4.4-Data Feeds

BrightAuthor Version 4.4

Use this tab to create and edit data feeds, which you can use to populate Live Text, RSS, and Media RSS / Dynamic Playlist states. Data feeds can also be used to generate Networked User Variables. To add a new data feed, click Add Live Data Feed and specify the following:

Feed Name: Specify a name for the data feed. You will be able to locate the data feed by this name when you are creating a Live Text element, specifying an RSS, MRSS, or Dynamic Playlist feed state, or creating a Networked User Variable.
Feed Specification: A data feed can originate from one of several sources. Select one of the following:
- Url: If you have an RSS or MRSS feed hosted on a third-party server, enter the web address of the feed into this field. If you want the presentation to retrieve a feed from an RSS .xml file on the SD card, use the “file:///path” URL format (e.g. “file:///filename.xml”).
- Live Data Feed: If you have a BrightSign Network subscription, you can host RSS feeds on the BSN servers using the Live Data Feed feature. See the Live Text FAQ for more information.
- Live Media Feed: If you have a BrightSign Network subscription, you can host MRSS feeds on the BSN servers using the Live Media Feed feature.
- Dynamic Playlist: If you have a BrightSign Network subscription, you can use Dynamic Playlists as Data Feeds.
Refresh: Click this button to update the content of the Live Data Feed, Live Media Feed, and Dynamic Playlist dropdown lists.
Data feed content usage: Determine how you wish to utilize the data downloaded from the feed:
- Text: The feed will be displayed as text in a Ticker zone or Live Text feed.
- MRSS Feed: The feed will be used to download and play media in a Media RSS or Live Text state.
  - Support 4K images: Check this box if you wish to use the MRSS feed to download and display 4K images. This feature is only supported on 4Kx42 players. Displaying 4K images will use the 4K video decoder on the device (i.e. you cannot display a 4K image and a 4K video at the same time).
- Content for Image List, Video List, Audio List, or Play File: The player will download and store media files specified in the Data Feed. You can then play back the media files using a Media List or Play File state. Each media file must be specified as a download URL in a <description> field of the RSS feed. Note that this mechanism is not compatible with the download and playback features of MRSS feeds and Dynamic Playlists.
Validate: Click this button to ping the feed you specified in the Url, Live Data Feed, Live Media Feed, or Dynamic Playlist field. Use this feature to check whether you entered the URL correctly, or whether the selected BSN feed still exists.
Update Interval: Specify how often you want the player to check the feed URL to determine if there are any updates.

Important

If the amount of time it takes to cycle through all the entries in the Data Feed is longer than the Update Interval, the presentation will never display all items in the feed. Make sure to specify an Update Interval that is long enough to display the entire feed.

Plugin Script: This is an advanced feature: You may optionally choose to have an RSS or MRSS feed parsed by custom BrightScript code. This occurs after the feed is retrieved from the network and before it is provided to Live Text states, Media RSS Feed states, and other presentation features. To add a plugin, click the Browse button to locate and select the .brs file containing the BrightScript code.
Parser Function Name: Enter the name of the subroutine that parses the RSS feed. Ensure that this name matches the name of the BrightScript subroutine; otherwise, a runtime error will occur during presentation playback.