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Table Of Contents
Release Notes for Cisco Digital Media Suite 5.4.x
Web Browser User Agent Switching
HTTPS for Go-To-URL Applications
Persistence of Network Configuration After Soft Reset
Support for Non-broadcast SSIDs
Support for Larger Video Files
Support for the .MP4 Video Container
Support for Some .WMV Video Assets
Support for ELO IntelliTouch+ Touchscreen Drivers
HTTP Timeout Behaviors Are Changed in This Release
Digital Signage Scheduling Functions
DMM Support for Web Content on DMP 4310G
Appliance Administration Interface (AAI)
Critical Information About Cisco Show and Share
Feature Support and Device Compatibility
Installation and Upgrade Notes
Software Release Availability and Entitlements
Software Release Availability and Entitlements for Digital Media Manager Servers
DMP 4310G Notice Regarding Power over Ethernet (PoE)
Low Memory Causes DMPs to Restart Automatically
Release Notes for Cisco Digital Media Suite 5.4.x
Revised: September 17, 2012
This document describes new and changed features, requirements, and known problems for Cisco Digital Media Suite (Cisco DMS) 5.4.x products.
Cisco DMS 5.4 is an upgrade-only release. We do not sell it preinstalled on any server.
Contents
This document includes these sections.
•
Feature Support and Device Compatibility
•
Installation and Upgrade Notes
New and Changed Features
•
Critical Information About Cisco Show and Share
Cisco Digital Media Players
Cisco DMS 5.4 introduces new and changed features for Digital Media Players (DMPs). To see and use these features, you must install the 5.4 firmware on your DMPs.
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Web Browser User Agent Switching
•
Persistence of Network Configuration After Soft Reset
•
Support for Non-broadcast SSIDs
•
Support for Larger Video Files
•
Support for the .MP4 Video Container
•
Support for Some .WMV Video Assets
•
Support for ELO IntelliTouch+ Touchscreen Drivers
•
HTTP Timeout Behaviors Are Changed in This Release
Web Browser
DMP 4310G endpoints now include a web browser. This browser is built with code from the open source QtWebKit project. It supports HTML 5 — including the <CANVAS>, <VIDEO>, and <AUDIO> tags, when you use them with codecs, wrappers, and other standards that a DMP 4310G supports.
Note
The browser on a DMP 4310G differs substantially from the browser on a DMP 4400G or DMP 4305G.
· It is derived from QtWebKit 4.7, rather than Mozilla 2.0.
· It supports HTML 5, rather than HTML 4.
· It supports JavaScript 1.85, rather than JavaScript 1.7.
· Its browser runs as a content layer ("plane") inside Flash, rather than Flash running as a plugin inside the browser.
Various adjustments will be necessary if you developed or optimized content for a different DMP model, which you now want to render on a DMP 4310G. For example, in this release, the <EMBED> tag and <OBJECT> tag will not work for Flash content on a DMP 4310G.
You can learn about content creation for DMPs at http://developer.cisco.com/web/dms/betaforums/. Test and optimize all content before you deploy it in your production network.
Web Browser User Agent Switching
DMPDM 5.4 on a DMP 4310G provides a User Agent field, which you can populate as you see fit. Adjustments here can sometimes improve DMP rendering of .ASP pages.
Web Browser Rotation
You can rotate the DMP 4310G browser to 90°, 180°, and 270°.
Cross-origin Protection
DMPs in this release prevent HTTPS:// content from loading FILE:// content, and vice-versa. However, you can allow such behavior by disabling the Web Security option in DMPDM 5.4.
Secure Content Access
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DMP 4310G endpoints now support NTLM access to protected content.
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DMP 45310G endpoints now support SSL/HTTPS ("basic") access to protected content.
Note
You cannot mix these DMP authentication methods together in one event. Nor can you mix multiple credentials together in one event. To configure the secure content access credentials for an event, use the new DMM advanced task, "Authentication Support (DMP)."
