User Manual

Digital Signage technical information.

Introduction

This document outlines advanced features, configuration settings and APIs for extending digital signage functionality. Please note that this document is for advanced users only. All core digital signage operations can be performed in the web-based Administration Interface.

Other pages

Hardware Compatibility

This digital signage solution is designed for the Android Operating System.

DS Loader must be installed onto the Android device to connect it to the digital signage server platform.

Download DS Loader for Android

The MAC address of the device will be displayed on the screen when DS Loader starts. This MAC address is used to link the device to a screen in the administration interface.

Minimum system requirements:

Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Screen resolution 320x240
Single core 700MHz (armeabi-v7a, arm64-v8a, x86 or x86_64)
256MB RAM
128MB available storage + sequence size (as shown in sequence header)

DS Loader will load a digital signage player. There are multiple player implementations available that can be selected in the administration interface. Please note that some players require newer versions of Android. For example, the ExoPlayer variants require Android 4.1.

A device running Android 4.4 or higher is recommended for displaying HTML5 content as it uses the Chrome web browser rendering component.

Video playback uses the Android multimedia framework. For HD and 4K video playback ensure the device is capable of supporting the content you upload.

If there are problems playing video content, edit the screen in the admin interface, click the software tab and select different player software. The ExoPlayer variant may work better for modern devices especially if gapless video playback is required.

Non standard screen outputs for LED arrays smaller than the device output are supported using the advanced options widthOverride and heightOverride in Screen Data.

Conditions

Conditions allow you to control when an item is displayed using JavaScript like expressions. Data defined in the active screen, stack item, slot or sequence can be used in expressions. This data can be populated by sensors such as GPS, player extensions (such as audience analytics tools), manually set in data fields or automatically updated by 3rd party services. The stack item will only display if the expression evaluates to true.

Basic syntax

Syntax	Description
`==`	Test for equality. For example `temp == 23` will only return `true` when the data named `temp` is set to `23`.
`!=`	Test for inequality. For example `temp != 23` will only return `true` when the data named `temp` is not set to `23`.
`>`	Test if one value is greater than another. For example `temp > 23` will only return `true` when the data named `temp` is greater than `23`.
`<`	Test if one value is less than another. For example `temp < 23` will only return `true` when the data named `temp` is less than `23`.
`>=`, `<=`	Syntax for greater than or equal to and less than or equal to.
`&&`	Ensures two expressions are true. For example `temp < 23 && screenSize > 40` only returns `true` when the data named `temp` is less than `23` and the data named `screenSize` is greater than `40`.
`\|\|`	Ensures either expression is true. For example `temp < 23 \|\| screenSize > 40` returns `true` when the data named `temp` is less than `23` or the data named `screenSize` is greater than `40`.
`(`, `)`	Control grouping and order of evaluation. For example `true \|\| (true && false)` returns `true` but `(true \|\| true) && false` returns `false`.

There are a variety of predefined variables and helper functions to enable powerful logic to be defined.

Date and time functions

Syntax	Description
`time.after("2014-02-01")`	`true` if time is after 1st Feb midnight.
`time.after("2014-02-01 12:00")`	`true` if time is after 1st Feb 12pm.
`time.before("2014-02-15 13:00")`	`true` if time is before 15th Feb 1pm.
`time.hour() == 13`	`true` if hour is 1pm.
`time.decimalHour() > 13.5`	`true` if time is after 1:30pm (decimal).
`time.after("13:30")`	`true` if time is after 1:30pm (time).
`time.day() == "Thursday"`	`true` if day is Thursday.
`time.weekday()`	`true` if it is a weekday.
`time.weekend()`	`true` if it is a weekend.
`time.month() == "August"`	`true` if month is August.
`time.minute() == 5`	`true` at 5 minutes past every hour.
`time.second() == 59`	`true` at 59 seconds past every minute.
`time.date() == 1`	`true` if it is the 1st day of the month.
`time.between("14:05", "16:30")`	`true` if time is between 2:05pm and 4:40pm.
`time.between("18:00", "07:00")`	`true` if time is between 6pm and 7am of the following day.
`time.between("2014-01-01", "2014-01-31")`	`true` if time is between 1st Jan 12am and 31st Jan 12am.
`time.between("2014-01-01 10:00", "2014-01-31 14:00")`	`true` if time is between 1st Jan 10am and 31st Jan 2pm.
`time.between("19:00", "22:00", "Europe/London")`	Use a custom timezone. - `true` if time is between 7pm and 10pm in London. (player 11.11+)
`time.millis()`	Milliseconds since the UNIX epoch (January 1, 1970 00:00:00 UTC).

The time zone used by default will be the time zone of the device.

Geolocation functions

Syntax	Description
`distanceMiles(51.48, -0.10) < 10`	`true` if the location of the screen is less than 10 miles from the location with latitude of 51.48 and longitude of -0.10.
`distanceKilometers(51.48, -0.10) < 20`	`true` if the location of the screen is less than 20 kilometers from the location with latitude of 51.48 and longitude of -0.10.
`gpsInside(lat1,lng1,lat2,lng2,lat3,lng3...)`	`true` if the location of the screen is inside the polygon defined by the list of latitude longitude pairs. Please note, this function is designed for short distances (max 100km) that do not cross the international dateline. android-player-17.1.apk+ or android-exoplayer-3.1.apk+ required.
`gpsInside("lat1,lng1,lat2,lng2,lat3,lng3...")`	Same as above but accepts a single argument quoted String representation of many latitude longitude pairs. In addition to improving performance this function allows other defined data to be used for example `gpsInside(manhattanPolygon)`.

These functions require gpsLatitide and gpsLongitude to be set in the data. Screens will update these values automatically. For testing in the admin interface, set a test location using the Test Data Dialog.

More functions and values

Syntax	Description
`random()`	Generates a random number between 0 and 1. For example `random() < 0.5` returns `true` 50% of the time. Note: Generates a new random number every time it appears in a condition.
`random`	This value is set to a random number between 0 and 1. Note: A single number is generated after an item displays and available in all conditions. (Player 3.8+)

Variable scope and order of precedence

Variables within the current evaluation scope can be accessed in conditions. The scope includes; current item data, current slot data, current sequence data and screen data.

Screen data will override sequence data with the same name. This can be useful when setting defaults in the sequence data that will be overridden by specific screens to provide customisation.

The order of precedence is as follows: (Highest precedence used)

Active item data
Active slot data
Active screen data
Active sequence data (top to bottom when using base sequences)

When accessing data using the JavaScript DigitalSignage.getData(name) function the main sequence (which may differ to current sequence) is also in scope. This can be useful for HTML based sequence frames.

Smart Display Pacing

When an item contains a target number of plays, smart display pacing either displays or skips the item in a given loop of the sequence. A probabilistic model is used. The logic is as follows:

The servers maintain a play count for the item.
Every 10 minutes an interim target (pacing) is calculated based on constant play rate to reach target in the defined period.
If the play count is greater than the interim target, the probability of display is reduced to 75% of its current value.
If the play count is less than the interim target, the probability of display is increased to 150% of its current value.

