Devices

Owned by BrightSign TechDocs
Last updated: Nov 15, 2024
5 min read

The Devices page allows you to view information about BrightSign players connected to the BSNEE server. You can also use the page to send commands to a specific player.

Viewing the Device List

By default, the Devices page lists all players connected to the BSNEE server. To narrow the list of players, enter all or part of a player serial number or name into the Serial/Name field, select a BSNEE network from the Network dropdown menu, and click Search. Both complete and partial matches will be listed.

The list displays the following information about each player:

  • Health: The status of the player, as indicated by the following icons:

    • Healthy: The player has an active subscription and has successfully communicated with BSN within the configured time period.

    • Connection Lost: The player has a subscription and reported its status to BSN recently, but experienced one of the following issues:

      • Its subscription is about to be suspended. See Device Properties > Device Overview > Subscription Status in the General tab.

      • It reported an Error but continue to retrieve settings and schedule from BSN. See Device Properties > Errors in the Advanced tab.

      • It missed one or two synchronization or heartbeat requests at the expected time. You can review and edit the configured synchronization and heartbeat frequency in Device Properties > Unit Configuration in the General tab.

      • It is assigned to the Disabled Players group.

    • Inactive: The player has a subscription, but experienced one of the following issues:

      • ⁠Its subscription is suspended. See Device Properties > Device Overview > Subscription Status in the General tab.

      • ⁠It reported an Error and cannot retrieve settings and schedule from BSN. See Device Properties > Errors in the Advanced tab.

      • ⁠It missed more than two synchronization and heartbeat requests. You can review and edit the configured synchronization and heartbeat frequency in Device Properties > Unit Configuration in the General tab.

    • Disconnected: The player does not have a subscription.

  • Serial: The serial number of the player.

  • Network: The name of the network associated with the player.

  • Unit Name: The name given to the player during device setup.

  • Target Group: The group to which the player was most recently assigned.

  • Model: The model number of the player.

Note

Check the Show Deleted Devices box to include players that users have deleted from their BSNEE networks.

Exporting Device Data

The Export Devices icon can be found directly above the list of devices. Click this icon to download an .xml data table for all devices (or a subset of searched devices). The data table displays device names and labels, target groups, active presentations, last connect times, traffic, firmware versions, and any descriptions included during setup. It can be opened using Excel or a similar spreadsheet program.

Viewing Device Properties

Each player has a properties link on the right side of the list. Click this link to open the Device Properties window, which includes the General, Advanced, and Downloads tabs.

General

The General tab provides the following information:

  • Unit ID: The serial number of the player

  • Unit Name: The player name, which is designated during the player-setup process

  • Model: The model number of the player

  • Target group: The group that the has been assigned to the player

  • Target time zone: The time zone that has been assigned to the player

  • Reported group: The group assignment that was last reported by the player

  • Reported time zone: The time zone that was last reported by the player

Note

Since there is often a delay between changes to groups/players in the WebUI and the corresponding player updates, the target status and reported status will sometimes be different.

  • Firmware: The current firmware version installed on the player

  • Autorun ver. (standard): The current autorun version of the BrightAuthor presentation assigned to the player.

  • Autorun ver. (custom): The current autorun version of the custom-built presentation assigned to the player. Visit this FAQ to learn how to distribute custom autorun scripts using the BrightSign Network.

  • Remote Snapshot: The status of the Remote Snapshot setting on the player. It can be one of the following:

    • Unsupported: The scheduled presentation(s) do not support the Remote Snapshot feature because they were created in an older version of BrightAuthor.

    •  Disabled: The scheduled presentation(s) support the Remote Snapshot feature, but the feature was not enabled during the player setup process.

    • Enabled: The scheduled presentation(s) support the Remote Snapshot feature, and the feature was enabled during the player setup process.

  • IP address: The IP address of the player

  • Card Size: The total capacity of the SD card installed in the player

  • Subscription type: The type of BSNEE subscription assigned to the player

  • Subscription status: The current status of the BSNEE subscription assigned to the player

  • Delete: Removes the player from the BSNEE server. The player-setup process will need to be performed again to re-register the player with the BSNEE server.

Advanced

The Advanced tab provides the following functionality:

  • Unit Control: This section allows you to send commands to a player:

    • Reboot Unit: Check this box to have the player reboot the next time it checks in to the BSNEE server.

    • Upload Logs: Check this box to have the player upload its logs to the BSNEE server the next time it checks in.

    • Recovery – reformat: Check this box to place the player in recovery mode. The player will also reformat its storage card.

    • Recovery – don’t reformat: Check this box to place the player in recovery mode. The player will download the latest Autorun script to the storage card without reformatting it.

Note

A player will not carry out a Recovery command until the Reboot Unit command is sent as well.

  • Device Error Log: This section provides detailed information about the last five reported errors. If the player is operating normally, the error list will be blank. Click the Refresh button to update the error list.

Downloads

The Downloads tab allows you to monitor the player synchronization process. Here you can view the progress of individual file transfers. Click the Refresh button to update the status of the file transfers.

Remote Snapshot

The Remote Snapshot tab allows you to view screenshots of presentation playback on the player. This tab is only available if the Remote Snapshot feature has been enabled during player setup and the scheduled presentation(s) use an autorun that supports Remote Snapshot. You can use the Settings button to modify the Remote snapshot settings:

  • Enable Remote Snapshot: Check this box to enable or disable the Remote Snapshot feature on the device. Note that Remote Snapshot must first be enabled during player setup to be enabled here.

  • Capture Interval (min): Specify how often the player should take a snapshot of the presentation display.

  • Image Quality (%): Determine the quality level (and thus the file size) of each image file.

  • Local Count Limit: Specify how many JPEG images can be stored on the local storage of the player (100 image maximum).

  • Screen Orientation: Determine whether the snapshots should be Landscape or Portrait oriented.