Introduction to Signs
Signs is an Appspace extension that helps you create scalable digital signage apps with images, videos, video streams, and widgets, that are easy to build, schedule, and manage, for single-display deployment or multi-screen integrations across various industries. These apps can be deployed both horizontally or vertically on display devices such as LCD panel touch screens, HD video walls, plasma TVs, LED message boards, or mobile devices, via digital media players or browser-based devices, over the cloud and distributed networks.
The following are application types you can create in Signs:
Basic: Introduced in Appspace 5.8, this new Basic app has a simpler workflow to create fullscreen playlist-driven apps in landscape or portrait mode. The functionality of the media zone widget has been brought forward and integrated into the very first view of the app, providing you immediate access to the content playlist from the Overview page.
Advanced: The Advanced Signs app allows you to build both passive and interactive apps with content-rich, visually appealing applications (apps) using a blank canvas or Appspace built-in templates, with multiple layouts, and widgets that include live feeds of weather forecasts, news headlines, sports updates, stock prices, business news, traffic reports, and such.
You can also add actions based on event-driven scripting to your application, that are are triggered when an event occurs in the system, application, layout, or widget. You can then choose to schedule the layout, widget, or app to run at a specific time, duration, or location.
Data Only: A Data Only application is an app that contains only data-source widgets such as media playlists, tables, calendars and such. Data Only apps do not have a Visual Editor or visual representations, but the data sources are still available via API and via media-zone linking. Thus you can leverage this app by creating separate Data Only apps which hold playlists without complex layouts, widgets or event actions, and then link those playlists into actual on-screen Signs apps.
Signs and Media Player Framework
The following are the key features in Signs:
Layouts - A layout is a canvas for building your app with various content and widgets. A Signs app can contain one or multiple layouts, with content organized and presented in various styles, formats, and locations on the display screen.
Visual Editor - The Visual Editor is the primary tool to build and design an app in Appspace, with drag-and-drop layout editing capabilities and several app preview modes.
Widgets - Widgets, added to an application’s layout, provide dynamic visual presentations with real-time data sources such as weather information, event calendars, and RSS feeds.
Scheduling - Scheduling within an application allows the display of the desired playlist content or layout at scheduled dates or times for the set duration, according to priority levels.
You can also set schedules that can display selective media assets that are defined and filtered with advanced tagging rules.
Event Actions (Action Scripts) - Advanced XML-based scripting capabilities allow designers and developers to apply custom actions that respond to user interaction and widget data or media updates when an event is triggered.
Application Templates - Appspace provides customizable default templates with built-in features and functions, in the Application Templates Library.
An XML document with display, behavior, and schedule details, created automatically when you create an app, provides the framework to a Signs application. The organization of the XML document is as follows:
Application – The root of the document is the Application Node. This contains sub-properties such as the application ID, name, and
resolution.
Schedules – Every app by default contains one schedule that is active all the time. If layout scheduling is enabled, each layout
playlist will be contained within a schedule.
Layouts – Each schedule contains a collection of layouts.
Widgets – A widget is the basic building block of an app. Widgets provide the look and feel of the layout as well as the
functionality of an app. Certain widgets such as the Media Zone widget can link their content to other widgets
in different apps.
Visual – determines the look and feel of the widget on the layout.
Content – defines the data set or media files that populate a widget.
Actions – defines any user-defined action scripting on the widget to exhibit dynamic and interactive behavior.
Permissions – defines a list of rights for specific users to view or edit any properties of the widget.
Application Properties – List of system
When the XML file is downloaded by media players, the Appspace player software interprets and renders the app on the display screens based on the XML data.
Appspace currently provides Flash-based player software that supports Cisco digital media player devices including the Edge 340 and DMP 4310. A DirectX-based player for PC-based video wall players, and a HTML-based player for browser-based devices, are also available. The player software interprets the Signs XML document and renders the app visually. Appspace player software contain basic components responsible for implementing content synchronization, scheduling logic, application logic, and visual presentation.
All media player devices registered with Appspace also contain a software module called the Download Manager, that maintains content synchronization between the media player and the Appspace server.
The below is a description of the components in media player software responsible for content playback:
Download Manager:
Compares timestamps between the app on a media player and the app on its registered Appspace instance. If the timestamp value returned by Appspace is equal to the value stored on the media player, then the app is considered in-sync.
The Download Manager idles and repeats the check at the next minute. If the timestamp value is different, the media player is considered out-of-sync with the app on Appspace. The Download Manager then begins the Content Download process.
When the Download Manager determines that a media player is out-of-sync, it begins the Content Download process by requesting a file listing from Appspace. The Download Manager compares the data, and identifies new files that need to be downloaded and old files that need to be removed.
Once the content download is completed, the Download Manager validates the files against the file list to ensure there are no corruptions. Once all new files have been validated, the media player software is notified to display the new content. Concurrently, the Download Manager sends a “content in sync” status message to Appspace.
Reports content synchronization status and network status, and proof-of-play metrics.
Schedule Manager: Evaluates defined scheduling properties and determines correct content for playout based on schedule rules and device time.
Business Logic: Implements user-defined action scripting rules and conditions for the behavior of dynamic and interactive apps.
Presentation Manager: Renders the visuals of an app using technology-specific implementation of the player software.
Application Use Cases
Digital signages are commonly displayed at public venues, hotels, restaurants, cinema, stadiums, retail stores, and corporate buildings for exhibitions, marketing, and outdoor advertising. The following are a few examples of how Signs applications can be tailored to match any business, commercial, or organizational need.
Digital Sales Brochure
This interactive app aligns with an enterprise’s current marketing strategy to showcase the latest products and services. Sales and marketing teams can publish new content directly to the app, ensuring customers consistently have a new, attractive, targeted experience. Touch-enabled screens allow users to browse and compare their options, while a Contact Details feature, provides users with an added option to receive updates and promotions via email.
Dynamic Information Display
Information displays are a versatile and effective solution for welcoming visitors and presenting an organization’s branded data in a dynamic and engaging way. Integration with calendar systems from Exchange, or Google Calendar also makes it possible to display dynamic event boards.
Video Wall
Using Signs apps for video walls makes it possible to showcase ultra-high-resolution content at up to 12 megapixels across multiple displays, in any configuration, with just one player device. Video walls are ideal for large conference rooms, main lobbies of corporate headquarters, universities, upscale hotels, cinemas, and convention centers, as well as large shopping malls and street facades.
Note
The video wall app is applicable only to approved video wall-capable media player devices.