Stage 1 – Chip Booting [ 3 seconds]

As soon as you power up the Player, there is a 3-second delay because of booting. During this stage, nothing is shown on screen. This occurs to allow the Player to auto-detect the connected screen if there is a power failure affecting all equipment. The delay allows the screen to “ boot” first so that the Player can then detect the screen’s resolution.

Stage 2 – Firmware Booting [ 2 seconds]

The first picture on the screen is a multi-colored rectangular test image, shown for just 2 seconds. This indicates that the CPU has loaded the firmware and will commence booting right after.

By confirming that this screen is shown on boot, you confirm that:

• The SD card is plugged in properly and read by the Player.
• The Player is powered properly, at least with enough power for this stage.
• The booting stage works, and the next stage will ( probably) work.
• The screen is correctly connected to the Player, and colors appear normal.

The SignStudio Media Player is based on the Raspberry Pi

If your SignStudio player is stuck at this screen for more than 1 minute, make sure that you are using the correct HDMI port on your Raspberry Pi 4, as shown in the image below:

Stage 3 – Bootloader Booting [ 3 seconds]

After the previous stage, a “ Searching for USB drives…” text message should appear in the screen’s top-left corner.At this stage, if the Player detects a USB flash drive connected that has the zip file with the software image inside, it will re-write the whole software from scratch on the SD card. Check out the Recovery Procedure for exact details about this. After the word “ done” appears right next to the dots, then you might see an error message. If the error is automatically recovered, then the boot sequence will proceed to the next stage. If there is an error message and the sequence stops here, you need to use the Recovery Procedure to recover your Player.

Stage 4 – Boot Logo / Loading [ 3-15 seconds]

In this stage, the full-screen logo appears, and a blinking message saying “ Loading” will eventually appear in the bottom-right corner of the screen. At some point, the full-screen logo will disappear, and the screen will turn black, with the “ Loading” message still blinking. At some point, the “ Loading” message will stop, and Playback will commence. If the sequence stops at any time in this stage, then this error might be recoverable remotely by our Support Team. Please note that if the black screen at the end of the boot sequence remains, this does not indicate a boot sequence problem. Instead, you should check the corresponding paragraph that describes how to investigate an unexpected black screen.

Status Messages in the Lower-Right Corner of the Player’s Screen

These blinking messages provide good insight into the status of the player and might be useful for troubleshooting. These messages are located in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

“Loading”

This indicates that the Player’s software is being loaded and starting up.

“Configuring”

This indicates that the Player has to be reconfigured and that the new configuration is being applied. Note that re-registration might cause a re-configuration.

“Downloading”

This indicates that the Player has received some update in the Scheduling information and/or Media changes, and it is now downloading the new Media required. Note that a fresh version of the Scheduling information ( called “ Schedule File”) is issued automatically every 15 days so that this message might appear for a few seconds every 15 days. After the download is complete, playback is restarted.

“Updating”

This indicates that the Player has been alerted for a software update and is in the process of trying to update. A device might be updated in 3 cases:

• When a device boots for the first time and comes online. If the device is an older version, then it updates at that point. Note that there is no need to register the device for it to update.
• Regular software updates: Issued every 6 weeks on Tuesdays.
• Emergency software updates: Issued on important hotfixes that cannot wait until the next scheduled release and might happen at any time ( happens 1-2 times a year).

Updates take from 2 minutes to up to 30 minutes, depending on the update and network bandwidth size. If a device is in an “ Updating” state for more than 1-2 hours, then this likely indicates an error in the update process that needs remote manual intervention to be recovered. Errors with updates might happen due to many factors, with the most common ones being:

• The update process was interrupted. This usually happens on 1st boot.
• There is some network filtering that does not allow the update process to download all the required updates.

Error Messages on Player’s Screen

In this section, all error messages that appear on the Player’s screen are described.

Blank Screen

Please note that the black screen is not an error message. Find and read the corresponding section on the Black Screen issue.

“Running startup diagnostics”

This error message is shown on boot only. After 2 minutes, if there are a valid schedule file and media stored in the Player, playback will start based on the already downloaded data. This message is an important troubleshooting method to identify a) the network details of the device and b) the reason that the device does not have internet access.

“Internet Access Required”

This error message is shown in a few cases:

• The Player has been offline for more than 30 days. It might take up to 45 ( or even more) days for the Player to stop Playback. If the Player is rebooted, it might restart playback for up to 1 hour and then change to that message again. This is the most common cause of this message. Check the “ Last Online” date in the Portal to verify that the Player has been offline for over 30 days to confirm that this is the message’s cause.
• The Player has been deleted from an Account and has been registered to another account. In this case, the message should go away after the Player downloads the latest valid schedule file and media from the cloud.
• The storage of the Player ( SD card) has been interchanged from another Player. In this case, the message should go away within 2 minutes after the device is online, and a Registration Code message should appear.

The below message will be displayed on the bottom right side of your TV screen 3 days before the Schedule file gets expired.

Solving the above issue

To solve the above issue, connect the player with an Ethernet cable or use our detailed guide to connect the player to your wireless network. When the player appears online on your account, click the “Push to Players” button. 

“Registration Code”

For a newly imaged Player to be registered with the Service, the user needs to enter the Registration Code of the device in the Monitor section of the Portal. Besides this typical case, if the “ SETTINGS.txt” file is modified, or the SD card has been changed for the specific Raspberry Pi, the device needs to be re-registered.

“Device Deactivated”

The “ Device Deactivated” message appears when the Monitor in the Account has been disabled because the Quota ( maximum number of Monitors for the Account) has been lowered . If a Player is deactivated because the Quota has been lowered, the Player displays the “ Device Deactivated” message. If the Monitor is deleted, then a Registration Code message appears, not a “ Device Deactivated” message. Only when the Monitor is automatically disabled because the Quota has been lowered could the “ Device Deactivated” message appear.

“Could Not Get Video from YouTube”

There are cases when a YouTube video cannot be downloaded. This might happen due to several reasons:

• Random network issue
• Slight changes to the YouTube site, making it impossible for the software that SignStudio uses internally to download some videos.
• Blocking of YouTube site in the Internet connection that the Player is using to access the Internet.

If a YouTube video cannot be downloaded, a message saying “ Could Not Get Video from YouTube” is displayed instead of the Video itself.

Overview of Network Issues

WiFi Configuration

The recommended way to configure WiFi is to do so through the Portal with the device connected via Ethernet. If this option is not available, you will need to use the Manual Configuration guide to directly type in the WiFi details in the Player’s configuration file.

HTTP Proxy

HTTP Proxies can cause trouble in network communications. Transparent HTTP Proxies cause issues with SSL certificates. Other proxies might also incorporate web filtering, blocking some types of files or sites ( e.g., downloading video files or the YouTube site).

SSL Certificates

SSL is used in HTTPS for secure communications. The Player checks SSL Certificates, so having a custom certification not signed by a well-known CA can cause headaches. If an organization employs its own certificates or CA, then this needs to be stored in the Player so that communications can be flawless.

