[oneseventeen]

We have a 46" samsung with MagicInfo Pro.

Previously I requested help just having it display a website without using a server, but was told the MagicInfo Pro software is actually reliable when set up properly.

Recently the screen has begun disconnecting and not reconnecting.

Here's some details:
DHCP server gives the display the same IP every time.
I can VNC into the monitor using that IP.
I can remote desktop into the server using IP or host name
I can see the monitor in MagicInfo Pro, but it is "not connected"
The monitor is set to use the scheduler.
There are no passwords set for anything.
Windows Firewall is disabled.
The server and monitor are on the same subnet.

Any thoughts?  I'd really like to get this working reliable, as it is for a room that is used 24/7 and this monitor is the primary focal point of the room.

Thanks in advance!  I look forward to learning and contributing and possible getting more of these displays if they work.

[oneseventeen]

UPDATE:
I just set everything to use computer names instead of direct connection via IP.

It connected pretty quickly, so I went into the "player" to mess with the settings and make sure it had the correct computer name and was set to automatically reconnect.

It is now rebooting after saving the settings.

After reboot, it automatically connected to the server and loaded the proper screen according to the schedule.

I still need to make sure that it is displaying the schedule 24/7, so I'll post back the next time we notice a problem.  I'm wondering if using the computer names instead of IP's will somehow be more reliable?  If so, weird, but nice.

I'd still appreciate any common tips for new users.

[fluidium]

Hi, well I can say for sure you should give your screens/server a static ip and not rely on the dhcp address always being the same (in my experience)-I usually set them up by letting them connect via server name then give them a static ip through the server software (I think it's in the windows options screen). What I did find though that might be worth noting is I had to commit the change then run EWF otherwise they lost the ip I had chosen on rebooting. I find the screens pretty reliable as a whole and considering what you can do with them once they are working I think it's well worth the effort 

[Bill Coral]

I have found that you can use a template that lasts for as long as you want to. Everytime we create one it is for an hour, and then we use the scheduling part to display it for half an hour. This is not necessary, but it is somehow the easier thing to do.

What I have created is a template for 8 hours, and then I have layers of frames within it. For example I have set two photo frames that one comes in from 00:00:00 and lasts for 01:00:00 and the other one comes in from 01:00:00 and lasts for another hour. It works so very well, it is great. You can have such a multiple and overlayers with only one template! I can send you a template if you want to see how this works!

Regards, Bill

[fluidium]

Hello Bill, I thought this was how magicinfo-pro was designed to work?  Set the background for the length of time you want the show to run/loop for then build up the areas in layers timed to appear as if on a timeline-one after another? This is how I have used it since day one, however, being a man I have never actually read the manual 

Anyway it works more or less perfectly and displays content day after day with few issues so my manager is very happy (and so therefore am I)!

[oneseventeen]

Thanks everyone for the tips.  Ironically it has been working great without a hiccup ever since I told it to use server names instead of IP addresses.

I think I must have used the "connect directly via IP" feature improperly.

[oneseventeen]

Last night the host server rebooted due to Windows Updates.  When we came in this morning, the screen was on the animated MagicInfo Pro globe.

I opened MagicInfo Pro on the server computer and it showed the monitor as being connected, so I republished the schedule and the TV immediately played the schedule.

How do I make the monitor reconnect on its own in the event it looses communication with the server?

[Bill Coral]

You can get magicinfopro server to publish the schedule for a long period of time and then disconnected. Provided you do not have any streaming media files. Also, observe the D: drive of your client. There are two XML files, one is called scheduler.scl (open it with Notepad) and the other one is the filename.scn (screen template). On the scheduler.scl you can manually change the date and time and that's it! Your client will run on for ever!

Regards, Bill

[oneseventeen]

Well, it stopped responding again and went to the MagicInfo screen.  It looks like someone rebooted it while I was working on it because my connection was lost immediately.

When it came back up and I was able to reconnect, I saw it in MagicInfoPro but it still didn't get the schedule from the server, it just stayed on the MagicInfo Pro animation.

As far as changing the D: files, I'll definitely give that a try, but will those be reset the next time the screen loses power?

I'm sure there has got to be something to make this connect to the server to get a schedule when it loses power, otherwise I don't see how anyone ever deploys them.  I'd rather fix my setup than use a hack since I want to deploy more over time.

Any tips on why it isn't connecting to the server regularly to double-check the schedule?

[Bill Coral]

Any changes that you make to the screen, you will need to ensure that you commit EWF. That is including the setting to the new E: drive if you decide to do it. As soon as you commit EWF, you need to launch the magicinfopro client so that the changes are properly registered.

Bill.