200-2610.0F - MediaStar Media Creator User Guide INTRODUCTION The Mediastar Digital signage solution is designed to bring together text, images, video media and corporate branding

200-26100F-MediaStar Creator User Guide Page 1 of 49

MediaStar Creator USER GUIDE

HEAD OFFICE Cabletime Limited

64 Greenham Road

Newbury, Berkshire

RG14 7HX, England

Telephone > +44 (0) 1635 35111

Fax > +44 (0) 1635 35913

Sales Enquiries > [email protected]

USA OFFICE Cabletime USA

100 Valley Road, Mt Arlington

New Jersey

NJ 07856

Telephone > +01 (0) 973 770 8072

Fax > +01 (0) 201 621 8070

Sales Enquiries > +01 (0) 973 770 8070

ASIA OFFICE Cabletime ASIA

25/F, Westin Centre

26 Hung To Road, Kwun Tong Road,

Kowloon, Hong Kong

Telephone > +852 3101 2650

Fax > +852 3010 2640

Sales Enquiries > [email protected]


Contents INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 3

MEDIASTAR CREATOR ........................................................................................ 4

INTERFACE ......................................................................................................... 4 FILE MENU ......................................................................................................... 5 EDIT ............................................................................................................... 6 VIEW .............................................................................................................. 7 INSERT ........................................................................................................... 9 HELP ............................................................................................................. 18

MEDIASTAR CREATOR TOOLS ........................................................................... 19

THE TOOLS INTERFACE ......................................................................................... 19 PROJECT VIEW .................................................................................................. 19 PLAYER VIEW .................................................................................................... 22 CONTROLLING PAGE END ....................................................................................... 23

DYNAMIC CONTENT CREATOR .......................................................................... 25

INTERFACE ....................................................................................................... 25 CREATING A SINGLE RSS ...................................................................................... 28 CREATING MULTI RSS .......................................................................................... 29 ADDING RSS TO CREATOR PAGES ............................................................................ 29 CREATING HTML CONTENT .................................................................................... 30 ADDING HTML TO CREATOR PAGES .......................................................................... 31 TROUBLESHOOTING DCC CONTENT .......................................................................... 31

PROJECT WALKTHROUGH ................................................................................. 33

REQUIRED SOFTWARE .......................................................................................... 33 REQUIRED ASSETS .............................................................................................. 33 PROJECT GOALS ................................................................................................. 33 CREATING THE PROJECT ........................................................................................ 33 CREATING THE SECOND PAGE (TWO VIDEOS) .............................................................. 39 CREATING PAGE THREE (TIME AND VIDEO) ................................................................. 41 CREATING PAGE FOUR (SYNCHRONISED ZONES) ........................................................... 44 PUBLISH THE PROJECT ......................................................................................... 47


INTRODUCTION

The Mediastar Digital signage solution is designed to bring together text, images, video media and corporate branding to maximise message communication, while giving administrators the flexibility to dynamically alter content and stack messages for full impact.

The Mediastar digital signage solution is comprised of Mediator Creator for digital signage authoring and the companion Tools application which leverages the IPTV network to deploy content and manage playback. MediaStar Creator and Tools run on all Windows versions from 7 onwards.

MediaStar Creator and Tools are a standalone Digital Signage solution offered alongside Cabletime’s MediaStar IPTV hardware and Media Management Server solutions.


MEDIASTAR CREATOR

INTERFACE

The Creator text menu and toolbar sit above the main WYSIWYG interface, offering quick access to commands via the keyboard or mouse.


FILE MENU From the File Menu create new pages or load existing project pages.

NEW BLANK PAGE

Create a new page within a project.

Specify a page output resolution and the project directory to store the page.

RESOLUTION

Creator pages support broadcast HD standard resolutions.

HIGH DEFINITION PROJECTS retain the same resolution across all geographic regions with only the frame rate of embedded video offering differing parameters.

HD-720P – Suitable for progressive scan output to 1280x720 resolution and above.

HD-1080P – Suitable for progressive scan screens to 1980x1080 resolution and above.

PROJECT DIRECTORY

Ensure the correct project directory is selected or create a new directory if starting a new project.

The default project directory is CREATOR PROJECTS under MY DOCUMENTS.

NB If CREATOR TOOLS is loaded Creator will automatically select the active TOOLS project directory when saving a new page.

Browse to the required project directory and CONFIRM the page creation.

If creating the first page of a project CONFIRM the creation of ESSENTIAL DIRECTORIES and files for the project.

OPEN PAGE

Displays a list of available pages in the current project.

If pages from ANOTHER project are to be edited browse to the required directory.

SELECT a page to edit and confirm.

SAVE PAGE

Saves the current edited page to its existing file location overwriting the previous version.

NB If Creator Tools is open Creator will attempt to save within the current selected Tools project.

BROWSE to the required project directory.

ENTER the file name to be used.


SAVE PAGE AS

Will save a copy of the current edited page within the current selected project.

If you want to save to ANOTHER location browse to the required directory.

Enter the alternate FILENAME to be used.

CLOSE

Close the current edited Creator page.

If the page has been updated since the last save you will be prompted to save it

EXIT

Will close the MediaStar Creator application.

If any open pages have not been saved since the last changes you will be prompted to save them.

EDIT The edit menu handles movement of text and images between the Windows clipboard and pages. Some graphics handling properties can be set too.

The Windows clipboard enables Creator to share assets within a page and between pages.

Data stored in the clipboard can be accessed by pasting to the current page.

CUT

Removes the selected object from the page and places a copy in the Windows clipboard.

COPY

Places a duplicate of the currently selected object into the Windows clipboard.

PASTE

Copies the contents of the clipboard to the current document or project.

DELETE

Removes the selected object from the project.

This function is permanent as Creator does not currently have an undo feature.

MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO ON RESIZE

Will ensure all object resizing within the project will retain aspect ratio.

Maintaining aspect ratio ensures the correlation between the media’s width and height is preserved through resizing. Not doing this can result in image distortion.


SNAP TAGS TO GUIDELINES

Creating, resizing or moving an object will automatically align it to the nearest guide intersection.

If your shape or object does not move where you want, turn off the snap tags option.

VIEW The View menu allows you to review and change display properties for both page object and the project page as a whole.

These toggle settings will reset to default settings on loading Creator.

TAG OVERLAYS

When focused on an object the interface can display properties relating to the object and better help page layout. Applies to all objects on the page.

NAME

The object type will be displayed in a label providing visual indication for placement across the page.

BORDER

The highlight border shown around a selected object can be toggled on or off.

BOUNDARY ALIGNMENT

Displays vertical and horizontal guides to aid positioning and aligning objects on the page.

DOCUMENT OVERLAYS

Manage options for onscreen guides assisting content placement and grids for automatic alignment.

ACTION SAFE AREA

Shows a page margin beyond which content should not be placed due to varying over scan settings across displays. This margin can be equated to the bleed margin in printing.

Content such as a background NEEDS TO EXCEED the margin to ensure correct page framing on screen. Messaging and graphical content should stay within the safe area.

TITLE SAFE AREA

A rectangular area on the screen into which all important text and objects should be contained.

Content outside the title safe area may not be displayed as intended or cropped.


GUIDES

Toggles display guides on or off.

Guides can be placed along the vertical and horizontal axis of the page to help with object alignment.

LARGE GRID

Divides the screen into blocks of large grids for snapping objects to logical areas on the page.

Large grids are best suited to pages with few objects.