DNS Servers

By default, Players also use Google DNS in addition to local DNS entries. This is to allow for easier configuration and not to rely on local DNS servers or relays. This behavior can be disabled through the UI. Some networks block outbound DNS queries towards the Internet ( see Google DNS), making it impossible for them to work correctly without the proper configuration first.

DHCP vs. Static IP

DHCP is another source of trouble in really crowded networks. Leases might be retained, and collisions might occur. Players are an embedded 24/7 device. It might be difficult to recover from a DHCP issue. So, in crowded networks where IP addresses are crammed, it might appear like the device conflicts with other devices.

WiFi HotSpots

Hotspots have what is called a captive portal. This is a web page that you get redirected initially to accept the Terms of Use for the WiFi network. Then, your computer is allowed to go online. This type of interactivity is not possible with an embedded device. The network administrator must set the captive portal to directly allow the Player’s MAC addresses to access the Internet without any captive portal acknowledgment. Players currently support WPA-PSK, WEP, EAP, and Open Standards. The embedded adapter works on 802.11 b/g/n networks at 2.4GHz. 802.11a 5GHz networks will work with the embedded WiFi adapter of the RPi 4 and only. RPi 3B+does not support 5GHz networks.

Remote Support Access ( VPN)

Players are connected 24/7 to our remote access service ( VPN). You have the option to deactivate that for each Player individually.

SSH Service

SSH is the only active service enabled on the Player.

Device Firewall

The Players have a software firewall embedded that filters inbound traffic to everything besides SSH. In case any third-party software needs inbound communication, this must be set up.

HDMI-in Multicasting

Like many IP streaming adapters, the HDMI-in adapter ( LKV373A) does IP Multicasting of video data. For most simple networks, this means that the video data is broadcast in the local network. This might cause delays in the network or even excessive usage behavior.

Player Shows a Black Screen

1. If the Player is “ Online” in the Portal, check the last screenshot to see what should be showing.
   1. Check the date that the screenshot was last taken to make sure the screenshot is fresh. You may have to wait up to 3 minutes to ensure that the screenshot is not updated. If the screenshot is old, then the Player is probably having some networking issues.
   2. Make sure the screen is powered on.
   3. Make sure the screen is set to the proper HDMI input. Perhaps someone changed the selected HDMI input, and nothing is shown.
   4. Make sure the HDMI cable is connected on both sides.
   5. Check that the Assigned Schedule and Default Content for the specific Monitor in the SignStudio Portal has some content. If unsure, then:
      1. If the “ Downloading” message is flashing on the screen for more than 5 minutes, then there is some Network Issue.
      2. If the screen stops being black, then there is some scheduling/content problem. Investigate the Assigned Schedule and Default Content to make sure what content should be shown. To check Schedules, confirm that the timezone is correct ( both for the specific Player and the User Account). Make sure you check expiration times for content.
      1. Note down the current Assigned Schedule and Default Content.
      2. Create a new Show with a simple full-screen Image that does not have an expiration start/end date.
      3. Select “ None” as the Assigned Schedule and select the newly created Show as the “ Default Content.”
      4. Push to Players and wait to see what happens.
   1. If the screenshot has some content that is not black, then:
   2. If the screenshot appears black, then:
   3. Try rebooting the device ( locally or remotely) while keeping an eye on the screen. If the multicolored rectangle appears on the screen, along with the boot logo, then the Player works but cannot playback content. If, after a reboot, the Player stays online on the Portal, you should contact support.
2. If the Player is “ Offline” in the Portal, then this cannot troubleshoot easily. We need to make sure that the device has some temporary difficulty getting online or has some internal failure.
   1. Make sure the screen is powered on. If the TV is being turned off, then the “ Turned Off” show might have been scheduled in the past and does not work properly because the device was offline and doesn’t have an accurate clock.
   2. Make sure the screen is set to the proper HDMI input. Perhaps someone changed the selected HDMI input, and nothing is shown.
   3. Make sure the HDMI cable is connected on both sides.
   1. Check the Last Seen Online date: If the date is older than 30 days, there is a strong chance that the device has been automatically disabled due to excessive timeout.
   2. Do a pre-check with the basics:
   3. Try to reboot the device and see if it gets online. Otherwise, record the error message and try to troubleshoot using that.

Player Stops at Black Screen with Small Text/Code ( boot sequence)

Usually, this indicates a problem with the software. This might be due to recoverable software corruption or storage ( SD card) corruption.

1. First, try rebooting to see if the error happens repeatedly. If at any point the device is seen as online in the Portal, then remote access can help recover the device remotely.
2. If the device is offline and continues to have the same status, try using the Recovery Procedure through the USB Flash drive. If the USB Recovery Procedure works without error messages, then this should have solved the problem.
3. If the procedure issued any warning messages, or if the Player failed to boot after completing the procedure, or if the device has the same issue within 5-10 days from the recovery, then this is probably a permanent corruption of the storage medium ( SD card), which will need a replacement.

Player Does Not Turn On

1. First, make sure that that the Player indeed is the problem and not the screen. There are 2 LED indicator lights on the Player, right next to each other. One should be lit solid when the Player is connected to power. The other one should be blinking at random intervals when the Player works normally. If both have the expected behavior, then, before doing anything else, follow the steps for the “ Player Shows a Black Screen.” If that troubleshooting does not solve the issue, continue with the steps below.
2. For the 2 LED indicator lights described above:
   1. Make sure you see the power LED light permanently lit. Otherwise, there is some issue with power not reaching the Player.
   2. If the other LED light is off for more than 20 consecutive seconds, then the Player has some problem.
3. Try rebooting ( power-cycling) the Player. If the LED lights continue to behave as above ( 1 LED on, the other one-off for more than 20 seconds), then the issue is confirmed. Try the following:
   1. Make sure that the SD card is secured in place. Try removing and replacing the SD card.
   2. Try using a different PSU.
   3. Try unplugging the screen and then power-cycling. Some screens are not grounded properly, and this might cause issues with power.
   4. Try using a different SD card.

Clicking “Push to Players” does not change Playback on Players

1. If the Player is “ Online” in the Portal, then a Push might take up to 3 minutes to occur on screen.
2. If the Player is “ Offline” in the Portal, there is no way for the Player to receive the “ Push” command. This is a Network Issue, so please see other procedures that deal with networking and an “ Offline” state.
3. Clicking “ Push to Players” should restart playback on all affected devices. Try using a Force Push ( clicking the “ Push” button while gray). This should restart playback on all Players. If you want to troubleshoot a specific Player, there is a button called “ Push Again to this Monitor” in each Monitor entry in the Portal. This button should trigger a playback restart. This way, you can identify if there is a working communication between the Player and the Portal. If Playback does not restart within 3 minutes AND you do not see the “ Downloading” message in the bottom-right corner, then there is some network issue. If Playback does restart, but it does not show what the user wants, this is a scheduling issue. Try doing the following:
   1. If the “ Downloading” message is flashing on the screen for more than 5 minutes, then there is some Network Issue.
   2. If the screen stops being black, then there is some scheduling/content problem. Investigate the Assigned Schedule and Default Content to make sure what content should be shown. To check Schedules, also confirm that the timezone is correct ( both for the specific Player and the User Account). Make sure you check expiration times for content.
   1. Note down the current Assigned Schedule and Default Content.
   2. Create a new Layout with a simple full-screen Image that does not have an expiration start/end date.
   3. select “None” as the Assigned Schedule and select the newly created Show as the “ Default Content.”
   4. Push to Players and wait to see what happens.
4. There is a case with web filtering where the Player might appear as “ Online” in the Portal and still cannot download content. This can only be investigated through the command-line and advanced troubleshooting. Make sure that the network has no Transparent HTTP Proxy or Web Filtering of any sort.

