BrightAuthor Audio/Video/Image Troubleshooting FAQs

Why are some of my videos missing thumbnails in the Files tab?

The thumbnails are generated by codecs installed on your computer. You can download codecs to resolve the problem. For example, if you’re missing thumbnails for your transport streams, you can try downloading a codec such as K-Lite.

Why doesn’t cross-fade work in Enhanced Audio Zones?

Each audio file in the playlist must have the same audio sampling rate if you want to cross-fade between audio tracks in an Enhanced Audio zone. If audio tracks have different sampling rates (for example, 44kHz vs. 48kHz), the player will cut between tracks instead of fading between them.

Why don’t my files show up in the Media Library?

• If you add content to your Media Library folder when BrightAuthor is open, it doesn't automatically refresh. You need to click on Refresh in the top right to update the library.

• Only files with recognized extensions appear in the Media Library. These extensions are supported:

  • Audio files: .mp3, .wav, .ac3 (pass through only)

  • Image files: .jpg, .png, .bmp

  • Video files: .mpg, .vob, .ts, .mov, .mkv, .mp4, .m2ts, .wmv

  • Text files: .txt

• If you select a zone in your project that only plays certain types of media (like an Video Only zone) only supported media types will be displayed.

• Text files will only show in BrightAuthor if you have a Ticker zone selected and you click the Text tab under Media Library. If you are having difficulty changing the file extension type to .txt,  make sure “Hide file extensions for known file types” is not turned on in Windows. See this third-party doc for guidance.

How do I set a transition for MRSS image feeds?

As of BrightAuthor version 4.6.0.35, you can set the transition type and duration through the Image List panel:

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Image 1

Why isn’t Remote Snapshot working on BSN?

To use Remote Snapshot, the Enable Remote Snapshot box must be checked during the setup process and the player must be running a presentation created in BrightAuthor 4.1.1.14 or later. To update the presentation in the group, either:

• Recreate the presentation in BrightAuthor 4.1.1.14 or later

• Export the presentation (File > Export <presentation name>) into BrightAuthor after you have upgraded it to a newer version.

• Update the autorun of the BSN group. This solution may cause unexpected changes, so test it before attempting it on players in the field. To do this:

  1. In BrightAuthor, log in to your BSN account.

  2. Go to Tools > Advanced

  3. Select the Update Autorun tab

  4. Check the boxes next to the group(s) that should use Remote Snapshot.

  5. Select Update now.

Why did my dynamic playlist upload fail?

Dynamic Playlists support a maximum of 500 content files, so ensure that it has fewer than 500 files before uploading it to BSN. If you need dynamic playback of more than 500 files, create two or more Dynamic Playlists to hold the content.

Why do my files not show up on my Media RSS feed in BrightAuthor?

There should be no spaces in the filename of the content you upload to a Media RSS feed. Dashes, underscores, and/or camelCase can be used instead. For example, instead of Your File Name Here.jpg, use any of:

• YourFileNameHere.jpg            

• Your-File-Name-Here.jpg

• Your_File_Name_Here.jpg

Why does my 4K canvas display as 1920x1080 in BrightAuthor?

While models such as the XTx43/XTx44 support rendering 4K graphics (with the Full resolution graphics option enabled), other 4K-capable models (XDx34, HDx24, etc.) render graphics at HD. When you create a 4K presentation for one of these models, the canvas will read as 1920x1080, which will upscale to 3840x2160 when you publish the presentation.

• See the “How do I display 4K images on a 4K242, 4K1042, or 4K1142 player?” FAQ for information about how to display images that are larger than 1080p on players that can play 4K content.

• You can also display 4K images using the 4K checkbox in a Media List State. The target mode for the presentation must be set to Support 4K images (use video plane to display images) as shown in the image below.

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Image 2

This applies to graphics/HTML only: All 4K-capable models render 4K videos at their native resolution without upscaling.

For an upscaled 4K presentation, the size and position coordinates must be halved for all zones: For example, if you wish to display a second video that is HD (1920x1080) in the lower-right quadrant of the screen, you will need to set the video zone size (W:H) and position (X:Y) to 960x540.

Why is there no audio when my video is playing?

No audio output is normally cased by the wrong audio codec being used or an incorrect setting in BrightAuthor:

1. Verify that the video has audio.

2. If playing back MPEG1/MPE2 Video, verify that the audio is MPEG-1 Layer II or MPEG-1 Layer III.

3. If using AC3 in MPEG2 video, AC3 audio can be passed through over HDMI or SPDIF, but not decoded by the player. If using Adobe Premiere to encode the video with the SurCode codec for audio, SurCode needs to be in BlueRay mode, not Dolby Digital.

4. For H.264 video, AAC audio is decoded, but not AAC Surround. So, if the video is using AAC Surround, you wouldn't hear any audio over HDMI or SPDIF to your display (or over analog output). PCM audio is only supported on XD players.

5. For WMV video, WMA audio is not supported: Try converting to MP4 (e.g. using Handbrake or the latest Microsoft Movie Maker).

6. In BrightAuthor, under properties for your main zone, verify that the audio output setting is correct (see Image 3). For example, if you're using HDMI for audio, and the audio output is set to analog only, you won't hear any audio.

7. If you are using the USB Expander or an HD600/HD2000, verify you are plugged into the correct audio output and you've set your playlist or script to use the corresponding audio output.

8. Try re-encoding the video, or using a different application to encode the video.