Smart display pacing appends the calculated required display probability to the item condition. For example random() < 0.4 represents a 40% probability of displaying the item in a sequence loop.

Screen data

Devices can be configured by adding advanced player settings to the screen data. The following settings are available.

Name	Default	Example	Description
`showStatusIcon`	`false`	`true`	Show a small status icon in the bottom right when downloading media or there are communications problems.
`blackCondition`	`false`	`time.between("18:00", "06:59")`	When condition is `true` no images or videos will be displayed and the screen output will be black. CL
`standbyCondition`	`false`		When condition is `true` the app will exit. Please note the device will not enter standby and turn off the screen until the sleep period configured in the Android OS. The app will restart after `standbyPeriod` and check the condition again. CL
`standbyPeriod`	`3600000`		The period to remain in standby. After this period the app will resume.
`restartTime`		`03:00`	The time the app should restart. Comma separated list supported. DS Loader version 12.3+ and Player version 10.7+ required. Ignored until app active for 1 minute to prevent restart loops. System clock and time zone must be correct.
`exitTime`		`19:00`	As above except app exits and does not restart.
`rebootTime`		`00:00`	As above except reboot command issued. Requires rooted device and support for `reboot` shell command.
`background`	`#000000`	`#FFFFFF`	The background colour to display behind other content. Also sets a colour for the video blanker which masks black video when starting and stopping videos.
`videoBlankerPeriod`	`250`	`100`	The period in milliseconds when a video starts and stops to display the video blanker. (requires background)
`internetBlobsCondition`	`true`	`time.hour() == 3`	When `true` images and videos will be downloaded from the Internet if not available on the local network. CL
`intranetBlobsCondition`	`true`		When `true` images and videos will be downloaded from other devices on the local network. CL
`blobstoreInternal`	`true`		When `true` internal storage will be used to store images and videos.
`blobstoreExternal`	`true`		When `true` external storage will be used to store images and videos when the internal storage has less than 128MB available. Please note, on modern devices external storage is a second internal partition. To use an SD card or USB mass storage device you must specify the full path using `blobstoreDir`.
`blobstoreDir`		`/mnt/external_sd`	Additional paths suitable for storing blobs. This path will be used if internal and external locations are disabled or have less than 128MB available. It is recommended that you create a directory on the storage device and use the full path because the root may be limited to 512 files. Multiple additional paths can be specified using `blobstoreDir_0`, `blobstoreDir_1` etc.
`blobstoreMaxSize`			The maximum total size in bytes that should be used for storing blobs.
`blobTransferRateMin`		`10240` (10 KiB/s)	The minimum acceptable transfer rate for downloading. If the transfer rate drops below this value the download will be terminated and retried later.
`blobTransferRateMax`		`104857600` (100 MiB/s)	The maximum acceptable transfer rate for downloading. Some devices can not play HD video content at full frame rate while downloading at high speed. For these devices try reducing to 1 MiB/s (1048576).
`widthOverride`		`640`	The width of the desired output. (`widthOverride` and `heightOverride` required)
`heightOverride`		`480`	The height of the desired output. (`widthOverride` and `heightOverride` required)
`xOverride`		`100`	The x position of the desired top left of output. (`widthOverride` and `heightOverride` required)
`yOverride`		`100`	The y position of the desired top left of output. (`widthOverride` and `heightOverride` required)
`collectedDataTarget`			A server endpoint to POST collected data such as email addresses.
`webviewAllow`		`https://www.example.com/*`	Only allow the webview to access websites matching this pattern. To add multiple, suffix with a number starting with `_0`. E.g. `webviewAllow_0=... webviewAllow_1=...`. This setting restricts main address and iframe addresses but not resources loaded by the page.
`webviewReuse`		`10`	The number of WebView components to cache and reuse. Speeds up rendering web pages that display more than once. Set to `0` to disable.
`webviewReusePeriod`		`600000`	The period in milliseconds a cached WebView should reuse content and avoid reloading the page.
`maxBitmapCacheSize`		`20000000`	The maximum RAM (in bytes) that will be used to cache bitmap images. Default is half `memMax`.
`manageSystemUiVisibility`	`true`	`false`	Attempt to hide the System UI. Disable this option if touch events are ignored.
`password`		`password`	Adds a password field to the exit dialog. Password typed must match this password to exit.

CL - Conditional logic supported, for example time.between("18:00", "06:59") will automatically enable the setting between 6pm and 6:59am.

Settings for Audience Analytics

Name	Default	Description
`cameraId`	`3`	The ID of the camera to use. When using a device with a single camera, set this to `0`.
`cameraWidth`	`640`	The width in pixels the camera should capture.
`cameraHeight`	`480`	The height in pixels the camera should capture.
`cameraOrientation`	`0`	Camera orientation (0: original, 1: +90 degrees, 2: -90 degrees, 3: 180 degrees)
`analyticsUseClient`	`true`	Enable Analytics reporting. (required)
`analyticsServerHost`	`188.138.26.160`	IP address or host name of Analytics reporting server.
`analyticsServerPort`	`20001`	Port of Analytics reporting server.
`analyticsReconnectInterval`	`5`	Period in seconds to send reporting data.
`analyticsDeviceKey`		The API key required for Analytics. (automatically generated)
`analyticsDeviceId`		The device ID for this screen. (automatically generated)
`analyticsPreview`	`false`	Show Analytics processing image. (default bottom right)
`analyticsPreviewX`		Preview position in pixels from left of screen.
`analyticsPreviewY`		Preview position in pixels from left of screen.
`analyticsPreviewWidth`	`640`	Preview width in pixels.
`analyticsPreviewHeight`	`480`	Preview height in pixels.

Audience Analytics debugging information

Name	Example	Description
`analyticsError`		Set if error detected performing audience analytics.
`analyticsIsConnected`	`true`	Is screen connected to Analytics servers.
`analyticsIsConfigOk`	`true`	Is the Analytics configuration OK.
`analyticsKeyStatus`	`OK`	The status of the Analytics licence key.

Screen data sent by players

Devices will periodically send the following data to the server. This data can be used in conditions to control if an item displays. For example the condition screenWidth > 1000 would ensure the item only displays if the width of the screen is greater than 1000 pixels.