The Player is “Offline” while connected to the Internet

• Are there any HTTP Proxies on the network? HTTP proxies can cause problems with communication. You will need to get someone from your IT department or network to retrieve more information.
• Is there any filtering or outbound connection firewall? If yes, try adding an exception for the MAC address of the Player. MAC addresses can be retrieved by booting the Player without any network connection ( the Portal Connection error message will appear with data on the MAC and IP addresses).
• Confirm that the Internet connection is up and running.
• Try rebooting the Player. If it comes back online and then back offline after 15-20 minutes or more, this can be investigated remotely while the player is online.
• Using a WiFi connection, try using a wired connection for the remote support team to investigate the issue.

YouTube Videos are not working

Check the section regarding the “ Cannot download YouTube video” screen message.

Downloading Takes too Long

Excessive time for downloading a video can indicate that there is a network issue with the Player. If bandwidth is terrible, it can cause the download process to fail completely and not complete the download no matter what, after any amount of time has passed.

There is an icon in the top-right corner of the screen

There are two types of warning icons that can appear in the screen’s right-hand corner when the Player is not functioning optimally. Let’s have a look at their significance and how you can troubleshoot these problems:

1. Lightning / Thunderbolt / Thunder Icon

This indicates that the power supply is unstable, the player is underpowered, which could lead to corruption of the SD card and overall instability. It would be best, in this case, to change the power adapter as soon as possible. The Raspberry Pi 2 needs a 5V/2A power adapter. The Raspberry Pi 3 needs a 5V/2.5A power adapter, whereas the Raspberry Pi 4 needs a 5V/3A power adapter.

2. Temperature / Thermometer Icons

The thermometer icons mean that the Player’s main chip is hotter than normal. The half-red thermometer icon means that the Player’s chip temperature is between 80 and 85 ℃, and the Player will throttle the CPU ( decreasing performance) to keep the temperature below 80 ℃ . The completely red thermometer icon means that the Player’s chip temperature is above 85 ℃, and the Player will throttle both the CPU and GPU ( decreasing performance even further) to keep the temperature below 85 ℃ . Why the overheating? Most probably, content pushed to players is somehow too heavy. You might not realize it, but adding too many Playlists or transparent content might put too much of a burden on the Player. What can you do? Here are some possible solutions:

• Try removing some content, combining multiple Widgets into single Widgets, or reaching out to our support team and asking for help to optimize your Show or content in general.
• Add a passive heat sink. They are really cheap. Note that our Players come pre-installed with a heat sink.

• Try using a metal case instead of a plastic one. If using a case with a cover ( like the Official Raspberry Pi case we ship over with our Players), try removing the cover to allow the chip to cool.
• Place the Player in a well-ventilated space.

You can override standard behavior and disable both icons. Make sure that you understand the risks of doing so.

• Go to the “Monitors” list and edit the monitor in question.
• Click on the ” Advanced” tab.
• Make sure the “Allow Raspberry config.txt Override” toggle is set to ” ON.”
• In the ” Raspberry config.txt Override Directives” text area, you will have to enter the following configuration line:

avoid_warnings=1

• After you are finished, click the “Save” button.
• The Player will reboot, and you are set to go.

Keep in mind that we do not recommend that you remove the warning iconswithout troubleshooting. You should investigate and remedy the issue rather than hide the warnings.

Recovering your Player through a USB flash drive

The Player is resilient to hardware and system failures. But, as with any device, there is a slight chance that the Player may fail. In the case of a software failure, you might be able to recover your Player by ” reflashing” it with the latest software . Reflashing will erase all of the Player’s content ( re-writing the whole SD card from scratch). Your settings will be retained, so your Player should re-apply all settings in the system, re-download all content required and resume playback without you doing anything. If you are an advanced user, keep in mind that the only thing retained from the existing content is the ” SETTINGS.txt” file containing all settings. Any manual changes you have made to the image through the command line will be lost ( e.g., manually changing passwords, changing config.txt manually, adding other software, etc.).

Resetting Settings before Recovery

The recovery procedure retains your Player’s settings. If you wish to remove settings, you can also follow other instructions before following the Recovery procedure.

Preparing a USB flash drive

To perform this procedure, you will need a USB flash drive. Here are the requirements and some info on this:

• It would be best to use a FAT32-formatted flash drive ( most USB flash drives are by default formatted as FAT32). ext2/3/4 also works, and NTFS might also work.
• The SignStudio Player does not change anything on the flash drive, so you can leave any other files you have on the stick.
• Download the latest software zip file ( about 1.2GB in size).
• DO NOT RENAME OR EXTRACT THE ZIP FILE! Copy it ( as is) into the base folder of the USB flash drive.

IMPORTANT: Some flash drives may not work properly. During start-up, the USB flash drive might not start quickly enough, so it might not be functional within the first seconds of the startup procedure, so SignStudio cannot detect it. This case is detailed below. If that is the case with your flash drive, try a flash drive of a different make/model and find one that works.

Reflashing your Player

After you have prepared a USB flash drive, follow these instructions to recover your Player:

1. Plug the USB flash drive into the Player.
2. Power up ( or reboot) the Player.
3. Upon start-up and before showing the SignStudio logo, the Player always displays a message saying ” Searching for USB drives…” while searching for the flash drive.
4. If the Player finds the flash drive, it should display a message saying ” USB drive detected.”
5. If the Player does not show the ” USB drive detected” message, then you will need to use a different USB flash drive because the Player cannot detect the flash drive you used.
6. If you have prepared the USB flash drive correctly as described above, the verification and writing procedure should start. If you get any error messages, check that you have properly prepared the USB flash drive.
7. At this point, DO NOT REMOVE POWER FROM YOUR PLAYER! Also, do not remove the USB flash drive! Allow the procedure at least 30′ to complete.
8. When the procedure has been completed, you will be prompted to remove the USB drive. Once you remove it, the Player will automatically reboot.
9. After reboot, the Player will re-apply all retained settings in the system.
10. The software might also need to be updated online, so make sure you do not unplug the Player to ensure everything is completed smoothly.
11. Please allow enough time for it to perform all the required initialization procedures. Allow at least 15-20 minutes before worrying if nothing comes up.

After the procedure is completed, your Player should recover, connect to the Internet, and start downloading content. Eventually, it will start playback.

