Last updated on April 06, 2018

Getting started with Appspace


Appspace is a scalable cloud-based platform that is paired with our easy-to-use Appspace App to provide you with several avenues to publish engaging content on TVs, computers, smartphones, or tablets.

As the Appspace App is compatible with industry standard platforms such as Windows, Android, iOS, and Chrome OS, as well as purpose-built media players, you can share your content practically anywhere.

So, what can you do with this simple but powerful combination?

  • Engage your workforce by displaying the latest announcements, sales wins, employee activities, awards, new joiner profiles, etc.
  • Engage consumers by exhibiting winning videos, ads, or menus tailored to your customer base on multiple TVs anywhere, anytime.
  • Live stream industry news or corporate messages from the company headquarters.
  • Book conference or meeting rooms at designated locations with Office 365 or Google Calendar integration.
  • Create awareness by engaging with multiple user communities or displaying real-time customer feedback via social feeds.
  • Setup location based touch-screen kiosks with directories and maps.
  • Set personalized corporate branding themes to all the above.

What you need

  • Appspace Platform: The cloud-based Appspace platform is where you manage your content, devices, users, and networks. The Appspace platform delivers content to supported devices via the Appspace device engine installed on all devices. New users need to create an Appspace account to be able to log in and leverage our platform. You may choose to setup the platform in an on-premises environment as well. Check out the Appspace platform user interface.


  • Content: You can create customized brand-consistent HTML based cards, or simply add images and videos. Add a myriad of these to a playlist channel, and you will have engaging content ready to be published. Advanced users may also create live stream channels or advanced channels with high-end layout and editing capabilities. Check out the basics of creating brand-consistent HTML content.


  • Appspace App: The HTML5-based app pairs with our scalable platform to present channels with high levels of broadcast and picture quality. Installed on purpose-built devices/media players, smartphones, or tablets, the app is presented with a customizable theme and an intuitive interface that is clickable with a mouse, remote control, or touch screen. Check out the Appspace App look and feel.


  • Device: To view your content, you need a device. This device may be a purpose-built device/media player paired with a TV, a smartphone, tablet, or a web browser. Download the Appspace App to your device and register the device to view content on a TV or tablet, or log in with your Appspace credentials to view on your smartphone or web browser. We support various industry standard platforms such as Windows, Android, iOS, Chrome OS, etc. Check out compatible operating systems and devices.


Modes and IDs

Modes

You can choose to view your published channels in two modes via the Appspace App:

  • Device mode (TV mode)

    The device mode is used primarily by devices on purpose-built platforms such as Chromebox, BrightSign, and MediaVue, that are registered as devices. Once registered, a systems or content administrator determines how the device operates, and how the content is presented and made accessible to interactive users on that device. Content Administrators control the experience and may set the device to present information passively, and prohibit or allow the screen to be engaged by an audience using a remote control, keyboard, or touch screen.

  • User mode

    The user mode, a method of distributing targeted content to individual employees, on web-enabled devices such as desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets, requires you to login to the App with Appspace credentials. Once logged in, you receive a more tailored experience with access to view public or private channels that have been assigned to you. The user mode is currently only available for the Android and iOS operating environments. You can also engage user mode via the web on https://play.appspace.com (on cloud) or http://{appspace-server-domain}/play (on-premises).

    Note

    You can use both device mode (TV mode) and user mode on Android and iOS operating environments. The default setting on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets will be user mode. Once you switch to TV mode, you need to first register your device with the Appspace App, and engage the App the way you would engage a TV when it is in interactive mode.


ID allocation

With the introduction of new licensing attributes, we now have the following new ID types for authentication:

  • Device ID
  • Premium User ID
  • Basic ID

These IDs are unique identifiers used by Appspace to track users and devices according to your subscription plans. Each device or user consumes one ID each from the central pool of IDs purchased from Appspace.

When you register devices and access the Appspace App in Device Mode, each device is allocated one Device ID. Similarly, when you login with your Appspace credentials and access the Appspace App in User Mode, each user account is allocated one Premium User ID.

Applying Basic IDs allows you to provide users in your organization that exist in an external Identity provider (IdP), with access to the Appspace App on smartphones or tablets without having to consume Premium User IDs. You can enable Basic ID pass-through authentication in the Admin > Settings page, and configure your server in the following ways:

  • Cloud: Configure the account with single sign-on (SSO), and then contact Appspace Support to register your email domain with us so that we can identify and map your domain for pass-through authentication.

  • On-premises: You can use either SSO or AD/LDAP, and configure this within your own local environment.



Requirements and compatibility

Before you get started, find out what devices and operating systems, content types, and browser are compatible:


Get started

Pick one of the following quick-start articles to help you get started with setting up your content and devices in Appspace Cloud, based on your output device:

Note

If you would like to view our video tutorials to get you started, please go to https://www.appspace.com/tutorials.