Name	Example	Description
`freeSpace_0`	`121321321`	The number of bytes of free space on the primary storage device.
`freeSpace_1`	`1584680960`	The number of bytes of free space on the secondary storage device.
`gpsAltitude`	`22.299999237060547`	The GPS altitude of the device.
`gpsBearing`	`0.0`	The GPS bearing of the device.
`gpsLatitude`	`51.19537291`	The GPS latitude of the device.
`gpsLongitude`	`0.27393845`	The GPS longitude of the device.
`gpsSpeed`	`1.5206907`	The GPS speed of the device.
`hardware`	`mako`	The hardware label assigned to the device.
`hardwareBoard`	`MAKO`	The hardware board label assigned to the device.
`hardwareBootloader`	`MAKOZ30d`	The hardware bootloader label assigned to the device.
`hardwareBrand`	`google`	The hardware brand label assigned to the device.
`hardwareBuild`	`KTU84P`	The hardware build label assigned to the device.
`hardwareDevice`	`mako`	The hardware device label assigned to the device.
`hardwareId`	`KTU84P`	The hardware ID assigned to the device.
`hardwareManufacturer`	`LGE`	The hardware manufacturer label assigned to the device.
`hardwareModel`	`Nexus 4`	The hardware model label assigned to the device.
`hardwareProduct`	`occam`	The hardware product label assigned to the device.
`hardwareSerial`	`004efcdb18961386`	The hardware serial assigned to the device.
`hardwareTags`	`release-keys`	The hardware tags assigned to the device.
`hardwareType`	`user`	The hardware type label assigned to the device.
`hardwareVersionCodename`	`REL`	The hardware version codename assigned to the device.
`loaderUdpPort`	`44326`	The port used to communicate directly with this device using UDP.
`loaderVersion`	`2.6`	The version of the loader codebase connecting this device to the server.
`memFree`	`439568`	The number of bytes of free RAM in the active JVM the loader runs in.
`memMax`	`201326592`	The maximum number of bytes available to the JVM for code execution.
`memTotal`	`14163968`	The total number of bytes the JVM has allocated.
`requiredDataAvailable`	`355141`	The number of bytes available locally to play the currently active sequence.
`requiredDataTotal`	`355141`	The number of bytes required to play the currently active sequence.
`screenDpiX`	`319.79`	The number pixels per inch vertically. (often inaccurate)
`screenDpiY`	`318.745`	The number pixels per inch horizontally. (often inaccurate)
`screenHeight`	`1184`	The number of pixels on the screen vertically.
`screenWidth`	`768`	The number of pixels on the screen horizontally.
`totalData`	`355141`	The number of bytes stored on the device for sequence playback.
`wifiSignalLevel`	`90`	The strength of the WiFi signal.
`wifiSpeed`	`65`	The speed in megabits of the active WiFi connection.
`wifiSsid`	`SKY56566`	The SSID of the access point WiFi is connected to.
`plugged`	`2`	The power status. Returns a value greater than `0` if the device is plugged in to mains power. This data is useful in the `standbyCondition`.

Screen data added by audience analytics

Name	Example	Description
`males`	`3`	The number of males detected looking at the camera.
`females`	`2`	The number of females detected looking at the camera.
`kids`	`1`	The number of children detected looking at the camera.
`young`	`1`	The number of young adults detected looking at the camera.
`adults`	`2`	The number of adults detected looking at the camera.
`seniors`	`1`	The number of seniors detected looking at the camera.
`kidMales`	`1`	The number of male children detected looking at the camera.
`kidFemales`	`2`	The number of female children detected looking at the camera.
`youngMales`	`3`	The number of young males detected looking at the camera.
`youngFemales`	`4`	The number of young females detected looking at the camera.
`adultMales`	`5`	The number of adult males detected looking at the camera.
`adultFemales`	`6`	The number of adult females detected looking at the camera.
`seniorMales`	`7`	The number of senior males detected looking at the camera.
`seniorFemales`	`8`	The number of senior females detected looking at the camera.
`emotionHappy`	`1`	The number of smiling faces detected looking at the camera.
`emotionNeutral`	`2`	The number of neutral faces detected looking at the camera.
`emotionAngry`	`3`	The number of angry faces detected looking at the camera.
`emotionSurprised`	`4`	The number of surprised faces detected looking at the camera.

Scrolling Text

Scrolling text can be displayed on the screen. The following values are used to set and style the scrolling text and can be added as data to the screen, sequence or item.

If scrolling text is set on a screen it can be overriden by an item. For example, adding scrollingTextCondition=false to an item would hide the scrolling text while the item is displayed.

Name	Default	Example	Description
`scrollingText`		`My Text`	Set to scroll custom text on the screen. (Android only)
`scrollingTextSpeed`	`200`		Scrolling text speed in pixels per second.
`scrollingTextGravity`	`bottom`		Position the scrolling text should be rendered.
`scrollingTextSize`	`100`		Text size of the scrolling text in pixels.
`scrollingTextColor`	`#FFFFFF`		Color of the scrolling text.
`scrollingTextBackgroundColor`	`#000000`		Color of the background behind the scrolling text.
`scrollingTextPadding`	`10`		Padding between scrolling text and edge of screen.
`scrollingTextCondition`	`true`		When `true` and `scrollingText` set, the scrolling text will be displayed. CL

Digital Clock

A clock can be displayed on the screen. The following values are used to set and style the clock and can be added as data to the screen.

Name	Default	Example	Description
`timePattern`		`HH:mm:ss`	Patten to define date/time formatting. Set to show time. (Android only)
`timeGravity`	`top right`		Position the date/time should be rendered.
`timeTextSize`	`100`		Text size of the date/time in pixels.
`timeTextColor`	`#FFFFFF`		Color of the text used for drawing date/time.
`timePadding`	`10`		Padding between date/time and edge of screen.
`timeZoneOverride`		`Europe/London`	Timezone used to display current time. This will override the devices configured time zone.

Audio Volume

The volume of audio playback can be controlled by setting volume to a value between 0 and 1. The volume setting can be added as data to the screen, sequence or item.

If volume is set on a screen it can be overriden by an item. For example, adding volume=0 to a video item would mute the volume when it plays.

Name	Example	Description
`volume`	`0.5`	Set the volume of the audio. (Android only)

Playback Synchronisation

Multiple screens can be synchronised to start playing items at the same time. The screens must be on the same LAN and configured to display the same sequence or root base sequence. When sequences share the same root base sequence, ensure items stacked above have the same duration to prevent premature sequence progression.

Synchronisation will only occur when all data has been downloaded. It may also take up to 5 minutes to accurately synchronise the local clock after the player starts.

Accuracy varies depending on the hardware, Android version and the type of images and videos displayed. To obtain good playback synchronisation it is recommended the same hardware is used. The following modes can be set to further optimise accuracy of synchronisation.

Name	Value	Description
`syncVideoMode`	`0`	Prepare then start the next video immediately after the previous item. This results in a variable duration gap between videos.
`syncVideoMode`	`1`	Prepare the next video and schedule it to start 350ms after the previous item. This mode adds 350ms to the duration of each item but increases accuracy and prevents the end of videos being skipped.
`syncVideoMode`	`2`	Prepare the next video, schedule it to start 250ms after the previous item then pause and resume the video for up to 100ms so target start time is achieved. This trick improves start time accuracy.
`syncVideoMode`	`3`	Prepare the next video 350ms before the end of the previous video and start it when the previous item finishes. (Requires decoding of two videos at the same time which is not supported on some devices)
`syncVideoMode`	`4`	Prepare the next video 350ms before the end of the previous video, start it 100ms before the previous item finishes then pause and resume the video for up to 100ms so target start time is achieved.

The default mode is 2. Modes 3 and 4 will remove the 350ms padding between items but may cause instability because the device will be processing 2 videos at the same time for a short period. All devices must use the same sync mode, please add this setting to sequence and inner sequence data.

