How content reaches a screen

A TV shows a slide only when a chain of three things is in place: the file is in the library, it has been put on that screen (directly or inside a playlist), and the player on the TV has fetched it.

The library

Every slide is a content item: an image (or, for older uploads, a video) with a name and an optional default duration. Items come from Upload Content on the Content page, or from Marketing Studio, which writes an image named after the creative each time one is published to screens. A Studio image is put into a playlist called Promotions, which is created for you the first time; taking the creative down in Studio removes the image again.

Putting it on a screen

A screen shows exactly one thing at a time: either one content item or one playlist. Putting something new on a screen (from the screen page, The Wall, a playlist page, a content page, or Studio's place-on-screen) makes it the active item and switches the previous one off. Previous items stay listed under What's playing on the screen page so you can switch back.

A placement can carry a Starts and Ends window and a Priority. The player receives only placements that are switched on and inside their window; among those, the highest priority is the one shown.

How the TV gets it

• When anything changes, BudLogix pushes a notice to the affected TVs and they fetch straight away.
• Regardless of pushes, every player fetches its content every 5 minutes, and reports in about every 30 seconds while it has content.
• The player downloads the files and keeps them, so it carries on through a network outage. From player 1.0.3 it also keeps the playlist itself, so a TV that restarts with no network plays it anyway; see When the TV loses power or network. Clear downloads in the TV's own settings throws them away and re-fetches.

How long a slide holds

The first value found wins: the playlist item's own seconds, then the content item's Default duration, then the default of 15 seconds (unless your installation was configured otherwise). Videos play to their own length. A playlist's Transition (fade or none) applies between slides.

Where you see this

• The Wall and Screen details show the item on air.
• Content details lists the screens and playlists an item is in.
• Scheduling lists every placement with its priority and window.