On March 11th an OnSign TV Platform update is scheduled for implementing additional user management and permission options.
The changes will provide more granular and better control for configuring permissions to non-admin users.
The migration to the new permission system will be automatic and there will be no platform downtime, so no action will be required on your side. The platform will automatically match your account's existing permissions.
Improved Player Permissions
Up to now, player permissions were cumulative and displayed as a sliding bar.
This model is great but limited. As an example, it is not possible to give a user “Inspect Permission", without also giving "Publishing" rights.
The new Player permission options will provide better control to what action each user can perform on a player or player group.
New Player Permissions will look like this:
As player permission options will be individually configured, it is important to understand the behavior of each permission:
Publish – Will enable a user only to publish and unpublish content to a player or player group.
Inspect – Will enable the user to view player/player group status, view events, list campaigns published, list player groups the current player belongs. This is read-only permission, so it is quite useful for users responsible for monitoring the network.
Settings – Will allow the user to access the player or player group settings menu.
Remove – Will enable the user to delete a player or player group.
In addition to the more granular control, it will also be possible to perform bulk permission changes.
Improved Player Permissions
Also, on this update, a new user permission will be available for allowing non-admin users to create reports.The new feature will show as follows on user creation
Once this permission is checked, the user will be able to create reports for all players that he has inspect permissions.
The Resouce usage page is the go-to place when your players are not performing as expected. Now when using OnSign TV Android Player 9.7.17 and above,you will find three new graphs with additional player info:
Temperature
Track the player's temperature history. Too high temperatures are not good and can be the reason for hardware crashes.
Connectivity
Get to know the player's connectivity history. This is a great tool for tracking how good or bad is the player's connection.
The green graph shows the percentage of time your player was connected during the period.
The blue bar is the number of successful server requests the player has performed.
The red bar is the number of failed requests.
Battery
Whenever applicable, you can also monitor the player's battery level.
Important:
Make sure you have the latest version of OnSign TV Android App installed (9.7.17) so you can track temperature, connectivity and battery level.
Specific resource info may not be available, as not all hardware manufacturers provide access to all data.
Multi-screen synchronized playback
Already available for Windows and LG webOS, now, more screens can take advantage of multi-screen content playback as we have just added support to Samsung SSSP, Chrome OS and BrightSign players!
With another year almost behind, it is a great moment for a quick recap to ensure none of the features launched goes under the radar.
2019 Highlights
User Experience - UX
New File Browser UI: We have unified different pages into a single content folder structure and also created some additional ways of interacting with the platform, like right-click and drag-and-drop.
Enhanced Search Tools: Finding content once you have several thousand files can be a tricky task. That's why we have added search filters such as type of content, modification date, folder, etc.
Features
Playlist enhancements: Now you can adjust default duration for apps and images added to a playlist. You can also get playlist duration while taking into account playback time and tag restrictions. Read tutorial
Default player group for new players: Now you can set a default player group, so any new player added to the network will automatically join the group. Read tutorial
Health Check: Quickly scan the network for small errors on the platform and get suggestions on how to fix it. Read tutorial
Folder permissions to restricted users: OnSign TV folder permissions follow a hierarchical architecture. Set the permissions of a folder and all files and subfolders under it will inherit the same permissions. This is an easy way to share all assets with restricted users. Read tutorial
Multi-Screen Synchronized Playback for Windows and WebOS players: Now you can configure multiple players to playback content in-sync. This is a great tool for building menu boards and getting several players to present synchronized content in a long hall. Read tutorial
What's next?
There is much more coming in 2020!
To get started, in January we will expand the multi-screen synchronization support to Samsung SSSP, BrightSign and ChromeOS.
We will once again exhibit at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam!
Come meet usat Qbic's booth, Hall 15 - P245.
Transitions support for SoC devices, BrihgtSign and Chrome OS
Promote social media engagement with Follow Us App
Multi-screen synchronized playback available for Windows OS
New search rule: exclude items when searching for players or content!
Content Transitions
Initially, transitions were only available for Android, Mac, Linux and Windows, but now transitions are also supported by SoCs, BrightSign and Chrome OS.
New devices supporting Transitions:
LG WebOS 4 and above
Samsung SSSP5 and above
BrightSign XD and XT models
Chrome OS version 57 and above
Animated transitions can be applied to campaigns, timeline items and playlist items. Check out the tutorial.
This month's featured App
Invite your audience to join your social media channels using the Follow Us App! Find it on: Create > App > Social Media tab
Enter your Social Network Accounts and the App will display a QR code shortcut to:
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Synchronized Playback
Now you can create multi-screen synchronized playback using the OnSign TV Windows player! Check out the tutorial.
NOTE: To ensure the best results, always use the same hardware specs for all players on the synchronized player group.
Our team is working to expand the multi-screen synchronization playback to other platforms. Stay tuned as soon we will add BrightSign and Chorme OS support to this list!
New Search Rule
The OnSign TV search bar just got more powerful, as now you can use the "-" sign to exclude items.
How to use?
Click on search bar
Select the filters you want to apply
Add "-" before the ones you want to exclude from search
All OnSign TV pages have a search box for helping to find specific items.
Examples:
Case 1. If your signage players contains multiple tags, you can search for players that contain certain tags, but not others. For instance:
In this case, we want to have an overview of all university's players that are in public spaces, like halls, auditoriums, libraries, etc. For doing so, we excluded the ones that contain the tags "classroom" and "meeting room".
Case 2. You want to check out all online devices, except the ones running Android OS. On search box:
is:online -os:"Android"
Case 3. You want to list all campaigns without any publishing filter. That means all campaigns that are nor paused, nor restricted! On search box:
type:Campaign -is:restricted -is:paused
Great news for signage integrators!
Same location signage setups can now take advantage of synchronized playback on multiple screens. Furthermore, OnSign TV has extended its interactivity campaign support to the Windows Player!
Other highlights and news:
Assign new players to a default group
Advanced file search on your Content Page.
New permissions for restricted shared accounts.
New app: Round Clock
Synchronized Playback
You can now link several displays mounted in the same location for synchronized playback!
Create a Player Group.
Enable synchronized playback.
Select the Lead Player and other displays will play in sync with the Lead Player loop.
Available for LG webOS professional displays. Other devices coming soon.
On top of the traditional minimalist round clock face, this customizable clock allows for a digital clock and date in its middle.
Default Player Group
What? Define a default player group when setting up a device for the first time! The Player will immediately synchronize, downloading all existing Player Group content. Result: A quicker setup process for your team!
Dashboard: On this tab, you get a map overview of the device network, along with graphs on connectivity, synchronization status, and more. SEE TUTORIAL
Health Check: On this menu item, scan devices for possible issues that might affect your screens, such as invalid RSS news or expired campaigns. SEE TUTORIAL
*Sections only visible to users with player permission to INSPECT the player.
Advanced Content Search
Images, videos, campaigns, playlists, compositions, apps... you may be familiar with combining all these types of content to create beautiful signage on your displays. The problem is finding already existing and published content on the platform when you don't know the exact file name among your plentiful content.
Use the search bar to narrow down the items to browse through:
Pro Tip! If you search on the main Content Page, OnSign TV lists every content ever uploaded.
To limit the search to a specific folder:
Go into the desired folder.
Select on search bar "Location – Limit search to this folder"