How to Manage Content on Digital Signage Displays

Owned by Union College (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Sept 19, 2023 by Jesse Barton
5 min read

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.

Note: as of July 2022, the server address for PiSignage has changed. If you have created a bookmark, please correct it to https://union.sign.lts.io/login. Any assets that were still in rotation on the old server address were moved to the new server at that time.

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:

  1. Files in .jpg or .png format

  2. Images have a resolution of 1920x1080px.

  3. Design is overscan-aware (important elements of images are kept some distance from edges)

  4. Design should be such that the relevant information can be digested in the 8-10 seconds that the slide will be displayed.

 

Examples:

This image is not in a 16:9 aspect ratio; in fact, it’s almost square.
When shown on signage displays, the image will be stretched, losing clarity and crispness as a result.

 

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.

  1. Log in to PiSignage: PiSignage (LTS) Please note that this is a separate login from you regular Union account.

  2. Click the Assets menu on the left side of the screen.

  3. Click the Add button in the top right corner.

  4. Click Upload Files and browse to the file on your computer.

  5. Choose a category for the slide and click OK. The category should roughly correspond with your department or campus function. If your category or department isn’t listed, let us know and we’ll add one for you as appropriate.

  6. You should see your new slide in the ‘Available Assets’ screen now. Click the ‘Assign Playlists’ button for the asset you just added.

  7. 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.

  8. Click ‘GO’ and select ‘Append to this Playlist’

  9. If you would like the slide to have an expiry, click on ‘Add Validity’.

  10. Check ‘Add validity period’ and enter a date range.

  11. Click ‘Groups’ on the left side menu.

  12. 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):

  1. Click ‘Playlists’ in the menu on left.

  2. You will see only the playlists that you have access to. Never make changes to the TV_OFF playlist.

  3. Click the playlist where your assets are located.

  4. 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 8 seconds to read, it probably needs to be re-designed for conciseness). While you have control over the duration of the slides, please keep the maximum duration to 10 seconds as this is a shared system that displays all content in a round-robin fashion.

 

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:

  1. Click ‘Assets’ in the menu on the left, then scroll to the asset you wish to set a validity period for.

  2. Click the ‘add validity’ button for that asset.

  3. A dialog will pop up. Check the ‘Add validity period’ box here.

  4. 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).

  5. 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.