MEDIUM GRID

Divides the screen into blocks of medium sized grids for snapping objects to logical areas on the page.

Medium grids are suited to pages with a mix of large and smaller content.

SMALL GRID

Divides the screen into blocks of small grids for snapping objects to logical areas on the page.

Small grids are best suited to pages with larger objects.

NO GRID

Turns off grids. Objects will need to be manually placed on the page.

For grids to be active both Snap Tags to Guidelines and one of small, medium or large grids selected.

RENDER MODE

Render modes offer different ways to visually represent objects on the screen and review their distribution across the page.

WIREFRAME

Only the outline for each tag will be displayed in the page.

SOLID COLOR

Each object type is represented as a specific colour representing the spread of tags across the page.

ICONIC

Each object on the page is visually represented by an icon.


REAL-TIME PREVIEW

Objects with dynamic content are played in Creator to represent the final spread of media across the page.

THE AVAILABILITY OF THIS FUNCTION WILL DEPEND ON THE CAPABILITY OF THE PC GRAPHICS.

ZOOM

Zoom will increase or decrease the scale of the page and objects represented on the screen.

ZOOM IN

Will increase the scale of the page and content by a percentage based on the current resolution.

ZOOM OUT

Will decrease the scale of the page and content by a percentage based on the current resolution.

ZOOM TO FIT

Will scale the page and content by a percentage to fit it entirely within the editor window.

ZOOM TO %

Will scale the page and content to a set percentage of the page’s designed resolution.

INSERT Add content to the project page from the insert menu or from the Toolbar.

Once selected content should be placed and resized as required.

USE THE EDIT MENU toggle: MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO ON RESIZE to ensure images maintain aspect ratio as you resize them.

NB Alternatively use the SHIFT key while resizing images.

NEW BACKGROUND

Adding a background to the project page is opportunity to create contrast to the main content and eye catching colour or texture.

IMAGE

Cabletime offer a number of eye catching backgrounds to aid staging your signage page.

The selected background image should match the resolution of the project.

From File

Browse to and select the background image file.


GRADIENT

Gradient will create an eye catching background effect by moving between two colours across the page.

COLOUR 1

Specifies the start colour of the gradient.

Click on the square to pull up a colour swatch selecting the colour either from the picker, the palette or entering the RGB colour values.

COLOUR 2

Specifies the end colour of the gradient.

Click on the square to pull up a colour swatch selecting the colour either from the picker, the palette or entering the RGB colour values.

ANGLE

The angle at which the spread across the page can be determined by entering a value between 0 and 359.

SOLID COLOR

Use a solid colour as the background to create a contrast to the page content.

Click on the colour square to pull up the swatch.

NEW VIDEO CLIP TAG

Adding video content to a page adds visual contrast and a reason for customers to stop and watch.

SOURCE

Content can be an IPTV stream or video stored locally on the player, with dynamically changing content possible via Active Data fields.

VIDEO CLIP

Import a video clip for playback from local player storage.

FILE

Browse to and select the video file to be used as the page video content.

Select the VIDEO to be imported.

Click CREATE to import the file.

RE-SIZE AND DRAG the clip window to the required location on the page.


ACTIVE DATA FIELD

Active data fields are dynamic fields used to change content while the project is running.

Within the New Video Clip Tag the active data field is used to specify alternate video content.

Ensure video clips are imported by Creator and selectable from the dropdown before specifying in the Active Data Field.

FIELD NUMBER

The field number specifies which Active Data Field should be referenced to obtain the required video content.

To change the running video clip change the content specified in the Active Data Field.

NB Active Data fields containing images and videos are edited from the Creator Tools app.

IP STREAMING

Enter the required multicast stream address and port number.

The address syntax is udp://<multicast address>:<port number> UDP://239.192.2.1:1234

NEW GRAPHIC TAG

Graphics draw attention to the displayed content and can be comprised of images or animation with many popular file types supported.

SOURCE

The source allows you to specify whether the graphic will be imported from a file, the clipboard or specified from an Active Data Field.

FILE OR CLIPBOARD

Import a graphic from the computer file system or paste it to a page from the clipboard.

IMAGE

Browse to and select the required image on the local disk.

Once you have the correct image CLICK Create to import the file and place it on the page.

Use the MOUSE to resize and place the image on the screen.

ANIMATION

Browse and select the required animation on the local disk. The will generate a preview in the new graphic dialogue.

Once you are happy this is the correct animation select Create to import the file and place it on the current Creator page.

Use the mouse to resize and place the animation on the screen.


ACTIVE DATA FIELD

Use the Active Data Field to dynamically change the graphic content during playback.

NB Active Data fields used as graphics sources are managed from the CREATOR TOOLS APP.

ENTRY

Specify which Active Data field this graphic element should use to obtain the graphic file name.

SPECIFY RANGE

Specify Range a range of Active Data fields to allow the content to automatically rotate through a number of images or animations.

THRU

Specify the end Active Data Field to cycle through.

SIZE TO FIT

Will resize each image to fit the defined image window.

DURATION

Determine how long each image or animation should be shown on screen.

LOOP

Specify how many times the selected animation will loop through.

SKIP EMPTY

If the next Active Data Field in the range is empty skip it and move onto the next one.

EXIT WHEN BLANK

If the next field in the specified Active Data Range is empty then stop rotating through the images.

EFFECT

Specify the effect to be used through image transitions for this graphic object.

SPEED

Determines the speed at which the transition effect occurs.

ORDER

Force content to display sequentially rather than at the same time.

NEW AUDIO TAG

Create a new audio tag that will be placed on the page.

FILE

Browse to the file to be used as an audio source. WAV files are supported.

LOOP

Decide if the media is to loop continuously, a variable number of times or just play once.


NEXT PAGE WHEN DONE

Make the audio playback end the page even if other page content plays longer.

AUDIO ENDS WHEN

Determine if the audio completes on the page display time or as defined in Loop.

NEW CLOCK TAG

The clock allows the time from specific or a number of time zones to be displayed on the page.

TIME ZONE

Specify the timezone for the clock to be displayed.

FORMAT

Select the format used to display the time for the clock.

NEW CRAWL TAG

Create a new crawl or ticker to be displayed on the page.

Text is displayed from right to left using entered text of Active Data Fields as the source.

A number of graphical effects can also be applied to the text or the crawl itself.

SOURCE

Crawl sources can be text files or Active Data Fields. Both can be dynamically updated while the page is playing.

TEXT FILE

An existing text file can be used for the Crawl source or a new one created.

CREATE NEW

Create a new text file to use with this crawl.

FILE

Specify the filename.

TEXT

Once the new text file is created edit the contents of the file by selecting the edit button.

A dialogue will appear allowing text to be entered.

IMPORT EXISTING

Import an existing text file from the local disk file system.

When Selected browse to and select the text file.

Once imported the text file within the project should be updated for this crawl, not the original on the local disk.


TEXT

Once the text file has been imported edit the contents of the file by selecting the edit button.

A dialogue will appear allowing text to be edited.

ACTIVE DATA FIELD

Select an Active Data Field to use as a source for the crawl.

TEXT

Edit the Active Data Field to change the crawl text.

A dialogue will appear allowing text to be edited.

If other elements of Creator access the same data field editing it will change their output too.

CRAWL SPEED

Select the desired crawl speed from the drop down.

LOOP STYLE

Define how often the crawl will loop.

NEVER The crawl will loop once as a default.

VARIABLE The crawl will loop the specified number of times in addition to the default single loop.

