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Audience.guardian

Audience.guardian is an application that helps ensure a distribution network is working correctly. It monitors the health of Master Systems, Thin Clients and Stand-alone Playbacks, guarding against things like pop-ups and the loss of internet connections, and ensuring that files synchronize correctly.

On Audience.foundation Master Systems Audience.guardian:

  • Guards against open dialog boxes that could interfere with the program.
  • Monitors the health of Audience.sync, as well as playback output on Audience systems with a x264io.
  • Deletes temporary files.

On Thin Clients running Audience.web (fullscreen mode) Audience.guardian:

  • Monitors the connection to the Audience.web server and immediately switches the thin client to ‘cache mode’ (Internet Explorer only) should the link to the server be interrupted. This ensures continuous un-interrupted playback, even if the network or Internet connection is lost. When Audience.guardian detects that the connection has been restored, it immediately goes ‘online’.
  • Automatically restarts the browser if someone inadvertently exits fullscreen mode using Alt-F4.
  • Monitors the health of the browser and restarts it if there is a problem.
  • Provides an SNMP (Simple Network Monitoring Protocol) database for remote monitoring of thin clients. 

See Configure Audience.web (fullscreen) on a Thin Client

On stand-alone Audience.playback Systems Audience.guardian:

  • Monitors the health of Audience.sync and restarts it if it was interrupted, if it was closed, or if it detects a problem.
  • In Audience.playback.tv mode (x264io), monitors the playback engine, and restarts the playback if it is stopped or interrupted.
  • In Audience.playback.web mode, restarts the browser if someone has inadvertently existed fullscreen mode using Alt + F4, monitors the health of the browser and restarts it there is a problem, and provides an SNMP database for remote monitoring of the playback.

ClosedAdvanced Audience.guardian Settings

These settings are configured automatically at installation, and depend upon the type of installation. Do not modify any of these settings unless advised to do so by technical support.

To access these settings, go to Start > All Programs > Digimation > Audience.guardian configuration.

  • Show Audience Guardian WindowClosedshould always be left checked .
  • Monitor Audience.sync.ClosedThis is for stand-alone Audience.playback systems that synchronizes to the Master Audience.foundation system using Audience.sync.
  • Monitor MediaScreen ClosedThis should be checked for all systems using Audience.playback.tv or Audience.playback.sign.
  • Monitor Apache service.ClosedThis should be checked for all systems running Audience.playback.web or Audience.billboard.
  • Rotate Apache server logs.ClosedTo avoid very large log files, an Apache log file is renamed to .old when it reaches a certain size.
  • File delete frequency (min).ClosedThis deletes temp Corel files every xx minutes.
  • Email Errors.ClosedAudience Guardian tracks specific errors. To receive an email when one of the errors occurs, enter the SMTP server address, the email account from which the error will be sent, and recipient email addresses.
  • Monitor Audience.web BrowserClosed should be checked when the display is an Audience.playback.web system, or a thin client connected to an Audience.web server.
    • Hide Mouse PointerClosed is unchecked by default.
    • Autoset Monitor Resolution.ClosedThis sets the VGA output resolution to match the resolution of the playback it is displaying. For example, if the show is 1024 x 768 it will try to set the monitor to match that resolution.
    • Always Start BrowserClosedshould be checked. This should only be un-checked if it is a test playback. This feature will re-launch a playback if someone tries to exit with the Alt+F4 command. In test situations, you want to be able to exit the playback without it being restarted automatically.
    • Restart On Server Not FoundClosed should always be checked.
    • Check CPU UsageClosed should always be checked.
    • Browser Always on TopClosed should always be checked.
    • Browser Type.Closed Select Google Chrome or Internet Explorer as the Browser type on the Audience.web client machine. On some versions Internet Explorer causes pop-ups that cannot be removed. Use Kioskbrowser as the browser type in this case, or Google Chrome
    • Browser PathClosed points to the default Microsoft Windows default installation path.
    • BrowserURLClosed should be left as the default, http://localhost if you are installing an Audience.playback.web system. If you are installing on a Thin Client, see the playback List function below.
    • Playback List.Closed Click this button to see a list of playbacks that are currently available on your Audience.web server. After you click the button enter the base URL of your Audience.web server, for example; www.MyURL.com in the dialogue box. Then press the ‘Get playback List From Server’ button. A list of available playbacks will be displayed in the lower window. Choose the playback you want this sign to display and press OK.
    • Password Settings.ClosedIf you have defined a Username and Password for this playback using File / Audience.web settings / Advanced / Edit User List on your Master Audience.foundation system, then you need to use this feature. Click the Password Settings button. Check the ‘This server requires a password’ checkbox. Enter the Username and Password (as set on your Audience.foundation system), and click OK.