Security Notice

For the advanced IT security-aware readers: SignStudio Player Image files are digitally signed. The ZIP files contain information that verifies that SignStudio issued the specific SD card image. You cannot perform this procedure with an arbitrary image file, so an attacker cannot inject their own code into the system just by plugging in a USB drive and rebooting.

Reset all Settings on your Player

To reset all Settings on your Player, you need to delete a file from the Player’s SD card. This will force the system to apply the default settings.

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that if your Player requires some special network configuration to get online, you will lose Internet connectivity. This might render the Player unreachable, and you might end up going on-site and performing a manual configuration.

For Regular Users

1. Power off your Player ( by removing the power cable).
2. Remove the microSD card from your Player.
3. Access the MicroSD card with your PC. You might need a microSD-to-SD card adapter or a USB memory card reader.
4. You will see one or more storage filesystems. On the first one ( the smallest, around 100MB of space), you will find a file called “SETTINGS.txt.”
5. Delete the “SETTINGS.txt” file.
6. Remove the microSD card from your PC.
7. Place the microSD card into your Player.
8. Power up your Player.

Upon start-up, the Player will apply all default settings to the system. It may require up to 10 minutes, and a reboot might occur.

For Advanced Users

If you have remote ( SSH) or local shell access, just issue these two commands: sudo rm -f /boot/SETTINGS.* sudo rebootUpon start-up, the Player will apply all default settings to the system. It may require up to 10 minutes, and a reboot might occur.

Video Seems a Bit Blocky/ Pixelated

Check the status tab of the Monitor’s status on the Portal. If the resolution indicated there is 640×480, then the Player runs in VGA mode ( 640×480). This would appear as low quality, or even as a 4:3 layout with black bars above/below or on the right/left ( or even both). Try power-cycling the Player. If this fixes the situation, then this is just an issue of auto-detecting the screen’s resolution. The SignStudio Player ( based on Raspberry Pi) automatically detects on start-up the ” preferred” resolution of the connected monitor ( usually, its native resolution). In some cases, the preferred resolution is not detected properly:

• Powering up your Player without a screen connected.
• Powering up your Player and screen at the same time ( e.g., after a power failure). If your screen is slow on startup, it does not report its resolutions in time to the Player.

In this case, the standard VGA resolution of 640×480 is used. Rebooting your Player will resolve this issue ( temporarily). If you are having constant issues like this, then you have two options for a permanent solution:

1. Set the resolution of the Player to a standard one. Your Player will always use this resolution, regardless of if you have attached a screen or not, or if the attached screen supports it or not.
2. Increase the time the Player waits for detecting the screen. This delay is by default set to 3 seconds. You can increase it to allow your screen to start and allow the Player to detect it properly. To do this:
   1. go to your Monitor entry in the SignStudio Portal,
   2. go to the “Advanced” tab,
   3. make sure the ” Allow Raspberry config.txt Override” toggle is set to “ON”
   4. add the following line to the ” Raspberry config.txt Override Directives,” using the number of seconds that works for you:

bootcode_delay=8

1. 1. make sure you click the “Save” button so that the configuration you did is saved.

Reach out if you are still having problems.

The video is stretched/letterboxed

Check the status tab of the Monitor’s status on the Portal. If the resolution indicated there is 640×480, then the Player runs in VGA mode ( 640×480). This would appear as low quality, or even as a 4:3 layout with black bars above/below or on the right/left ( or even both). If this is the case, check the previous question. If the resolution is different from the Monitor’s natural resolution, you can change it to fit the actual hardware better. Sometimes, resolution auto-detection might not be optimal, so manually setting it will be required.

The video is being cut-off at the edges

Check the status tab of the Monitor’s status on the Portal. If the resolution indicated there is 640×480, then the Player runs in VGA mode ( 640×480). This would appear as low quality, or even as a 4:3 layout with black bars above/below or on the right/left ( or even both). If this is the case, check the previous question. The most usual case is overscan. Most TVs are set by default to have overscan enabled. What does this do? If the resolution is different from the Monitor’s natural resolution, you can change it to fit the actual hardware better. Sometimes, resolution auto-detection might not be optimal, so manually setting it will be required. Try uploading this image into your account and set it up to full-screen.
Here is what you should normally be seen in all 4 corners of each screen.
And here is what a screen doing overscan looks like.Overscan will interfere with Video-Wall alignments, so you need to remove it. Use the TV menu to adjust picture settings and change the option usually referenced as “ P.SIZE,” “ Aspect Ratio,” “ Format,” or similar. These settings should have options like “ 16:9”, “ 4:3”, “ Widescreen,” “ Pixel Scan,” and so on. Cycle through the options to find the correct one that eliminates overscan. Then, you need to make sure that the Players are configured with the proper orientation. If a screen in the Video-Wall is mounted vertically like a portrait or upside-down, you need to set this in the configuration of the respective Monitor in SignStudio’s Portal. Screens should then reconfigure and appear rotated after a few minutes.

You can see a list of the monitors currently created in your SignStudio account on the initial screen. Monitor information is organized in the following columns:

1. the Name of the monitor
2. the ID of the monitor
3. the Scheduled Content pushed to the monitor
4. the Default Content that will be displayed when there is no active schedule
5. the Status of the monitor and also the status of the player’s content
   • Up to date: The player is displaying the latest pushed updated content.
   • Downloading : The player is downloading the required content.
   • Unknown : The player is in an Unknown state; this state includes the unregistered players.
   • Pending Media : The player will download media in the future. This state is displayed when you have enabled the Restricted Download hours option on your player(s).
   • Possibly Outdated : The player is currently offline and hasn’t reported receiving the latest content.
   • Not Updated : The player is displaying previous content due to several reasons, like local network restrictions, offline for a long time, etc.
6. an Actions column, with 4 buttons for making changes

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of a Player by clicking the “Edit” button. Check out the “Adding a Monitor” section below for details on the fields.

Adding a Monitor

When you click ”Add Monitor” you will need to fill in some basic information.

• A Name for your monitor
• Your Registration Code (Displayed on your Media Player)
• In the ”Scheduled Contenet” field, choose a schedule.
• In the ”Default Content” field, choose the content that you want your player to show by default.
• Click “Save” at the bottom left corner to create the monitor.

The page also contains some additional useful information about your monitor:

1. A Screenshot of what the player is displaying. The Screenshots is refreshed every 30 seconds when you are in the Monitor Details page. For other Monitors, or if you log out from your SignStudio account, the screenshots are refreshed every two hours.
2. Last screenshot: indicates the last screenshot that the player has reported back to your account.
3. Last seen online: Indicates the last time that the player was online in your SignStudio account.
4. Player State: indicates the state of the content that the player is displaying on your screens right now.
5. Workspace Name: the workspace that the player belongs
6. Push again to this Monitor: Push changes to this monitor only.
7. Actions:
   • Turn monitor ON: Turn ON your TV screen via a CEC command.
   • Turn monitor OFF: Turn OFF your TV screen via a CEC command.
   • Reboot Player: Reboots the player
   • Shutdown: Shuts down the player. Bear in mind that if you perform that action, to bring the player online again, you have to physically power on the player by unplugging and plugging in the power cord. BE CAREFUL!

