Setup Digital Signage in Conference Rooms for Crestron AirMedia 3000 Series

This article provides instructions to configure and register Crestron AirMedia 3000 series devices, such as AirMedia 3100 and AirMedia 3200 with Appspace.

The Crestron AirMedia solution combines conferencing and collaboration tools all in one console. Thus, Appspace provides you with an avenue to display playlist channels as digital signage in the background on Crestron’s HDMI display while the room is in a conference or otherwise.

The Appspace App is handled by Crestron’s built-in admin console, and is configured to run on its PPUX browser. The Appspace App downloads all content and data via browser caching or streaming only, and does not have a local cache on the Crestron device(s).

You can configure to run the digital signage in one or both the modes listed below:

• Signage as a Background: The signage is turned on when the room is occupied and the Crestron conference collaboration tools are in use. When this mode is enabled, the Appspace App is displayed on the larger part of the screen, while the Crestron information is maintained at the bottom.
• Signage in Standby: The signage is displayed in full screen while the conference room is empty and the device is asleep.

Prerequisites

• The device must meet the manufacturer’s minimum hardware and technical specifications, as well as the Appspace App’s minimum requirements. Please refer to Appspace App requirements.
  • Supported Crestron AirMedia 3000 series devices:
    • Crestron AirMedia 3100
    • Crestron AirMedia 3200 
      Important

      To maintain the integrity of the local storage on the device, the registration information is written to the permanent storage on a timer. After a device is registered to Appspace, please do not remove power or reboot it for at least one (1) hour.
• Create a Playlist Channel or Advanced Channel (Sign)
• An active Appspace account, with sufficient device licenses to register the device.
• Account Owner or Location Admin user roles with sufficient platform licenses.
• An active Internet connection.
• It is recommended that the device clock is set to automatically retrieve time from a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server, with the correct time zone, in order for it to sync correctly with the Appspace server.
  Note

  • Appspace cloud servers by default retrieve time from an NTP server. If an Appspace on-premises server is used, ensure the server time is automatically retrieved by an NTP server.

  • Appspace has updated the timezone configurations, which now include timezones other than GMT. This enables users with daylight savings to adjust the time accordingly.

    For more information, please refer to the Appspace 7.1-ac.8 Release Notes
• Please ensure your network is configured to allow Appspace approved URLs and the relevant network ports.
• On your proxy server, approved hostnames listed in the ‘How to set up networks with SSL content filters’ section in the following article: https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/3504942#sslinspection

Configure Crestron AirMedia 3000 Series Devices

Follow the instructions below to enable Appspace App on Crestron devices:

1. Enter the Crestron AirMedia device IP address in your web browser to access the Crestron web console.
2. Click the Settings gear icon on the top right corner, and select Device Administration.
3. Click Sign In and enter the Crestron device credentials.
4. Click the Settings tab, and click Digital Signage to expand the section.
   
   • Switch the Appspace Integration toggle option to Enable.
   • Select your Account Location:
     • Public Cloud – If you are on Appspace cloud.
     • Private Instance – If you are on Appspace private cloud. Next, enter your Appspace private cloud PWA URL in the Application URL field.
       Note

       Appspace Private Cloud PWA URL: https://<customer>.cloud.appspace.com/app/pwa/
   • Enable one or both the following signage display modes:
     • Signage in Standby: In this mode the Appspace App runs full screen while the device sleeps.
     • Signage as a Background: In this mode the Appspace App takes over the majority of the screen, while the Crestron conference collaboration tool is maintained at the bottom.
5. Click Save Changes to reboot the device.
6. Once successfully connected, the Appspace App device registration page is displayed. Follow the instructions in the Register a device article (from Step 2 onwards) to register your device.

7. Publish and assign the Crestron device to your playlist channel(s). Please refer to the Publish a channel article.

   Note

   Once registered, the device health will show as offline in the Appspace console because the Appspace App is only online when called upon.