INDEFINITELY The crawl will loop continuously while the page is displayed.

TIME PRIORITY

Time Priority determines whether the crawl dictates when playback jumps to the next page or another factor such as video or Tools determines this.

CLICK ENABLE to set the Crawl as the page time priority.

Once the Crawl has finished playback will jump to the following slide.


NEW TEXT EFFECT TAG

Adding text to a page is a great way to create eye catching content while communicating important messaging.

SELECTING the tag will create a text box at the left top of the screen.

MOVE AND RE-SIZE the text box as required.

Once the text box is in place edit the text properties to create the required effect.

EMBEDDED TEXT

Stores the entered text directly into the Creator object.

Click on the edit icon beside the text field to open the text editor window.

Once the text is entered click save.

ACTIVE DATA FIELD

Select an Active Data Field as the text source to dynamically change the content while it is played on the 782DS.

ENTRY

Select the Active Data field to use as a source for the text

SPECIFY RANGE

Allows a range of Active Data Fields to be used as sources for the text.

Thru

Specify the Active Data Field range containing unique texts to rotate through.

TRANSITIONS TAB

The text’s display on the page can be made graphical by selecting from a range of transition effects.

Transition Effect

Select the desired transition effect from a wide range available from the drop down.

Transition Speed

Defines the speed at which the selected Transition Effect will play on screen.

RANGE TAB

Where a range of Active Data Fields have been selected as the text source set the duration text will display on screen and the number of times it will loop.

Range Duration

The length of time the text from each Active Data Field will be displayed on screen.


Range Loop

The number of times the text will loop through with the amount of time it is displayed per loop defined by the Range Duration.

Skip Empty Entries

Where the next Active Data Field in the specified source range is empty then skip the field.

If left unchecked the default action is to stop at the display of the last good text.

Other

Force multi-image zones to play sequentially instead of at the same time.

FONT

Text effects draw attention to the page and help communicate key messages.

Creator offers a wide range of effects to make text stand out on the page.

Face

Select a font for the text from any installed to the local computer.

The drop down will show the style for each font available.

Color

Select the required colour for the font.

Use the color chart, enter the RGB values directly or select from the palette of recent and standard colors.

Size

Define the size of the text on screen.

Select the required size from the drop down menu or entering a value manually.

Bold

Embolden the text to make it stand out

Italic

Apply the italic effect to the font to make it stand out on the page.

Align

Align the text in the text box.

Text can be aligned horizontally to the left, centre or right of the text box and vertically to the top or middle of the text box.

Select the required alignment options from the drop downs.

EFFECT

A number of effects can be applied to the text to make it stand out on the page.


BLOCK CHARACTER

Creates a 3D block effect behind the text.

The colour and angle of the block effect can be changed using the on screen controls.

Color

Select the required colour for the effect.


DIRECTION

Set the angle from the text the block effect will be rendered.

Use the click and drag window to change the effect angle or enter the horizontal and vertical values manually.

The effect is rendered to the page in real time.

DROP SHADOW

Creates a natural shadow behind the text.

The colour and angle of the shadow effect can be changed using the on screen controls.

COLOR

Select the required colour for the shadow effect.


DIRECTION

Set the angle from the text the block effect will be rendered.

Use the click and drag window to change the effect angle or enter the horizontal and vertical values manually.

The effect is rendered to the page in real time.

NEW RS232 TAG

Devices connected to the serial port of the 782DS can be controlled using RS232 commands.

RS232 commands will be specific to the device being controlled and are supplied by the manufacturer of the device.

HORIZONTAL GUIDE

Horizontal guides are used to help align content along a specific horizontal axis.

Once the project design is complete the guide can be removed and will not be rendered in the final page output.

VERTICAL GUIDE

Horizontal guides are used to help align content along a specific horizontal axis.

Once the project design is complete the guide can be removed and will not be rendered in the final page output.


HELP Mediastar Creator Help

Access to this documentation online.

Access to the Cabletime Website

ABOUT MEDIASTAR CREATOR

This will display the current release version of MediaStar Creator.


MEDIASTAR CREATOR TOOLS

Tools offers a subset of features used with Creator to facilitate Active Data management, scheduling and content publishing.

THE TOOLS INTERFACE There are two primary aspects to the Tools interface.

PROJECT VIEW The top section of the Tools interface allows you to manipulate and review elements of the current project including image importing for Active Data fields and page scheduling.

Projects need to be created or added to Tools before they can be managed and published.

CREATING A PROJECT

Where a project does not already exist create one using the SELECTED PROJECT section of the tools interface.

CLICK on the browse button next to the SELECTED PROJECT dropdown.

FROM THE PROJECTS LIST select an empty line and click CREATE.

ENTER A PROJECT NAME and select your Creator projects directory if not already selected.

Click CREATE to confirm settings.

ENSURE THE NEW project is selected and click OK to load it into Tools.


ADDING A PROJECT

Add a project using the SELECTED PROJECT section of the tools interface by clicking on the browse button next to the dropdown.

FROM THE PROJECTS LIST select an empty line and click ADD.

BROWSE TO AND SELECT your Creator projects directory if not already selected.

Click ADD to confirm settings.

ENSURE THE project is selected and click OK to load it into Tools.

IMPORT IMAGES FOR ACTIVE DATA FIELDS

Images specified within Active Data fields need first to be imported to the project.

Before importing images ensure you have the correct project selected in the PROJECT VIEW.

Select the LOGOS TAB from Tools then open a new Explorer window or switch to an existing window.

BROWSE TO THE EXISTING Media Assets directory and drag the required images into the Logos section of the Tools. The files will be imported.

ADD IMPORTED IMAGES TO ACTIVE DATA FIELDS

Once images are imported they can be specified in Active Data fields.

Click on the ACTIVE DATA TAB and select an available field.

Right click and select Insert Logo

Select the required image and confirm.

ADDING TEXT TO ACTIVE DATA

Text added to Tools can be updated to the player during playback. When the field is next referenced the new text will be displayed.

Ensure the ACTIVE DATA tab is selected

Select the required field then add or edit the text in the adjoining editor window.

Click back on the field to see the text updated.

Once the Active Data fields have been updated the changes need to be written out to the player to be seen on screen. See below.


CREATING A PLAYLIST

Playlists define the order the project pages are displayed. Scheduling attributes can also be applied to items in the playlist.

Each project is assigned a single playlist.

In the PROJECT VIEW click on the PLAYLISTS TAB.

On the left the available PROJECT PAGES will be listed. On the right the PLAYLIST.

DRAG the pages over to the playlist and order them in the required playback sequence.

PLAYLIST SCHEDULING

Various scheduling attributes can be applied to items in the playlist including date, day, time and playback duration.

NB Playback duration in hierarchal. If any asset on a page is capable of defining the playback duration the duration set in Tools will be ignored.

DISPLAY

Determines how long the page will be displayed during normal playback.

START/END DATE

The range of dates the page should be displayed.

DAY OF WEEK

The days of week the page should be displayed using the MTWTFSS annotation.

EXCLUDE DATES

A toggle to use the start and end dates as an exclusion.

START/END TIME

The period during the day pages will be played.

EXCLUDE TIMES

A toggle to use the start and end times as an exclusion.


PLAYER VIEW The lower section of the Tools interface is used to manage project distribution to players and some playback control.

The player view is divided into distinct sections covering player selection, creating the project on the player and distribution to the player.

SELECT A PLAYER

Once the project has been created in the Project View it also needs to be created on a player.

