Use other mediaplayer types

AccessKit can work with a variety of other media playback systems besides BrightSign, including Mac mini, QLab, Medialon, Pixera, Max/MSP, TouchDesigner, and more. Additionally, AccessKit can work with BrightSigns that are not registered with AccessKit with some additional configuration.

The core requirement for integrating with AccessKit is that the media playback system must be able to either send or receive UDP (or OSC) packets or HTTP requests.

The most common use-case is to use QLab on a Mac mini to control media playback and use the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility to synchronize the media playback with the web application, but the instructions below can be adapted to other media playback systems.

Need another solution or more help?

If you do not see a solution that works for your media playback system below or need additional help, please write to us with the subject line Media Playback System Integration and we would be thrilled to chat about developing a new integration which works for you.

Limited functionality

Using other media playback systems means that various AccessKit features like remote content updating, realtime-controls, and on-screen captions will not be available.

However, if certain additional functionality is required, please write to us and we can develop a custom solution as needed.

Integration Type	Description	Instructions
OSC/UDP Sync Utility	Useful for using a `Mac mini+QLab` or other OSC-capable media player.	Link
Direct HTTP requests	Useful for using `Medialon` or any other programmable media player (including `BrightSign`)	Link
Raspberry Pi	Useful for using a `Raspberry Pi` as a follower mediaplayer connected to AccessKit.	Link
Follower Mediaplayers	Useful for integrating other mediaplayers together with AccessKit BrightSigns.	Link

OSC/UDP Sync Utility

The AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility is a standalone application that can be used to allow another media playback engine to send synchronization signals to AccessKit. The basic idea is that your other media playback engine will send an OSC/UDP packet to the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility at the start of every loop of the content. The Sync Utility will extract the duration of the film and begin sending synchronization signals to the AccessKit web application after the first loop of the content.

Requirements	Description
AccessKit Work	You should have already created a Work in AccessKit for which you would like to provide synchronization signals.
OSC-capable media player	The media player you are integrating with must be capable of sending OSC/UDP at the start of every loop of the content.
Computer with outbound internet access	The computer will be used to run the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility, and must be able to reach the AccessKit webserver via HTTP (nb: this may be the same computer as the media player, e.g. with QLab).

UDP?

If you need to use UDP instead of OSC, please contact us and we can provide you with additional instructions.

Download and install Max 8

Visit the Max website to download and install Max 8.

Max 9 support coming soon!

The AccessKit OSC Sync Utility is currently only officially supported for Max 8. Max 9 support is coming soon! However, you can try it at your own risk with Max 9 - feel free to contact us with the subject line Max 9 OSC Sync Utility if you have any issues.

Open Max 8

Open the Max Package Manager

The Package Manager is found via File > Show Package Manager.

Install the CNMAT-odot package

In the package manager, search for CNMAT odot and install the package.

Direct download

The CNMAT odot package can also be installed directly from the GitHub repository here.

Restart Max 8

After installing the CNMAT odot package, you will need to restart Max 8.

Acquire the AccessKit OSC Sync Utility

Write to the AccessKit team at info@accesskit.cc to acquire the AccessKit OSC Sync Utility with the subject line OSC Sync Utility.

We will provide you with a zipfile containing the AccessKit OSC Sync Utility preconfigured to connect to your instance of AccessKit.

Unzip it to a known location on your computer.

Open the OSC Sync Utility

Double-click on the osc-sync-utility.maxpat file to open it.

Identify the ID of the Work you would like to synchronize

The ID of the Work is a unique identifier for the Work that you would like to synchronize. It can be found in the URL of the Work in AccessKit, e.g. https://<your-subdomain>.accesskit.cc/work/123.

Configure the OSC Sync Utility to connect to the desired Work ID

In the OSC Sync Utility, update the Work ID field to the ID of the Work you would like to synchronize.

Configure your playback engine to send an OSC packet at the start of every loop

The sync packet should be configured as follows:

Field	Value	Description
IP Address	`localhost` / `127.0.0.1` or the IP address of the computer running the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility	The address of the computer running the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility.
Port	`9500`	The port number of the AccessKit web application.
OSC Address	`/submit/default`	The OSC address to send the sync packet to.
OSC Message	`1`	The sync message to send.

