DocumentationAEMAEM Screens Guide

Working with AEM Screens Player

Last update: Tue Apr 16 2024 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

CREATED FOR:

  • Intermediate
  • Admin

You can manage the channel content and other settings on the AEM Screens Player.

NOTE
Press Ctrl+Cmd+F so you can exit fullscreen mode for OS X AEM Screens Player.

After you assign a channel to a display, the AEM Screens Player displays the content. You can either configure settings for your player using the preferences for admin UI (from the dashboard) or from the player itself.

Using the Device Dashboard using-the-device-dashboard

You can configure preferences for your device from the Device Dashboard, accessible via your AEM authoring instance.

  1. Navigate to the device dashboard from your project, for example, Test Project > Devices.

    Click Devices and Device Manager from the action bar.

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  2. Click the device so you can open the device dashboard.

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  3. Check the PREFERENCES panel. You can enable/disable the Admin UI and Channel Switcher for your player from these two options.

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The Admin UI the-admin-ui

Enabling the Admin UI from the preferences panel allows the user to open the admin settings from the Screens Player. Also, if you disable this option from the device dashboard, the user cannot open the admin UI from the player.

To view the admin UI from the Screens player, long press the top-left corner to open the Admin menu, on your touch-enabled AEM Screens player, or by using a mouse. Information is displayed after registration is complete and the channels are loaded.

NOTE
Also, you can view the AEM Screens Player app uptime to check app health status.

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Accessing the Configuration Menu Options configuration-options

You can update your configurations if you click the Configuration option from the side menu, as shown in the figure below:

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The Configuration menu lets you modify the following settings:

  • Reset Firmware, Preferences, or To Factory from this dialog box.

  • Specify the number of maximum log files that you want to keep for an AEM Screens player in Max No. of log files to keep.

  • Enable or disable Admin Menu, Channel Switcher, and Activity UI for the Screens player.

    If the Activity UI is enabled from the Configuration menu, the AEM Screens player displays the player activity notifications in the top right-hand corner of the player, as shown in the figure below.

    image

NOTE
The Update Firmware option only works on the Cordova, such as Android™ players.
NOTE
It is recommended that the Admin UI be disabled in Production Deployments.

Accessing the Content Cache Menu Options content-cache-options

You can clear cache for channels and applications from the Admin UI in AEM Screens player.

Click the Content Cache from the side rail so you can update the cache.

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The Channel Switcher the-channel-switcher

Enabling the Channel Switcher from the preferences panel allows the user to open the channel selection/settings from the Screens Player.

Also, if you disable this option from the device dashboard, the user cannot control channel preferences from the Screens Player.

You can switch and control settings for your channel from your Screens Player.

To view the channel switcher from the player, long press the lower left corner to open the channel switcher that allows switching channels and other features.

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NOTE
You can also enable or disable the admin menu and the channel switcher for the player from the Screens player.
(See Change Preferences from Screens Player as mentioned in the section below).

Managing Preferences from the AEM Screens Player

You can also change the settings for admin UI and channel switcher from the player itself.

To change preferences from your Player:

  1. Long-press on the top-left corner on the idle channel to open the admin panel.
  2. Navigate to Configuration from the left action menu.
  3. Enable/disable configuration for Admin UI or Channel Switcher.

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Troubleshooting AEM Screens Player

You can troubleshoot various issues associated with the AEM Screens Player (hardware and software):

Issues
Recommendations
Player storage is full
Eliminate unnecessary files
Player lost network
Use Cat-5/Cat-6 cable. For wifi, reduce the distance from the router to the player device
AEM Screens Player crashed
It is recommended to have a watchdog app that makes sure the AEM Screens Player always runs
AEM Screens Player lost settings
Check connection to AEM server
AEM Screens Player does not auto-start after Player restart/reboot
Check OS start folder or initialization procedure
AEM Screens Player shows wrong/old content
Check network connection

Updates for AEM Screens Player

There are two types of updates for the AEM Screens Player:

Method
Details
by way of Remote
Automated
0 Downtime
Firmware Update
Applied on existing installed Players by way of remote command. After the update, the Player auto-reloads with the existing content.
Yes
Custom
Almost - 1-3 seconds
Player Shell Updates
This is a new executable to be deployed on the Player. This requires to remote copy new binary on the player and stop the currently running and start the new version. This might require downloading the pre-load of the packages again.
Yes (by way of remote shell)
Custom
No

Hardware Selection Guidelines for Player Device hardware-selection-guidelines-for-player-device

The following section provides the hardware selection guidelines for a Screens Project:

  • Always source Commercial or Industrial Grade components for both PC player and Display Panel or Projector.

  • Always engage with vendors who serve the digital signage market.

  • Always consider environmental factors such as ambient temperature and relative humidity.

  • Always review power requirements and power conditioning.

  • Carefully review performance needs and I/O ports required for application.

The following table summarizes the hardware configurations with typical use cases for an AEM Screens project:

Player Configuration
Processor
Memory
Storage SSD
GPU
Display
I/O
Typical Use Cases
Basic
Dual Core, i3, or entry-level quad core Intel® Atom Processor

4 GB of memory

2 MB of cache

*ChromeOS 32 GB

*Windows 128 GB

OnBoard
1920 x 1080
DVI
Ethernet / Wireless
2xUSB
  • Standard Full Screen Looping
  • Day Parting
Standard
Quad Core, Intel® Core™ i5 processor

8 GB of memory

4 MB of cache

128 GB
OnBoard
3840x2160 (4K)
DVI, HDMI
Ethernet / Wireless,
2xUSB
  • Single Source Dynamic Content
  • Simple Interactive
  • 1-3 Zone layouts
Advanced
Quad Core with hyperthreading, Intel® Core™ i7 processor

16 GB of memory

8 MB of cache

256 GB
Dedicated Graphics GPU
3840x2160 (4K)
DVI, HDMI
Ethernet / Wireless,
4xUSB
  • 4 or more Content Zones, Concurrent Video Playback
  • Multi-Page Interactive
  • Multi-Source Data Triggers
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