For EXISTING players select the device from the CURRENT DEVICE dropdown.

NEW DEVICES are created from the CURRENT DEVICE browse button.

CREATE A PLAYER

A player needs to be available in Tools before it can receive project pages.

CREATE A NEW player from the Current Device browse button.

SELECT AN empty line.

ENTER A DEVICE name, this applies only as reference in Tools.

ENTER THE DEVICE IP address and click OK

Once the player has been created in can be selected from the CURRENT DEVICE dropdown.

CREATE THE PROJECT ON THE PLAYER

The project needs to be created and assigned space on the player before it can be uploaded.

CREATE A NEW PLAYER project by clicking the CREATE Button.

Your project name should automatically be populated from the PROJECT VIEW, if not enter it.

Click CREATE.

PUBLISH THE PROJECT

Once you have finished creating pages publish them using Creator Tools.

CHECKLIST

Before you publish ensure you have completed all prerequisites:

THE PROJECT HAS been CREATED or ADDED in Tools PROJECT VIEW with the required project currently selected.


THE PROJECT PLAYLIST has been populated with any scheduling applied to individual pages.

THE PLAYER IS ADDED and selected from the PLAYER VIEW.

THE PROJECT HAS been created on the player.

PUBLISH

Copy or synchronise the project files with the player.

CLICK UPDATE ALL and then confirm the update start.

The playlist, pages and media will be copied to the player.

Once the copy has finished click Exit to return to Tools

CLICK RESTART to force the project to start from THE FIRST PAGE.

PLAYBACK CONTROL

Control playlist playback using the controls in the player section of tools.

UPDATE ALL

Update the player with any new or changed content for the selected project.

RESTART

Starts the project from the first page in the playlist.

PLAY

Will jump playback to the next slide in the playlist or back to the beginning if you are currently on the last page.

STOP

Will halt playback of the current slide. Will require Play to start playback from the next slide or Restart to start the playlist from the beginning.

CONTROLLING PAGE END Play length for 782DS Creator pages is determined by the page content being only STATIC such as text and images or DYNAMIC such as video, tickers or active data ranges.

PAGES WITH ONLY static content such as text and images end when the DISPLAY TIME defined for the page in Tools is reached.

RUNTIME FOR A page with dynamic content such as a video, ticker or an active data range is defined by the asset with the LONGEST RUNTIME.

IN SITUATIONS WHERE dynamic content is configured to be continuous such as an IPTV stream or ticker, then by default the page will never close. THIS CAN BE A DESIRED OUTCOME.

CONTINUOUS STREAM PLAYLIST DISPLAY TIME ELAPSES

Where an asset is continuous such as an IPTV stream you can configure the asset to end on the page Display Time.


IF THERE ARE NO dynamic assets on the page with a runtime greater than the page Display Time the page will close when the Display Time Elapses.

IF DYNAMIC CONTENT on the page runs longer than the display time then the asset with the longest runtime will determine the page end.

NEXT PAGE WHEN DONE

Use the Next Page when Done control to force a page to close on a specific asset's runtime irrespective of whether the asset has the longest runtime.

IF MULTIPLE ASSETS are checked with Next Page When Done then the page will close on the one with the longest runtime.

NOTE: Manually selecting a page to play from Tools does not invoke it from the playlist. NO DISPLAY TIME will be available to assess runtime for static pages or pages with continuous assets with no runtime.


DYNAMIC CONTENT CREATOR

Dynamic Content Creator (DCC) is used to source web content for display in MediaStar Digital Signage players. It is part of the wider MediaStar signage application set including Creator and Tools.

DCC facilitates web content as text streams from single or multiple RSS feeds or as images taken from sections of web pages, allowing you to display important web content from multiple sources on a single page.

INTERFACE The DCC interface is consistent with the look and feel or the wider Creator application set.

It comprises the familiar text menu, a quick access toolbar, a navigation pane for selecting individual assets and a section for reviewing the properties of each asset.


MENU AND TOOLBAR

The main menu provides access to all the functions available within DCC while theToolbar offers icon based access to a popular subset of DCC features.

FILE

Use the file menu to open and save DCC content for Creator projects or close the application.

OPEN PROJECT - Will browse to the Users Public directory by default for Creator projects or to the last project used.

If a project directory does not exist one should be created via Creator or Tools.

SAVE PROJECT - DCC saves the web resources you have created to the selected project. If no project has been selected you will be prompted to choose one from the default directory structure.

SAVE PROJECT AS - Saves the created web sources to another Creator project.

Browse to the required project to save the resources.

EDIT

The Edit menu allows you to add, manage and sort web assets for the current project.

UNDO - Remove the last applied change from the project. DCC can remember to 100 changes.

REDO - Will re-apply the last removed change to the project.

ADD RSS - Creates a new RSS asset within the project. The asset will immediately be selectable from the Navigation pane and the feed properties displayed at the bottom of the screen, ready to be populated.

ADD MULTI RSS - Creates a multi RSS container asset into which you can drag single RSS feeds already created in the project.

The multi RSS asset can be used to group assets under one container for easy reference by Creator.

ADD HTML - Creates a new HTML asset and waits for the user to enter the required HTML url to the asset properties.

Defining the HTML asset is a matter of selecting a section of the resulting page to be used as the source content.

See Adding an HTML asset to Creator below.

DELETE SELECTED ENTRY - Will delete the currently selected asset from the project.

ALPHANUMERIC SORT - Sorts the assets in the navigation pane alphabetically.

SHOW ERRORS - Lists any errors detected in the RSS and HTML assets created for the project.


VIEW

The view menu offers various zoom functions designed to help with the HTML asset.

ZOOM IN - Progressively zooms into the loaded web page with each additional request.

ZOOM OUT - Progressively zooms into the loaded web page with each additional request.

ZOOM 1:1 - Returns the loaded HTMl page zoom ratio to the default.

ZOOM WIDTH - Zooms the loaded HTML page to the screen width.

ZOOM FULL - Zooms out from the page so the whole page can be seen on-screen.

HELP

The Help menu provides links to online help, to the Cabletime website and program version information for DCC

DYNAMIC CONTENT CREATOR HELP - Will load the DCC documentation in the default internet browser window.

CABLETIME WEBSITE - Loads the Cabletime website to the default internet browser window.

ABOUT - Displays information about the current running version of DCC.

TOOLBAR

The toolbar facilitates quick access via graphical icons to common DCC functions.

OPEN PROJECT - Will browse for Creator projects in the Users Public directory by default or to the last project used.

If a project directory does not exist one should first be created via Creator or Tools.

SAVE - DCC saves the web resources you have created to the selected project. If no project has been selected you will be prompted to choose one from the default directory structure.

UNDO - Remove the last applied change from the project. DCC can remember to 100 changes.

REDO - Re-applies the last removed change from the project.

ADD RSS - Creates a new RSS asset within the project. The asset will immediately be selectable from the Navigation pane and the feed properties displayed at the bottom of the screen.

ADD MULTI-RSS - Creates a multi RSS container asset into which you can drag single RSS feeds already created in the project.

THE MULTI RSS asset can be used to group assets under one container for easy reference by Creator.

ADD HTML - Creates a new HTML asset and prompts for the required HTML URL.

DEFINING THE HTML asset is a matter of selecting a section of the resulting page to be used as the source content.

SEE ADDING AN HTML asset to Creator below.

ZOOM IN - Progressively zooms into the loaded web page with each additional request.

ZOOM OUT - Progressively zooms into the loaded web page with each additional request.