HTTPS for Go-To-URL Applications
DMP 4310G endpoints now support Go-to-URL applications that use HTTPS. However, because the HTTPS protocol employs SSL — which, in turn, requires the use of digital certificates — any DMP 4310G where you use this feature must be synchronized to an NTP server. Otherwise, it cannot check for certificate expiration. You can use DMM to configure NTP settings on multiple DMPs simultaneously or use DMPDM to configure just one DMP.
Developer Support
DMP 4310G endpoints now include built-in API reference documentation and related features for developers. See https://<DMP_IP_address>/resources/.
Note
In this release, a completely new API replaces the legacy JavaScript API ("tivella.js") on a DMP 4310G. To learn about the new API, see https://<DMP_IP_address>/resources/.
SSL Certificate Management
DMPDM on a DMP 4310G now includes certificate management features.
Persistence of Network Configuration After Soft Reset
DMPDM 5.4 on a DMP 4310G now includes an option for configured network settings to persist after a soft reset.
Pseudo-random IP Addressing
DMPs are no longer completely dependent upon access to a DHCP server during their initial setup. When you allow it to do so, a factory-new DMP (or DMP that you reset to factory-default values) with 5.4 firmware can generate its own pseudo-random IP address in the 169.254.0.0/16 subnet. It does this only when all of the following statements are true:
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You choose Disabled from the Verify Link list on DMPDM's Network page. Then, you save this change and restart your DMP.
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You unplug the Ethernet cable from your DMP.
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After your DMP restarts, you wait approximately 150 seconds (2.5 minutes) — an interval that triggers DHCP timeout.
Support for Non-broadcast SSIDs
DMP 4400G endpoints no longer require that Wi-Fi networks broadcast their SSIDs. Instead, as needed, you can enter an SSID in DMPDM's Network SSID field.
Support for Larger Video Files
DMP 4310G endpoints can now support video file sizes as large as 4GB. In previous releases, the limit was 2GB.
Support for the .MP4 Video Container
DMP 4310G endpoints can now play H.264 video inside an .MP4 container.
Support for Some .WMV Video Assets
DMP 4310G endpoints can now play .WMV files whose presentation time stamp (PTS) value is more than 100 milliseconds.
Support for ELO IntelliTouch+ Touchscreen Drivers
DMP 4310G endpoints now support IntelliTouch+ touchscreens.
HTTP Timeout Behaviors Are Changed in This Release
Previously, the content failover algorithm on DMPs waited exactly 1 second for webservers to respond that requested content was correctly available at the expected URL. Absent this timely response, DMPs would not issue the HTTP GET request that triggers an actual download. Instead, they would substitute their own failover content for the webserver content. You could enable or disable use of this hard-coded 1-second interval but you could not change it to any other value.
Starting in Cisco DMS 5.4, this interval is now controlled instead by your entry in DMPDM's "Failover Timeout (ms)" field. The factory-default value is 10000 milliseconds, which equals 10 seconds.
Note
Due to this change, the "Failover Timeout (ms)" value now has a powerful effect on your digital signs even when content failover is disabled. It is the maximum duration that can elapse before your DMP sends an HTTP GET request.
Cisco Digital Media Manager
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Digital Signage Scheduling Functions
•
DMM Support for Web Content on DMP 4310G
•
Appliance Administration Interface (AAI)
Feature Navigation
Given the removal of old features in this release and its introduction of new features, UI navigation logic has changed in multiple ways.
Note
The combination of your user role and your installed feature licenses determines which features you can see and use.
Cisco DMS 5.4 introduces new feature navigation elements at levels 1 through 3.
Look and Feel
The user interface in previous Cisco DMM releases was task-based and straddled multiple applications, including some elements of desktop-social video. The user interface in Cisco DMM 5.4 is workflow-based for the key users who run a digital signage network. These workflows compliment our new, user role-centered architecture, making Cisco DMM 5.4 easier to learn, use, scale, and support.
Digital Signage Scheduling Functions
Previous Cisco DMS releases followed a scheduling paradigm that is now replaced. In the new paradigm:
•
You configure any number of "channels," which each serve a distinct audience in a specific place. For example, one channel might be appropriate for pedestrians who walk past a department store window, while the content on another channel could target customers near the cash registers.