Creating a Schedule

To create a new schedule, click on the ”Add Schedule” button found at the bottom of the Schedules list.

The next step is to name your new schedule and then configure the layouts, media, or playlists you want to display.

The calendar that appears gives you the option to view the month, week, or even day of your choice, by clicking on the relevant buttons. You can see the current date; however, you can move to the previous or next month/week/day by clicking on the arrows next to the “today” button.

On the right side of the screen, there is the “Entries” column under which you can find all of the scheduled media entries that you have created within that specific schedule.

As a next step, click on the ”+Add Entry” button and use the drop-down menu next to content, to choose between a Layout, Media, or Playlist category in the “New Entry” window that appears. Once you pick a content category (i.e., a Layout), a new drop-down menu appears from which you can select the specific Layout, Media, or Playlist you want to use in your schedule.

• To set the start date and time you want your layout, media, or playlist displayed, fill in the information in the ”First Start” box. To schedule the time, click on the clock icon.
• To set the end date and time for the content you will display, again fill in the information in the “First Stop” box. To schedule the time, click on the clock icon.
• The next box, ”Repeat”, indicates the frequency your layout, media, or playlist will be displayed. Click to choose one of the options provided:
  • Once, if you want your layout, media, or playlist to playback during specific hours on a specific day/date only.
  • Daily, if you want to set which days of the week you want your layout, media, or playlist to playback.
  • Weekly, if you want your layout, media, or playlist to be displayed once per week.
  • Monthly, if you want your layout, media, or playlist to be displayed once per month.
  • Yearly, if you want your layout, media, or playlist to be displayed once per year.
• Finally, ”Repeat Until” indicates the time-frame you want to set your schedules for. You can either set a specific date and time or click ”End of time” so that your schedule will always be displayed as indicated.

Examples

1. The “Turned Off” option will turn off your screen daily (except Saturdays and Sundays) from 16:45:00 until 08:00:00 the next and repeat until the ”End of time”.

2. In the following example we have scheduled a layout to appear from 8 am up until 4:45 pm. On top of that, we have added another schedule entry which will display the Birthday widget from 10 am until 11 am.

With the above configuration:

• the layout will play from 8 am – 10 am
• the widget will play from 10 am – 11 am (because the widget entry has greater priority over the layout entry)
• the layout will resume playback again at 11 am up until 4:45 pm

Content Priority

Schedules have priority over Default Content. If a layout, media, or playlist is assigned as Default Content on the monitor and a Schedule is also assigned, the Default Content will be displayed on the screen only during gaps in the Schedule.

3. There is an option that appears in the list of all available/created events in your account, and it is the “Turned Off” option. Setting this in a Schedule results in your monitor automatically turning off.

Managing Schedules

In the “Schedules” section, you can see a list of the schedules currently created into your SignStudio account. Schedule information is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the schedule
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the schedule was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the schedule belongs
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your schedules.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of a schedule by clicking the ”Edit” button.
Check out the “Creating a Schedule” section above for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your schedule listing. You can search using any of the columns which means by name, date, workspace, etc.

You can select one or more schedules by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Move or Delete all the selected schedules at once.

Creating a Layout

To create a layout, click on the ”Add Layout”  button found at the bottom of the layout’s list. A new page will open, displaying many pre-designed layout templates that we have created for you and are ready to use.

Feel free to choose any available templates and start editing them by changing images and adding whatever text you’d like to use. Otherwise, you can create your own custom Layout from scratch!

Adding a Template

1. What are Templates?

Templates are pre-formatted Layouts that we have created for you to use directly on your TV screens. These signage templates come with a wide range of both static and dynamic content options. Whether you want to incorporate static elements like photos or text that remain the same each time they are shown on your SignStudio Media Players or incorporate dynamic content that automatically updates depending on your sign’s weather, time, or location, both options are available to you. Templates use media not stored in your account but in the cloud to be available for all of our users. Of course, you can edit them the way you like.

2. Importing a Template

By clicking the layout template of your choice, a window will pop up displaying a preview of it. Then, if you like it, you can Import it by clicking the ”Import Template” button or go back to pick a new one by clicking the ”Back to Templates” button.

After importing a template, you can name it as you wish and start editing the default media to customize it to your needs.

Adding a custom Layout

To add a custom layout, click on the “CREATE CUSTOM LAYOUT” button found at the beginning of the listing.

Layout Settings

Before you start adding any media, you will see a configuration panel on the right side of your screen. To see a short description of the options, click on the corresponding tab below:

• Name
• Ratio
• Background Audio
• Snap to Grid

Type the name of your layout.

Adding media from your library

Click the “Insert” on the top bar to choose a media from your Media gallery. At the right-side panel, you will see all available options offered.

• Images
• Videos
• Audio
• Documents
• Web Pages
• Widgets
• Texts
• Cliparts
• Playlists

Editing media

Some relevant configuration options are shown on the right panel by choosing a media file.
For example, if you select an Image, Video, Audio, Document, Web-page, Widget, and a Playlist, you will be presented with the following settings:

1. Fitting Option

• “Fit”: show the whole content within the area assigned (may add some space or black bars at the edges, but will not distort images or videos).
• “Crop”: zoom-in so that it covers the whole area assigned (may crop some edges, but it will not distort images or videos).
• “Stretch”: show the whole content, stretching it to match the area assigned (no cropping, empty spaces, or black bars, but it might distort images and videos).

2. Transparency

Optionally, enable the toggle “Allow Transparency” to allow transparency of the region. This is useful for content with transparency and the “Fit” option above.

Positioning/Resizing media in the layout editor

Selecting imported media in the layout editor opens configuration options on the right side of your screen.

You can use the Width, Height, Top, Left values to quickly position and align it to where you want. You can either type directly the value you wish to or, by placing your mouse cursor in the box, use the mouse wheel to increase/decrease the value.

Another way of positioning/resizing your media item is by selecting it with your mouse and dragging it in any position you want. Clicking on a media item will highlight it. Use the white squares to drag/resize the media at will.

Lock Aspect Ratio

If you want the media you are moving/resizing to keep the same ratio across the Layout region, enable the “Lock Aspect Ratio” toggle.

Content Layering

On the right panel, when you have not selected a media, under the “Content Layering” section, all the items (playlists, widgets, media files) added in the layout are listed in the order you added them, with the top layer representing the last item added.

This layering order is very easily modified by dragging and dropping items in the desired hierarchy.

In the layering setup, you have the option to quickly disable some items by clicking the “eye” button next to the media of your choice. The hidden media will not be displayed on the player as well.

You can revert the media to your Layout editor by clicking again the “eye” button.

Useful Tools

On the top bar, you will notice some useful buttons that you can use to help you create your Layout faster.