When using a variety of devices and Android versions, some may start earlier than others. To compensate the following values can be added to the screen data.

Name	Value	Description
`syncOffset`	`0`	Delay the transition between items (images and videos) by this number of milliseconds.
`syncVideoOffset`	`0`	Delay starting videos by this number of milliseconds.

Screen Brightness

The screen brightness can be controlled by setting screenBrightness to a value between 0 and 1. The brightness setting can be added as data to the screen, sequence or item.

If brightness is set on a screen it can be overridden by an item. For example, adding screenBrightness=1 to an image would set maximum brightness when it displays.

Name	Example	Description
`screenBrightness`	`0.5`	Set the brightness of the screen. (Android with built in screen only)

Screen Orientation

The screen orientation can be controlled by setting orientation to one of the values below. This option will override the internal orientation sensor. Please note, some devices ignore this setting.

Name	Value	Description
`orientation`	`6`	Set landscape orientation
`orientation`	`8`	Set reverse landscape orientation
`orientation`	`1`	Set portrait orientation
`orientation`	`9`	Set reverse portrait orientation

See Android Documentation for more orientation settings.

Barcodes and Near Field Communication (NFC)

Scanning Barcodes

Barcodes are automatically read when a USB barcode reader is connected (keyboard emulation). If an event is configured with a matching barcode trigger, the action will be performed.

Scanning NFC tags

NFC tags are automatically read when placed near the device. If an event is configured with a matching NFC trigger, the action will be performed.

Examples:

Display an image, video or sequence when a specific barcode or NFC tag is scanned.
Display a web page from by a 3rd party service related to the scanned barcode or NFC tag.
Automatically add data to the screen to control volume, standby, brightness or advanced stack item conditions with custom barcodes and NFC tags.

To display a dynamic web page for many barcodes add ~barcode in the address for the web page action. This will be replaced with the barcode. For example http://www.example.com/shopping.php?barcode=~barcode would display the web page http://www.example.com/shopping.php?barcode=123456789 if the barcode 123456789 was scanned. Use ~nfcTagText for NFC tags.

Send phone to a custom web address

A phone or tablet with NFC support can also be placed near a digital signage player to open a web browser and load a web page. To configure the destination web page address, set nfcUrl to the address of a web page. The nfcUrl setting can be added as data to the screen, sequence or item.

To complete the NFC transfer, the digital signage screen must be touched.

Name	Example	Description
`nfcUrl`	`http://www.example.com`	Send a phone or tablet near to the screen to a web address.

NFC does not function when the digital signage player runs above the Android screen lock.

Beacons

Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons and the physical web

Screens running Android 5.1+ and supported BLE hardware can broadcast a beacon. The beacon can be received by nearby devices to perform actions on the screen. See Physical Web

Name	Example	Description
`beaconConfig`	`blepw`	Enable the default BLE Physical Web implementation.
`beaconConfig`	`http://example.com`	Override the default implementation and direct user to custom address. Note: Eddystone URL Spec restricts this to 17 characters.

RS232 Communications

RS232 communications makes it possible to send and receive data between the player and an external device. Examples of external devices include: HDMI switches, TVs and alarms. Most USB to RS232 adapters using Prolific or FTDI chipsets are supported.

Examples:

When a specific item is displayed, or condition is true an HDMI switch can change the input to display alternative video source.
A TV could be turned on or off or the volume updated.
A special item can be displayed when an alarm goes off.

RS232 Configuration

Special configuration data is required to setup the communications. The configuration must be added to screen data.

Name	Example	Description
`rs232config`	`9600,8,1,none`	Set the baudrate to 9600, data bits to 8, stop bits to 1 and parity to none.

RS232 Output

To send a command to the serial device, add the command to the data of an item.

Name	Example	Description
`rs232output`	`avi=1`	When the item displays, this will send `avi=1` to the serial device.

By default, ASCII data will be sent to the serial device. To send binary data to the serial device, encode to hex and add rs232outputFormat=hex to the data.

Name	Example	Description
`rs232outputFormat`	`hex`	The output is provided as HEX and should be converted to binary before sending.
`rs232output`	`AA11FF010112`	When the item displays, this will send `AA11FF010112` to the serial device.

The rs232output data will only be sent to the device when the value changes. This prevents continuously sending the same data.

To send data when the player starts. The data can be added to a variable named rs232outputAtStart in screen data.

RS232 output communications requires loader version 12.5, player version 11.2 or above and a compatible USB to RS232 adapter.

RS232 Input

The player monitors data sent from external serial devices. After a CR or LF is received, the ASCII text string is added to a screen data variable named rs232input and can be used in condition evaluation, as an event trigger or read using the JavaScript Interface on a web page.

Only ASCII data separated by CR or LF is supported. RS232 input communications requires player version 21.3 or above.

RS232 Output for Samsung Screens

A custom configuration for monitoring and controlling Samsung TVs with RS232 input is available. Add rs232config=samsung to screen data to enable. When enabled, the following values will be added to screen data.

Name	Example	Description
`samsungScreenPowerStatus`	`on`	Screen power status. Values: `on off`.
`samsungScreenInputSource`	`hdmi1`	Screen input source. Values: `hdmi1 hdmi2 dvi dtv display_port`.
`samsungScreenVolume`	`25`	Screen output volume. Values: `0-100`

Screen status will be checked every 10 seconds. Additional options can be added to rs232config to automatically maintain the status.

Name	Example	Description
`rs232config`	`samsung,off`	Keep the samsung screen turned off.
`rs232config`	`samsung,on,hdmi1`	Keep the samsung screen turned on and set to HDMI 1 input.
`rs232config`	`samsung,vol=22`	Keep the samsung screen at a volume of 22.

Screen status can also be updated by sequence items. This can be useful, for example, to switch to another input based on conditions or events. Add rs232output to item data.

Name	Example	Description
`rs232output`	`hdmi2`	Switch to HDMI 2 input now.
`rs232output`	`dtv,vol=50`	Switch to digital TV input and set volume to 50 now.

RS232 Output for Samsung Screens requires loader version 12.5 and player version 14.1 or above.

Advanced Interaction

The following data can be used to control interactive presentations.

Name	Default	Description
`enableSwipe`	`true`	Enable swiping to navigate sequences.
`enableTouchEvents`	`true`	Enable touch events to trigger actions.
`showTouchAnimations`	`true`	Animate movement of items when swiped or touched.
`showSequenceButtons`	`false`	Display left and right navigation buttons.
`showSequenceBranchBackButton`	`true`	After navigating to another web page, item or sequence, show an up arrow to return.

Custom App Launch

An Android app can be launched after an event trigger by providing the package name in the launch app action.

Custom intents can be launched by providing the data required for the Android Intent. Supported data includes:

Name	Example	Description
`action`	`android.intent.action.VIEW`	The Android action to perform.
`data`	`http://www.example.com/`	Data to provide for the action. (optional)
`category`	`android.intent.category.LAUNCHER`	The category of the event. (optional)
`package`	`com.android.chrome`	The package name for the Intent handling class. (optional)
`type`	`text/plain`	Content type of the data. (optional)

Extra intent data is application specific. Data names must not contain dots. Extra intent data is automatically added prefixed with android.intent.extra.. For example, TEXT will add android.intent.extra.TEXT to the extras of the intent.

