Demo Mode & Session Mode
Vū Studio gives you two modes for controlling who can connect to and control your system. Understanding the difference is important for both security and smooth operation.
Overview
| Demo Mode | Session Mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Anyone with the system ID | Admin-approved only |
| Use case | Sales demos, guided showings | Shared venues, events, public installs |
| Approval required | No | Yes |
| Approved users can cast | Yes — anyone connected | Yes — per the permissions granted |
| Admin can kick users | No | Yes |
| Sessions panel visible | No | Yes |
Demo Mode
Demo Mode is designed to make demonstrations quick and frictionless. Anyone who knows your system ID can connect and control the display — no approval needed.
When to use Demo Mode
- Guided sales demos where you're present to oversee usage
- Short-term guest access in a controlled setting
- Quick showcases where friction would be disruptive
Enabling Demo Mode
- Open Vū Studio at one.vu.studio
- Navigate to Settings (gear icon in the left sidebar)
- Toggle Demo Mode on
Demo Mode has no access restrictions. Anyone with your system ID can connect. Don't use Demo Mode for unattended public-facing installations.
Session Mode
Session Mode gives administrators real-time control over exactly who can access and operate the system. Users who attempt to connect appear in a Sessions panel where you can approve, restrict, or remove them.
How Session Mode works
When Session Mode is active:
- A user navigates to Vū Studio and enters your system ID to connect
- They appear in your Sessions list at one.vu.studio/wall-admin/sessions — click the Vū Studio icon to go Home, then click Sessions in the left sidebar. The Sessions link is only shown to users who administer at least one Vū Media Server.
- You can allow their access, giving them control, or leave it switched off, blocking them
- At any time you can withdraw a connected user's control or kick them entirely
If you administer more than one Vū Media Server, the drop-down at the top of the page chooses which one's sessions you are looking at. The page opens on a Vū Media Server you administer, even when the browser you are using is currently connected to a different one.
Each connected user is listed by name, email address, and the date and time they connected. The controls are:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Allow Access | The per-user checkbox that grants or withdraws permission to send commands. It applies as soon as you click it, and the row shows a spinner until the change is saved. |
| Kick User (the trash icon on the row) | Disconnects that one person. You are asked to confirm first, and the confirmation tells you whether that user is also losing an access grant. |
| Kick All Users | Disconnects everyone on the selected Vū Media Server who has not been allowed. You are asked to confirm first, and the confirmation names how many users will be disconnected. Users you have allowed keep both their connection and their access grant — clearing an allowed user out means withdrawing their Allow Access first, or kicking that row on its own. |
| Refresh List | Re-reads the list of connected users and asks the Vū Media Server to re-check who is connected. |
The Vū Media Server's own admin is always allowed and is shown as Admin in that column rather than as a checkbox.
The list keeps itself current: users appearing and disconnecting, and access changes made by another administrator, show up on their own without reloading the page.
What a User Granted Access Can Do
Permissions in Session Mode are real operating permissions, not a view-only pass. A user who is not an admin of the Vū Media Server, but who has been granted permissions to it in Session Mode, can:
- Reach the Vū Media Server — it is available to them in Vū Studio the same way it is to its admin, within the permissions they were given.
- Cast to it — send content to its displays and drive playback, according to those same permissions. Approval and casting are the same grant; a user who has been allowed in does not need a second permission to put content on screen.
- Open its settings — a user granted access in Session Mode can open the connected Vū Media Server's Settings page. (In Demo Mode there is no approval step, so anyone connected can open Settings; in Session Mode only the admin and users who have been granted access can.)
Withdrawing the grant takes all of this away again: clear the user's Allow Access and they keep their connection but lose the ability to send commands; Kick User removes them from the session entirely.
When to use Session Mode
- Shared installations in offices, universities, or venues
- Live events where only staff should have control
- Any situation where you want approval-based access
Enabling Session Mode
- Open Vū Studio
- Go to Settings
- Toggle Session Mode on
- Confirm the Sessions link appears in the left sidebar
- Open Sessions (one.vu.studio/wall-admin/sessions) to approve or deny users as they connect
Editing Wall Settings
Team admins can edit a wall's settings through Session Mode permissions. In addition to the wall's own admin, a user can edit a wall's settings if they are a team admin or owner of a team and the wall's admin is a member of that same team. This scopes wall settings access to the team without requiring the wall to be manually reassigned.
Recommended Configuration by Environment
| Environment | Recommended Mode |
|---|---|
| Guided sales demo | Demo Mode |
| Public showroom (unattended) | Session Mode |
| Innovation / experience center | Session Mode |
| Live production event | Session Mode |
| Internal staff-only system | Either — Session Mode preferred |
| Development / testing | Demo Mode |