AccessKitUpdate content
Update content on your BrightSign or other Mediaplayer
Once a BrightSign Mediaplayer is registered, there are three main ways to update the content it plays:
- Remote Updating: setting a media file URL in the AccessKit Admin Dashboard which the player will automatically download
- Manual Updating: manually copying a media file to player's SD card
- Local Network Updating: copy a media file to player's microSD card via BrightSign local area network web server
Remote updating
To use remote updating, you will need:
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| BrightSign | A BrightSign mediaplayer that is registered with AccessKit |
| Video file URL | A video file to update the BrightSign with stored as a permanent resource link, e.g. https://example.com/video.mp4 (Dropbox links are also supported) |
Prepare the mediaplayer
If it is connected to the internet, and connected to a monitor, and powered on, please do so.
Additionally, the mediaplayer should already have an SD card inserted, and be registered with AccessKit.
Copy the media file's resource link
Copy the media file's resource link to your system clipboard. If you are using
the AccessKit demo video, you can right-click the following link and select
Copy link address:
AccessKit Demo Video (right click me!)
If you are using a different video, you will need to make sure it is hosted as a static
file accessible via an explicit URL that you can copy, e.g. https://example.com/video.mp4.
If you are using Dropbox, you can create resource URLs by clicking Share File and
replacing dl=0 with raw=1 at the end of the link. For example:
| Original link | New link |
|---|---|
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1234567890/test.mp4?dl=0 | https://www.dropbox.com/s/1234567890/test.mp4?raw=1 |
Open the BrightSign Mediaplayer in the Admin Dashboard
Click the BrightSign Mediaplayer's name in the AccessKit Admin Dashboard, which should be a link that looks like mediaplayer-x. This will open the BrightSign's configuration page.
Update the Mediaplayer's Remote Video URL
Paste the media file's resource link into the Remote Video URL field in the Mediaplayer's configuration page.
This field is used to store the URL of the media file that will be downloaded to the mediaplayer's SD card automatically
whenever a content update is triggered. If you are going to be updating the media file often, e.g. from an artist providing
updating versions of the video file, you may wish to upload the updated video file to the same URL each time, that way you do
not need to update the Remote Video URL field with a new URL after each update.
Indicate that new content is available
Check the New Content Available checkbox, which will instruct the media player to download the media resource once changes are saved. Make sure the checkmark is showing!
Trigger a content update
Click the Update Mediaplayer button at the end of the form. The BrightSign will stop playing whatever media it is playing and display Downloading new content on its monitor.
Warning: Do not power the player off while it is downloading!
Wait for the update to complete
The download speed will depend on your internet connection. Large files (1GB+) can take an hour or more, but ~20 minutes is more typical. Shorter videos will typically download in 1-2 minutes.
Verify the update
Once the download is complete, the device will automatically reboot and begin playing the new content! In the admin portal, you should see the timestamp of the most recent mediaplayer sync event to the right of the BrightSign Mediaplayer's name.
Manual updating
To manually update the content, you will need:
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| BrightSign | A BrightSign mediaplayer that is registered with AccessKit |
| Video file | A video file to update the BrightSign with on your local computer, which should be an .mp4 or .mov file. |
| SD card reader | A microSD card reader to connect to your computer so that you can copy the video file to the SD card. |
Copy the new media file to the SD card
If you have previously added a video file to the SD card (e.g. from Remote Updating),
remove any and all existing video files (.mp4|.mov) from the card.
Warning: Do not remove or alter any of the other files on the SD card!
The files on the SD card should now look something like this:
Insert the SD card into the BrightSign
The BrightSign should still be off, if it is not already.
Power the BrightSign on
You should now see the BrightSign boot up and begin playing the new video file!
Local updating
If you are on the same local network as the BrightSign, you can log in to the BrightSign's Diagnostic Web Server (DWS) interface and upload a new video file directly to the BrightSign's SD card.
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| BrightSign | A BrightSign mediaplayer that is registered with AccessKit |
| Video file | A video file to update the BrightSign with on your local computer, which should be an .mp4 or .mov file. |
| Local network connection | You must be on the same local network as the BrightSign. |
Power the BrightSign on
The BrightSign must be on and connected to the network if it is not already.
Open the AccessKit Admin Dashboard
Visit the AccessKit Admin Dashboard and log in if you have not already.
Find the BrightSign's IP address and open the DWS
Find the BrightSign in the list of all registered devices in the AccessKit
Admin Dashboard. You should see the BrightSign's IP address listed next to
its name. Click the IP address to open the BrightSign's Diagnostic Web Server,
or open the DWS manually by navigating to http://<BrightSign's IP address>.
Log-in to the DWS
Contact the AccessKit team for your username and password to log in to the DWS.
Navigate to the SD tab
In the DWS, there are a list of tabs across the top. Click on the SD tab, which
will take you to a page with a list of files currently on the BrightSign's SD card.
Remove any old video files
If you have previously added a video file to the SD card (e.g. from Remote Updating),
remove any and all existing video files (.mp4|.mov) from the card.
Warning: Do not remove or alter any of the other files on the SD card!
Upload the new video file
Click the Browse button and select the new video file which you wish to upload
to the BrightSign's SD card from your computer's file explorer. Then click
the Upload button to upload the file to the BrightSign's SD card.
Wait for the upload to complete
Once the upload is complete, the list of files on the BrightSign's SD card will be updated to include the new video file.
It should now look something like this:
Reboot the BrightSign
Navigate to the Control tab and click the Reboot button to restart the BrightSign.
Verify the update
Once the BrightSign has rebooted, it will begin playing the new video file!
Next steps
Now that you have successfully updated the content on your BrightSign, you might want to learn how to enable synced captions or add audio tracks and audio description.