Example for launching Chrome to display web page

Custom

`action`	`android.intent.action.VIEW`
`data`	`http://www.example.com/`
`package`	`com.android.chrome`

Example for printing using QuickPrinter

Custom

`action`	`pe.diegoveloper.printing`
`type`	`text/plain`

Extras

`TEXT`	`<BIG>Text Title<BR>Testing <BIG>BIG<BR><BIG><BOLD>string <SMALL> text<BR><LEFT>Left aligned<BR><CENTER>Center aligned<BR><UNDERLINE>underline text<BR><QR>12345678<BR><CENTER>QR: 12345678<BR>Line<BR><LINE><BR>Double Line<BR><DLINE><BR><CUT>`

Admin Interface Functionality

The administration interface can be configured for specific users and cloud configurations. The following data can be used to show, hide and disable functionality available to a user or cloud.

Name	Default	Description
`showServerConfigs`	`true`	Display the cloud config tab and list accessible cloud configs.
`createServerConfig`	`true`	Allow creation of new cloud configurations.
`showGroups`	`true`	Display the groups tab and list accessible groups.
`createGroup`	`true`	Allow creation of new groups.
`showUsers`	`true`	Display the users tab and list accessible users.
`createUser`	`true`	Allow creation of new users.
`showUserSettingsItem`	`true`	Display the user settings item.
`showLibrary`	`true`	Display the library tab and list accessible library items.
`createLibraryItem`	`true`	Allow creation of new library items.
`showHome`	`true`	Display the home tab.
`showSequences`	`true`	Display the sequences tab and list accessible sequences.
`createSequence`	`true`	Allow creation of new sequences.
`showScreens`	`true`	Display the screens tab and list accessible screens.
`createScreen`	`true`	Allow creation of new screens.
`showReports`	`true`	Show the reports tab.
`showSoftwareLinks`	`true`	Show the links to download the installation software.
`showUserManualLink`	`true`	Show the link to this manual page.
`showAccessControls`	`true`	Display the access tab and allow user to grant access to other users and groups.
`showData`	`true`	Show the data tab and allow the user to add and modify raw data in objects.
`createCompositeItem`	`true`	Allow the creation of items that display multiple images and videos at the same time.
`addCompositeWidgetItem`	`false`	Allow a widget to be selected and added to a composite item.
`addCompositeSequenceItem`	`true`	Allow an inner sequence to be selected and added to a composite item.
`pageSize`	`20`	The number of rows displayed in a table on a single page.
`reportPageSize`	`100`	The number of items to display on each page of a report.
`maxResults`	`5000`	The maximum results to fetch from the server in a single request.
`showAdvancedCondition`	`true`	Display the advanced condition for stack items.
`editStackSettings`	`true`	Allow the user to edit stack settings such as maximum duration and stacking above.
`showFullJson`	`false`	Display the link to view the full raw JSON of a sequence.
`displayItemShowBuildButton`	`true`	Display button for building content using a content builder.
`displayItemShowInternetButton`	`true`	Display button for importing from an Internet source or displaying a web page.
`displayItemShowLibraryButton`	`true`	Display button for selecting an item from the library.
`displayItemShowUploadButton`	`true`	Display button for uploading new items.
`showDownloadButton`	`true`	Show download button to export data. (Note: does not apply to reports)
`showMultipleSelectButton`	`true`	Show the multiple selection button to perform actions on multiple items.
`showSearchButton`	`true`	Show the search button used filter items by search text, groups and columns.
`editUserLabel`	`true`	Allow the user to edit their name.
`editUserLocation`	`true`	Allow the user to edit their location.
`showUserAdvanced`	`true`	Show the advanced tab in the edit user dialog.
`editSequenceLabel`	`true`	Allow sequence label to be changed. Can also be set in sequence data (user data overrides it).
`showRssPreviewOption`	`true`	Show option to preview the sequence or screen as an evaluated Media RSS feed.
`showSequenceTestDataOption`	`true`	Show option to add test data to a sequence. Used for testing advanced conditions.
`showExpireOptions`	`true`	Show options to expire, reactivate and remove expired items from a sequence.
`showFindSequenceOption`	`true`	Show find sequence option to stack items linking to an inner sequence.
`showCopyOption`	`true`	Show copy option.
`showRemoveOption`	`true`	Show remove option.
`showEditOption`	`true`	Show edit option.
`showAddItemOption`	`true`	Show add item option.
`showScreenStatusReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the live screen status report.
`showScreenStatusHistoryReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the historical screen status report.
`showScreenLocationReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the screen location report.
`showSimulator`	`true`	Show the option to simulate playback for testing.
`showSequenceMappingReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the screen mapping report.
`showUserSummaryReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the user and group summary report.
`showUserActionReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the user action report.
`showDisplaySummaryReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the display summary report.
`showDisplayReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the display report.
`showMediaUploadReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the media upload report.
`showCollectedDataReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the collected data report.
`showAnalyticsReport`	`true`	Show the option to view the analytics report.
`defaultReportSearchType`	`screen`	Sets the default report search type for display report, display summary and collected data. Valid values `screen sequence libraryitem screenId sequenceId itemId libraryItemId`.
`extendedOfflineThreshold`	`604800000`	The delay (in milliseconds) a screen can be offline before it is hidden from the screens tab.
`showHomeServiceStatus`	`true`	Show the service status (server, replication and reporting health) on the home tab.
`showBillingStatus`	`false`	Show the billing status - billing group applied and how many screen not in a billing group.

Additional visibility options can be added on request.

Advanced Content Types

HTML5

The platform is designed to display web pages directly from the Internet. Sometimes it is necessary to host the site locally on the device so it can work in offline mode or reduce delays loading. To achieve these goals it is possible to create a zip file containing all the HTML and resources for the site and upload it to the platform.

Zipped web page

Name the web page index.html and make all paths to images, JavaScript and CSS relative. Compress index.html and resources into a single zip file. Upload the zip file as regular item and it will be recognised as a zipped web page.

The zip will automatically be extracted onto the device and read locally by the internal web browser.

Streaming media

An item can provide a streaming media address to display live video. Examples include:

rtsp:// - Video streamed via RTSP from another device e.g. rtsp://192.168.0.2/live-video.rtsp
camera:// - Local camera e.g. camera://0 or camera://1
hdmi:// - Local HDMI input e.g. hdmi://localhost?port=1
hdmi://zidoo - Special HDMI input from Zidoo device
http:// - Remote video streamed from the Internet via HTTP e.g. http://www.example.com/remote-video.mp4 - Not recommended. Non-live video should be imported into our content management system to benefit from our CDN, P2P, caches and offline playback.

PDF, SWF, DOC, PPT etc

Using these formats is not recommended. However, if they are uploaded, 3rd party viewer extensions may be used to attempt to display them. It is best to use JPEG images and H264 encoded video for consistent output for digital signage.

Advanced content types are only supported on Android devices.

