Carousel Cloud Player Setup for BrightSign

Goal: Create a provisioning setup file using BrightSign software, deploy the configuration to a BrightSign player, and then activate it as a player in the Carousel Cloud web interface

Supported BrightSign Models

Supported Carousel Cloud Features

Overview of the Setup Process

1. Create a BSN.Cloud account and network

2. Create a device setup in the BA connected desktop application

3. Assign your BrightSign player to the setup/configuration file

4. Confirm the successful setup of your BrightSign player in BA connected

5. Activate your BrightSign device as a player in the Carousel Cloud web interface

6. Done!

BrightSign Player Setup Process

If this is your first time setting up a BrightSign player, we strongly recommend you watch this helpful Carousel support video that walks through most of the setup process explained below

Create a BSN.Cloud Account and Network

1. To start the setup process, you will first need to download and install BrightSign’s device management software called BA connected from this BrightSign link

2. After you install and launch the BA connected desktop application, you will need to create a login for BSN.cloud and create a player network. These two steps are described in this BrightSign article

Create a Device Setup in the BA connected Application

1. After opening the BA connected desktop application, log in to your BSN.cloud account in the top right corner of the window

2. After logging in, from the drop-down menu, select Admin and then Setup

The following highlighted areas are required for a successful setup, as explained in more detail below

1. Type in a Setup Name to give this Player Setup a name

2. Click on the link to Select a Partner App

3. Click on Carousel Cloud in the provided list

4. If needed, create a network options configuration based on the requirements of your networking environment using the Network Options box

   1. Carousel support staff do not know what should be provided to your network for a successful connection, so any questions regarding what should be entered in this part of the process should be directed to your internal networking team

   2. If you don’t use static IP addressing or don’t otherwise need to set up a particular networking configuration, you can click the radio button to Use current player settings and continue to step 5

   3. If you use static IP addressing, the players will be set up using wifi, your network requires certificates for authentication, or some other form of more complex rules to connect to your organization’s network, you will need to use the Network Options and configure the appropriate settings

      1. Additional required steps for players that need more advanced networking configuration are listed below in step 6.2

5. Depending on your BrightSign player model, choose the correct drop-down menu as shown on the right and then click the radio button for Latest released to make sure your player is fully updated during the provisioning process

6. At this point, depending on your network configuration, the following will be required:

   1. If your BrightSign player will automatically connect to your organization’s network:

      1. Click the Add Setup to Library button to save this Player Setup, then continue to the next section of this article

   2. If your BrightSign player will be connected to wifi or will otherwise not automatically connect to your organization’s network, using the BA connected desktop application, you will need to do the following:

      1. Click the orange Save Setup button to download the setup files to your computer

      2. Connect a microSD card to your computer

      3. Transfer the setup files to the microSD card

      4. You can now continue to the next section of this article

Assign your BrightSign Player to the Setup File

1. The next step is to assign your BrightSign player/s to the setup file you just created. To start, from the drop-down menu, choose Provision

2. Next, choose Add Player and enter the serial number from the BrightSign player you want to set up. The serial number can be found on the bottom of the BrightSign player

3. After clicking Add Player, you will see your newly added player in the device list

4. The next step is to apply the setup you created above to the BrightSign player. To do this, check the box next to the serial number of the player you just added from the device list, click the Apply Setup button, and then choose the name of the setup you created

5. If you are setting up a new player, you can continue with the Confirm the Successful Setup section of this article

6. If you are setting up a BrightSign player that is currently in use in your bsn.cloud network, applying a player setup as shown above to a BrightSign player does not forcibly apply the setup to any previously provisioned BrightSign players. It simply specifies which player setup will be used the next time the player is provisioned. This BrightSign article explains how to reprovision a previously set up BrightSign player if this applies to you

Bulk Provision BrightSign Players

1. If you want to add more than one BrightSign player at a time, you can:

2. Use the Provisioning Template button to download a template CSV file

3. As shown below for each player you want to add to bsn.cloud, add the Serial Number, enter the name of the Setup File you want to assign to each player, and edit the Application URL field

4. In bsn.cloud, use the Upload Provisioning File button to upload the template CSV file you just edited

5. Click Submit to add the player/s to the provisioning list

6. If you are using the provisioning template method explained immediately above and after completing step 5, continue with the Confirm the Successful Setup section of this article

Confirm the Successful Setup of your BrightSign Player in BA connected

1. At this point, you’re ready to:

   1. Install the microSD card into the BrightSign player

   2. Connect it to HDMI, power (if not using POE) and ethernet (if required on your organization’s network)

   3. Power on the BrightSign player

2. After the BrightSign player powers on and reboots a handful of times to finish its setup, your player will eventually report as being online and connected in BA connected under the Network menu. As shown below at the very end of the setup process, you will see an activation screen where you will enter the provided player activation code in the Carousel Cloud web interface, which will activate your BrightSign player

Activate your BrightSign Device as a player in Carousel Cloud

1. Lastly, you will need to choose to activate the BrightSign player as either a dedicated or express player in Carousel Cloud. Dedicated vs express player differences are explained in more detail in this article

   1. To complete player activation, you can follow the steps under the heading Player Activation in this Carousel Cloud article

   2. If you are not physically located where the player is connected and you need to activate the player, you can use the Snapshot function in bsn.cloud to capture the activation code at this stage in the process

2. Once the BrightSign players are activated as devices in Carousel Cloud, the selected BrightSign players will begin to display your default cloud channel or the channel you specify during the activation process

Additional Notes

• BrightSign Player - Video Output

  • Carousel has no control over the video output resolution of BrightSign players

  • A BrightSign player will set its initial video output resolution based on the display to which it is connected. If needed, the resolution can be changed in the BrightSign software afterward

  • Scaling will occur when a Carousel channel resolution is mismatched with the video output resolution

• If your BrightSign player is equipped with multiple HDMI outputs, they can be configured in Carousel Cloud in the Configure>Players>Dedicated Players menu>Then select the edit button for a specific player to modify its settings

  • Carousel will:

    • Auto-detect the number of outputs the player has

    • You will be able to select the number of screens (any amount up to the available number)

    • And also choose the player Content Rotation

• Microsoft implemented a change in Power BI, which requires a newer version of Chromium, to display live reports on BrightSign Players. BrightSign is working on a firmware fix for Series 4 and Series 5 players. This is the BrightSign support article with additional information

• Background audio is only supported on image bulletins

• Inverted landscape rotation is not supported on any BrightSign players

• Carousel supports USB1, SSD, SD, and FLASH in that order. The first mounted drive in use during provisioning will be where the autorun file and all content will be stored. A factory reset would be required to change this functionality

Troubleshooting Information and Guided Steps

Carousel Cloud Player Troubleshooting Articles