If you are using QLab, you would configure a network target with the IP Address and Port of the computer running the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility, and then add a Network Cue at the start of the show.

Multiple works?

If you have multiple works using this method, you can open parallel instances of the OSC Sync Utility and run them on different ports.

Run the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility automatically on system startup [optional]

If you would like to run the AccessKit OSC/UDP Sync Utility automatically on system startup, you can add a startup script to your system.

MacOS

Add osc-sync-utility.maxpat to your login items
Configure your system to login automatically when powered on.
Configre your system to power on automatically when the power cable is connected.

Windows

Create a shortcut to osc-sync-utility.maxpat by right-clicking on the file and selecting New > Shortcut in the flyout menu.
On your keyboard, press Win + R to open the Run dialog then type in shell:startup followed by clicking OK.
Drag the shortcut to the Startup folder.

Direct HTTP requests

Direct HTTP requests are a simple way to synchronize media playback with AccessKit.
They are not as precise as using the OSC/UDP Sync Utility by default, but are typically sufficient for caption sync, and depending on your system, we may be able to enable a more robust sync-over-HTTP protocol then the method described below.

Requirements	Description
AccessKit Work	You should have already created a Work in AccessKit for which you would like to provide synchronization signals.
HTTP-capable media player	The media player you are integrating with must be capable of sending HTTP requests at the start of every loop of the content; additionally, it must be able to determine the unix timestamp at the start of the current loop.

Identify the ID of the Work you would like to synchronize

Acquire the password to use

Write to the AccessKit team with subject line HTTP Sync Password. We will provide you with a password to use.

Configure the playback engine to send an HTTP request at the start of every loop

The HTTP request should be configured as follows:

Field	Value	Description
URL	`https://<your-subdomain>.accesskit.cc/api/work/<work-id>/timestamp`	The URL of the AccessKit web application.
Method	`POST`	The method to use for the HTTP request.
Body	`{"password": "<password>", "lastTimestamp": <unix-timestamp>}`	The body to use for the HTTP request.

Note that the lastTimestamp field is required to be the UNIX timestamp of the start of the current loop and should be in the US Eastern timezone.

Timestamp precision

For more precise synchronization and automatic configuration of timestamp offsets, write to the AccessKit team with subject line HTTP Sync Timestamp Precision.

Raspberry Pi

Write to the AccessKit team at info@accesskit.cc with subject line Raspberry Pi Integration.

We will provide you with the necessary configuration files to use a Raspberry Pi as a follower mediaplayer connected to AccessKit.

Follower Mediaplayers

Another option is to set up a UDP-capable media player (including BrightAuthor BrightSigns!) to receive UDP packets from an AccessKit-registered BrightSign.

Requirements	Description
UDP-capable media player	The media player you are integrating with must be capable of receiving UDP packets and starting playback.
AccessKit Work	You should have already created a Work in AccessKit for which you would like to provide synchronization signals.
AccessKit BrightSign	You should have already registered a BrightSign in AccessKit.

Event timelines

You might also prefer to use event timelines to control the follower mediaplayer.

Use custom event timelines guide for more information on how to do this.

Configure the AccessKit BrightSign as a leader and assign it to the Work

Navigate to the BrightSign's configuration page in AccessKit by clicking the mediaplayer-[id] button representing the BrightSign in the Admin Dashboard home page.

Then, under the Linked Work section, select the Work you would like to synchronize.

Then, under Multi-channel Sync Mode, select Leader.

Add a mediafile to the AccessKit BrightSign

The mediafile on the AccessKit BrightSign should be the same length as the actual content on the mediaplayer you wish to act as a follower to the AccessKit BrightSign. See the content updating guide for more information on how to add a mediafile.

Configure the media player to receive UDP packets

How to do this will depend upon the type of mediaplayer you are using, but the message that it will receive will be a UDP packet which says start on UDP port 9500.

By default, you will also need to configure your mediaplayer to join the multicast group 239.192.2.x where x is the ID of the AccessKit Work. However, if you cannot do this, contact the AccessKit team and we can provide you with a custom configuration file for your AccessKit BrightSign to directly target the IP address of your media player.

Need a different port?

If you need to use a different port, please contact us and we can update the message to use a different port.

Use other mediaplayer types

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