automatically generated on the player.
Player App for Partners
Partners who choose to use their own CMS can write their own custom player app. Some partners may use our autorun.brs as a basis to build on while others may elect to write their own scripts from scratch.
The term Partner App may sometimes be used when referring to the partner 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.