1. Undo a change you made while working in your Layout editor if you’d like to, for up to 30 edits. Shortcut: CTRL+Z
2. Redo an Undo for up to 30 edits. Shortcut: CTRL+Y
3. Send Backward Move the media backward if you have many content layers on your Layout editor.
4. Bring Forward Move the media forward if you have many content layers on your Layout editor.
5. Copy Copy any media to your Layout editor area. You can copy media from different Layout editors across your account. Shortcut: CTRL+C
6. Paste Paste any media to your Layout editor area. You can paste media from different Layout editors across your account. Shortcut: CTRL+V
7. Edit Edit the settings of the selected media by opening a new editing form of the selected media.
8. Delete Delete the selected media from the Layout editor. Shortcut: Del button
9. Full Screen By clicking the Full-Screen button, the Layout that you have created will fill your entire TV screen. In that way, you can modify the final output shown on your TV screen and make the right adjustments by moving any media in any direction or position of your choice. It’s like the usual Layout editor but in a Full-screen mode. Press the Esc button on your keyboard to exit Full-Screen.

How do I preview a layout before pushing it to the player?

You will be able to see exactly what is being shown on your TV screen; in the same way, you would view that content if you had a SignStudio Media Player connected to your screen. With a simple click, you can see how your layout will display on the TV screen without the need for a player or any hardware at all.

The only thing you have to do is fill the layout with the media of your choice and then click the Preview button at the top right corner.

A new window will appear and start displaying the layout.

Allow pop-ups

Upon clicking the Preview button, your browser might block the pop-up. Please click the options button in your browser and click the “Allow pop-ups for app.signstudio.tv“.

Managing Layouts

In the “Layouts” section, you can see a list of the layouts currently created into your SignStudio account. Layout information is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the layout
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the layout was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the layout belongs
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your layouts.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of the layout by clicking the” Edit” button.
Check out the “Creating a Layout” section above for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to sort out your layout listing quickly. You can search using any of the columns by name, date, workspace, etc.

You can select one or more layouts by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Move or Delete all the selected layouts at once.

Adding a Playlist

To add a playlist, you click on the orange ”Add Playlist” button found at the bottom of the Playlist list. As a next step, you have to select the type of playlist that you want to create. You can select among:

• Classic – Create a Classic Playlist. After clicking “Add”, you will be able to select the Media you want to add to the Playlist.
• Tagbased – Create a dynamic Playlist by using Media Tags. The Playlist will update dynamically whenever you assign or remove Tags from your Media. (Professional Subscription and Above Only)
• Dropbox – Link a folder in your Dropbox to a Playlist. You can then manage your content (Video, Images and Documents) through your Dropbox account.
• OneDrive – Link a folder in your Personal OneDrive application folder to a Playlist. You can then manage your content (Video, Images and Documents) through your Personal OneDrive account.
• Import CSV – Create a Playlist by importing a text file. Each line should contain the name of the Media item to be added, optionally followed by comma and the playlist duration for that Media.

As a next step, you are requested to provide:

• the Name of the Playlist and
• an optional Description for it

There are various settings available that you can enable. They are separated between Transition Options and Playback Options. Click the corresponding tab to learn more information.

Transition and Playback options

• Transition Options
• Playback Options

1. Add black gap between videos

The transition between the two videos right now is gapless. The last video frame will be displayed on the screen to have gapless transitions between videos playing back-to-back.
If you like to have a 0.5s black gap between the videos, enable the above option on your playlist.

2. Image Transitions

You can pick more than 23 different Transition Types and, of course, control the Transition Speed as well.

• Slow : 3-second transition
• Medium : 2-second transition
• Fast : 1-second transition
• Custom : Configure how long the transition will occur from one image to another.

Limitations

Transitions are available only between images. You cannot have transitions between images to videos or images to any other media.

Adding Media in a Playlist

You can see an empty filmstrip where you will add your media files:

Below the filmstrip, you’ll find your account’s library with all the media files available to you. You can see them all or locate them under their respective category (Images, Videos, Web Pages, Widgets, Audio Assets, Documents, Playlists). Also, you can use the Search button to find your media file.

By pointing to any media file in the library, you can click on the Preview (Magnifying Glass icon) or the Arrow to place it on the playlist. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the item to the filmstrip directly.

You can change the media files’ position by dragging and dropping them in the order you want.

All media when inserted into the playlist inherit their default duration except Videos that have a fixed display time (the duration of the video itself), which cannot be changed.

You can use the -/+ icons to decrease/increase the duration at will.

You can also check the total duration of your playlist. This info is located on the right side of the filmstrip:

Which media are calculated? The media that are calculated are:

• Images
• Web-pages
• Widgets
• Videos (YouTube videos are excluded)
• Documents

Clicking” Save” will create the Playlist.

Creating/Editing Playlists with a large number of media files

In case your playlists contain numerous media files, you have the option to activate the Folder View for your convenience.

How do I preview the playlist’s content?

With a simple click, you can see how your playlist will display on the TV screen without the need for a SignStudio Media player or any hardware at all. The only thing you have to do is fill the playlist with the media of your choice and then click the Preview button at the top left corner.

A new window will appear and start displaying the playlist.

Allow pop-ups

Upon clicking the Preview button, your browser might block the pop-up. Please click the options button in your browser and click the “Allow pop-ups for app.signstudio.tv“.

Managing Playlists

In the Playlists section, you can see a list of the playlists currently created into your SignStudio account. Information about your playlists is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the playlist
• the Description of it (if any)
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the playlist was modified for the last time
• icons of the Media Type that are included in the playlist
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the image belongs
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your playlists.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of a playlist by clicking the” Edit” button.
Check out the “Adding a Playlist” section above for more details.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to sort out your playlist listing quickly. Search using any of the columns by name, date, workspace, etc.

You can select more playlists by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. Click the Actions button at the bottom to Move or Delete all the selected playlists at once.

This section can add a widget from our existing collection or create and upload your widgets.

Adding a Widget

To add a widget, click on the green ”Add Widget” button found at the bottom of the Widgets list.

Then you can choose between Standard widgets, Dashboards, Social or Custom Widgets.

Managing Widgets

In the “Widgets” section, you can see a list of the widgets currently added into your SignStudio Portal. Widget information is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the widget along with a Preview (thumbnail)
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the widget was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the widget belongs
• the Tags (for accounts in the Pro and Enterprise plan) that are applied to the widget
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your widgets.

Click on each tab below to see a short description.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of a widget by clicking the ”Edit” button.
Here, you can also substitute the actual widget, and it will be changed wherever used.
Check out the “Adding a Widget” section below for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your widget listing. You can search using any of the four columns which means by name, date, workspace, and tag.

You can select one or more widgets by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Edit, Move, Delete all the selected widgets at once.

At the top-right corner, you can click on the “+Add Folder” button in order to create a folder that can be used to group media files (the folder will be global among Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Web Pages, and Widgets).

You can also change the listing and refresh the view.

• Images
• Videos
• Audio Assets
• Web Pages
• Documents

Images

In the “Images” section, you manage images used for playback on your Players.

Supported Formats

SignStudio supports any image file type that can be displayed in a modern browser. These include JPEG, PNG, SVG, and GIF (including light animations). Images are not resized automatically; they are delivered and played back exactly as you have uploaded them.

Supported Resolution

It will be best to resize your images to Full HD 1920×1080 before uploading them to your SignStudio account. If you do not do that, images with huge resolutions can slow down the player.

