Last updated on July 20, 2018

1.36 Release Notes


This release note describes the new build for Appspace App v1.36.


Highlights

  • Support for natural duration on Meeting Room Cards.
  • Verified DHCP Option 43 on BrightSign devices.
  • Includes various improvements and bug fixes.

Supported Hardware

Operating Environment Device Reference Models Minimum Firmware / OS Version Minimum Appspace Version
Chrome OS Chromebox

Dell Chromebox 3010

AOPEN Chromebox

ASUS Chromebox

 Chrome OS 64 Appspace 6.0
BrightSign

BrightSign 4K Series 2

BrightSign XD Series 2

4K1142

XD1132

 v 6.1.76 Appspace 6.0

BrightSign XT Series 3

.

BrightSign XD Series 3

.

XT1143

XT243

XD1033

XD233

 v 6.2.147 Appspace 6.1

BrightSign HD Series 3

.

BrightSign LS Series 3

HD1023

HD223

LS423

v 6.2.147

v 7.0.60

 Appspace 6.1
Samsung Smart Signage Platform (SSSP) 3.0 DBE/DME/DHE/UDE-P/DME-BR series

DM32E

DM40E

 1033.6 Appspace 6.0
MediaVue MediaVue SureVue

SureVue D1

SureVue D2

SureVue D4

SureVue D6

v 1.3.0

Chromium v 56.0.2924.59

Chromium v 61.0.3163.79

 Appspace 6.0
Cisco IEC Cisco IEC 4600 Series IEC-4650 v 2.3.4b (build 5.354.406) Appspace 6.0
Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

UWP Tablets

Desktop PC/Laptops

Microsoft Surface Pro

Desktop PC

 Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Appspace 6.1
Android Android Devices

Samsung Tab 4

Samsung Galaxy Tab S

5.0.0 Lollipop

6.0.1 Marshmallow

 Appspace 6.1
LG SM5KC series 32SM5KC

webOS 3.0

Firmware v 4.73.60

 Appspace 6.2

New Features and Enhancements

General

  • If a channel is unassigned from a device via the Device Information page in Devices on the Appspace console, the Appspace App now displays the following message: “No channels are currently available for display. Please assign a channel.”

    Previously, when a channel was unassigned from the device, the app would continue to play the previous channel until a new channel was assigned or until the device was reset.

BrightSign

  • Administrators will be able to perform automated device registration for BrightSign devices using DHCP Option 43. By configuring a network for DHCP Option 43, and hosting the policy file in a server and executing a provisioning script to retrieve the policy file, any BrightSign device in the network will automatically look at the Recovery URL that has been defined for automatic registration.

Cards

  • Support for natural duration on Meeting Room cards in advanced channels. If the card has a natural duration, then the app will follow that natural duration value unless an explicit duration has been set for the content item.
    • In an advanced channel:
      • if a card with natural duration has a content duration set, then the card is displayed according to the content duration.
      • if a card with natural duration does not have a content duration set, the card is displayed indefinitely.
      • if there is more than one layout, the card will play based on duration set on the layout.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-4331 - BrightSign auto-registration via policy.json doesn’t work using DHCP Option 43.
  • AE-4388 - Although transition is set to “none”, the images in a playlist fade out, playing the fade-in-fade-out transition by default in an advanced channel.

Technical Limitation & Workaround

Android

  • Devices running Android 4.4.2 and below, do not contain the required OS requirements to handle the video buffering improvement needed for seamless video transition playback.

BrightSign

  • BrightSign firmware 7.0 causes the Appspace App to reboot after a period of time, due to a potential memory leak.

    It is recommended that BrightSign firmware 6.2.147 is used until the issue with the latest firmware has been resolved, which will be announced soon.


Chrome OS

Chrome OS 66

  • Chrome OS devices that have been recently updated to version 66 and above, may experience video content not playing automatically. This is due to the autoplay policy changes starting from Chrome OS 66.

    This however does not affect Chrome OS devices in Kiosk mode, or devices managed via Chrome Device Management (CDM)

    More information can be found in the link: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-policy-changes


  • You may run a quick test to identify if you’re affected by this issue, by launching the Chrome web browser, and entering the following in the address bar: chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy

    Set the Autoplay policy setting to “No user gesture is required”, and notice that video content now plays automatically via Appspace App on Chrome.


Chrome OS 65

  • Chrome OS devices that have been recently updated to version 65 experience display/video issues. This is due to a bug that exists in Chrome OS 65.

    Please follow the following workaround to enable the Appspace App to continue to work seamlessly:

    Important

    • We recommend pinning Chrome based devices at Chrome OS version 64 for Appspace App to work seamlessly.
    • We recommend using Google Chrome Enterprise, previously Chrome Device Management (CDM) to manage your devices. We currently only support issues that arise on Appspace App if the device is managed via a CDM.

    • If you have devices updated to Chrome OS 65 which have not been impacted, do not reboot the device. If you have a CMS which auto reboots the device overnight, please disable the auto reboot.

      Note

      While this is not yet proven, early indications have shown that a reboot triggers the failure.

    • If you have devices updated to Chrome OS 65, perform a manual downgrade to Chrome OS 64 using a USB recovery image. For help, please refer to your device manufacturer.

    • If you have not updated to Chrome OS 65, or if you have downgraded to Chrome OS 64, pin devices to Chrome OS 64. Configure the Chrome device setting to disable auto updates and allow Appspace App to control the Chrome OS version, as per instructions below:

      1. Follow the instructions in the Manage Chrome device settings article: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/1375678?hl=en.

      2. To disable auto-updates, navigate to Device Update Settings, and select ‘Stop auto-updates’ in the Auto Update drop-down menu.


      3. To allow Appspace App to control the OS version, navigate to Kiosk Settings, and select ‘Allow kiosk app to control OS version’ from the Allow Kiosk App to Control OS Version drop-down menu.


      4. Confirm and verify the Please verify Kiosk App manifest file dialog box.


      5. Save your settings.


    • Do not update to Chrome OS 65.