Android Screen Lock

To prevent users launching other apps or tampering with Android settings, enable the Android screen lock. DS Loader will run above the screen lock when the device is turned on.

To configure the screen lock, go to Android Settings - Security - Screen Lock

It may still be poosible to exit the player, but this will only result in the screen lock appearing. The player will automatically return to the foreground after 1 minute.

Android System UI

Many devices display system user interface controls at the bottom of the screen. For example, back, home and recent apps buttons. The player usually hides these components automatically, but it may be possible to make them reappear.

The player includes a mechanism to completely remove the System UI, but it requires ROOT privileges. There are 2 methods of gaining ROOT privileges:

Signing DS Loader with the manufacturer system keys
ROOTing the device

If neither of these options are possible. The System UI can be aggressively hidden by adding the following to screen data systemUiHideDelay=0.

For devices used exclusively for digital signage, we recommend removing the Android System UI (com.android.systemui) completely and setting a password in screen data.

Tip: Enable the Android Screen Lock to ensure the screen lock appears if the player exits. The player will automatically return to the foreground after 1 minute.

Android Day Dream

The digital signage player can also run as an Android Day Dream (screen saver)

To enable the day dream, go to Settings - Screen - Day Dream - DS Loader

Application Programming Interface (API)

We have 5 public APIs available for integrating with the digital signage platform and automating operations.

Quick Data API - Quick modification of fields inside objects.
Reporting API - Automate fetching large playback reports.
RESTful API - Full modification of all system objects.
Content Building API - Linking a content building service into the admin interface.
Remote Trigger API - To remotely trigger screens to perform actions.

Authentication

All API requests must include a valid session ID in a cookie or an authentication header matching the credentials of a user using basic HTTP authentication.

The session ID cookie will be automatically used if you have signed into the admin interface and are using the same web browser to make API requests.

RESTful Object API

Please refer to our documentation at swaggerhub. This development resource makes it easy to test and understand RESTful operations:

TargetR Stacks REST API at SwaggerHub

Generic Object Structure

All objects follow a common structure.

{
    "id": "ABCEF1234567",
    "type": "object-type",
    "data": {
        "label": "My label",
        "version": "23",
        "createdMillis": "1404910684273",
        "modifiedMillis": "1412943312770",
    },
}

The id field is used to uniquely store and reference an object of a specific type. The data field references an inner object containing a map of name value pairs. Anything can be stored in this map and used in condition evaluation and for other purposes. All values in the data must be text strings, however, they will be dynamically cast to numbers and boolean values when condition evaluation is performed.

The data contains a label, a version number, created and modified dates in milliseconds since the epoc. Additional fields will vary depending on the object type. The quickest way to learn the additional fields and object structure is to click the "REST API" button in the data tab of objects within the admin interface.

RESTful Endpoints:

/rest-api/v1/screens - GET list of screens.
/rest-api/v1/screens/[SCREEN-ID] - GET, PUT and DELETE a specific screen.
/rest-api/v1/sequences - GET list of sequences.
/rest-api/v1/sequences/[SEQUENCE-ID] - GET, PUT and DELETE a specific sequence.
/rest-api/v1/libraryitems - GET list of library items.
/rest-api/v1/libraryitems/[LIBRARY-ITEM-ID] - GET, PUT and DELETE a specific library item.
/rest-api/v1/users - GET list of users.
/rest-api/v1/users/[USER-ID] - GET, PUT and DELETE a specific user.
/rest-api/v1/groups - GET list of groups.
/rest-api/v1/groups/[GROUP-ID] - GET, PUT and DELETE a specific group.
/rest-api/v1/serverconfigs - GET list of server configs. (Also known as cloud configs).
/rest-api/v1/serverconfigs/[SERVER-CONFIG-ID] - GET, PUT and DELETE a specific server config.

Updates can only be performed on the items the authenticated user has access to. To control access to items, access controls are used and can be updated using the following endpoints:

/rest-api/v1/accesscontrol - GET list of access controls.
/rest-api/v1/accesscontrol/[ACTOR-ID]/[OBJECT-TYPE]/[OBJECT-ID] - DELETE an access control.

New objects can be created by a POST or PUT without including an ID for the new object. New objects will automatically create a new access control allowing the authenticated user to access it.

Access Controls are used to assign items to a Group. Each access control references the group and an item in the group. All users with access to the group have access to items in the group.

Searching by group

To search for members of a group, the group name or group ID can be added to the list request.

?groupName=[GROUP-NAME]
?groupId=[GROUP-ID]

For example, /rest-api/v1/libraryitems?groupName=mycustomgroup will return library items in the group named mycustomgroup.

This operation avoids querying access controls to find items in a group and then fetching the items individually.

Applying user visibility

A masquerade parameter can be used to list objects a specific user is able to access. For example ?masquerade=[USER-ID]. Please note, the active user (as defined by the authenticated API credentials) must have permissions to access the specific user to perform masquerading.

Filtering by predicate

To filter results from a list request a filter parameter can be used. The filter is a predicate that is applied to data in each object. For example:

?filter=modifiedMillis>=1533901286294
?filter=label=="test"
?filter=mycustomkey=="mycustomvalue"
?filter=androidSdk>20&&screenSize<55

Please URL encode the value of the filter to encapsulate any special characters.

Example Java Code

The following examples require json_simple-1.1.jar on the classpath. This library is used to help construct the JSON for the server communications.

Users, Groups and Access Controls

This example demonstrates how to create users and groups and apply access controls.

UserManagementExample.java [Output]

Library items, Sequences and media uploads.

List responses can be filtered by group by adding the query parameter groupId or groupName referencing a group to return.

Quick Data API

The Quick Data API can be used for making changes to data in objects without the complexity of managing JSON objects. The purpose of this API is to automate adding data that is used in stack item evaluation.

Data can be sent as a URL encoded form post or as query parameters in the URL. For example:

/api/screen-data/ABCEF1234567?temp=23&wet=true

Set the data named temp to the value 23 and the data named wet to the value true in the screen with the ID ABCEF1234567.

/api/sequence-data/1234567ABCEF?offer=1

Set the data named offer to the value 1 in the sequence with the ID 1234567ABCEF.

The Quick Data API can also be used to make data changes that are not part of stack item evaluation. For example quickly changing the sequence being displayed or updating scrolling text on a screen. Changes take effect instantly.

/api/screen-data/ABCEF1234567?sequenceId=1234567ABCDEF

Display the sequence with ID 1234567ABCDEF on the screen with the ID ABCEF1234567.

/api/screen-data/ABCEF1234567?scrollingText=HelloWorld!

Display the scrolling text HelloWorld! on the screen with the ID ABCEF1234567.

/api/user-data/1A2B3C4D5E6F7?label=Joe%20Blogs

Set the data named label to the value Joe Bloggs in the user with the ID 1A2B3C4D5E6F7.

To remove data from an object, provide the name and equals with no value.

/api/screen-data/ABCEF1234567?scrollingText=

Remove the data named scrollingText from the screen with the ID ABCEF1234567.

To modify data in a group of screens in a single request.

