Polycom PDS 2000 User Manual

Polycom® Digital Signage™

™

(PDS

) 2000

Administrator Guide

1.0 | August 2010 | 3725-78600-004A2

Trademark Information

Polycom®, the Triangles logo, ReadiManager®, SoundPoint®, SoundStation®, ViaVideo®, VoiceStation®, Vortex®, and VSX® are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc. Convene™ , Global Management System™, iPower™, MGC™, People+Content™, People On Content™, Polycom Conference Suite™, Polycom Converged Management Application™ (CMA™), Polycom Distributed Media Application™ (DMA™), Polycom HD Voice™, Polycom PathNavigator™, Polycom VideoPlus™, Polycom VoicePlus™, PVX™, RAS™, ReadiConvene™, RMX 2000™, RSS™, V2iU™, VBP™, VS4000™, and VTX™ are trademarks of Polycom, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Patent Information

The accompanying product is protected by one or more U.S. and foreign patents and/or pending patent applications held by Polycom, Inc.

Polycom, Inc. 4750 Willow Road Pleasanton, CA 94588-2708 USA

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Polycom, Inc. Under the law, reproducing includes translating into another language or format.

As between the parties, Polycom, Inc., retains title to and ownership of all proprietary rights with respect to the software contained within its products. The software is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provision. Therefore, you must treat the software like any other copyrighted material (e.g., a book or sound recording).

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Polycom, Inc., is not responsible for printing or clerical errors. Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Contents

About this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Polycom Global Services Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Polycom Digital Signage Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Polycom Digital Signage Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Polycom Digital Signage Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Polycom Digital Signage Remote Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Polycom Digital Signage Web Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Polycom Digital Signage Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Architecture Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1 Configuring the PDS Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About the PDS Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Accessing the Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Configuring the Player Directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Configuring PDS Player Video Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Output Windows Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Capture Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Startup Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Startup Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Startup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Configuring PDS Player Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Renderer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

File Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Playout Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2 Using the PDS Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Loading a Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Loading a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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The PDS Player Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Scheduling Events with the PDS Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Controlling the VertigoCG Renderer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

3 Using the Remote Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Main Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Networks and Groups Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Events Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Current Incidents Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Tool Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Connect/Disconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Auto-Refresh Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Refresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Publish Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Remove Old Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Execute Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Publish Software Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Network and Groups Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Network and Player Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Network Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Player Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Current Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Default Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Default Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Control Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Playlist Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Message Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Current Output Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Using VertigoCG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Publish New Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Manage Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Manage Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Delete Offline Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Create New Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Delete Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Manage Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Download Agent Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Broadcast Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Manager List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

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Screenshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

System Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Network Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Remote Player Management Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Tools Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Tool Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Start Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

File Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Reboot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Set License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Monitoring Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Edit Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Restart Polycom Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Status Detail Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Player Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Running Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Windows Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

File Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

4 Using the Web Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

About the PDS Web Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Installing the Web Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Pre-Installation Procedures on Windows Vista and Windows 7 . 62

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Opening the Web Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Licensing the Web Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Web Controller Interface Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Main Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Player Monitor Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Events Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Changing the Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Player Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Selection Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Editing the Announcement and Emergency Crawls . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Playlist Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Adding Content through the Playlist Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Content Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Default Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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Crawling Ticker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Slide Show Tickers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Video Slide Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Message Board/Webcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

5 Using Template Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

About Polycom Template Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Installing Template Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Licensing Template Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Navigating the Template Maker Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Template Maker Output Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Video Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Reviewing Template Maker Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Adding and Working with Slides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Adding and Editing Text, Images, and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

General Object Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Working with Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Working with Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Working with Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Working with Flipbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Style Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Customization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

The Template Maker Companion Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Style Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Renderer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

File Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Playout Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Modifying General Slide Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Modifying Background Slide Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Modifying Actions on a Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Adding Audio to a Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Applying a Text Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Modifying Text Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Inserting Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Modifying Image Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Inserting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Modifying Media Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

The Video Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Inserting Flipbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

