The Lite player is based on HTML5 and running in the OS web browser. As such displaying web pages is limited to the base system features.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Features
- Mouse, keyboard and touch are supported on devices that allow for this interaction
Please note that if a keyboard is connected this could be used to control and exit the player - An IFrame is used to display the web page
- Page reload interval setting
- Secure HTTPS links are supported
Please note that the page will not be displayed if certificates do not match or are not valid - Video performance etc is limited to the system it is running on
- Screen specific APIs available to web pages can be used from your web page, giving access to additional functionality.
Good to know / limitations
- Since web pages are displayed in an IFrame, there are some limitations
- The web page must allow IFrame display
- Web page hosted on HTTPS must not access non-secure HTTP links
- Since some of the devices that Lite operates on are limited in performance, web pages may render slowly and touch responses may have a delay
- Web page display is limited to system memory.
Web pages share the memory of the Lite player and if the web page uses more memory than available this may cause disruption of the whole system and may trigger a reboot or crash. - Proxy configuration is done on system level, if supported
- Cache and cookies are shared between all web pages and the Lite system
- It is not possible to automatically navigate to a new location on a web page after loading a web page
- The page that appears when you put the URL into a web browser is the page that will be visible
- It is not possible to supply user interaction automatically (click, text input, anti bot detection, etc)
Recommendations
To show a web page in a digital signage enviroment is not the same as displaying a web page to a user on a normal desktop PC or mobile device.
We highly recommend that you create custom pages for display, for a number of different reasons:
- Graphics and text can be configured to match the selected resolution
- Input, touch and interaction and be designed to allow for the user input available
- Reload and refresh can be handled inside the page itself
- You can control what is displayed and when it is displayed
- You can control that the content will always fit the screen and also that it fits your brand
- You can avoid cookies, popups, questionares, moved pages, etc.
- Authentication can be bypassed or handled by using tokens or certificates
Example
Question. When you display your local newspaper web page, will it
- Display content that are appropriate?
- Show a paywall?
- Cut a news item in half at the end of the page?
- Show a login field allowing the user to login?
- Show advertisements?
In addition, do you have permission to display the page? What happens if they change URL, redirect to another page or are compromised in any way?
Security concerns, when you display a web page, this web page will execute code on your local system. And you want to have control over what code that runs on your local system.
Authentication
Since Lite players display web pages in a separate IFrame the options for logging in to a page is limited.
Basic Authentication
If the web page is using Basic Authentication you can add the username and password to the URL like this: https://username:password@webpage.com
Bypass authentication
For your own or third party web pages you can use any of these methods to bypass authentication
- Create a special URL that bypasses the login
- Use a token in the URL
- Bypass login if the request comes from a trusted IP or trusted VPN
Note that all of these methods require that changes are made to the web page / server in some way.
Other types of authentication
If you have no access or ability to change the web page to bypass authentication then there are a few options left
- Create your own page to display the web page in an IFrame and handle authentication using script
- Create a proxy that injects scripts into the web page to bypass authentication
In all of the above options we ask you to consult with the operator of the web page, because bypassing authentication may not be allowed or even penalised.