ZOOM WIDTH - Zooms the loaded HTML page to the screen width.

ZOOM FULL - Zooms out from the page so the whole page can be seen on-screen.

NAVIGATION

The navigation pane lists created web assets alphabetically down the left side of the screen under their respective content headings.

Selecting an asset will display its configurable options in the properties section at the bottom of the screen.

WORKSPACE

The workspace window lists information relating to the asset currently selected in the navigation pane.

Information displayed may relate to outstanding actions required for the creation of an asset or values currently assigned to it.

Selecting a multi RSS will use the workspace to list the single RSS feeds associated to it.

PROPERTIES

Displayed across the bottom of the screen, properties will list the user editable options for the currently selected asset in the navigation pane.

The available property fields will change with the type of asset.

CREATING A SINGLE RSS An RSS asset created in DCC can be used to display content on a player page either as an individual item or as part of a multi RSS.

A single RSS asset is comprised of a FIELD NAME, the RSS URL and additional parameters around display and refresh frequency.

The FIELD NAME is used to identify the RSS across the suite of Creator applications while the RSS URL is used by the player to source and load the RSS content. The refresh determines how often the player goes back to the RSS source to download new content.

CREATE A SINGLE RSS from the Edit Menu or toolbar.

ENTER THE RSS field name and RSS URL properties for the new RSS at the bottom of the screen. If either of the fields are highlighted red then the content is considered invalid. Status is displayed in the main workspace.

FROM THE RSS properties dropdown select whether the RSS titles, description or both should be displayed on the player.

ENTER A REFRESH value to determine how frequently fresh content from the RSS is dowloaded.

CLICK SAVE TO store the changes to the project.


CREATING MULTI RSS Display multiple RSS feeds from a single crawl/ticker using the DCC multi RSS option.

Existing RSS assets in DCC can be assigned to a multi RSS asset. The player uses the unique multi RSS field name to draw in the child RSS streams. The child RSS’s properties are used for display and refresh.

CREATE A MULTI RSS from the Edit Menu or toolbar.

IN THE PROPERTIES enter a unique ID for the multi RSS

KEEP THE MULTI RSS highlight and drag required single RSS feeds into the main workspace to add them to the multi RSS.

EACH ADDED RSS is listed in the main workspace.

ONCE DONE CLICK Save to store changes to the project file system.

ADDING RSS TO CREATOR PAGES DCC RSS and multi RSS sources are added to Creator pages as Crawls for display on MediaStar Digital Signage players.

The RSS field name specified in the Crawl is used to identify and then acquire the RSS feed.

To access web based RSS feeds the player will need a routable TCP path to the internet and access to a DNS server.

CREATE A SINGLE or multi RSS in DCC as previously described, noting the FIELD NAME.

FROM THE CREATOR page you intend to display the RSS add a new Crawl.

SPECIFY THE SOURCE as ACTIVE DATA Field

AT THE FIELD Number dialogue CLICK BROWSE.

SCROLL TO AND select an empty or available field.

CLICK THE EDIT button to enter the RSS FIELD NAME to the field.

IF THE FIELD NAME HAS ALREADY BEEN ENTERED BROWSE TO AND SELECT IT.

DCC FIELD NAMES are entered as follows:

%DCC <FIELD NAME>%

AN RSS CREATED with the field name of Reuters would be entered as follows:

%DCC REUTERS%

CONFIGURE THE CRAWL Loop Speed, Loop style and end events as per a normal crawl.

SAVE THE PAGE changes and deploy to a player when ready.


CREATING HTML CONTENT DCC facilitates displaying sections of web pages on MediaStar Digital Signage players.

A single HTML asset is comprised of a FIELD NAME, the HTML URL and additional parameters around the size of the section to pull from the source web page.

The FIELD NAME is used to identify the HTML asset by Creator and the player during playback. SELECTION ORIGIN defines the location of content to pull from the web page and the SELECTION SIZE defines its size.

CREATE AN HTML asset from the DCC Edit Menu or toolbar.

ENTER THE HTML field name and URL in the properties at the bottom of the screen.

STATUS FOR THE asset or required actions are displayed in the main workspace. Properties are displayed at the bottom of the screen. If any of the fields are HIGHLIGHTED RED then the content is considered invalid.

ONCE THE HTML URL has been parsed DCC will attempt to load the page.

A DEFAULT 600X200 pixel highlight is created top left of the page on load.

CLICK ON THE highlight to drag it to a desired section of the page.

THE GREEN AND red handles are used to resize the highlight. A combination of resize and drag should be used to cover the required section of the page.

THE SECTION SIZE details are listed in the properties at the bottom of the screen. The details can be used to mirror the exact proportions when adding the asset to a Creator page.

LEAVE THE LIMITS settings at their default.

CHANGE THE REFRESH Period if required.

CLICK SAVE TO store the HTML asset to the project file system.


ADDING HTML TO CREATOR PAGES DCC HTML assets are added to Creator pages as a graphic or image.

The graphic links to an Active Data field containing the DCC Field Name. The MediaStar player will use this to source the specified web page.

To access the web page the player will need a DNS server and a default gateway with a routable path to the internet.

CREATE ONE OR more HTML assets in DCC as previously described.

IN CREATOR ADD a Graphic with Active Data selected as the source.

IF YOU WANT the Graphic to match the size and resolution of the source copy the SELECTION SIZE parameters in DCC.

SPECIFY THE SOURCE as an ACTIVE DATA Field

AT THE FIELD Number dialogue click browse.

SCROLL TO AND select an empty or available field. PRESS OK.

CLICK THE EDIT button to enter the HTML FIELD NAME to the Active Data field.

IF THE FIELD NAME HAS ALREADY BEEN ENTERED BROWSE TO AND SELECT IT.

THE HTML FIELD name should be entered as follows:

%DCC <FIELD NAME>%

A HTML ASSET created with the field name of NEWBURY WEATHER would be entered as follows:

%DCC NEWBURY WEATHER%

CONFIGURE THE REMAINING graphic properties as you would any other image.

SAVE THE PAGE changes and deploy to a player when ready.

TROUBLESHOOTING DCC CONTENT Internet content displayed by MediaStar players relies on the DCC FIELD NAME being correctly referenced by a Crawl or Graphic in the Creator page. The player will need access to the internet to download the content.

DCC FIELD NAME

The DCC FIELD NAME for RSS and HTML assets is used by the player to reference content for display on-screen.

The Creator page must reference an Active Data field containing the DCC FIELD NAME for the player to correctly source the content.


INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

Web based content must be retrieved by the player, which will need a route to the internet and DNS server to resolve internet names.

DNS - A DNS server resolves internet names such as bbc.co.uk

DEFAULT GATEWAY - Sets the default path player communications will take when accessing the internet.


PROJECT WALKTHROUGH

The following section will take you through building four pages of unique Creator content and publishing the pages to MediaStar digital signage players.

REQUIRED SOFTWARE Creating and publishing a project requires MediaStar Creator and MediaStar Creator Tools.

REQUIRED ASSETS Creator comes with an assortment of page backgrounds to suit a variety of themes and industries. Alternatively use the provided Photoshop source files to generate your own branded backgrounds.

CORPORATE ASSETS

Ensure any required corporate media assets are to hand as you create pages.

PROJECT GOALS This project will demonstrate the core function of Creator over four slides, ranging from basic video with text to dynamic changing content in the final slide.

Each slide will use a Creator supplied background designed to aid content layout.

CREATING THE PROJECT Creating the first page of the project will also create the project directory structure.

