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Different UI for DWS in same series players with same firmware.

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JRB Technical
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To BrightSign support... Why do some players in the same series with the same firmware version have different UI's for the DWS (Diagnostic Web Server)? In this article, it says "Players that are running OS 8.0 will switch to using the new DWS." https://support.brightsign.biz/hc/en-us/articles/360042446734-Diagnostic-Web-Server-DWS-changes-with-the-BSN-cloud-release What is the update mechanism? What has to happen besides updating the firmware? Why do some players in the same series with v8 firmware still have the original UI, and some have the newer UI. What can be done to get the player(s) to update to the newer UI? Thank you.
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  • 1
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    Ken Campbell

    I’ve been curious about the chain of events as well. It looks as if the device needs to make some requests to the BSN cloud server after an 8.x upgrade and (among other things) populate the device registry with several REST endpoints and some hashes / keys before it enables the new DWS UI.

     The following shows up in the startup log as part of the NodeJS bring-up, which seems to support this:

    JS.Channel-BSN: INFO BSN.cloud is enabled; New Local DWS is enabled, Remote DWS is enabled

    If it’s stuck in the old DWS UI after an 8.x upgrade, and the device has Internet connectivity, I seem to remember a factory reset would cause it to switch over. 

    Ken

    (Edited)

     

  • 1
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    Bright Scripters

    I do recall being puzzled by that too, although I haven't come across that behavior in a while.

    When starting to work on a new project, Factory Reset would be the first thing to do in order to start fresh, without any "Bagage".

  • 0
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    JRB Technical

    Coming up on a month now, and no response from anyone at BrightSign???

    Is it that difficult to formulate an official response as to how this works in the BrightSign System?

     

  • 0
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    Ken Campbell

    JRB,

    I think you may have better luck emailing support directly if you’re after an “official” response. This is a community forum where we (professional users, consultants, evangelists, enthusiasts) try to help out each other.

    From the forum header: “ For user-to-user discussion around the use and operation of BrightSign digital signage products. This forum is NOT regularly monitored by BrightSign staff.”

    If you do hear back directly, please post here so others could benefit. I’d like to know as well.

    Cheers,
    Ken

  • 0
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    JRB Technical

    Ken:

    The question is relevant to everyone, not just me, that is why I posted here instead of contacting support.

    The same question has been asked by others in other places, this is the best place to get a public response for everyone, and I can pass on to the other thread that is also still waiting for a response.

    In the beginning, BrightSign was more involved in responding to people. Unfortunately BrightSign set the precedent early on, and now they don't want to live up to the expectations that they initially set forth, so they added that statement to the Community.

    It only makes them look bad by not monitoring the community, and responding in a reasonably timely fashion now.

    I don't expect them to monitor 24/7, but again, they set the precedent early on by monitoring and responding once or twice a week. It only takes about 5-10 minutes once a week to catch up with this forum and respond to anything in which BrightSign can help support. Lyndon used to do this all the time, but I understand he is busy and moved into a role with more responsibilities. Lyndon isn't the only person who can do customer support out of all of BrightSign's 100+ employees.

    Sorry for the rant, but unfortunately they seem to be forgetting some of the things that they used to do that helped them sell over 2 million players worldwide.

  • 0
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    Aaron Rollins

    Hi Ken,

    On OS 8.0 versions, the player has to check into Control Cloud to see if it is live before switching to the newer DWS interface. More recent OS versions automatically assume the service is live, and they run the newer DWS by default, but 8.0 was released before Control Cloud was publically available. We needed a mechanism to inform the player that the service was operational and allow it to check in and update as required.

    If you see the older DWS, the simplest way to ensure it turns on is to:

    1. Remove your SD card

    2. Ensure it is plugged into an ethernet port that will allow the player to reach the Control Cloud service

    3. Use the two-button factory reset.

    This will cause the player to check in with Control Cloud and realize it should run the newer DWS version.

  • 0
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    Ken Campbell

    Thanks for the information, Aaron! That explains some of the behavior I was seeing with 8.0.x releases.

    Cheers,
    Ken

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