.. _load-media-file: ==================== Load a Media File ==================== -------------------------- Load a Video or Image File -------------------------- | Navigate to CONTENT / VIDEOS AND IMAGES and click NEW, | then select a file, or drag one onto the Select Files button. | | Once it has uploaded, click Add Details. You can change the file name by | typing in the Description window. | | Select a START and END date from the calendar. This determines when | a file starts playing, and when it will stop. The file will play from 12.00am | until 11.59pm. | | If you’re ready to add your file to a Playlist, click APPLY then turn to | PLAYLISTS on Page 14. | | If you want Laqorr to control scheduling instead, click ENABLE AUTO | SCHEDULING and :ref:`turn to page 8 ` | | If you want a file to play at a specific time or on specific days, see more | about Dayparting on Page 19. Recommended Formats -------------------------- Laqorr will play a variety of files. For best performance: +-------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | Type | Recommendation | +=======+=================================================================+ | IMAGE | JPG or PNG at 150ppi | +-------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | VIDEO | MP4 with H264 codec, up to 5MB bit rate at 25 frames per second | | | | | | *Supports MP3 sound (if required)* | +-------+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ For conventional widescreen environments, video and image files are best sized at: +-----------+-------------------------------------+ | Layout | Recommended Size | +===========+=====================================+ | Landscape | 1920 pixel wide x 1080 pixels high | +-----------+-------------------------------------+ | Portrait | 1080 pixels wide x 1920 pixels high | +-----------+-------------------------------------+ .. index:: single: Auto-Scheduling Files .. _auto-scheduling: --------------- Auto-Scheduling --------------- With auto-scheduling enabled, Laqorr will automatically play a media file where you want it to play. There are five options available: +------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ | **Company Wide** | media file plays across the entire network | +------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ | **State Wide** | media file plays in a State or States of your | | | choice | +------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ | **Region Wide** | plays in a Region or Regions of your choice. | | | | | | See :ref:`Playlists ` for more about | | | creating a Region. | +------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ | **Location Specific** | plays on all players at a specific location or | | | locations | +------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ | **Player Specific** | plays on a specific player or number of specific | | | player only | +------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+ For added control, three Screen Type options are available. These ensure that media created for a particular layout plays on a matching screen format. +--------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+ | **Screens of any orientation** | media will play on both portrait and landscape screens | +--------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+ | **Portrait Screens Only** | media will only play on portrait screens | +--------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+ | **Landscape screens only** | media will only play on landscape screens | +--------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+ .. topic:: There's another step to Auto-Scheduling These autoscheduling options only apply if a playlist has an autoscheduling slot. See :ref:`playlists ` for more detail. ----------------------------- Features of the Media Library ----------------------------- The Media Library is available in two views: tile and grid. Tile View --------- | Tile View shows a thumbnail of all media in | the library. There is a search bar at the top so | you can easily locate a file, or series of files. | | Under the thumbnail you will see: - the file’s title - Its start and end date - Its duration if applicable. - The number of playlists it has been assigned to | | Click on the view icon at the top right of the | thumbnail to preview the file. | | Click on the thumbnail and you will see more | data about the file. More about this on Page 10. | | Grid View --------- | Grid View shows the same content but with more | information about each file: | **Description** (the assigned title) | **Name** (Laqorr’s unique identifier) | **File size** | **File duration** (for video files) | **Start and End date** | **Active status** | **Shared status** | **Auto-schedule status** | **Upload date** | | Filter options are available. Click on the filter icon at the top of each column and set search parameters. | | Click on the description and you will see more data about the specific file. More about this on Page 10. | | Click on the thumbnail to preview the file. | | All data on the media library can be exported to a CSV file by clicking the *Export to CSV* button at the bottom | right. If you have a filtered view of the library, only the filtered content will be exported. .. video-viewer-page: ----------------------- Anatomy of a Media File ----------------------- | Here you will see more detail about a specific file. This is the same page you arrive at when first uploading a file. You | can also get here by navigating to CONTENT / VIDEOS AND IMAGES, and clicking on the file’s **description** (or | name). | | On this page, you can: - **Download** the file to your local drive (click the download button) - **Preview** the file (click the thumbnail or icon to preview the file) - **Delete** the file (click delete to remove it from Laqorr) - Generate a **Proof Of Play** report (for more on reports, see Page 34) - See the file’s **dimensions** (this is the physical resolution of the file) and its size - See which **groups** and **players** the file has been assigned to - Check on the **transfer** status of the file (see below) - **Share** the file (see below) - **Edit** the file (click edit to update the start / end date or auto-scheduling features) | | If you want to **share** the file, click the Sharing tab, click SHARE, enter an email address and send | | The **Queued Transfers** tab will show you players that have yet to receive the file, while the **Transfer History** tab has | data on when and where the file has gone, and how long it took to get there. | | Finally, the **Edit History** tab has detailed information on the history of this file - who loaded it, moved it or affected | some change to it (they added it to a playlist, for instance). ----------------------- Add More than One File ----------------------- | You can add more than one file at a time. | | Either select a number of files from a directory at the same time, | or drag and drop a number of files at once. | | Once they’ve finished uploading, click the BULK ADD button and | apply attributes such as start / end dates, or Auto-Schedule options. | | **Note** that all files will be given the same attributes. If you want | different features on different files, you’ll need to apply them to | each file one by one. ------------- File Duration ------------- | A video file will play its entire duration. | | You can decide how long a still image will appear on | screen. You can also decide whether there is a soft or | hard dissolve between each still image, and how long | that transition lasts. | | This is managed at the player level - and each player | can be different. Read more about this on Page 26. | | Click on NETWORK / PLAYERS and choose the player | by clicking on its name. | | Choose the LOCAL SETTINGS tab (about halfway down) | and look for the MEDIA SETTINGS group at the bottom | of the page. | | DEFAULT SLIDE DURATION sets how long a still image | will appear on screen (in seconds). | | CROSSFADE DURATION | sets how long it takes to perform a transition between | one still image and the next. | | 1000 milliseconds = 1 second. | | You can also set the audio volume of the player (for video) | in this space, or mute the player if you prefer. | | Other options, such as Screen Activation and Display | Settings are covered in Players on Page 28. ------------- Expired Files ------------- | When a file expires (after the nominated end date on | the file), it will not be deleted. | | It remains in the media library to be used again. It also | remains in any playlist it has been assigned to. | | However Laqorr knows it has expired, skips over it, | and will not play the file. | | In playlist views it will either appear greyed out, or | marked ‘expired’. ------------------------------- Deleting or Deactivating a File ------------------------------- There are several ways to stop a file from playing. - You can remove it from a playlist. - You can change its end date. Navigate to the file, click on the Name, click EDIT, change the end date to yesterday and it will stop immediately. - Alternatively, click on the IS ACTIVE button and remove the tick. | | In all cases, the file will remain in the media library ready | to be used at a later date. | | Alternatively you can **delete the file** altogether. | | Navigate to the file in the media library, click on the | name and click DELETE in the top right. | | Note that you will **not** be able to retrieve this file for | later use. Be sure you want to delete it. | | For deleting in bulk, see Page 13. | ----------- Bulk Delete ----------- | If you have a large number of files you want to delete, navigate to | NETWORK / COMPANY, click on your company icon, then the | button labelled Choose Items To Delete. | | This will show all files that are either Unassigned (not in a playlist) or | that have expired (are past their End Date). | | You can choose files individually, or select them all by ticking the top | check box. Next click on the red button, Delete Marked Items. | | This will delete files from Laqorr, and your playlists, but not from your | media players. To do this, you will need to perform a File Check | (see Page 29). -------------------- Proof of Play Report -------------------- | There are a number of reports you can perform in | Laqorr, one of which is the media Proof Of Play report. | This will tell you how many times a media file has played | over a certain period. | | This report can be accessed by navigating to REPORTS / | PROOF OF PLAY or directly from the media file itself. | | Navigate to CONTENT / VIDEOS AND IMAGES then | select a file by clicking on its name. | | Click Proof Of Play Report, adjust the dates you wish | to examine and click Generate Report. | | The report shows how many times the file has played, | how many Players it played on, and the Group(s) those | players were attached to at the time. | | This report is especially useful when there is a need to | monitor file behaviour, or to report to invested stake- | holders and third party users of your network. | | We revisit the Proof Of Play report on :ref:`Page 34 `.