The default directory for new projects is CREATOR PROJECTS located under MY DOCUMENTS.

NB If you wish to use a different location to store projects then create the high level directory in Windows explorer before creating the new project and the first page.


CREATING THE FIRST PAGE (VIDEO AND TEXT)

The first project page will also create the project file structure.

This first digital signage page will use a standard background template from those supplied with the package. We will use a simple layout using video as the page focus with text re-enforcing the message.

SWITCH TO CREATOR and create a new page by clicking the NEW icon or selecting NEW BLANK PAGE from the File Menu.

FROM THE NEW PAGE dialogue select 1080P LANDSCAPE

BROWSE TO THE DEFAULT projects directory in MY DOCUMENTS or to the projects container directory of your choice.

CLICK THE MAKE NEW DIRECTORY and enter a name for this project. This is where all the project files will be stored including the pages you will create.

CLICK OK with the directory selected.

CLICK CREATE to create this first page.

CLICK YES TO CONFIRM creation of the project file structure.

PAGE BACKGROUND

The background image is an important element of the page in setting a visual contrast and defining graphical areas onto which media can be staged.

Use SET1-BG-S3-1920-1080.PNG for the first page.

Alternately you can set a solid or gradient colour range.

FROM THE BACKGROUND Style dropdown select Image

CLICK AND BROWSE to your library of media assets and select SET1-BG-S3-1920-1080.PNG

This background offers a basic stage for video, sidebar text and a crawl.

BRANDING

Associating the page content with a specific brand is an important element of digital signage.

The brand can be corporate, venue, shop or even department based depending on the purpose of the signage pages.

INSERTING THE LOGO

Pages for this project are all based around the Cabletime brand and will each use the MediaStar logo.

Add the logo to the page by creating a new graphic tag.

CLICK THE ADD GRAPHIC icon on the toolbar

ENSURE THE TAG source is FILE and IMAGE then browse to the directory containing the media assets

SELECT MEDIASTARLOGO.PNG and confirm

CLICK CREATE on the tag properties to add the graphic to the page


The new graphic will appear at the top left of the current page. It will need to be moved and resized to suit the needs of the page.

PLACING AND RESIZING THE LOGO

Place the logo optimally on the page so the branding stands out.

USE THE MOUSE to place the logo so the brand stands out without being intrusive.

USE THE GUIDES to place the logo centrally above the large orange graphic we will later use to stage video.

MAINTAIN ASPECT RATIO while resizing using the shift key as you drag the corners of the logo. Make it as big as possible.

SAVING THE PAGE

Save the page soon after creating it and often during the page development.

Click the SAVE icon and give the page a meaningful name, in this instance PAGE1

The page will be saved to the project.

PAGE TITLE

A title or heading helps draw attention to the page and its key message.

Create a text box and populate it with a key company tagline and then apply formatting to ensure it catches the eye.

Click the TEXT icon on the Toolbar.

DRAG AND RESIZE the text box to the desired location on the page.

The text for this box will only appear on this page so there is no need to use an Active Data Field. Here we will embed text to the object itself.

Ensure the TEXT SOURCE dropdown has EMBEDDED TEXT selected.

Click the edit button and type the text. In this instance we use all caps to make it stand out.

GLOBAL MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

Click OK when finished.


CUSTOMISE THE TITLE

Now we have a title we need to make it eye catching using font formatting.

Change the font size and add blocking to make the title stand out.

From FONT PROPERTIES:

Click on the FONT dropdown and select IMPACT.

Click on COLOR to open the COLOR SWATCH.

Enter the following RGB values: R242,G124,B29

Change the FONT SIZE to 82.

ENABLE BOLD.

ALIGN: CENTRE AND MIDDLE

Select the BLOCK CHARACTER effect from the Style dropdown.

Ensure the EFFECT COLOR is BLACK

Enter the effect DIRECTION as H:2 AND V:2

Once these settings have been entered resize and position the text box to sit as required within the title area.

ADD KEY MESSAGING TEXT

Key messaging on the page can also be facilitated via text boxes.

Create two additional text boxes to deliver messaging with eye catching transitions.

CREATE THE FIRST TEXT BOX

Create a new text box and size it beneath the main title.

Click the TEXT icon from the toolbar

POSITION AND RESIZE the text box to fill the top half of the graphic.

In the TEXT PROPERTIES confirm the source is EMBEDDED TEXT and enter the text for the first box.

Text boxes are very good at separating key messages across the page.

FORMAT THE FIRST TEXT

Format the text to make it stand out and easily read.

Ensure the text box is selected.

Leave the FONT and COLOR as the DEFAULT Ariel and white.

Change the FONT SIZE to 42

ALIGN CENTER AND MIDDLE

Add the BLOCK EFFECT H:2, V:2

FIRST TEXT TRANSITION

Add a transition from the Transitions tab of the text properties.

Select a transition from the drop down Enter right, exit left


Set the speed to Slow.

SAVE THE PROJECT

CREATE THE SECOND TEXT BOX

The second text box will contrast against the first.

Use copy and paste to create this additional text and keep existing formatting.

SELECT THE FIRST text box and press CTRL-C followed by CTRL-V to duplicate it.

DRAG THE NEW text box to the bottom of the staging graphic and resize.

Change the source text for the second box: Transitions are one of several ways to draw attention to different

areas of the page. Other elements include video and tickers.

Change the TRANSITION.

Change the FONT SIZE to 32

SAVE THE PROJECT

NB Copy and Paste is a quick and effective way to populate a page with text assets.


ADD AN EYE CATCHING CRAWL/TICKER

A crawl or ticker is another source for eye catching and on point messaging.

Create a crawl at the bottom of the screen containing one off messaging for this page. Use the crawl to determine how long the page stays open on the page.

Click the Crawl icon on the Toolbar to open the new Crawl dialogue.

Click on the edit button to open Text File Options.

Ensure Create a new File is selected.

Enter a filename for the file and press OK.

Click the edit button to enter the required crawl text. Click OK when finished. The crawl can be set as the time priority for the page, resulting in the next slide being played when the crawl finishes. You can set the crawl to loop and extend the time it keeps the page live.

From the Crawl Speed dropdown select Fast.

From the Loop style dropdown select Variable and select one additional loop.

From the Time Priority dropdown select Crawl to have the run time of the page dictated by the crawl.

Click Create to populate the crawl onto the page.

In creating the Crawl we set the Time priority to the Crawl and now need to enable this from the Crawl properties.

Click the Priority End Page

PLACING AND FORMATTING THE CRAWL

The default location for the crawl is at the bottom of the screen which is the desired placement on this occasion.

Format the Crawl text as you would a text box.

Ensure the crawl is selected and change the font to 58, the effect style to Black character with V:2 H:0

You may need to adjust the vertical placement of the crawl to ensure the text runs central within the staging graphic.


ADDING VIDEO

Video is a key component of signage for drawing and holding passing attention.

ADD AN IPTV STREAM TO THE PAGE.

IPTV Streams are added using the Video Clip option.

Click the VIDEO CLIP icon on the toolbar.

Ensure IP STREAMING is selected from the SOURCE dropdown

Enter the full stream URL in the format: UDP://<STREAM ADDRESS:PORT> UDP://239.192.2.1:1238

Click CREATE to populate the video on the page.

DRAG AND RESIZE the video to fill the main staging graphic on the page.

SAVE THE PROJECT

This page is now complete.