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Modifying Flipbook Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Adding and Editing a Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Basic Crawl Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Creating a Manual Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Creating a Data-Driven Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Crawl Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Setting the Position of a Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Adding Clocks and Tickers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Adding a Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Adding a Ticker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Working with Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Inserting Objects on a Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Working with Object Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Working with Animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Animating Objects on a Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Types of Animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Saving a Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

6 Using the Data Parser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

About the PDS Data Parser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Creating a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Licensing Data Parser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Using a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

7 Non-Standard Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

The PDS Server Configuration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Renaming the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Port Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Downloading and Installing the Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Changing Agent Settings on a Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

A Appendix A: Player Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Standard Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Player-Specific Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

B Appendix B: Data Parser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Data Source Definition File Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

The General Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

The ParsingRule Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

The DataItem Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Data Source Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

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Parsing Rule Reference Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

GetImage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

GetTag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

GetUrl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

InitCaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Lcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

LeftTrim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

Mid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

ParseDelimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

ReadTextFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

ReplaceCharacterCodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

ReplaceTag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

RightTrim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

SetValue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

StrCat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

TrimFromEnd, TrimFromStart, TrimToEnd and TromToStart . 200

Ucase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

C Appendix C: Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Changing Output Settings with the XPT.ini Configuration File . . . . . . . 201

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About this Guide

This introduction provides a brief overview of the Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide, describes the conventions used in this manual, and

explains how to get additional information or support.

Purpose

Documentation

The Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide describes how to configure and use the Polycom Digital Signage Player and Remote Manager for a complete digital signage solution.

The Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide is part of the Polycom Digital Signage documentation set, which includes:

• Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide - This document.

• Polycom Digital Signage Server Getting Started Guide - Describes set-up and

installation of the Polycom Digital Signage Server.

• Polycom Digital Signage Player Getting Started Guide - Describes set-up and

installation of the Polycom Digital Signage Player.

• Polycom Digital Signage Content Management Guide - Describes publication

of content via the Polycom Digital Signage Web Controller. This document is intended for Polycom Digital Signage Content Managers.

• Polycom Digital Signage Release Notes - Describes the product release. This

document also identifies known problems and their workarounds, information not covered in the manuals or that has been modified since publication, as well as problems that have been fixed since previous releases.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Customer Support

Audience

This guide is primarily for:

• Polycom Digital Signage Administrators - Responsible for configuring

and managing the Polycom appliance. You should have a working knowledge of media publication, peripheral ports, network protocols, and media streaming and editing. You should also be familiar with Web fundamentals, such as URLs and HTML.

Customer Support

Recognizing that technology alone cannot solve today’s complex challenges, Polycom Global Services provides the industry’s best technical support staff and programs to let you concentrate on the task at hand. Polycom users can select from a variety of support solutions to obtain the level of support that best meets their needs.

Before contacting your Polycom Global Services representative for technical assistance, gather as much information as possible about your situation. Any information you can provide helps us assess the problem and develop an appropriate solution.

Polycom Global Services Telephone

If you have comments or questions about Polycom or if you need technical assistance, contact:

• Polycom Global Services in U.S.A. 888-248-4143

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About Polycom Digital Signage

This chapter explains the Polycom Digital Signage architecture. This chapter includes the following sections:

• Polycom Digital Signage Solution

• Architecture Overview

Polycom Digital Signage Solution

The Polycom Digital Signage solution is a combination of powerful applications, including the following components:

Polycom Digital Signage Player

The Polycom Digital Signage Player is a powerful broadcast rendering engine that delivers the highest quality output with the highest level of reliability. Unlike simple video playback devices, the Polycom Digital Signage Player dynamically arranges and composes signage elements, objects or zones in real time to generate the final video output. This means individual content elements can be changed at any time, without requiring entire video segments to be re-rendered whenever a change is needed.

