Viz Mosart offers an easy to create, generic driver that sends REST commands to an external device. Features for these drivers can be controlled from a standard Mosart template, as described in section Controlling a REST-based Driver.

Key features of Viz Mosart Generic REST drivers:

• Device configuration: Configure up to 50 devices that provide REST API services.

• Authentication support: Basic, Digest, API key, OAuth2 (Client credentials and Password grants) and Token login, for a device with its own login endpoint. See Authentication types.

• Certificate pinning: Connect to a device with a self-signed certificate by entering its certificate thumbprint, instead of disabling certificate validation.

• Connection status monitoring and heartbeat: Monitor the connection status of the device, with an integrated heartbeat mechanism for consistent device status checks.

• Standby mode: Set devices in standby mode.

• Template-based command execution: Configure and execute commands on cue, take or take-out.

• HTTP command requests: GET, POST and PUT HTTP request methods.

• Integration with newsroom systems: Use newsroom tags in request commands, so journalists can overwrite values with content from their newsroom system.

• Directtakes functionality: Execute Directtakes with REST commands for a configured device from templates or keyboard shortcuts in the Viz Mosart UI.

Out-of-the-box features available with a Generic REST driver:

• Redundancy using a reverse proxy such as Caddy or HAProxy.

• Control a Mosart server from a template using the Mosart Remote Control REST API instead of using GPI control commands.

• Control other Mosart servers from a Mosart server using the Mosart Remote Control REST API.

Setting up and Connecting to a REST-based Device

You construct your REST-based driver from the Settings menu in the combined Mosart Administrator utility.

1. Open the Settings window. There are two methods:

   1. From the Manus Administrator console, type settings.

   2. From the AV Automation menu bar, navigate to Devices > Settings (Ctrl+Shift+P).

2. In the left side of the Settings menu, select Generic REST drivers.

3. Add a new device by clicking Add device, or the plus (+) sign next to the Devices header. You can add up to 50 devices.

4. Configure the device in the right side panel. The core fields are:

   Field	Meaning
   Device title	A name that uniquely identifies the device. Default: Untitled.
   Device ID	The generic REST number shown in the AV Automation Status panel and the Standby lists. Usable with a standby device control command.
   Base URL	Mandatory: the scheme (http:// or https://) and the host of the device, optionally with a common resource path. It is the shared part of the URL of every request to the device.
   Status URL path	The resource path appended to the Base URL for the connection test and the heartbeat.
   Authentication type	How the driver authenticates. See Authentication types below.

   Info: Every setting explains itself: hover the information icon next to a field for what it does, how to fill it in, and where the value comes from. The authentication fields appear and disappear with the chosen Authentication type, so you only see what the selected type needs.

5. Test the connection by clicking Test Connection. If the connection fails, an error message is displayed. See Troubleshooting below.

6. Once the connection is successfully established, enable the device by toggling the switch next to the device's name. This initiates an HTTP connection to the device, preparing it to receive commands from Viz Mosart.

7. As necessary, add, configure and enable more devices, then save all settings by clicking Save.

8. In the AV Automation UI, check that the enabled devices are displayed in the Status panel. With no heartbeat configured, Mosart checks the connection once and shows green for OK or red for not OK; with a heartbeat, hovering over the device shows the last check. You can reconnect to the device in AV Automation with Ctrl+Shift+Z.

Authentication types

Set Authentication type to what the device requires; its REST API documentation says which. Each type shows only its own fields, and each field's tooltip carries the detail.

Example: a device with its own login endpoint (TokenLogin)

The Imagine SNP is the typical case: it wants a JSON credential body at /api/auth, answers with the bare token string, expects the raw token in the Authorization header with no scheme, and its tokens expire after roughly five minutes.

Example: calling the Mosart REST API when OIDC is enabled (OAuth2)

Enabling OIDC authentication on a Mosart server switches the REST API key off, so a Generic REST device pointed at Mosart's own REST API must sign in as its own service account instead (available from Viz Mosart 5.16):

1. Ask IT to create a client for the device in the identity provider, using the client credentials flow, and to hand back its Client ID and secret. If the device manages named overlays, the client's service account also needs the mosart-admin role. See the Security chapter.

2. Configure the device: Authentication type OAuth2, Grant type ClientCredentials, Authentication Server Url = the identity provider's token endpoint, plus the Client ID and secret.

3. Point Status URL path at api/v1/status, which requires a valid token, so a green heartbeat proves the whole chain.

Management of REST-based Devices

To remove a device: hover over it in the device list, right-click the three dots to the right and select Remove device.

To enable, disable or remove all devices: right-click the three dots next to the Devices header and select an operation from the context menu.

Controlling a REST-based Driver

Standard Viz Mosart templates can be used to control a REST-based driver. These show-specific operations are described in section Controlling a REST-based Driver.

Troubleshooting