--- title: Inherited Players slug: manage/inherited-players docTags: createdAt: 2025-03-11T06:58:11.201Z --- If you have inherited an existing BrightSign player, here are some tips to help you understand and use the players. The most important things to know are: - Which Content Management System (CMS) app was used? This could be BrightSign Author, BrightAuthor Classic, or a partner CMS. - Which [Publishing Mode](docId\:rEScIigY-dJRPuZgwaA4e) did that app use to publish content to the player? These apps support multiple content Publishing Modes. :::hint{type="warning"} BrightSign Author was called BrightAuthor\:connected prior to August 2026. ::: # Determine CMS & Publishing Mode To determine how content was published to the player, you can search the computer that was used for setup (if you have access to it), check the contents of the player's microSD card, or access the player through the local Diagnostic Web Server. These methods are described below: ## Computer Access If you can access the computer that was used to create the presentations, search for a BrightSign Author, BrightAuthor Classic, or partner CMS app. - If BrightSign Author is installed on your computer, open it. You may need the login credentials of the previous user or may need to create your own account. Go to the [Network](docId\:Uba8sfkMSAJsIBrbv4A6N) tab to see the players' Publishing Mode (Standalone, Local Network, Web Folder, etc.). - If BrightAuthor Classic is installed on your computer, open it. You may need the login credentials of the previous user or may need to create your own account. Go to the [Manage](docId\:ZaZqGxtU6IU8ogeTEuGEt) tab to see more about your setup. - If neither BrightSign Author or BrightAuthor Classic are visible on the computer, search for one of our partner apps: [The BrightSign Partner Network | BrightSign®](https://www.brightsign.biz/partners/?tab=cms). If you find their app on the player, check their website for more information. ## Card Method Copy the microSD card information from the player to your computer using a card reader to see if BrightSign Author (BrightAuthor\:connected), BrightAuthor Classic, or CMS partner files are on the card. If you see **XML** files on the card, the BrightAuthor Classic CMS was used. To determine the content Publishing Mode: - If you see a *local-sync.xml* file, your player was not set up for the cloud and uses either Local File Networking or Standalone. The contents of the setup.xml file will help you determine which Publishing Mode was used to publish content to the player. - If you see a *current-sync.xml file*, your player is set up for the cloud and uses either BSNEE or [BrightSignNetwork.com](http://BrightSignNetwork.com) Simple File Networking. If the *current-sync.xml* file is pointing to a custom URL (the customer’s Simple File Networking server), then it is set up for Simple File Networking. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/sAbsccwZI7pbx__HI9TPe_image.png) If you see **JSON** files on the card, BrightSign Author was used. To determine the content Publishing Mode: - If you see a **local-sync.json** file, your player is not set up for the cloud and was using either Local Network or Standalone. - If you see a **current-sync.json** file, your player is set up for the cloud and is using BSN.Cloud Web Folder (formerly Simply File Networking). If the current-sync.json file is pointing to a custom URL (the customer’s Web Folder server) then it is set up for Web Folder. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/2llGmdxukuajkEZOwGTUY_image.png) Here are examples of microSD card contents from some BrightSign CMS partners: ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/SF8-2tUHdp_jofJ9T2kYF_image.png) ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/_E8y0Ge5YYkE78jzmBf8F_image.png) ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/RKrwYbtUXXtdndZmW7Lng_image.png "22 Miles CMS") ## IP Access Method You can also enter the IP address of the player into a browser to access the Local Diagnostic Web Server (Local DWS or LDWS). :::hint{type="warning"} Local access (i.e., access over the local network) of the Diagnostic Web Server (DWS) is *disabled* by default as of BrightSignOS 9.0.218 (on the 9.0 branch) and BrightSignOS 9.1.75 (on the 9.1 branch). In BrightSignOS versions prior to these, local access to the DWS was enabled by default. To enable local access to the DWS, see [DWS: Local Access](docId\:IAFCHERlJfjDJTWTtKpk5). Note that some specially configured players have the external microSD card port and USB storage disabled at the factory (SKU: SVC-internal-storage-only). For these players, local access to the DWS remains enabled by default. Remote access (i.e., access over the internet) of the DWS remains available for all internet-connected players registered with BrightSign Cloud. ::: To enable the Local DWS, see [this page](docId\:IAFCHERlJfjDJTWTtKpk5). Once enabled, the Local DWS follow these steps to access it: 1. Open a web browser. 2. Enter the player IP address in the address bar. 3. You should now have access to all the features of the local DWS (see [DWS: Remote Access](docId\:XUE20rJXhFt-Lq0RDmJbW) for more information) which will help you understand the Publishing Mode of the player. ## Other If you can’t access the microSD card but do have the player's serial number, you can send that info to the BrightSign support team for further assistance.  ## BrightSign Author/BrightAuthor Classic Recovery Ask your IT team to give you access to the admin email account that was used to register the players and then reset the network account password after which you can add a new admin email to transfer ownership (try to use a generic email account rather than your personal email). You can also clear the provisioning record on the player to reconfigure it with a new network or Setup File. # Next Steps Once you have determined the CMS and setup type of the player, see the following resources: - To add a new player to your deployment, or to better understand how the existing players are set up, see [⭐ Player Setup](docId\:rCuHsQUJj1ethBHvT46xi) - To create a new presentation through BrightSign Author, see [Publishing Quickstart](docId\:CZGuHZ_OMw1rSbPfddPaH). - To create a new presentation through BrightAuthor Classic, see [Create Presentations](docId\:GFt1EG7A_U950gJI4cabF). - If you are publishing content to a player through a partner CMS, see [The BrightSign Partner Network | BrightSign®](https://www.brightsign.biz/partners/?tab=cms) or their website for more information. - To upgrade to Series 5 players, see [BrightSign Series 5 Digital Signage Players](https://www.brightsign.biz/brightsign-players/series-5/) - To upgrade to Series 6 players, see [BrightSign Series 6 Digital Signage Players ](https://www.brightsign.biz/brightsign-players/series-6/)