Status

The Status section allows you to view the statuses of players and groups on your BrightSign Network account.

Groups

You can use groups to distribute presentations to a set of BrightSign players. Publishing a presentation to a group delivers it to all BrightSign players within that group. BrightAuthor includes two default groups: Default and LocalTest. However, you can create additional groups as needed:

• To create a group: Click Add Groups (beneath the Groups window). Type a name for the group and click OK.
• To delete a group: Right-click a group and click Delete.
• To move a player to a different group: Click the arrow next to the group that contains the player. Then click and drag the player to the new group.

Click the arrow beside a group to view details about players within that group:

• Status: A range of colors (green, yellow, red) used to indicate the status of a BrightSign player. Please see this FAQ for more information on what each color means.
• Name: The name of the player
• Description: The description given to the player
• Active Presentation: The name of the current presentation being run on the player
• Last connection: The last time the player checked in with the BrightSign Network servers
• Checks for content every: The interval for synchronizing with the BrightSign Network servers to determine if there is new content to download. This interval can be modified by right-clicking the player and selecting Edit.

Right-click a player to access options associated with it: 

• View Remote Snapshots: Opens a window that allows you to view Remote Snapshot images taken by the player. When the window opens, the latest snapshot will be displayed. Past snapshots are displayed as thumbnails below. Double click a snapshot thumbnail to view it as a full size image. The number, quality, and frequency of snapshots is determined during the Unit Setup process.

• • Refresh: Click this button to get the most up-to-date snapshot(s) from the player.
  • Date/Time: The timestamp indicating when the snapshot was taken. The timestamp is formatted as follows: yyyy:mm:dd hh:mm:ss
  • Serial Number: The serial number of the player taking the snapshot
  • Model: The model number of the player taking the snapshot
  • Firmware: The firmware version of the player taking the snapshot
• Edit: Opens the Edit Unit window, which allows you to edit many of the parameters set during the Unit Setup process, including the name/description, group, and Remote Snapshot settings.
• Tags: Opens the Device Tags window, which allows you to add tags to the player. You can use player tags to conditionally filter media in Tagged Playlists on a player-by-player basis. See this section in the BSN WebUI documentation for more information about player tags.
• Delete: Removes the player from the BrightSign Network. The player will continue playing content, but it can no longer be updated or monitored.
• Info: Provides details about the player hardware, software, networking, and subscription status.
• Download Progress: Displays the progress of the most recent content synchronization action.

BrightWall Groups

Use the BrightWall Groups section to manage players that are assigned to BrightWall video walls.

Note some important differences between BSN BrightWall groups and standard BSN groups:

• Each player is part of a BrightWall: It has a Number indicating the section of the BrightWall to which it belongs. Screens are numbered by row, starting from the top-left section of the BrightWall (the example diagram to the right shows the numbering of a 4x3 BrightWall).
• Each BrightWall consists of a number of players: The Status will only display green if all players in the BrightWall are green, or red if all players in the BrightWall are red. If the players are a mix of red, green, or yellow, the Status will display yellow.
• Each BrightWall group consists of one or more BrightWall(s): BrightWall(s) within the same BrightWall group use the same Configuration File. This means that each BrightWall group represents a certain BrightWall configuration (for example, a 3x2 video wall using HDMI, with a 3% bezel ratio). Like standard BSN groups, BrightWall(s) within the same BrightWall group are assigned the same schedule. 

Note in the diagram below how each BrightWall within a BrightWall group has the same configuration, and how each player can only be assigned to one BrightWall at a time.

Creating a BrightWall Group 

To create a BrightWall group, click Add BrightWall Group (located below the BrightWall Groups window) and enter the following:

• BrightWall group name: The name of the BrightWall group
• BrightWall configuration. The BrightWall Configuration file that will be associated with the BrightWall group. To add a BrightWall Configuration file to the list, upload a BrightWall presentation that uses the configuration file to the BrightSign Network in the Create > BrightWall tab.

Players and BrightWall(s) are added to a BrightWall group during the Unit Setup process.