Jamf Now is an economical and easy to use MDM solution for managing a relatively small number of Apple Devices. It not only gives you the ability to deploy and manage the Carousel Cloud Player application to your AppleTV’s and iPads with ease, but also allows you to set your devices in Single App Mode in order to turn your devices in to first class Carousel Media Players!
This article assumes that the following things are true:
You have a Jamf Now Account.
You have your Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and Volume Purchasing Program (VPP) configured and that your Apple TV's are showing up in your Devices list.
If you need help setting up either of the above, please reach out to Jamf technical support for assistance.
License and Deploy the Carousel Cloud Player Application
The first thing we need to do is license the "Carousel Cloud Player App" through the Volume Purchasing Program. This app is free so go ahead and grab more licenses than you will need.
Jamf Now will sync your newly licensed Carousel Player app, making it available for deployment to your Apple devices. Licensing the Carousel app through VPP is an important detail. If you don't license it through VPP you will have to install it from the App store using an Apple ID. You can only use an Apple ID on 10 devices. This is limiting and annoying when deploying a signage network! Jamf Now and VPP don't require the use of an Apple ID on managed devices.
Next, we will create a device Blueprint to use to configure the AppleTV’s or iPads you would like to turn into Carousel Cloud Media Players.
Log into Jamf Now and select Blueprints from the options on the left, then select Add New Blueprint.
Name, and Save your Blueprint.
Next, add the Carousel Cloud Player App to the Blueprint, set the device in Single App Mode, and select Carousel Cloud Player as the app. This mode disables the home screen, remote control, and screensaver. It also will re-launch the Carousel Player app when the Apple TV restarts, making it a dedicated media player.
Once configured, add the desired devices (AppleTV and iPad only) to your Blueprint.
Once added, the devices will sync their configuration and start the Carousel Cloud Player Application.
Configuration
Once installed you will need to configure the App in order to point it at your Carousel Cloud Account.
When you launch the Carousel Cloud Player application, it will prompt you to enter your Carousel Cloud URL. Simply enter it in and select continue:
Then you may follow the on-screen instructions to register your player. For large deployments, follow the steps in this article to batch register multiple players simultaneously. Once registered, it will begin to display either your initial channel or the channel specified during batch registration.
Additional Configuration Info
The Carousel Cloud Player app also has a configuration section in the Apple TVs or iPads App Settings, but under normal usage, you shouldn’t have to touch these settings. To view and edit settings, launch the Settings app and navigate to Apps, then Carousel Cloud Player. The configuration options are described in the list below.
URL - Your Carousel Cloud URL. For example https://yourcloudURL.carouselsignage.net
Reset Settings - Selecting this will prompt for a Cloud URL the next time the app is launched
Reset Cache - When set to On the Carousel Player will clear it's content cache and download all content from the server when next run. This can be useful for troubleshooting.
Version - Displays the version info. This information should be provided to Tightrope Media Systems when opening support requests.