Adding an Image

To add a single image, you click on the ”Add Image ” button found at the images list’s bottom.

As a next step, you are requested to choose if you want to upload your own photo or select photos from the vast range of free stock images you’ll find in our Gallery.

You can Upload an image from your local storage or use the Import from URL option to import an Image file hosted in the cloud.

You can hold [Ctrl] or [Shift] to select multiple files at once.

After successfully uploading an image file you can:

1. type in the Name of the image
2. an optional Description
3. add Tags to the uploaded image
4. set the Default Duration of the image if you decide to add it to a playlist
5. in the Advanced Features, you can set the Play From /Play Until parameters. In other words, you can set the expiration date, which means that you can choose the exact date and time that this image will display in your playlist or layout, or you can set the “Always” and “Forever” setting, and the image will never expire.
6. click Save to finally upload the image

Adding an image(s) with the Drag ‘n Drop option

You have the option to add a file by dragging the specific file or files from your PC directly into the UI of the Images section on the portal, therefore skipping a few steps and saving you some extra time.

Managing Images

In the “Images” section, you can see a list of the images currently uploaded into your SignStudio account. Image information is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the image along with a Preview (thumbnail) of the actual image
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the image was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the image belongs
• the Tags (for accounts in the Pro and Enterprise plan) that are applied to the file
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your uploaded image files.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of an image by clicking the ”Edit” button.
Here, you can also substitute the actual image, and it will be changed wherever used.
Check out the “Adding an Image” section above for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your image listing. Search using any of the four columns which means by name, date, workspace, and tag.

Sselect one or more images by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Edit, Move, Delete all the selected images at once.

At the top-right corner, you can click on the “+Add Folder” button in order to create a folder that can be used to group media files (the folder will be global among Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Web Pages, and Widgets).

You can also change the listing and refresh the view.

Pixie Editor

If you Edit or Duplicate an existing image, you will find a button with the description Open With Pixie Image editor under its thumbnail, which will open a complete Image Editor, where you can modify the way the Image looks (crop, rotate, resize), add filters, text, stickers and many more.

Videos

In the Videos section, you can upload and manage a wide variety of video formats. Videos that you upload on SignStudio are automatically converted to industry-standard formats (H.264 with AAC audio).

Supported Formats

1. YouTube videos are supported out-of-the-box, so they just get downloaded in the best possible quality (up to 1080p right now).
2. Live Streaming Videos (YouTube, UStream, or custom HLS or RTMP/RTSP streams). These will have to be delivered by the stream in H.264 format to make sure they will be played back on SignStudio Media Players.
3. PowerPoint files are converted to videos on our servers, retaining all transitions and animations.

Adding a Video

To add a single video file, you click on the “Add Video/YouTube/PowerPoint” button found at the bottom of the Videos list. You then need to select the type of Video source. You can choose from:

• Video File – Upload one or more videos from your device or use the Import from URL option and enter a link to a video file. The file will be copied to your account.
• YouTube Video – use a link to a YouTube video or stream which the Player will then download directly from YouTube and playback locally or stream it.
• Vimeo – use a link to a Vimeo video or stream which the Player will then download directly from Vimeo and playback locally or stream it.
• PPT File – Upload PowerPoint presentations from your device. Presentations are converted to videos, keeping all animations.
• Video Stream – use a Live Video Stream from the Internet or a local source, including UStream, and UDP/RTP/HLS streams.
• Stock Videos – search videos from our online Video gallery and import them with a few clicks.

After you provide the Video source, you also need to provide:

1. type in the Name of the video file
2. an optional Description
3. add Tags to the uploaded video
4. click Save to finally upload the video

Skip video encoding

When you upload a standard Video File stored locally on your PC, there is an option to upload the exact file for playback and skip the default encoding process.

This option is generally recommended for advanced users only since the original video file’s playback might fail. Enabling this option while uploading will inhibit encoding, decreasing the time required for the video to be available and preventing a thumbnail for the video from being created.

Adding a Video File with the Drag and Drop option

You have the option to add a video file by dragging the specific file or files from your PC directly to your Video Library, therefore skipping a few steps and saving you some extra time.

The Drag and Drop option is also available in the Folder View.

Advanced Options for Videos

For all Video source types you have the following advanced options:

• Play From/Play Until
• Rotate Video
• Crop Video
• Enable Subtitles

In the advanced features, you can set the Play From/Play Until parameters. In other words, you can set the expiration date, which means that you can choose the exact date and time that Video will display in your playlist/layout, or you can set it to “Always” and “Forever,” and the Video will never expire.

Managing Video Files

In the Videos section, you can see a list of all the video files currently uploaded into your SignStudio account. Information about your video files is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the video along with a Preview (thumbnail)
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the video was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the video belongs
• the Tags (for accounts in the Pro and Enterprise plan) that are applied to the file
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your uploaded video files.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of a video by clicking the ”Edit” button.
Here, you can also substitute the actual video, and it will be changed wherever used.
Check out the “Adding a Video” section above for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your video listing. You can search using any of the four columns which means by name, date, workspace, and tag.

You can select one or more videos by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Edit, Move, Delete all the selected videos at once.

At the top-right corner, you can click on the “+Add Folder” button in order to create a folder that can be used to group media files (the folder will be global among Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Web Pages, and Widgets).

You can also change the listing and refresh the view.

Audio

Supported Formats

SignStudio supports many popular audio format types. The Audio formats that the player is supporting right now are the following ones:

1. AAC
2. MP4
3. M4A
4. MP3
5. OGA
6. OGG
7. WAV

Adding an Audio Asset

To add a single Audio file, you click on the ”Add Audio” button found at the bottom of the Audio list. You then need to select the type of audio source. You can choose from:

• Audio File – Upload audio files from your device. Use [Ctrl] or [Shift] to select multiple files or use the Import from URL option and enter a link to an audio file. The file will be copied to your account.
• YouTube – Use a standard YouTube video link. Players download only the audio track directly from YouTube and save it in their storage for offline use.
• Vimeo – Use a standard Vimeo video link. Players download only the audio track directly from Vimeo and save it in their storage for offline use or select the Vimeo Live Stream and paste a a Vimeo LIVE streaming link.
• Stream – Use an online audio streaming link or other custom source, like an RTP or HLS stream.

After you provide the Audio source, you also need to provide:

1. the Name of the audio
2. an optional Description
3. add Tags to the uploaded audio
4. in the Advanced Features, you can set the Play From /Play Until parameters. In other words, you can set the expiration date, which means that you can choose the exact date and time that this audio will display in your playlist or layout, or you can set the “Always” and “Forever” setting, and the audio will never expire.
5. click Save to finally upload the audio

Adding an Audio with the Drag and Drop option

You have the option to add a Media by dragging the specific file or files from your PC directly to your Audio Library, therefore skipping a few steps and saving you some extra time.

The Drag and Drop option is also available in the Folder View.

