HTML5 State

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Last updated: Sept 01, 2023Version comment
4 min read

 

The HTML5 state allows you to display HTML web pages, including video, image, text, and JavaScript elements. For a full explanation of how to create HTML content for BrightSign players, please see the HTML Development section.

BrightSign models are not designed to be used as general-purpose web browsers. Many web pages have elements that will not display correctly on a BrightSign player. Make sure to thoroughly test a web page before using it as digital signage.

HTML video content will play even if it is embedded in an Image zone.

  • Site Name: Specify a name for the HTML site. The site name must be unique within the presentation.

  • Site Source: Select a source for the HTML site:

    • Components: Display an HTML page that is stored on your BSN Content Cloud network. This option is only available if the Storage Selector is set to  BSN.cloud Content. If you need to add the page to your BSN.cloud network, go to the Content tab first.

    • URL: Display an HTML page from a remote URL.

    • Local Site: Include the HTML page with the presentation files. This option is only available if the Storage Selector is set to Local Content. You will be prompted to locate and select the .html file that you wish to display.

Query String (optional): Enter a query string to be appended to the site URL using the following format: "http://www.example.com/over/there?my_query_string".

This section has an accompanying tutorial video:

 

The URL and Query string fields accept User Variable values. To specify a User Variable, enter the name of the variable between two sets of braces. The variable value can be either standalone ("{{my_variable}}") or part of a static value ("http://www.brightsign.biz/{{my_variable}}"). 

Options

Use the following checkboxes to enable optional, advanced features associated with the webpage:

  • Enable Node.js: Enables Node.js® for the HTML page.

  • Enable BrightSign JavaScript objects: Enables BrightScript-JavaScript objects for the HTML page.

  • Enable cross domain policy checks: Enables Chromium security checks for cross-origin requests.  

  • Ignore HTTPS certificate errors: Instructs the state to ignore security errors when connecting to insecure HTTPS hosts. Enabling this feature makes the player insecure; it is not suitable for production environments and should only be used for testing.

  • Force shared storage: In OS 8.2.55.4 and later, HTML widgets that are loaded from HTTP/HTTPS protocols do not share the same local storage database (HTML widgets that are loaded via file protocol act as they did in previous releases). This flag allows you to change the default behavior of widgets loaded through HTTP/HTTPS from "unshared" to "shared", or to change the default behavior of widgets with locally loaded files to "unshared" from "shared". Note that these settings are widget specific, so HTML widgets in a single presentation can have different shared storage settings.

  • Enable camera: Enables webpage access to USB cameras connected to the player (access is disabled by default). This allows support for WebRTC applications.

  • Enable mouse and touch events: Enable user interaction with the HTML page (clicking on links, interacting with JavaScript elements, etc.). 

  • Display cursor: Displays a cursor whenever a USB mouse is connected to the player.

  • Enable native video playback: Enables HWZ mode on all <video> elements contained within the page. This increases the frame rate and quality of HTML video playback, but can also cause problems with CSS page transforms and other page elements. By default, it will place video on top of all graphics in the presentation and set the view mode of all <video> elements to Scale to Fill.

  • Enable native Chromium video playback: This feature is only available for XC5 players and allows users to use Chromium’s video player instead of BrightSign’s video player that is based on MPV software. Note that some features will only work when using BrightSign’s video player (like synchronization), but for customers trying to play stock websites and not HTML content custom developed for BrightSign, the Chromium video player will act more like Chrome on a desktop.

  • Enable JavaScript console: Enables the Chromium Web Inspector for HTML sites in the presentation. For security reasons, Enable javascript console should only be used in non-production presentations. Make sure to disable JavaScript console before publishing to a production environment. In the Chromium version found in BOS 8.5 and beyond, the JavaScript console will log information in memory even when you are not connected to the inspector. This will consume memory until the player runs out, which will result in a crash.To enable the JavaScript console in BOS 8.5.31 and above, you will need to either:

    • Set the enable_web_inspector registry key (in the "html" section) to enable the JavaScript console (see the "inspector_server" in roHtmlWidget for more information)

    • Enable "Chromium debugging" in the BrightAuthor:connected RDWS (with BrightAuthor:connected version 1.7.11 and above) or the LDWS.

  • Sites from URLs share storage: HTML widgets that display file URLs will share the same storage database.

  • Sites from local disk share storage: In OS 8.2.55.4 and later, HTML widgets that are loaded from HTTP/HTTPS protocols do not share the same local storage database (HTML widgets that are loaded via file protocol act as they did previously). This flag allows HTML widgets loaded via HTTP/HTTPS protocol to share local storage if they are loaded from the same domain.