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You maintain a separate programming schedule for each channel.
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Then, you subscribe DMP groups to channels that are relevant to their physical locations.
Channels support multiple time zones, include advanced options for event repetition, and can integrate automatically with Cisco Enterprise Content Delivery System 2.5.3 (Cisco ECDS).
Delete Scheduled Content
New features warn and guide you in this release when you start to delete content that a channel is scheduled to play. You can view a list of all the scheduled instances, understand exactly which of your digital signs will be affected, and then either delete individual instances or batch-delete them all. These features help you to prevent your digital signs from showing black screens.
DMM Support for Web Content on DMP 4310G
DMM 5.4 supports your use of web content in the playlists, presentations, and Go-to-URL applications that you deploy to DMP 4310G endpoints. In addition, DMM supports HTTPS authentication for Go-to-URL applications on DMP 4310G endpoints.
Appliance Administration Interface (AAI)
AAI now describes your installed DMM version, your upgrade history, server memory, and disk. Furthermore, it introduces the ability to collect Java virtual machine (JVM) diagnostic data.
SNMP MIB
Your network management server (NMS) can now collect additional troubleshooting data about your Cisco DMS deployment.
Critical Information About Cisco Show and Share
WarningDo not run this upgrade on your DMM server if you have Cisco Show and Share.
Cisco DMS 5.4 is for digital signage users exclusively. It cannot pair with or manage a Cisco Show and Share appliance.
Show and Share users must wait to upgrade their DMM appliances until a future release of Cisco Show and Share is available that will not depend on Digital Media Manager 5.3.
Information about that upcoming Show and Share release will be posted at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6682/index.html.
Feature Support and Device Compatibility
See Specifications, Supported Features, and Compatibility Information for Cisco Digital Media Suite on Cisco.com to learn about the changes to feature support and compatibility of Cisco DMS components across releases.
http://cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6682/products_device_support_tables_list.html
Client System Requirements
Operating System Supported Browser1 Required Version of VLC Media Player2 MSIE Chrome Firefox Safari Microsoft Windows XP•
8.x
Not supported
•
12.x
Not applicable
•
2.0.0
Microsoft Windows 7
(64-bit)
•
8.x
•
9.x (32-bit)
Not supported
•
12.x
Not applicable
•
2.0.0
Apple Mac OS X 10.6.8(64-bit)
Not applicable
Not supported
•
12.x
•
4.0
•
5.1.1
Not supported
1 Alongside any supported browser, you must have Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.6.0 or later installed.
2 VLC Media Player modifies your browser so you can use presentation preview features in Digital Media Designer. We do not support such previews on Mac OS X.
Browser Proxy Support
•
We support the use of browser proxies with DMPDM.
•
We DO NOT SUPPORT the use of browser proxies with DMM.
Installation and Upgrade Notes
This section includes the following topics.
•
Software Release Availability and Entitlements
Software Release Availability and Entitlements
The method to obtain software can vary by device or by release. Topics in this section specify which 5.4.x software releases are relevant to a given device and state how you might obtain such software for that device (CSCtx12287).
•
Software Release Availability and Entitlements for Digital Media Manager Servers
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Software Release Availability and Entitlements — by Endpoint Type
FOR YOUR REFERENCE
•
To buy factory-new Cisco DMS equipment, on which major or minor release software is preinstalled, see http://cisco.com/go/ordering.
Note
Cisco DMS 5.4 is an upgrade-only release. We do not sell it preinstalled on any server.
•
To learn about Cisco service contracts, see http://cisco.com/go/cscc.
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To use a service contract entitlement, see http://tools.cisco.com/gct/Upgrade/jsp/productUpgrade.jsp.
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To use the Cisco Software Center, see one of the following.
–
Digital Media Manager
http://cisco.com/cisco/software/type.html?mdfid=280171249&flowid=4306
–
Digital Media Players
•
DMP 4400G
http://cisco.com/cisco/software/type.html?mdfid=282074723&flowid=4313
•
DMP 4310G
http://cisco.com/cisco/software/type.html?mdfid=282849836&flowid=21001
•
DMP 4305G
http://cisco.com/cisco/software/type.html?mdfid=281438534&flowid=4311
Note
There is no 5.4 firmware release for DMP 4305G endpoints. Cisco DMM 5.4 can manage these DMPs with their 5.3.x firmware, which you installed previously.
