Auto Start

DS Loader will attempt to auto start the digital signage software when the device is first booted. However, this fails on some devices, particularly those running Android 10 and up.

There are a couple of solutions.

First, ensure the option Auto start and keep running is enabled in DS Settings. This is enabled by default but may have been disabled accidentally.

Assuming this option is enabled. Try the following:

  1. Android Settings
  2. Apps
  3. Special App Access
  4. Display over other apps
  5. DS Loader
  6. Allow.

Finally, if the above still fails to auto start DS Loader, you can run it as a screen saver instead:

  1. Android Settings
  2. Device Preferences
  3. Screen saver
  4. DS Loader
  5. 5 mins inactivity

Advanced Content Types

HTML5

The platform is designed to display web pages directly from the Internet. Sometimes it is necessary to host the site locally on the device so it can work in offline mode or reduce delays loading. To achieve these goals it is possible to create a .zip file containing all the HTML and resources for the site and upload it to the platform.

Zipped web page

Name the web page index.html and make all paths to images, JavaScript and CSS relative. Compress index.html and resources into a single zip file. Upload the zip file as regular item and it will be recognised as a zipped web page.

The zip will automatically be extracted onto the device and read locally by the internal web browser.

Streaming media

An item can provide a streaming media address to display live video. Examples include:

  • rtsp:// – Video streamed via RTSP from another device e.g. rtsp://192.168.0.2/live-video.rtsp
  • camera:// – Local camera e.g. camera://0 or camera://1
  • hdmi:// – Local HDMI input e.g. hdmi://localhost?port=1
  • hdmi://zidoo – Special HDMI input from Zidoo device
  • http:// – Remote video streamed from the Internet via HTTP e.g. http://www.example.com/remote-video.mp4 – Not recommended. Non-live video should be imported into our content management system to benefit from our CDN, P2P, caches and offline playback.
  • hls-http:// – HTTP Live streaming.
  • dash-http:// – Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP.

PDF, SWF, DOC, PPT etc

Using these formats is not recommended. However, if they are uploaded, 3rd party viewer extensions may be used to attempt to display them. It is best to use JPEG images and H264 encoded video for consistent output for digital signage.

Note: Advanced content types are only supported on Android devices.

Security

Administration Interface

All user accounts are protected by an email address and password. Traffic between the web browser and user interface is encrypted using the latest encryption standards (when SSL Certificate is installed).

All passwords are scrambled before storage using bcrypt hashing.

Live traffic analysis is performed to prevent brute force attacks. All actions, including failed password attempts, are stored in an audit log that can not be deleted.

A password policy can be defined in a cloud config to restrict passwords that can be used.

Devices

There are two layers of security between devices and servers. All data on the first layer (loader comms) is digitally signed by a private key on secure servers. Devices verify the data using a public key before to invoking second layer communications (player comms). The second layer uses digital signatures in additional to an optional TLS connection.

DS Loader will only execute new player applications that are digitally signed with the correct key.

We have the ability to transition to new keys in the event of a private key security breach.