CREATING THE SECOND PAGE (TWO VIDEOS) Use assets from Page1 to create a similar theme on the second page while displaying two videos with supporting text and a crawl.

Create a new page named: PAGE2 with the same HD landscape settings.

Ensure the new page is saved in the correct project directory.

Do not close PAGE1 in the existing instance.

THE PAGE2 BACKGROUND

The background will be similarly themed but designed to stage two videos with text and a crawl.

Select the background properties by clicking on the background in the WYSIWYG interface or selecting background in the navigation pane on the left of the screen.

Ensure the STYLE IS IMAGE and browse to the existing media assets, selecting SET1-BG-S2-1920-1080.PNG

COPYING ASSETS

Re-use some assets from the first page to create a similar look for page 2.

SWITCH to PAGE1 using the page controls and SELECT THE TITLE TEXT.

Press CTRL-C to copy the asset into the clipboard

ALT-TAB back to PAGE2 and press CTRL-V to paste the text to the new page

Drag the TITLE TEXT to the bottom left staging graphic and resize to fit.


REPEAT the process for the main TEXT and the CRAWL.

Drag the text to the other stagin graphic and the crawl to the same banner used in the first page.

SAVE THE PROJECT

NB Changing the source of a copied text asset will remove font formatting.

CREATING THE PAGE 2 LOGO

Add the MediaStar logo to the new page.

NB Images are embedded in the page itself and cannot be copied between pages.

Click the GRAPHIC icon in the toolbar and specify IMAGE as the source then browse to and select the MEDIASTAR LOGO.

POSITION AND RESIZE the logo as required.

ADD AN IPTV STREAM

IPTV streams are often used in static pages but can be used in a wider presentation.

Add a video clip and specify the required IPTV stream.

From the toolbar CLICK the VIDEO CLIP icon.

Ensure the source IP STREAMING is selected

In the IP field enter the stream address and port: UDP://<STREAM ADDRESS>:<STREAM PORT>

udp://239.192.2.1:1238

Drag the stream to the upper left video staging graphic and resize to fill the graphic.

ADD A VIDEO

Video files must first be imported then selected.

Import and then specify a video file to be played on the page with the IPTV stream.

Click the VIDEO CLIP icon in the toolbar.

Set the SOURCE AS VIDEO CLIP FILE and then the File browse button. Select the video clip in your assets folder.

Racecourserd.m2t

ONCE IMPORTED select the video from the File dropdown.

Drag the video clip to the lower right video staging graphic and resize to fill the graphic.

PAGE 2 COMPLETED

In page 2 we introduced copying assets between pages and adding IPTV video, and video played from local storage to a single page.


CREATING PAGE THREE (TIME AND VIDEO) Create a page showing a key video stream alongside clocks representing multiple timezones. A crawl will show dynamic content drawn from an Active Data field.

Load a new instance of Creator and create a new page named: Page3 with the same HD landscape settings.

Ensure the new page is saved in the correct project directory.

THE PAGE THREE BACKGROUND

The page three background is designed to stage a single video, multiple clocks and a text banner instead of the crawl.

Add the background SET1-BG-S3-1920-1080.PNG

ADD THE LOGO


Create a new graphic and select the MediaStar logo from the existing assets media.

Position and resize the logo as required.

Replacing the Crawl with text

Use the text asset from page two to full the crawl staging graphic on page three using a range of active data fields.

CREATING TEXT USING ACTIVE DATA

Active Data fields can be updated on the fly allowing content to be changed between page cycles. Ranges of fields can also be used.

Create a text box to reference the Active Data fields.

From the Toolbar CLICK TEXT.

Drag the new text box to cover the banner previously used to stage the craw.

In the TEXT PROPERTIES select ACTIVE DATA FIELD from the source drop down

Leave the Entry as 1

SELECT AN ACTIVE DATA FIELD RANGE

Specify a source range of Active Data fields.

Change the Text source to cycle through three active data fields, not just the one at present.

In the text properties ensure SPECIFY an ACTIVE DATA RANGE is ENABLED.

Ensure the first entry is 1 and the Thru field 3

In the Text box beneath the range you should see the empty active data field 1.

ENTER TEXT TO THE ACTIVE DATA FIELDS

Enter text to fields 1 thru 3 by progressing the base Active Data field and entering text to the editor.

Ensure the Active Data Field entry is set to 1


Click the text edit button and enter the required text. Rotating through text fields keeps the page content fresh.

Progress the Active Data Field entry number to 2

Enter the required text for field 2. Active Data fields are a powerful mechanism for generating dynamic

content.

Progress the Active Data Field entry number to 3

Click the text entry button and enter the required text for field 3. Click Save when finished.

Use Creator Tools to add images and videos as Active Data sources

When the three Active Data fields have been populated return the Active Data ENTRY field to 1.

SETTING THE RANGE TRANSITIONS AND DURATION

Each text field will be displayed for a defined period of time for a set number of times.

Set a text range transition and set the duration to 10 seconds.

Ensure the text box is selected

From the text Transition tab select the Transition effect: ENTER LEFT, EXIT BOTTOM.

From the Text Range tab enter the duration of 10 seconds

Set the Loop to 1 (base loop +1=2 loops)

FORMAT THE ACTIVE DATA TEXT

Format Active Data text as you would embedded text.

Format the text to make it stand out on the page.

Enter the font properties: ARIEL, WHITE, SIZE:58, BOLD, ALIGNED CENTER AND MIDDLE, EFFECT STYLE BLOCK CHARACTER COLOR BLACK, H2, V:2

ADDING THE MAIN VIDEO

The main video will be a news IPTV stream.

Add the IPTV stream to the main staging graphic on the page.

From the toolbar click the Video Clip icon.

Ensure the source IP Streaming is selected

In the IP field enter the stream address and port: udp://<stream address>:<stream port>

udp://239.192.2.1:1238

Drag the stream to the main staging graphic and resize to fill the graphic.


ADD THE CLOCKS

Three clocks will give the time for key geographic locations around the world.

CREATE THE FIRST CLOCK

Create three clocks in the 24hr format, one each for London, Geneva and New York.

From the Toolbar click on the Clock icon.

Select the clock time zone from the dropdown

GMT +1:00 Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna

From the format dropdown select the 24hr clock H:MM, click Create.

From the Clock Font properties set the color swatch and enter the RGB values: R:17, G:220, B:237

Ensure the font is Aerial and change the FONT SIZE to 100

Drag the clock to the top staging graphic and resize to fit half of the space

CREATE THE OTHER CLOCKS

Use the first clock to Copy and Paste the other two clocks.

Select the first clock and press CTRL-C to copy it to the clipboard

Press CTRL-V twice to create two further clocks and position them to the two other staging graphics.

Click on the second clock and change the timezone in the clock properties.

(GMT) GREENWICH MEANT TIME, DUBLIN, EDINBURGH, LISBON, LONDON

Click on the third clock and change the timezone in the clock properties.

(GMT–5:00) EASTERN TIME (US & CANADA)

CREATE THE FIRST CLOCK BANNER

Each clock will have a banner detailing its time location.

Create a text box with an embedded source.

Enter GENEVA as the text.

Format the font to size: 42 and Bold with a Block Character effect H:2, V:2

Place the text to the left of the top clock using the guides to place it

CREATE THE OTHER CLOCK BANNERS

Copy and Paste the first banner to create two more and then rename and place them.

Click on the first banner and press CTRL-C to copy it to the clipboard. Press CTRL-V twice to create two copies on the page.

Place each new banner on the staging graphic beside the remaining two clocks.

