BrightSign App

Owned by BrightSign TechDocs
Last updated: Sept 24, 2024
6 min read

The BrightSign App for Android and iOS devices allows you to broadcast commands to BrightSign players and other compatible network devices over your local network using UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packets. The app automatically retrieves UDP events from presentations that are currently active on the network, allowing you to access and activate them using a straightforward UI. You can also use the BrightSign App to modify User Variables, view Remote Snapshots of the display area, create new UDP Commands on the fly, and access the Diagnostic Web Server (DWS).

The BrightSign App is compatible with all networked BrightSign players. To get the BrightSign App, download it from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

Getting Started

Once you download the BrightSign App, opening it will take you to the BrightSign App main screen:

a. Refresh: Reloads the list of BrightSign players on the local network. In some instances, you will need to manually add a player to the BrightSign App; see the Adding Players to the App section below for more details.

b. Active: Lists players that are currently active on the local network.

c. Offline: Lists players that were previously active on the local network but are currently unresponsive.

d. Player List: The list of active/offline players. Tapping an active player takes you to the Player Control menu.

e. Add Player: Adds a player to the BrightSign App manually. See the Adding Players to the App section below for more details.

Adding Players to the App

The App will automatically detect BrightSign players on the local network. However, there may be instances when you need to manually add a new player to the BrightSign App. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure that your mobile device is connected to the same local network as your BrightSign player.

  2. Open the BrightSign App.

  3. Tap the button in the bottom right of the main screen. This will take you to the Search Units window.

  4. Tap the IP Address field and enter the IP address of the player. If you don’t know the IP address of the player, you can find it by following these steps:

    1. Power off the player by unplugging the power supply.

    2. Remove the SD card (as well as any other storage devices).

    3. Power on the BrightSign player by reconnecting the power supply.

    4. Wait for the player to boot up: The IP address of the player, along with the serial number and firmware version, will be displayed on the screen.

  5. After searching, the app will return the name and IP address of any player matching the IP address you entered.

  6. Tap the player logo to add the player to the app.

Removing a Player from the App

The BrightSign App does not automatically remove BrightSign players from the player list. If you remove a player from the local network, or if you modify the IP address of a manually added player, that player will remain in the Offline list.

To remove a player from the from the Offline list, press and hold the player icon. Then select the Delete option once it appears.

Deleting players only removes them from the app database. The settings of the players themselves are not changed in any way.

Player Control Menu  

To access the Player Control menu, tap a player in the Active list. The Player Control menu has the following sections

Variables

You can use the BrightSign App to change the value of User Variables on a player. User Variables have various uses in BrightAuthor presentations: You can display them on-screen like dynamic price tags, or you can use them as conditional targets in a presentation (for example, by configuring the presentation to play a different video if the variable is equal to a certain value).

To access the User Variables on a player, you need to enable the Local Web Server during player setup. If, during setup, you specified a username/password for the Local Web Server, you will need to enter these credentials to access the User Variables page in the app.

The title above a field reflects the name of the User Variable. The number in the field reflects the current value of the User Variable. To change the value of a User Variable, tap the field, enter a new value, then press Set Values. If you want the User Variables page to automatically refresh whenever variable values change, enable the Automatic Refresh option in the Settings section (or chose to Enable Update Notifications when setting up the player).

Actions

The Default section lists UDP Input events that are being used in the current BrightAuthor presentation. Simply touch one of the Action buttons to send the UDP string to the currently connected player.

It is possible to affect multiple players with a single command. See the UDP Commands with Multiple Players instructions for more details.

In some cases, you may need to manually add command buttons (for example, to send UDP commands to other types of networked devices) or edit existing command buttons.

  1. Select a player from the Active player list.

  2. Tap the Edit button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

  3. To add a new Action button, select the User Defined command list and tap the plus button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. This will bring up a window that allows you to enter the Label Name and UDP Command.

    1. Label Name: The name of the button as it is displayed in the Actions section.

    2. Data: The command parameter that is sent to the player in the form of a UDP packet. For the BrightSign App to activate a BrightAuthor UDP event, this text must exactly match the text in the Specify UDP input field of the UDP Input Event in BrightAuthor.

    3. Press the Save button when you are finished configuring.

  4. To edit an Action, tap and hold the Action label for a moment. You can then edit or delete the Action.

Diagnostics

The Diagnostic Web Server is a helpful tool for managing and monitoring networked players. It is included with the BrightSign App to increase the overall utility of the App, but it is not directly related to the interactive capabilities of UDP Commands or User Variables. Please see the Diagnostic Web Server section to learn more about using this tool.

Gallery

The Gallery section allows you to remotely view snapshots of the presentation display. You can enable and configure Remote Snapshots in the Settings section (see below for more details).

Tap a snapshot to view a larger version of it. You can also rotate snapshots (for portrait-mode presentations) using the "rotate" icons in the upper-right. 

Settings

The Settings section allows you to configure various elements of the Player Control Menu

  • User Variable Updates: Enable this option box to have the player automatically refresh the User Variables webpage whenever variable values change on the player.

  • Remote Snapshot: Configure Remote Snapshots for the Gallery section:

    • Enable Remote Snapshots: Enable/disable the Remote Snapshots feature, which allows you to remotely monitor the contents of the presentation display.

    • Snapshot Frequency (Minutes): Specify how often the player should take a snapshot of the presentation display.

    • Number of Snapshots to Save: Specify how many JPEG snapshot images can be stored on the local storage of the player.

    • JPEG quality level: Specify the quality level (and thus the file size) of each image file.

    • Portrait mode display: Enable/disable Portrait Mode display. This instructs the player to rotate the snapshots to portrait mode before saving and uploading them. Changing this setting will not affect images that have already been uploaded to the BrightSign App.

  • Action Buttons: Use the Small, Medium, and Large size buttons to edit the size of the Action buttons in the Action section. Making the buttons smaller allows you to fit more buttons on the screen.