/api/group-screen-data/london.screens?overrideTimeZone=Europe/London

Overrides the time zone of all screens in the group named london.screens with overrideTimeZone=Europe/London.

The group-screen-data endpoint is for updating data for multiple screens and does not return data. The response body will be OK if successful.

Example Java Code

Simple examples demonstrating the quick data API.

QuickDataApiExample.java

Reporting API

The reporting API is used to stream large reports and collected data for further analysis.

Click the download button in the interface to download a report. Reports can be extremely large and the total size of the report is not known because it streamed directly out of the database.

To download a report via API use the following endpoints:

Display Report

/api/display-report/full.csv

This will download the report of items displayed in the last 24 hours. Reporting must be enabled for each item individually to appear in the report.

Custom date ranges can be specified using startMillis and endMillis parameters. (Milliseconds since the epoc)

/api/display-report/full.csv?startMillis=1388534400000

This will download a report containing all items displayed since January 2014.

A report for a specific screen, sequence, stack item or library item can be downloaded by setting type and id parameters.

/api/display-report/full.csv?startMillis=1388534400000&type=screen&id=1234567ABCDEF

This will download a report containing all items displayed on the screen with ID/MAC 1234567ABCDEF since January 2014.

Set type to screen, sequence, item or libraryitem as required.

Display Summary

/api/display-summary/full.csv?aggregation=item

This will download the display counts for items displayed in the last 24 hours grouped by item.

Set aggregation to item, screen or item_and_screen as required.

Collected Data Report

/api/collected-data-report/full.csv

This will download the report of collected data in the last 24 hours. The collect data event must be set for each item individually and data must be entered by the user to appear in the report.

The fields in the CSV can be selected by including a parameter named fields populated with a comma separated list of field names.

Custom data can be fetched from referenced library items, sequences and screens by prefixing the name with libraryItem. sequence. or screen..

For example, to include itemId, screenId and the custom field myCustomField stored in the screen data, the following parameter can be added to the request: ?fields=itemId,screenId,screen.myCustomField

Remote Trigger API

A remote API call can be made to trigger a pre-configured event on a specific screen or group of screens. The trigger can be used to interrupt current playback and display another item or sequence of items. It is also possible to remotely trigger JavaScript within an active web page. This makes it possible to remotely control interactive web pages. Using the ds-loader layer 1 communications (UDP), triggers are typically delivered in under 200ms.

The remote trigger API call is of the following format: /api/screen-trigger/SCREEN-MAC?name=DATA where SCREEN-MAC is the MAC address of the screen and DATA is the data that matches the configured trigger event or provides additional data to a JavaScript function in an active web page.

To listen for triggers in an interactive web page it is necessary to have configured a function with the following name: DigitalSignageTriggerCallback. This function will be called when the remote API call is made.

Additional JavaScript functions are available to help with building web pages controlled remotely.

Name	Description
`function DigitalSignageStartCallback(){}`	Called when the web page starts being displayed.
`function DigitalSignageTriggerCallback(data){}`	Called when the remote trigger API is used. The data will be the data provided to the remote trigger API.
`function DigitalSignageEndCallback(){}`	Called when the web page ends being displayed (after configured duration).
`DigitalSignage.setResumeDelay(30000)`	Delays sequence progression by 30 seconds. This is useful if you know a user is still interacting and do not want to interrupt them.
`DigitalSignage.getScreenId()`	Returns the screen ID (MAC address) of the screen displaying the web page.
`DigitalSignage.getData(name)`	Gets data value of the specified name stored in the screen, active item, stack or sequence data.
`DigitalSignage.getScreenData(name)`	Gets data value of the specified name stored in the screen data.
`DigitalSignage.putScreenData(name, value)`	Puts data value in to the screen data.
`DigitalSignage.getOffsetPlaybackData(offset, name)`	Gets data value from previous (offset=-1) or next (offset=1) positions in main sequence. This can be used to populate HTML sequence frames to display what is on next for example. When offset positive, this function simulates progressing to future items. It will only return items that have a condition that evaluates to true and is fully downloaded.
`DigitalSignage.getPlayerTime()`	Returns the internal player time in milliseconds since epoch. This time is updated based on server time and is typically more accurate than the system clock (especially if NTP is blocked or disabled).

A simple example is available here.

Remote Data Source

Players can periodically connect to a web server and fetch a JSON object. The data in the JSON object will be used when evaluating conditions.

Name	Example	Description
`remoteDataSource`	`http://api.example.com/json`	Endpoint to get JSON object from.
`remoteDataFetchPeriod`	`10000`	The period in milliseconds between downloads.

For example, a web server on a train could be configured to return the next station and arrival time:

{
    "nextStation": "London Bridge",
    "eta": 4
}

A condition (in a stack item or event trigger) could use this data to display an item, another sequence or trigger a custom action:

nextStation == "London Bridge" && eta < 5

Local Web Server

A web server is built in to the player. This web server can be accessed using a web browser on your local network.

The local web server provides 3 useful functions:

Live logs - View local log entries as they occur in your web browser.
Player state - Query local screen data via JSON API. Access GPS, Analytics and other data.
Blobstore - View items stored on the local device.

The internal web server is not started by default. To enable the internal web server, add the following into screen data.

localWebServerPort=9090

This starts the web server listening on port 9090. The following addresses will then become available:

http://[local-ip-address]:9090/log - Live logs
http://[local-ip-address]:9090/player-state - Player state
http://[local-ip-address]:9090/blobstore/ - Blobstore

The local-ip-address can be found in the localAddress field within screen data.

The internal web server is only available in android-player-21.0.apk and later.

Blobstore and Blob Sharing

All images, videos and other resources are named based on their raw data. The Blob naming convention provides efficient storage, avoids data duplication, provides the ability to verify data and safely share the data between local devices with strong consistency.

A Blob name is the MD5 of the binary data followed by a dash then the length in bytes.

For example: 962B5B1AF8C3B868D87979E92D8BFCE7-164197

A Blob can be cached forever because a Blob with a given name never changes.

Dynamic content uses snapshots. A snapshot is the dynamically generated Blob at a specific point in time. Snapshots are updated after they are used in a lazy fashion.

Blobstores can be shared with multiple servers and served using a content delivery network (CDN).

For example: http://d3psb5pjgez07s.cloudfront.net/962B5B1AF8C3B868D87979E92D8BFCE7-164197

Additional Custom Blobstores

To supplement the global blobstores, additional blobstores can be specified in a cloud config. This makes it possible for a digital signage network to use their own infrastructure for storing and distributing images and videos.

When configured, all new data uploaded will be transferred to one or more additional servers. Players will download using HTTP from the configured endpoints.

The cloud config must use a fully qualified domain name and players must be configured with a matching serverAddress for the custom blobstore to be used.