Change the text for the second banner to LONDON and the third to NEW YORK.

Resize and place each using the guides to ensure they all align.

SAVE THE PAGE


PAGE THREE COMPLETED

In page three we used active data fields as a range of timed text sources with transitions. We additionally created multiple clocks across a range of timezones.

CREATING PAGE FOUR (SYNCHRONISED ZONES) Create a single page with synchronised zones cycling through different product images with title and product text.

Create a new page with the same HD landscape settings, ensuring it is saved to the correct project directory.

Do not close the previous project pages.

THE PAGE FOUR BACKGROUND

The page four background will be designed to stage the multiple zones of information. It is the same template we used for page 1

Add the background SET1-BG-S1-1920-1080.PNG

ADD THE LOGO


Create a new graphic and select the MediaStar logo from the existing assets media.

Position and resize the logo as required.

BANNER TEXT

Use the same banner text asset we used at the bottom of page 3

SWITCH to Page 3 and press CTRL-C to copy the Banner text to the clipboard.

Switch to PAGE 4 and press CTRL-V to paste the banner to the bottom of the page.


IMPORT IMAGES TO ACTIVE DATA FIELDS

Import the required images to the Logos section of Creator Tools and then specify the imported files in Active Data fields.

SETTING THE PROJECT IN TOOLS

To import images to Tools you must first define a project the files will be imported to.

FROM THE PROJECTS LIST click ADD.

BROWSE TO AND SELECT your Creator project directory.

Click ADD to confirm settings.

ENSURE THE project is selected and click OK to load it into Tools.

IMPORT TO LOGOS

Move the required images from explorer into Tools

Select the LOGOS TAB from Tools then open a new Explorer window or switch to an existing window.

BROWSE to the existing Media Assets directory and drag the images into the Logos section of the Tools. The files will be imported.

778.PNG, 783.PNG, 784.PNG, 785.PNG

SPECIFY IMAGES FOR ACTIVE DATA FIELDS

Populate Active Data fields by selecting the imported images.

Click on the ACTIVE DATA TAB and click on field (4) which should be the next available if you have been following this guide step for step.

Right click and select INSERT LOGO

Select the 784 IMAGE and confirm

Progress through fields 5–7 ADDING 783, 778 AND 785 in that order.


ADDING ADDITIONAL TEXT TO ACTIVE DATA

Add product title and info text to active data fields.

Ensure the Active Data tab is selected in Tools

Select the next available field (8) then add content in the editor window.

Moving down through each field to 15 enter the required text (8) Satellite LAN-Caster (784)

(9) Terrestrial LAN-Caster (783)

(10) Multi-Format Video Encoder (778)

(11) Portable Video Encoder (785)

(12) Product 1 Info

(13) Product 2 Info

(14) Product 3 Info

(15) Product 4 Info

The Active Data fields are now ready for the dynamic images and text to be added to the page.

ADD THE GRAPHIC TO THE PAGE

In Creator add a Graphic object that points to the images added to Active Data fields. Set the graphic to loop through each image every 10 seconds.

Add a GRAPHIC to the page.

Set the Source to ACTIVE DATA

Enable Specify Active Data range

Ensure the range starts AT 4 AND ENDS AT 7

Set the duration to 10 SECONDS.

Choose the ENTER TOP, EXIT BOTTOM transition effect.

Click Create

Position and Size the graphic to fill the large staging graphic.

ADD THE TITLE TEXT

Add title text to display product names from the range of entered Active Data fields.

Add a text box to the page and size it to fill the top right staging graphic.

Set the Source to Active Data


Ensure the range starts at 8 and ends at 11

Set the duration in the RANGE TAB to 10 seconds.

In the transition tab choose the ENTER RIGHT, EXIT TOP effect.

Format the FONT TYPE TO IMPACT, COLOOR R:224, G:124, B:29, SIZE 85, ALIGN: CENTRE, MIDDLE, EFFECT STYLE ,BLACK, H:2 V:2

Click CREATE


ADD PRODUCT TEXT

Add product text box that will scroll through product title text using previously entered Active Data.

Add a text box to the page and size it to fill the top right staging graphic.

Set the Source to Active Data


Ensure the range starts at 12 AND ENDS AT 15

Set the duration in the RANGE TAB to 10 seconds.

In the transition tab choose the ENTER RIGHT, EXIT TOP effect.

Format the FONT TYPE TO ARIEL, COLOUR R:0, G:0, B:0, SIZE 42, ALIGN: CENTRE, MIDDLE, EFFECT STYLE ,BLACK, H:2 V:2

Click CREATE

PAGE FOUR COMPLETED

In page four we expanded our use of the active data fields by using images and text to create synchronised moving content on the page.

PUBLISH THE PROJECT Use Creator Tools to create a playlist, select a player and publish the project.

Switch to Tools and ensure the correct project is selected.

From Tools click on the project dropdown at the top of the screen and select the current project if not already selected.

BUILDING THE PLAYLIST

Build the project playlist by dragging pages to the playlist section of the screen.

In the PROJECT VIEW click on the PLAYLIST TAB.

On the left the available PROJECT PAGES will be listed. On the right the empty PLAYLIST.

DRAG the pages over to the playlist and order them in the required playback sequence.

LEAVE ALL SETTINGS AT THE DEFAULT

SELECT A PLAYER

Select the required destination player for the project.

For EXISTING players select the device from the CURRENT DEVICE dropdown.

NEW DEVICES are created from the CURRENT DEVICE browse button.


CREATE A PLAYER

If the player is not listed you need to add it.

CREATE A NEW player from the Current Device browse button.

SELECT AN empty line.

ENTER A DEVICE name, this applies only as reference in Tools.

ENTER THE DEVICE IP address and click OK

Once the player has been created in can be selected from the CURRENT DEVICE dropdown.

SELECT THE PROJECT ON THE PLAYER

Select the project on the player or create it.

Click on the Select Project dropdown and select the project on the player.

The project details will be loaded into Tools.

CREATE A NEW PROJECT

If the project is not on the player you will need to create it.

CREATE A NEW project by clicking the CREATE Button.

Your project name should automatically be populated from the PROJECT VIEW, if not enter it.

Click CREATE.

PUBLISH THE PROJECT

With the playlist populated and the project created on the player you are now ready to publish.

CHECKLIST

Ensure you have completed all prerequisites:

THE PROJECT HAS been CREATED or ADDED in Tools PROJECT VIEW with the required project currently selected.

THE PROJECT PLAYLIST has been populated with any scheduling applied to individual pages.

THE PLAYER IS ADDED and selected from the PLAYER VIEW.

THE PROJECT HAS been created on the player.

PUBLISH

Copy or synchronise the project files with the player.

CLICK UPDATE ALL and then confirm the update start.

The playlist, pages and media will be copied to the player.

Once the copy has finished click EXIT to return to Tools

CLICK RESTART to force the project to start from THE FIRST PAGE.


PLAYBACK CONTROL

Control playlist playback using the controls in the player section of tools.

UPDATE ALL

Update the player with any new or changed content for the selected project.

RESTART

Starts the project from the first page in the playlist.

PLAY

Will jump playback to the next slide in the playlist or back to the beginning if you are currently on the last page.

STOP

Will halt playback of the current slide. Will require Play to start playback from the next slide or Restart to start the playlist from the beginning.

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Documents

200-2610.0F - MediaStar Media Creator User Guide INTRODUCTION The Mediastar Digital signage solution is designed to bring together text, images, video media and corporate branding