Page Comparison

BrightAuthor:connected is free to use, just like BrightAuthor, and a Control Cloud subscription is free on all connected players. The full feature set of Content Cloud is the same price as a BrightSign Network subscription, $99 per player per year.

These were built to address many pain-points that BrightSign and our CMS partners faced in BrightAuthor and BrightSignNetwork, our legacy software. We simplified device deployment, network and player management, and delivered remote diagnostics, and made this functionality available to everyone. In addition, by using a more modern architecture, we’re able to provide a unified experience for BrightSign products on Mac and Windows, as well as through a Chrome web browser.

See our security documentation for BSN.cloud and BrightAuthor:connected.

BrightAuthor:connected, available for Mac or PC, is recommended for the vast majority of users. While much of the same functionality is available through both apps, the web app has some important limitations. The web app requires an internet connection and is unable to access players through the user's local network (players must be connected to the internet to be accessible). In addition, files must first be uploaded to BSN.cloud before they can be used in presentations. BrightAuthor:connected does not have these limitations.

No. A BSN.cloud Content Cloud account is required to host Dynamic Playlists. However, you can get similar functionality with a self-hosted Media RSS (MRSS) feed, which can work with any player that has an internet connection. See this FAQ for more details.

Yes. The Control Cloud, which is included with all BrightSign players running OS 8 and higher, is a free subscription service that grants access to real-time basic health information of connected players through BrightAuthor:connected. The Content Cloud also allows for basic system diagnostics. Other features of the Control Cloud include B-Deploy, OS updates, and remote reboots. 

You can select the temperature icon on the Dashboard to see a graphic representation of player health (see this page), or enable Event, Playback, State, Diagnostic, or Variable logging in Setup > Player Settings > Logging. You can also set the log upload frequency in this location.

No. BrightWall™ is not supported in the current version of BrightAuthor:connected. BrightWall™ is available for use in BrightAuthor versions 3.8.0.x or later. 

Custom splash screens are not available in the current version of BrightAuthor:connected. To use a custom splash screen, use BrightAuthor. 

Geo-fencing is not available in the current version of BrightAuthor:connected. To use geo-fencing on a BrightSign player with BrightAuthor, see this FAQ.