Uploading to custom S3 bucket

`blobstoreConfig`	`s3,[AMAZON-ACCESS-KEY],[AMAZON-SECRET-KEY],[BUCKET-NAME],[BUCKET-REGION]`
`blobstoreHttpEndpoint`	`http://s3.amazonaws.com/[BUCKET-NAME]/`
`blobstoreHttpsEndpoint`	`https://s3.amazonaws.com/[BUCKET-NAME]/`

Uploading to custom Google Cloud Storage bucket

`blobstoreConfig`	`gcs,[GOOGLE-SERVICE-ACCOUNT-JSON-KEY-FILE-PATH],[BUCKET-NAME]`
`blobstoreHttpEndpoint`	`http://storage.googleapis.com/[BUCKET-NAME]/`
`blobstoreHttpsEndpoint`	`https://storage.googleapis.com/[BUCKET-NAME]/`

Note, JSON Key file must be added to our servers manually.

Uploading to custom blobstore

`blobstoreConfig`	`blobstore://[SERVER-DOMAIN-NAME]`
`blobstoreHttpEndpoint`	`http://www.mycustomserver.com/`
`blobstoreHttpsEndpoint`	`https://www.mycustomserver.com/`

Uploading to custom server using FTP

`blobstoreConfig`	`ftp://[USERNAME]:[PASSWORD]@[SERVER-DOMAIN-NAME]/blobstore/`
`blobstoreHttpEndpoint`	`http://www.mycustomserver.com/blobstore/`
`blobstoreHttpsEndpoint`	`https://www.mycustomserver.com/blobstore/`

Uploading to custom server using SCP

`blobstoreConfig`	`scp://[USERNAME]:[PASSWORD]@[SERVER-DOMAIN-NAME]/blobstore/`
`blobstoreHttpEndpoint`	`http://www.mycustomserver.com/blobstore/`
`blobstoreHttpsEndpoint`	`https://www.mycustomserver.com/blobstore/`

After adding a new blobstore configuration, test it by uploading content.

Multiple blobstores can be specified by using numbered name suffixes. For example blobstoreConfig_0=..., blobstoreConfig_1=..., blobstoreConfig_3=.... The blobstores must share the same HTTP endpoints (Round Robin DNS).

A newly configured blobstore can be primed using the /blobstore-sync tool. This tool requires a user ID. All blobs accessible to the user will be transferred.

Please contact us before attempting to add a custom blobstore.

Custom Update Packages

DS Loader version 15+ provides functionality to download, extract and execute a custom update package. Update packages can be used to install custom APKs and change settings using Linux shell commands.

A custom update package is a ZIP archive containing a shell script named update.sh and any additional files needed by the shell script to perform the update.

When the custom update command is sent to DS Loader with a URL to the custom update package, the following actions will be performed:

ZIP file downloaded from URL.
Update directory created.
ZIP file extracted to update directory.
Shell session started in update directory.
Shell commands in file update.sh executed.
Update directory and contents deleted.

Please note, the Android permissions remain in effect. To perform system operations, the device must be rooted.

Example custom update package - Installs a useful file manager

Custom Players

DS Loader provides a platform for loading software. Usually this will be a digital signage player but can potentially be anything.

Custom players for the Android platform must implement the following methods:

void start(Context context)
void setLoaderData(Map<String, String> data)

The Context is an Activity or a DreamService. The custom player must call setContentView(View v) in the Context to draw to the screen.

The method setLoaderData()<String, String> data) receives data and commands from the loader e.g. URL to download sequence data etc.

The loader control communications is designed to instigate secondary communications mechanisms such as JSON data transfer over HTTP. The virtual persistent UDP connection enables the server to instantly send messages to DS Loader and (indirectly) to player software at any time.

To add additional software to the list of players in the interface the following data must be added to a cloud config

player_android_0=custom-player-0.3.jar,com.example.player.CustomPlayer

This will add a new item to the player list named custom-player-0.3. When selected, the server will instruct DS Loader to download custom-player-0.3.jar and call start() in the class with the name com.example.player.CustomPlayer.

Contact your digitial signage provider for information about adding custom players. Custom players must be added to the server platform and be digitally signed before DS Loader will execute their custom code.

Internationalisation

The administration interface has support for multiple languages. A Locale can be added to the path to switch between languages. For example: /zh/.

A default locale can also be applied to cloud config data. For example localeOverride=zh.

Contact your digitial signage provider for information about adding support for new languages.

Security

Administration Interface

All user accounts are protected by an email address and password. Traffic between the web browser and user interface is encrypted using the latest encryption standards (when SSL Certificate installed).

All passwords are scrambled before storage using bcrypt hashing.

Live traffic analysis is performed to prevent brute force attacks. All actions, including failed password attempts, are stored in an audit log that can not be deleted.

A password policy can be defined in a cloud config to restrict passwords that can be used.

Devices

There are two layers of security between devices and servers. All data on the first layer (loader comms) is digitally signed by a private key on secure servers. Devices verify the data using a public key before to invoking second layer communications (player comms). The second layer uses digital signatures in additional to an optional TLS connection.

DS Loader will only execute new player applications that are digitally signed with the correct key.

We have the ability to transition to new keys in the event of a private key security breach.

Cloud Service

The digital signage service is distributed across servers in America, Europe and Asia using different cloud providers. Traffic is routed to the closest available server using latency based routing with health checks. Asynchronous replication with eventual consistency provides low latency connections, scalability and resilience worldwide. Multimedia is stored and delivered from Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage. Additional storage and CDNs can be configured.

Please contact your digital signage administrator before connecting 250 or more screens.

Device Communications

Automatic Network Setup

No inbound ports need to be opened in your firewall. For security, inbound connections can be blocked.

Ensure that devices can make outbound connections to the Internet. Devices will connect to one of our active servers and use multiple CDNs for media data transfer. We can not provide a white list because all IPs are subject to change because we use a variety of cloud infrastructure.

Ports used for server communications (WAN)

Type	Destination Port	Notes
Loader Communications	HTTP (TCP 80)	(required)
	UDP 9091	For instant updates. (optional, recommended)
Player Communications	HTTP (TCP 80)	(required)
	HTTPS (TCP 443)	For extra security. (optional)

Please be aware that Android devices also require NTP (UDP 123) to set their system clock.

Ports used for local communications (LAN)

Type	Destination Port	Notes
Peer to Peer Blob Sharing (data requests)	Broadcast UDP 9097	(optional, recommended, v11+)
Peer to Peer Blob Sharing (data transfer)	TCP ephemeral port	(optional)
Playback Synchronisation	Broadcast UDP 9096	(optional)
Local data and triggers	Broadcast UDP 9098	(optional, v18.5+)

Daily Bandwidth Estimate

The following estimates are based on loader comms every 30 seconds and player comms every 1 minute with infrequent updates over a full 24 hour period. Transfer of multimedia must be added to estimations. Blob data is only transferred once and cached locally.

Type	Direction	Calculation	Total
Loader Communications	Device to Server	100 bytes x 2 x 60 x 24	281 KB
Loader Communications	Server to Device	100 bytes x 2 x 60 x 24	281 KB
Player Communications	Device to Server	2 KB x 60 x 24	2880 KB
Player Communications	Server to Device	10 KB x 24	720 KB
Total			< 5MB (per device per day)

Local network blob sharing is used when devices display the same content. This eliminates duplicate Internet downloads.