How To: Use the Media Player for Digital Signage on a USP System.

How To: Use the Media Player for Digital Signage on a USP System.

The below is assuming you have a fully configured and operational MXnet USP system. If you have not already configured your network switch and setup endpoints please do so before continuing.

This guide is applicable for the following products:
  1. AC-MXNET-USP-ES
  2. AC-MXNET-USP-PL
  3. AC-MXNET-USP-PR
  4. AC-MXNET-CBOX-HA (USP Mode)
All USP endpoints have a built-in media player which can be used for playback of image and video files. A common application for this media player is for digital signage. The below guide outlines how to upload media, create playlists and schedule content through Mentor.

Uploading Content

  1. In Mentor, navigate to the Media Player tab
  2. From the File Manager page you can upload various content. This can be images or video files. Images can be .jpg or .png formats and video files must be .mp4. The CBOX/USP endpoints have up to 16Gb of internal storage that can be used for media content.

  3. All uploaded content will be shown in the Available Media section. You can remove a piece of uploaded media by selecting the trash icon.

Creating Playlists

  1. Navigate to the Playlists sub-tab.
  2. Click the Create New Playlist button above the Available Playlist section, and enter in a name for the desired playlist.
  3. Ensure the playlist is selected (highlighted green) and begin adding content from the Available Media section into the center Playlist area. You can simply drag and drop content to add it. The duration an image appears before moving onto the next piece of media can be adjusted using the Duration column. The duration value must be entered in seconds. For example, 2 mins = 120 seconds. Click and hold any media within a playlist to reorder it.
  4. Once you have finished adding media to the playlist slick the Save button. Before sending this playlist to endpoints you can click the Test Playlist button to playback within Mentor.

  5. To send the playlist to endpoints select all or the desired devices from the Sent Playlist To section and then click the Send button.
  6. Once a playlist has been created and uploaded to the desired USP endpoint(s), the option to test the playlist output on the selected USP endpoint can be manually enabled by selecting the Play Now button.

Creating Schedules

If you would like the CBOX to automate playlist schedules navigate to the Scheduler page. Alternatively, API commands are available to allow 3rd-party control systems to manage playback of playlists.
Alert
Important! The CBOX must have an active internet connection to properly execute schedules. The CBOX utilizes the Network Time Protocol to synchronize its clock across all connected USP Endpoints.
  1. Click the Create New Schedule button and enter in a name for the desired schedule.
  2. Ensure the schedule is selected (highlighted green) and begin creating your schedule. The following options are available:
    1. Weekly: allows you to select specific days of the week to activate a playlist
    2. Every day: the select playlist will play every day
    3. Play continuously: uncheck to specify a start and end time for the schedule. Check to have the playlist loop continuously. 

  3. Click the Save Schedule button once finished. 
  4. The last step is to apply this schedule to a playlist. Select the playlist from the list and click the Apply to Playlist button.


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