Software Release Availability and Entitlements for Digital Media Manager Servers
Table 2 compares the general availability of, and supported entitlements to obtain, software for Cisco DMM servers.
Because Cisco DMS 5.4 is an upgrade-only release, you cannot purchase a server on which DMM 5.4 is factory-installed. Instead, you must upgrade to DMM 5.4 on a server where Cisco DMS 5.3.x is installed and running correctly.
Table 2 DMM Server Software
Release No. General Availability for DMM Servers Method to Obtain Purchased Upgrade Contract Entitlement Warranty Entitlement5.4
Y
Y
Y1
N
1 Free with a valid service contract. Terms and conditions may vary.
Software Release Availability and Entitlements — by Endpoint Type
•
Available Software for DMP 4400G Endpoints
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Available Software for DMP 4310G Endpoints
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Available Software for DMP 4305G Endpoints
Available Software for DMP 4400G Endpoints
Table 3 compares the general availability of, and supported entitlements to obtain, software for Cisco DMP 4400G endpoints.
Table 3 Cisco DMP 4400G Endpoint Software
Release No. General Availability for Cisco DMP 4400G endpoints Method to Obtain Factory-Installed Contract Entitlement Warranty Entitlement5.4
Y
Y1
Y2
N
1 Preinstalled software on factory-new equipment
2 Free with a valid service contract. Terms and conditions may vary.
Available Software for DMP 4310G Endpoints
Table 4 compares the general availability of, and supported entitlements to obtain, software for Cisco DMP 4310G endpoints.
Table 4 Cisco DMP 4310G Endpoint Software
Release No. General Availability for Cisco DMP 4310G endpoints Method to Obtain Factory-Installed Contract Entitlement Warranty Entitlement5.4
Y
Y1
Y2
N
1 Preinstalled software on factory-new equipment
2 Free with a valid service contract. Terms and conditions may vary.
Available Software for DMP 4305G Endpoints
Table 5 compares the general availability of, and supported entitlements to obtain, software for Cisco DMP 4305G endpoints.
Installation Notes
•
Cisco DMS appliances require a DNS server to work correctly. Enter fully-qualified domain names (FQDNs) and not IP addresses during setup in AAI. Otherwise, Cisco DMS cannot operate as designed and most of its functions will fail.
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Do not append a trailing dot to any FQDN during setup.
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To maintain network security, your DMM appliances and DMPs use digital certificates to communicate. These certificates use the DNS-resolvable hostname to identify each appliance and endpoint uniquely. You must enter the DNS-resolvable hostname for each appliance during setup when prompted to enter the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) in AAI.
•
You must also configure your DMM appliance in AAI to point correctly to the DNS server for your network. Furthermore, you must configure that DNS server to associate the IP address of your DMM appliances use with the FQDN that its digital certificate uses.
Upgrade Notes
For instructions on how to upgrade your Cisco Digital Media Suite, see Upgrade Guide for Cisco Digital Media Suite Release 5.4 on Cisco.com.
•
When you have a valid service contract for an earlier Cisco DMS release, which entitles you to upgrade at no additional cost, use the Product Upgrade Tool at http://cisco.com/upgrade. Enter your SAS contract number and place an order for the upgrade.
•
When you do not have a valid service contract for an earlier Cisco DMS release, you must order this upgrade. For information about ordering, see the data sheet at: http://cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6682/products_data_sheets_list.html.
