Channels are where you specify which layouts or playlists show on which device(s). This article will go through how to set up a channel. With the further reading links below, you can find out how to use schedules and overrides.
Create Channel
Navigate to the channels section of your account by clicking 'Channels' from the left hand side, click 'New Channel' to create a new channel.
Configure Channel
When configuring a channel, there are two main options you need to edit. These are the channel settings and selecting the device(s).
Settings
Here you need to give your channel a name, used for your reference.
Then you set up the 'Default' content you want to show.
Default content is the content that will play all of the time the device is on, excluding any active schedules or overrides.
Next you select your 'Publish Type' which can be either a 'Playlist' or 'Layout':
Playlists are best used for full screen content
Layouts are best used for multi-zone and interactive content including sensor and external system integrations
Then you select the relevant Playlist or Layout from your account to use as the default channel content. You do this by clicking the blue 'Choose' button for each content type, then browse and select the one you want:
Playlist example:
Layout example:
Add Devices
Choose the device(s) you want this channel to be pushed to. You can select multiple devices as a single channel can publish content to an unlimited amount of devices. Each device can only be assigned to one channel. Simply click 'Choose devices' and select the relevant devices from the ones registered to your account.
Once you've configured the default content and assigned a device you can now click 'Create Channel' to save.
You'll now see your newly created channel in the channels list:
Summary of Channel information
Published states:
Never published (red) - channel has never been published
Unpublished changes (orange) - content has changed but not yet pushed live
Published (green) - all latest content has been published
Published scheduled (blue) - channel will publish any content changes at the specified time/date
Channel name
Created at date
Created by (User)
Last published time
Default channel content (Playlist or Layout name)
Number of devices assigned to the channel
Number of schedules and overrides set
Channel actions
Refresh channel - this simply republishes the existing channel content (used to refresh content on devices when no content has changed)
Channel Sync - feature by request. More info here.
Schedule publish - publish channel at future time / date
Publish channel - publish all new content
Edit channel - edit channel details such as name, devices, default content, schedules and overrides
Delete channel
More actions (three dots):
Duplicate - make a duplicate of the channel (excluding devices)
Manage tags - add tags for user group management
View all devices - click to open new tab filtered by all devices assigned to the channel
Publish Channel
To distribute your content to show on your device(s) you need to publish the channel by simply clicking the 'Publish channel' icon.
When the channel has been published the date & time stamp will change, the published state will change to the green tick and the channel size will be displayed.
The device must be online to download the Channel content. Once downloaded, it will then store this information locally for playback.
Schedule a channel publish
If you want to publish your content at a future time and date, you can schedule your channel to publish.
Hit the 'Schedule Publish' Icon:
Then you can configure the Time and Date you wish the channel to publish. You can also set the channel to publish on a daily or weekly basis automatically.
If you wish the channel to publish Daily or Weekly, change the recurring option from to either Daily or Weekly, and ensure the Date and Time for the initial publish is set.
So, if you want to publish every day at 11pm, set the date to the current date and time to 23:00 and recurring to 'Daily'.
NOTE: When using Recurring feature, Channels will only publish at the specified frequency if there have been changes to associated dynamic media, playlists, layouts, schedules or overrides.
Once you have confirmed the schedule, the published state will change to a calendar icon with the 'Publish Scheduled' text. If you hover over this icon it will inform you when the channel is scheduled to publish as well as the date and time it was last published.
Cancel a Scheduled Publish
To cancel, you can do two things:
1) click the 'Publish Scheduled' status which will pull up the schedule details with a cancel button action
2) Click the 'Schedule Publish' icon on the channel row to see the schedule. From here you'll see the existing schedule, with an option to cancel
