Content for campus digital signage is managed through a software called PiSignage. If you need access to manage content, please contact Technology Support at support@unionky.edu.
Content Formatting Basics:
It is possible to add content (assets) of several types, but most content will be formatted as still images. It is very important that any slides you upload meet the following requirements:
Files in .jpg or .png format
Images has a resolution of 1920x1080px.
Design is overscan-aware (important elements of images are kept some distance from edges)
Examples:
For additional information on creating and formatting content please visit PiSignage - Digital Signage for All.
Uploading Content (Assets):
These instructions will assume that you already have a slide file prepared.
Log in to PiSignage: https://pisignage.com/login Please note that this is a separate login from you regular Union account.
Click the Assets menu on the left side of the screen.
Click the Add button in the top right corner.
Click Upload Files and browse to the file on your computer.
Choose a category for the slide and click OK.
You should see your new slide in the ‘Available Assets’ screen now. Click the ‘Assign Playlists’ button for the asset you just added.
check the box(es) for the appropriate playlist(s). You will only see playlists you have access to specifically. DO NOT check the box for TV_OFF.
Click ‘GO’ and select ‘Append to this Playlist’
If you would like the slide to have an expiry, click on ‘Add Validity’.
Check ‘Add validity period’ and enter a date range.
Click ‘Groups’ on the left side menu.
Click the ‘Deploy All’ button in the upper right corner. Alternately, all player groups deploy content that is assigned to playlists automatically; this occurs once a day (currently at 9am).
Setting Display Timing for Content (Assets):
Click ‘Playlists’ in the menu on left.
You will see only the playlists that you have access to. Never make changes to the TV_OFF playlist.
Click the playlist where your assets are located.
The length of time that an asset will be displayed is indicated on the right. You can change this as needed based on how information-dense your slide is (keeping in mind that if a slide takes significantly more than the default of 5 seconds to read, it probably needs to be re-designed for conciseness).
Setting Validity Period for Content (Assets):
By default, assets will continue to run within their assigned playlists indefinitely until they are deleted or removed from those playlists. It is possible to automate the range of dates that an asset will be displayed, however. For example, say that an event was set to run through a certain date; this survey needs to be advertised until October 10, 2021:
Click ‘Assets’ in the menu on the left, then scroll to the asset you wish to set a validity period for.
Click the ‘add validity’ button for that asset.
A dialog will pop up. Check the ‘Add validity period’ box here.
If you need to specify a start date, you can do so here in the ‘Valid from’ field. By default, it will be valid immediately. If you need to specify an hour for it to start, you can enter that in the ‘optional start hour’ field (24-hour clock, with 0 being midnight - 12am - on the start date you specify).
The end date goes in the ‘till’ field. The ‘end hour’ field will determine the hour that asset will no longer display. Note that the asset will stop playing at the beginning of the hour you specify.
Removing Unwanted Content (Assets):
Content that is expired should be cleaned up regularly, as it takes up space on the PiSignage server. Unwanted assets can be deleted from the ‘Available Assets’ screen using the red garbage can icon at the right side of each asset’s entry.
