Jon00_HStile working with BrightSign XT1144

[alphatech]

Hi Jon,
I purchased the BrightSign XT1144 and it should coming soon. Any suggestions on what I should do to get ready for when it comes. I will start by downloading the HSTiles but feel free to let me know how I can jump start this project. I have been readying and youtube this device, unfortunately there is no much explanation that I could find about how to setup it. I know it is premature to think about Alexa but this will definitely be a great addition to it but confused on how you would integrate it.
Thanks

[jon00]

The Brightsign requires BrightAuthor software to program the device. There is a new version called BrightAuthor Connected but I have not used that. You should be able to find the older BrightAuthor 4.7 which I still use and can send you the project file for the web page setup. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but make sure you give your XT1144 a fixed (reserved) IP address on your network.

You really need to spend your time now, playing with HSTile and deciding what you wish to display. You then need to play with switching HSTile pages via events. Once you get the hang of that, it is easy to put the URL in your Brightsign.

Alexa integration is just getting Homeseer to run different events. There are plenty of examples on the forums of how to do this.

[alphatech]

Thank you Jon, I will look into it. In regard to Alexa, I did not think about it, I normally use it for devices and not for events but I see another great prudential for it.

[jon00]

FYI, I've updated HSTile so you can now popup Tiles/Labels which is a better solution for this application. Page switching works well but you get about a second of gray screen during the switch. Popups keep on the same page so they just 'appear'.

[alphatech]

Making some progress here and in the meantime with your help will try to write a documentation of my progress for others.

I was able to configure the device with static IP, install BrightAuthor 4.7 and able to publish a picture. Right now. I'm testing it with a simple HDMI Monitor. I was also able to create a simple HStile page as from your documentation. Unfortunately I'm stuck on what to do next, like send your HSTile page to the TV. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[jon00]

I've sent you a file to load.

Once installed in BrightAuthor, go to the edit tab.

Go to File, Presentation Properties.

Set the HDMI output under Main.

Go to 'HTML Sites' and adjust the URL to your HSTile web page.

Go to publish tab and publish to the XT1144.

Remember to set the background of your HSTile page to transparent if you want to see live video as well.

PS (Looks like you have not installed the image files for HSTile!)

[alphatech]

Your instructions are impeccable and very easy to follow, thank you. I made a great progress. Tomorrow when wife not around :-) I will plug it on the real TV but so far great results with just the HDMI Monitor. I still have to read the entire manual, I'm trying to brainstorm here. The first phase would be to show at the bottom of the screen warnings and the camera page. With that said, I would set one page with the warning tile at the botto mof the screen and one other page for the cameras, then thru the event I will sent the Warning or the camera page to HStile that will broadcast to the TV correct? After few minutes, I will senda black page to it to remove the tiles?
I do not have Blueiris, I have Sighthound. Either way, it looks like that I can send the camera URL to HSTile without any issues.
By the way,You are correct, I copied the Image directory in the wrong place :-)

Thanks again for your great help.

[jon00]

The latest version of HSTile has the ability to hide and show tiles/labels. You can then switch them individually to show/hide via Homeseer events. This method would involve a single transparent page (default page) with the tiles positioned accordingly and each switched to show/hide as necessary. This method gives the best user experience.

My original method was to use different pages which you can also switch via Homeseer events. The only rub is that you get a blank screen for about 1 second whilst it switches. Again you want the default page to be a blank transparent page. You can then switch to other pages also with a transparent background with the tile(s) showing the warnings/cameras. These tiles can also be set to semi-transparent so you can still see the picture behind.

Have a play. It really is very flexible once you get the hang of it.

[alphatech]

Jon, an update on what I have done. Plugged in into the Onkyo TX-NR696. The Nvidia and Verizon cable box are connected to it. No matter what resolution I change, I get either the NVidia box or the TV. Your html fortunately it is always on display. At this point I will do more research, hopefully you have an answer to it. By the way, the tiles look really cool on the TV. I agree with you so much potential with it.
P.S. I updated your plugin as well to the latest.

[jon00]

You have to match the Onkyo HDMI output to the Brightstar HDMI settings. Uncheck 'Force Resolution' on the Main tab.

[brientim]

Very interesting and I would have never thought of using a Brightsign to present HomeSeer but the constant development by jon00 keep in the innovation coming.
I might have pull the XT1143 out of retirement.

[alphatech]

I will do more reading, I tried every resolution on the brightsight, most of them work when switching to cable while others on Nvidia. I have that flag unchecked. I will post more as I make progress.

This has been a dream of mine for many years, hopefully I can make it true. Thanks Jon.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

[jon00]

I will do more reading, I tried every resolution on the brightsight, most of them work when switching to cable while others on Nvidia. I have that flag unchecked. I will post more as I make progress.

This has been a dream of mine for many years, hopefully I can make it true. Thanks Jon.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

OK, So it looks like you have different resolutions from each source. I think I warned about this in the other thread. You have to use your AV Amplifier to upscale to a defined output so it is fixed whatever the source. Alternatively, you will just have to choose one source and put the Brightsign inline with that before the Onkyo input.

[alphatech]

It looks like that you know a lot about Video and Audio as well, much more than I do for sure. I’m reading the Onkyo manual and these are the settings that I can adjust: Unfortunately Onkyo does not specifically tell the resolution as BrightSign so not sure what the best resolution would be.
Nvidia I have 5 choices:
4K 59.940 hz Default
4K 60 hz
4k 50 hz
4k 23.976 Hz HDR10 Ready (What does it mean?)
1080p 59.940 Hz HDR10 Ready

TV:
Verizon FISO: Interesting, the output shows when I switch to that output shows 1280x720 /60P Maybe Verizon does something fancy with it?

For Onkyo

• HDMI Out - ARC function (Audio Return Channel) Main Output to TV
• SUB HDMI OUT

HDMI Output
1080p -> 4K Upscaling
Default Value Off
When a TV supporting 4K is used, video signals
input with 1080p can be automatically output with
4K.
"Off": When this function is not used
"Auto": When this function is used
If your TV does not support 4K, set it to "Off".
• If the TV does not support the 4K resolution
with the same frequency as the frequency of
HDMI input video signals, upscaling to 4K is not
correctly performed. Check the frequency of 4K
resolution supported by the TV, and change the
resolution of the video signals input from the AV
component.
Super Resolution 2 When "1080p -> 4K Upscaling" is set to "Auto",
select the correction level of the input video signals
from "Off" and "1" (weak) to "3" (strong).

HDMI Input
BD/DVD HDMI 1 (HDCP
2.2)
"HDMI 1 (HDCP 2.2)" to "HDMI 6 (HDCP 2.2)":
Assign a desired HDMI IN jack to the BD/DVD
button. If you do not assign a jack, select "---". To
select an HDMI IN jack already assigned to another
input selector, change its setting to "---" first.

[jon00]

It looks like your Verizon FISO is outputting 720P/60 and your NVidia 4K/59.940

For this to work, both have to be at the same resolution. Unfortunately the scaler in your Onkyo, appears basic and it seems it cannot upscale 720P to 4K.

You can try setting the XT1144 to 3840x2160x59.94p but I suspect only the NVidia will show.

Therefore I think your only option is to select either the Verizon or NVidia as the source and place the XT1144 between their output and the Amplifier.

Rather than me trying to explain HDR, read about it here. Your TV needs to support it.