Migrate from JW Showcase to Apps

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Since support for JW Showcase will cease on 31 December 2023, you must transition any existing JW Showcase implementations to Apps.

Overview

JW Showcase has been JWP's cloud-hosted video gallery web app solution. This solution leverages playlist and player settings from the your JWP dashboard to distribute your content on desktop and mobile web. JW Showcase will be replaced with Apps. While maintaining this functionality, Apps, incorporates new frameworks and introduces an app config.

New Frameworks

Apps incorporates open-source frameworks to help you develop apps for desktops and mobile web. For each supported platform, JWP will collaboratively develop a new framework. JW Web App is the first new framework.

JW Web App replaces the viewer-facing Showcase site and consumes an app config to control its content. Built on React, this framework seamlessly integrates with the JWP infrastructure to provide several new features:

• Monetization options, such as subscription and pay-per-item
• Easier workflows with alternate thumbnails
• Stronger content protection with URL signing and DRM
• 24X7 live channels with channel guides, DVR, and replays
• Ability to use app configs to manage multiple apps from a single property

App Config

An app config enables you to manage the content and configurations for all of your apps. An app config is built within your JWP dashboard. And each property can support multiple app configs. Through the app config, you can control the following aspects of your apps:

• Order and content of playlist shelves
• Monetization settings, such as subscription and pay-per-item
• User login support

These settings are published through JWP's Delivery API and are consumed by the open-source frameworks for your apps.

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Quick Start

To migrate to Apps, you will need to create an app config. For some migration use cases, you will also need to build the JW Web App. The following sections explain each type of migration use case.

Use Case 1: JWP-hosted Showcase for a web gallery

A video-based website has been built using the settings offered in the JWP dashboard.

If this use case apply to you, use the following steps:

1. From the Showcase page, click COPY TO APPS. A new app config is created and the app config details page appears.

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   As an alternative, you can create a new app config and manually add content to the app config.

2. Click Preview to ensure that all settings have transferred correctly.
3. Copy the CONFIG ID.
4. Build the JW Web App with the config ID.

Use Case 2: JWP-hosted Showcase for apps

With the assistance of an app partner, an app has been created using the settings offered in the JWP dashboard.

If this use case apply to you, use the following steps:

1. From the Showcase page, click COPY TO APPS. A new app config is created and the app config details page appears.

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   As an alternative, you can create a new app config and manually add content to the app config.

2. Click Preview to ensure that all settings have transferred correctly.
3. Copy the CONFIG ID.
4. Share the config ID with your app partner. Your app partner or JWP representative can assist you with hosting and customizing your app.

Use Case 3: Self-hosted Showcase

A developer has compiled, built, and hosted a JW Showcase from precompiled code or source code.

If this use cases applies to you, use the following steps:

1. Create a new app config and manually add content to the app config.
2. Click Preview to ensure that all settings have transferred correctly.
3. Copy the CONFIG ID.
4. Build the JW Web App with the config ID.

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JW Web App

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This section only applies to Use Case 1 and Use Case 3 above. If Use Case 2 applies to you, you can skip this section.

When self-hosting the JW Web App framework, you decide and control the following aspects:

• Hosting service for the framework
• Maintenance of the framework, including infrastructure and technical resources

While the framework is hosted and managed by you, the app config is hosted by JWP. You can deploy this framework using prebuilt assets or the build source code yourself.

Build the JW Web App

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If you prefer, you can manually compile and deploy the JW Web App from the source code.

Use the following steps to deploy a self-hosted JW Web App from prebuilt assets:

1. Under the Apps section on the app config details page, click Web App (GitHub). The ott-web-app GitHub repository opens.
2. Under Assets, download the prebuilt artifact file.
3. Unzip the file.
4. Add .webapp.ini to the root directory.
5. Within .webapp.ini, set the Config ID as the value for defaultConfigSource.

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   The .webapp.ini file might be hidden by your operating system. Use the command-line client or consult your operating system documentation to reveal hidden files.

6. Upload the JW Web App to your web server.

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For general support, contact your JWP representative. For customizations, work with your app partner.

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Detailed comparison

In addition to the aspects highlighted in the overview, the following table shows a side-by-side comparison of the features of Apps and JW Showcase.