Translations:Синхронизация времени с сервером/1/en

Description of the Situation

The SmartPlayer development team has implemented another feature that enables synchronization between the server and the device via the NTP protocol, directly from the user dashboard. This solution allows users to minimize time discrepancies and manually configure them according to broadcast requirements and device capabilities.

How It Works

NTP (Network Time Protocol) is a network mechanism for time synchronization, designed to transmit the accurate current time from a specialized server to devices on a network.

For proper functioning of applications and services, Android devices require accurate system time. The device's built-in clock may drift over time, so NTP synchronization is used.
When an internet connection is available, the device automatically contacts the time server (NTP). The server sends the current time, after which the system gently adjusts the device’s internal clock. This correction is handled by the operating system and is invisible to the user.
All applications on the device use the already synchronized system time and do not perform separate time checks themselves. This ensures the proper functioning of schedules, event logs, timers, and network connections.

If network access is temporarily unavailable, the device continues to operate using the current time. Once the connection is restored, synchronization is performed automatically.

Operating Principle

This functionality allows users to minimize the time difference between the device and the server through a dedicated settings block. All these settings are available in the device settings within the SmartPlayer user dashboard.
To use this feature, the user must register/log in to their SmartPlayer account.
Next, go to the "Devices" section in the dashboard and select the desired device.

Example of the selected device in the dashboard

Clicking on the device opens the device control panel on the right side of the screen. In this panel, the user needs to locate the "Settings" section.

Example of the "Settings" option in the device control panel

A new page with a list of settings categories will then open. In this case, the required category is "Automation Management". The user should click on this category.

Example of the "Automation Management" category

Once opened, a set of configurable parameters under "Automation Management" will be displayed. The user must scroll almost to the bottom of the category and find the toggle labeled "Accurate time synchronization with server". This toggle is turned off by default.

Example of the "Accurate time synchronization with server" toggle

After clicking the toggle, it will be activated, and two more fields will appear:

• Allowable time deviation — allows the user to enter a numeric value for the acceptable time difference between the device and the server. Measured in seconds. Minimum value is 5 (default), maximum is 300.
• Request frequency — allows the user to enter a numeric value for the number of requests sent to the server. Measured in minutes. Minimum value is 15, maximum is 1440.

Example of server synchronization parameters

The final step is to click the "Save changes" button at the bottom of the screen and check whether synchronization has occurred on the devices.

Video Guide

Time Synchronization with NTP Server

Additional Information

If this article doesn’t help you use the feature as intended, or if you still have questions after reading it, you can ask them in the "Discussion" section at the top of the page.

Example of the "Discussion" tab on the wiki page

Additional information can also be found on the page How users can interact with the "Discussions" section