This guide will cover the following points:
Using Real-Time Events (RTEs), you can send messages via the local network on the player using TCP based on any of the four events occurring (please see this overview article for more details).
Requirements before you begin:
A supported player (BrightSign/PC Appliance) that is activated against a valid Signagelive licence
TCP commands can package commands and send them over the LAN. This is particularly helpful for commands to hardware that need to travel longer distances and can’t be delivered via the serial port due to physical restrictions.
Configure your TCP RTE Template
To configure an RTE for TCP, you can follow the steps below:
Login to your Signagelive network.
Go to Settings > Real Time Events.
Click on the blue "+" button, and select Custom Events.
Name your event (this will be saved as a template for reuse).
Select whether it is to be Enabled On All Supported Players and Assets.
You now have a choice of when the RTE is to occur, select the appropriate tab from Asset Download, Asset Start, Asset Complete or Asset Remove.
Within the tab, select TCP.
Here, you can now complete the relevant sections - the device can be targeted using the host local IP on the Host field, the device port on the Port field and the commands you set on the Messages field. The EOL field (End of Line) sets how the string that you send is terminated. The Message Encoding Format field sets the encoding format for the request, UTF8 or HEX. Note the HEX format is only supported on the Brightsign client at the moment; HEX formatted requests sent by Electron clients will be defaulted to UTF8.
Apply the RTE template
To complete the setup of your RTEs, you will need to configure them against the network, the player(s) or the media asset(s) as desired. These are explained below:
Network
This will enable the RTEs across all supported players and assets on your Signagelive network. You enable this by:
Going to Settings > Real Time Events.
Select the RTE you would like to configure.
Select the tick box labelled Enabled On All Supported Players and Assets.
Player
This will enable RTEs across the player(s) that you choose. You can do this by:
Navigate to Network > Manage.
Select the player you would like to configure.
Navigate to the Real Time Events tab on the far right.
Select the RTEs that you would like to enable.
Please Note
Only players that Support Real Time Events will show the RTE tab in the Signagelive dashboard
This will send the RTE for all assets on the player by default.
Media Asset
This will enable RTEs on the specific media assets that you select, and will therefore apply whenever the asset is published to a supporting Player.
Go to Content > Playlists.
Select the desired media asset(s) from your Library and click "⋮" to open the Properties.
Go to the Real Time Events Tab.
Click the blue "+" button.
Select from Template or Custom Events.
Select or configure the desired event.
Please Note
It is recommended that you create these as templates for the whole network using the numbered steps at the top above. This ensures that the RTEs you create can be reused or applied to different assets. If you create them against specific assets, they cannot be transferred and will need to be created again.