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If the BrightAuthor connection status indicator is red, but the Last Connection time (located in the Manage > Status tab in BrightAuthor or the Current Usage tab in BSN) remains current, then there could be a temporary hiccup, a problem with file downloads, or nothing scheduled to play.

  1. Verify that there’s a presentation scheduled to play in the player’s group. Check this in the far-right column of the Manage > Status tab in BrightAuthor or in the Groups tab in BSN.

  2. If your connection frequency is set to less than 5 minutes via a custom script or plugin, and the player is in the middle of a long download, it won't update the connection status properly. The status will appear red periodically until the download is complete. 

  3. Check the player error log:

    1. To find the log in BrightAuthor, locate the player in the Manage > Status tab, right-click it, and select Info.

    2. To find the log in BSN, locate the player in the Groups tab, click properties beneath the player, and select the Advanced tab. 

    3. In the error log section at the bottom of the window, check for any error messages. If the player is unable to download the sync spec* for the presentation, unable to write a file due to a flash error, or unable to download a specific file, there will be an error message listed in the log field.

  4. Test the player to see if it works with another presentation by creating a simple project, possibly with just one media file, and publish it to the affected group. This will confirm whether the failure to download a presentation is limited to just the one project. If this fixes the problem, you can then switch back to the previously scheduled project. You may need to delete and re-upload one or more presentation files on BSN if the problem returns when you switch back to the original presentation.

  5. If the error log mentioned above has an older connection time than the last connected date/time, but there’s no other error, this usually indicates that the player was able to call in, but couldn’t download the latest sync spec. If there are multiple units in the group, you can temporarily move one unit to a new group to test if this is the problem.

*The sync spec is an .xml file that lists all files required to play presentations currently scheduled for the group. The player compares this list to the files that are currently on local storage, and then downloads any missing files from the BSN servers.

Why can't I see player logs in the WebUI under the Current Usage tab?

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Before you can download the logs from your BSN network, you must enable the Logging options and specify when the logs should be uploaded from the player's SD card to the cloud. Logging options are enabled during the Unit Setup process (in either BrightAuthor or the BSN WebUI).

Screenshot 2024-07-30 at 10.44.30 AM.pngImage Added

Alternatively, if a BrightSign player is connected to your network, you can enable logging by going to Manage > Status, right-clicking the player, selecting Edit, and checking the corresponding boxes for Logging.

Screenshot 2024-07-30 at 10.44.33 AM.pngImage Added

Forcing Log Uploads

In addition to the automatic log uploads, you can manually send a command to each unit on your network to upload the logs. To do this:

  1. Sign into your network using BrightAuthor (Tools > Sign in to BrightSign Network)

  2. Go to Tools > Advanced > Unit Control

  3. Enter the unit serial number and select the Upload logs action. The player will upload logs the next time it connects to the BrightSign Network. 

You can also force log uploads in the WebUI:

  1. Go to the Groups tab.

  2. Open a group

  3. Select properties beneath the desired player

  4. Select the Advanced tab

  5. Check Reboot Unit.

It takes some time for the server to parse the logs and provide them for download in the WebUI Current Usage tab.

Contacting the Device Handler

BrightSign players upload the logs to the device handler at the following URL:
https://services.brightsignnetwork.com/bs/uploadlogs.ashx 

The Device Handler returns an HTTP 405 status if opened in a browser.

Info

Tip: Use Excel to open the log files on your computer.