Content Settings 3.x

This page is related to the Control Center interface present on HMP200, HMP130, and HMP100 legacy players. For the current models, see the Content settings page.

Description

The "Content Settings" page can be accessed from the "Administration" menu, and contains the following tabs:

Content Source
Allows defining the primary and fallback sources for the content, and how an external USB storage device should be used by the HMP (i.e. either as plug & play storage or as permanent external storage).
Pull Mode
Allows configuring how the HMP should periodically retrieve content from a web server.
Web storage
Allows clearing the content data stored permanently on the player.

Content Source tab

From the "Content Source" tab you can:

Configure the primary and the fallback sources from where the HMP plays the content.
Configure how an external USB storage device should be used by the HMP, either as plug & play storage or as permanent external storage.
Perform different actions of the detected USB storage devices.

Content Sources

The following settings are present under this section:

Primary source
Select whether the content should be played from the local storage or from a network location.
- Local Storage (default value)
  The HMP should play the content stored locally, either on its internal storage or on a USB storage device connected to the HMP, depending on the value of the "Set Local Storage to USB storage device when available" option.
- Network Project
  The HMP should play the content from a web server - for more details, see Client/Server mode page.
  
  When selected, you also need to enter the HTTP(S) URL pointing to a remote location containing the project to be played - the HMP automatically looks for an index.svg in this location. Note that if your server requires a username and a password, you can enter them on the Network Settings page.
Fallback source
Select whether the content should be played from the local storage (default value) or from a network location, in case the primary source is set to a network location which cannot be reached.
Local Storage set to:
Read-only field showing whether the local storage is set to be the player's internal storage or the connected USB storage device.

If later, then a "Clear HMP internal storage" button is also shown - it can be used to increase the caching space of the HMP internal storage.
Set Local Storage to USB storage device when available
Enable this option to use the external USB device as Local Storage, instead of the player's internal storage.

Detected USB storage devices

For current player models, see the Peripherals page.

If any USB storage devices is connected to the HMP, it will be listed under this section. Otherwise, a "No USB storage devices (e.g., USB stick) currently attached" text is shown.

Notes:

For security reasons, the HMP will not use a newly plugged-in USB device as Local Storage, unless you activate the USB storage. A non-activated USB device can only be used as firmware update source.
After the USB storage device is activated, it can be used as permanent USB storage (requires formatting to make it writable) or as a source for content.
It may take some time for a USB storage device to be fully recognized, reload the page if you think the information is not accurate.
The maximum supported size of the external USB storage device is around 2 TB for HMP350 & HMP300 models, respectively 500 GB for HMP200 & HMP130 models.

For any detected USB storage device, the following details are shown:

Storage size: n Mbytes;
The USB storage size expressed in megabytes.
The USB storage device status as one of the following:
- Not currently in use
  This is shown when the USB storage device has not been activated and doesn't contain firmware updates.
  
  Since 3.1.0 firmware release, a "Publish USB content to HMP" button is present allowing to copy the content present on the USB storage device onto the HMP local storage.
- Used for: Updates
  Deprecated since 3.0.3 firmware, this status was shown when the USB storage device was not activated, but contained firmware updates.
- Writable: no
  This is shown when the USB storage is connected as read-only and used to play content from it.
- Writable: yes
  This is shown when the USB storage is connected as permanent USB storage (write mode).

Various buttons might also be shown, such as:

Disconnect
Click this button to disconnect the USB storage device before removing it from the HMP - highly recommended when the USB storage device is in write mode.
Publish USB content to HMP
Click this button to copy the content present on the USB storage device onto the HMP local storage. Added in 3.1.0 firmware release.
Copy HMP internal storage content to USB storage
Click this button to copy the content present on the HMP local storage on the USB storage device. For instance, you can move the content created within Fusion to a USB device having a larger storage. Added in 3.1.0 firmware release.
Format Now
Click this button to format the USB storage device.

Warning: Formatting a USB storage device erases all content on it.

