Mapping: Signage Player
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(Updated 2021.02.09)
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Contents
Introduction
"Signage Player" source allows users to launch media files (videos and images) on a continuous loop. Media files are added using the "Add File" or "Add Dir" or "Upload" button. A variety of sample content is provided for selection under the /var/source-content directory. In order to add new content to the playlist, media files can either be copied into /var/source-content directory or a user can define any local directory as an implicit playlist. Visit How to copy Content for more information.
Mapping: Creating a Signage Player Source
Mapping allows you to bind a specific display to the Signage Player. To create a "Signage Player" Source:
- Click on Mapping > New Source button. From the drop-down menu select "Signage Player" as the preferred source type and give it a name.
- Choose media files by clicking the "Add File" button or specify the playlist directory by clicking the "Add Dir" button
- All media files should be saved in the /var/source-content directory in order to appear in this list.
- To add a playlist directory, click the "Add Dir" button; specify the playlist name and the complete path of the playlist directory.
- To upload a file, click the "Upload" button and choose a file. The uploaded file will get saved in /var/source-content folder.
- Select the Scaling option (default: Zoom full-screen)
- Scale to fit vs. Zoom full-screen vs. Stretch full-screen
In case your media content does not match the aspect ratio of the display, you need to choose "Scale to Fit" vs "Zoom full-screen" vs "Stretch full-screen".
With "Scale to fit" (also known as letterboxing / pillarboxing) the source image is scaled so that the border of the image -- and the entire image -- is inside the display and visible. This most often results in black bands above and below the image.
With "Zoom full-screen" the source image is scaled so that some of the image is outside the display (cropped); This eliminates the black banding on the display, but it means that either the horizontal or vertical outside edges of the video will not be visible to the user.
With "Stretch full-screen" the source image is scaled so that the entire image is visible on the display. This means that the aspect ratio of the video is stretched both horizontally and vertically to match the aspect ratio of the display.
- Enter the Slideshow Interval (in seconds) for static images
- Click "OK" to complete the process
Forward and Store
This is a new feature of Userful 10.6, requiring uClients and a supported GPU. Instead of continuously streaming content from the server, files are pre-processed and downloaded to the uClient device, where they are synchronized over the local network and played locally. This significantly reduces the network bandwidth required to play Signage Player sources, but does not function with Zero Clients.
More information on uClients and servers is available on our new support portal docs.userful.com.
Map Displays to Signage Player Source
Once the source is created, displays or video walls can be "mapped" by simply dragging-and-dropping the video wall or display icon to the "Signage Player" source. To change the source configuration (e.g., to edit playlist) click on the source name to open the "Edit Source" window.
Currently mapping an Onboard Display to a Signage player source is not advisable.
Note: Changes will not take effect until the "Apply" button is clicked.
Supported Video Codecs and Image Formats
The video wall component in Userful™ software appliance is capable of playing source content from broad range formats. Currently, following are the main video codecs, containers and image formats that are supported with Userful™ software:
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Audio Codecs |
(Note: The file extension is case sensitive and only lowercase should be used.)
Related Links