•
When you upgrade a failover configuration, you must revert the configuration to standalone, upgrade both servers, and then re-configure failover. See the failover guide on Cisco.com for information about converting your configuration to standalone mode and configuring failover after the upgrade. http://cisco.com/en/US/docs/video/digital_media_systems/5_x/5_4/dms/
failover_guide/dmsfailover.html.Important Notes
This section includes the following topics:
•
DMP 4310G Notice Regarding Power over Ethernet (PoE)
•
Low Memory Causes DMPs to Restart Automatically
DMP 4310G Notice Regarding Power over Ethernet (PoE)
Starting in 2009, a handful of Cisco StadiumVision customers who participated in a special program to receive DMP 4310G endpoints received pre-release hardware. During this program, we manufactured such units under the Cisco product ID "DMP-4310G-SE-K9." Partway through the limited release, we changed one physical component in the hardware design to improve the Power over Ethernet (PoE) performance of a DMP 4310G.
Is even one of these statements true for you?
•
Your DMP 4310G was manufactured in or after September 2010.
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Your DMP 4310G serial number is USI1434xxxx or greater.
•
We manufactured your DMP 4310G under the Cisco product ID "DMP-4310G-52-K9."
When even one of these statements is true, your DMP 4310G uses the improved PoE component. Nothing further about this topic applies to you or your DMP.
Otherwise, when even one statement is false, your DMP 4310G uses the original PoE component. We have identified a corner case in which these DMPs might not receive full PoE power.
Suppose that a very long Ethernet cable connects a DMP 4310G to a network switch from the Cisco 3560 Series. And suppose also that the Ethernet cable length is so great that the level of PoE power becomes noticeably diminished after traveling its full distance to the DMP.
In this scenario, your DMP cannot compensate for the degraded power because switches in the Cisco 3560 Series do not permit adjustments to the PoE power output.
We recommend that you do not obtain power for such DMPs from network switches in the Cisco 3560 Series. When you must do so, take care to use the shortest possible Ethernet cord. Alternatively, you might use network switches from the Cisco 3750 Series, which offer configurable PoE power output.
Low Memory Causes DMPs to Restart Automatically
Rather than crashing when they run low on memory, DMPs are designed to restart automatically, which clears their memory and causes downtime of less than 1 minute, as opposed to the lengthy downtime that a hard crash would cause. In the rare cases when DMPs do run out of memory and restart automatically, SWF files are almost always responsible. The known scenarios when this can occur are as follows.
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The file size is greater than 500KB for your SWF file. Larger SWF files do work correctly in most cases, but we recommend as a best practice that you should always strive to use the smallest possible SWF files. Smaller files are far less likely to be burdensome to your DMPs.
•
Your SWF file uses bitmapped image files outside itself that have a very large file size, either individually or collectively. Any bitmapped image files that you use in the production of a SWF file should be small files. If a bitmapped file has a large file size, it is important for you to understand that merely reducing the height and width of its placeholder on your canvas in Adobe Flash (or any similar authoring tool that you might use to develop a SWF file) will not reduce the actual file size.
•
The web page that you are showing uses too many embedded SWF files.
Additional Recommendations
We recommend that you use the following guidelines when you create SWF files.
•
The resolution of the SWF can be up to 1920x1080 when animations that are contained within the SWF are small and are restricted to a 640x480 region.
•
Avoid redraw of the whole screen in your Flash animation.
•
Multiple movements distributed across a screen will burden a DMP more than movements that are concentrated in one relatively small area.
•
The FLV recommended resolution should be 320x240.
Limitations and Restrictions
Review Table 6 before you begin working with Cisco DMS components. These are known limitations that have not been fixed. Read the "Important Notes" section section for additional information.
Known Problems (Caveats)
This section contains the following topics:
Caveats Resolved in 5.4
Table 7 describes the caveats that were resolved in Cisco DMS 5.4.
Open Caveats
Table 8 describes possible unexpected behavior by Cisco DMS components.
Learn More About...
To Learn About Go To
Cisco Digital Media SuiteCisco DMS products and technologies
Cisco DMS technical documentation
Cisco DMS APIs and SDK
Cisco DMS SNMP MIB
Cisco Connected SportsCisco StadiumVision
CiscoService contracts
Standard warranties
Technical support
Technical documentation
Product security
Sales
Obtain Documentation or Submit a Service RequestFor information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What's New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html
Subscribe to What's New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS Version 2.0.
1 Then, for the device that this guide describes, click Cisco 90-Day Limited Hardware Warranty Terms
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1110R)
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