Managing Audio Assets

In the Audio section, you can see a list of the Audio assets currently uploaded into your SignStudio account. Information about your audio files is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the audio along with a Preview (thumbnail)
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the audio was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the audio belongs
• the Tags (for accounts in the Pro and Enterprise plan) that are applied to the audio
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your uploaded audio files.

Click on each tab below to see a short description.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of the audio by clicking the ”Edit” button.
Here, you can also substitute the actual audio, and it will be changed wherever used.
Check out the “Adding an Audio” section above for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your audio listing. You can search using any of the four columns which means by name, date, workspace, and tag.

You can select one or more audio by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Edit, Move, Delete all the selected documents at once.

At the top-right corner, you can click on the “+Add Folder” button in order to create a folder that can be used to group audio files (the folder will be global among Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Web Pages, and Widgets).

You can also change the listing and refresh the view.

Web Pages

In the Web Pages section, you can upload and manage any web page you want.

Adding a Web Page

To add a web page click on the “Add Web Page” button found at the bottom of the Web Pages list. As a next step you have to:

• type in the Name of the web page
• an optional Description
• paste the URL of the web page
• add Tags to the uploaded image
• set the Default Duration of the image if you decide to add it to a playlist
• click Save to finally create the web page

Web Page’s Advanced Features

Click on a tab to see a short description for each setting.

• Play From/Play Until
• Fallback Image
• Zoom Factor (%)
• Auto-Adjust Zoom
• Refresh Web Page
• Disable Private Browsing
• Enable Chromium
• User Agent
• Ignore Certificate Errors
• Run Custom Script

In other words, you can set the expiration date, which means that you can choose the exact date and time that this web page will display in your playlist or layout, or you can set the “Always” and “Forever” setting and the web page will never expire.

Managing Web Pages

In the “Web Pages” section, you can see a list of the web pages currently uploaded into your SignStudio account. Image information is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the web page along with a Preview (thumbnail) of the actual web page
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the web page was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the web page belongs
• the Tags (for accounts in the Pro and Enterprise plan) that are applied to the web page
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your web pages.

Click on each tab below to see a short description.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Delete the web page.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your web page listing. You can search using any of the four columns which means by name, date, workspace, and tag.

You can select one or more web pages by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Edit, Move, Delete all the selected web pages at once.

At the top-right corner, you can click on the “+Add Folder” button in order to create a folder that can be used to group media files (the folder will be global among Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Web Pages, and Widgets).

You can also change the listing and refresh the view.

Documents

In the “Documents” section, you can upload and manage any Document files you want to play on your Players.

Supported Formats

SignStudio supports PDF, Word, Excel, and PPT file types. Documents are not resized automatically; they are delivered and played back exactly as you have uploaded them.

Adding a Document

To add a single document, you click on the ”Add Document” button found at the list’s bottom.

Select the file type of your choice and Upload one or more Document files from your computer to SignStudio or use the Import from URL option to import any Document file hosted in the cloud.

You can hold [Ctrl] or [Shift] to select multiple files at once.

As a next step, you are requested to provide:

1. type in the Name of the document
2. an optional Description
3. add Tags to the uploaded document
4. set the Default Duration of the document if you decide to add it to a playlist
5. in the Advanced Features, you can set the Play From /Play Until parameters. In other words, you can set the expiration date, which means that you can choose the exact date and time that this image will display in your playlist or layout, or you can set the “Always” and “Forever” setting, and the document will never expire.
6. the Default Duration: the default duration of each slide/page is set to 10 seconds. However, you can change this for ALL pages included in the document.
7. any Page Exceptions: when you want specific slides/pages of the file to be skipped or have a different duration, use the “Set duration for a specific Page” button and specify the number of the page, as well as the desired duration. In case you want to skip a page completely, simply set its duration to “0”.
8. click Save to finally upload the document

Adding a Document with the Drag and Drop option

You have the option to add a document by dragging the specific file(s) from your PC directly to your Documents Library, therefore skipping a few steps and saving you some extra time.

The Drag and Drop option is also available in the Folder View.

Managing Document Files

In the Documents section, you can see a list of the PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files currently uploaded into your SignStudio account. Information about your document files is organized in the following columns:

• the Name of the document along with a Preview (thumbnail) of the actual image
• the Timestamp (date and time) that the document was modified for the last time
• the Workspace (for accounts in the Enterprise plan) that the document belongs
• the Tags (for accounts in the Pro and Enterprise plan) that are applied to the file
• the Actions column

If you click on the three dots icon in the Actions column, you will be presented with a list of actions that you can apply to your uploaded document files.

Click on each tab below to see a short description.

• Edit
• Duplicate
• Move
• Delete

Change the details of a document by clicking the ”Edit” button.
Here, you can also substitute the actual document, and it will be changed wherever used.
Check out the “Adding a Document” section above for details on the fields.

Additional Control Settings

At the top-left corner, you can use the Search box to quickly sort out your document listing. You can search using any of the four columns which means by name, date, workspace, and tag.

You can select one or more documents by clicking the square box left to their thumbnail. You can then click the Actions button at the bottom to Edit, Move, Delete all the selected documents at once.

At the top-right corner, you can click on the “+Add Folder” button in order to create a folder that can be used to group media files (the folder will be global among Images, Videos, Audio, Documents, Web Pages, and Widgets).

• Online Monitors
  • This shows how many of your monitors are online displaying at the time you log into the portal.
• Offline Monitors
  • This shows how many of your monitors are offline displaying at the time you log into the portal.
• Registered Devices
  • This indicates how many of your screens have been “paired” to a SignStudio Media Player
• Unregistred Monitors
  • This indicates how many of your screens haven’t been “paired” to a SignStudio Media Player

Main Menu

This main menu includes the following sections:

• Media – upload your Media files to be used by the Players.
• Widgets – use Widgets, which are small applications designed to show information, like RSS tickers, clocks, text-based content, and more
• Playlists – set up a Playlist, which is made up of sequences of Media and Widgets that are shown one after the other
• Layouts – create layouts, arranging Playlists, Media, or Widgets on a virtual screen.
• Schedules – create a date/time-based Schedule to set which Layout, Media, or Playlist should be displayed.
• Monitors – setup your Players and assign them Default Content to use and, optionally, a Schedule for time-based content overrides

These are the sections you will be used to manage your content and your Players.

Main Area

In the Portal’s middle area, you see the respective parts of the SignStudio Portal when you click on them. These include Media, Playlists, other content files you have created, and other configuration forms that you may use throughout the SignStudio Portal.

Settings Menu

In the top-right corner, there is a drop-down configuration menu. This contains all the stuff that you rarely access:

• My User Profile – settings that have to do with you, as a User of your SignStudio Account (your own timezone, name, email, etc.)
• Account Settings
• Users
• Logout

Upload Progress

Right next to the Settings Menu, you will see a Cloud Icon.

This icon provides you with a progress indicator for Media uploads (an encoding, if applicable)

Pushing Changes to Monitors

It is essential to note that every time you make changes to any items within your SignStudio account, you have to click on the “Push to Players” button on the Portal’s left side above the Main Menu these changes to take place in the affected players.

To do this, SignStudio needs a Player connected to each screen you want to manage.