Activate the USB storage device

To configure the HMP to use a USB drive connected on its USB port as local storage (instead of the HMP internal storage), follow these steps:

Open the "Content Settings" page of HMP Control Center. The page indicates that the local storage is currently set to the HMP internal storage.
Make sure that the "Primary source" is set to "Local Storage".
Enable the "Set Local Storage to USB storage device when available" option.
Click the "Apply" button.
Insert the USB drive into the USB port of the HMP. If the USB drive was already connected, you need to re-connect it.
Wait for few seconds and then click the "Reload" button. The page should indicate that the local storage is currently set to USB storage.

Note:

To increase the caching space of the HMP internal storage, you can click the "Clear HMP internal storage" button.

Format the USB storage

The "Format Now" button formats the attached USB storage device (size up to 500 GB) using the ext3 file system, turning it into a permanent writable local storage for the player, where content can be published to.

To format a USB storage, follow these steps:

Plug the USB storage into the HMP and wait for it to be detected.
Press the "Format Now" button.
Wait for the formatting to be completed - the duration depends on the size of the USB storage, for instance, for a 250GB drive the duration is approximately 4-5 minutes.
Unplug the USB storage device from the HMP.
Reconnect the USB storage device to the HMP.

Format larger USB devices

The player supports USB storage devices up to 2 TB, but cannot only format those up to 500 GB. The larger ones must be already formatted using the ext3 file system, natively supported on Linux; for other operating systems, there are tools like GNOME Partition Editor, EaseUS Partition Master, Paragon Hard Disk Manager, Ext2Fsd, Explore2fs, etc.

When formatting such devices, make sure to:

Set the maximal mount count to 0.
Set the interval between checks to 0.
Have a journal (i.e. ext3, not ext2).
Have the root directory group writable.
Have the root directory have group ID 18.

It is also recommended that:

The reserved block count be set to 1% (default is 5%).
The lost+found directory is removed.

Pull Mode tab

For current player models, see the Advanced Applications, Scheduled Download, and Scheduled Upload pages.

From this tab you can configure the Pull Mode mechanism, which governs how the HMP should periodically retrieve / upload content from a web server.

Pull Mode can be enabled by selecting one of the three available options:

Manual settings
Enable this option to manually configure the HMP to:
- Download content from a web server at a predefined time, either daily or hourly*;
- Upload its logs (all of them or just the accounting ones) to a web server at a predefined time, either daily or hourly*;
- Contact an RPC Concentrator at a predefined pooling interval.
  When enabling the "Notification only" option, the HMP will send notifications, but not execute RPC commands from the RPC Concentrator.
*The hourly option was added in 3.1.1 firmware.
From uploaded iCalendar file (ics)
Use this option to control the Pull Mode using an ics file that you have uploaded onto the HMP.
From remote iCalendar file (ics)
Use this option to control the Pull Mode using an ics file that you have uploaded onto a web server.

Use the option labeled "Check calendar every" to specify the maximum duration after which the HMP must contact the server to find out if the calendar has been updated in the meantime. Note that if the current calendar contains an event during this interval, the HMP automatically checks for updates before executing that event (and restarts the timer).

The "Schedule URI" field can contain the special notation "[serial]", which is automatically replaced by the HMP serial number - this is useful for cases when the remote calendar is actually generated by a script and is different depending on the HMP requesting it.

Examples

To schedule a daily download of the content from the web server, follow these steps:

Select "Manual settings" option.
Enable "Automatically upload project to the HMP..." option.
Enter the source address from where to pull the content.
Enter the daily update time.

To schedule a daily upload of the HMP logs onto the web server, follow these steps:

Select "Manual settings" option.
Enable "Automatically upload logs from the HMP..." option.
Enter the destination address where to upload the logs.
Enter the daily upload time.
If you want only the accounting logs to be uploaded, then select "Accounting logs only" option.

Web storage tab

On this tab, you can find information about the size of the content data stored permanently on the player.

To remove this data, press the "Clear All" button.
For more details about how to use this feature, see the Web Storage API page.