Polycom Digital Signage Server

The Polycom Digital Signage Server automatically distributes new content to remote locations and receives continuous status updates from all Polycom Digital Signage Players.

Polycom Digital Signage Remote Manager

The Polycom Digital Signage Remote Manager application works with the Polycom Digital Signage Server to enable administration of networks of players.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Architecture Overview

Polycom Digital Signage Web Controller

The Polycom Digital Signage Web Controller software lets users easily update and manage content on the Players in a Polycom Digital Signage network, with point-and-click simplicity.

Polycom Digital Signage Agent

The Polycom Digital Signage Agent software is the link between Players and the Server, enabling network status and health monitoring.

Architecture Overview

The image above presents an overview of the Polycom Digital Signage solution, depicting the overarching architecture for the various components of the solution. Content, in the form of templates, assets, and playlists, is created, assembled and managed using the Polycom Digital Signage Web Controller. Users can easily update content using the Web Controller’s point-and-click interface.

The content is automatically distributed to Polycom Digital Signage Players via the Polycom Digital Signage Server, which acts as the central hub for the Polycom Digital Signage system.

The Polycom Digital Signage Player renders content in real time for display to a monitor, with the Polycom Digital Signage Agent linking Players to the Server. The Polycom Digital Signage Agent also monitors the status of the

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Architecture Overview About Polycom Digital Signage

Polycom Digital Signage Player, and sends regular heartbeat and status messages to the Polycom Digital Signage Server. The Agent can also take steps to "heal" the Player if it detects a problem.

Administrators monitor and manage the system using the Polycom Digital Signage Remote Manager application. This software displays the status and details of all the Players connected to the system.

Administrators can also use the Polycom Digital Signage Remote Manager to distribute and manage content packages, as well as issue commands to individual players or groups of players, although content updates and distribution are typically handled via the Polycom Digital Signage Web Controller.

The Web Controller is used for day-to-day updates to content appearing on the monitors in a given Polycom Digital Signage network.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Architecture Overview

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Configuring the PDS Player

This chapter explains the basic configuration processes for the Polycom Digital Signage Player. This chapter includes the following sections:

• About the PDS Player

• Accessing the Player

• Configuring the Player Directly

• Configuring PDS Player Video Settings

• Startup Settings

• Options

• Configuring PDS Player Advanced Settings

About the PDS Player

The PDS Player is a powerful real-time broadcast rendering engine that delivers the highest quality output with the highest level of reliability. It offers reliable playback for 24x7 operation.

Unlike simple video playback devices, the PDS Player dynamically arranges slide elements in real time to generate the final video output. This means individual elements of the content can be changed at any time, without requiring that entire video segments be re-rendered whenever a change is required.

Accessing the Player

After installation, the PDS Player can be configured directly or through Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Configuring the Player Directly

If using RDP to access a Player, you will not be prompted to enter login credentials. Please note, however, that to reboot a PDS Player using RDP you will need to enter A you must select Restart.

NOTE: Accessing the Player via RDP locks the Player output. As a result, RDP is not a recommended tool for routine player management. If you wish to make content and configuration changes while the Player is running, use the Polycom Remote Manager and Polycom Web Controller.

LT + F4. This will launch a shut down dialog, from which

Configuring the Player Directly

After a Player has been set up, connected to an output, and connected to the network via the Polycom Digital Signage Agent, administrators can configure the Player for their particular implementation. The following sections outline the various configuration possibilities. Please note that the following process applies for all configuration changes:

1 Launch the PDS Player from the desktop, if it is not already running.

2 Stop Player output by hitting A

3 Navigate to Tools > Settings. The Settings window will appear.

4 Choose which tab in the Settings window you wish to edit. The specifics

of each tab are detailed below.

5 When configuration has been completed, click Apply and then OK.

6 Reload the Playlist in the Player.

LT + ESC, if necessary.

Configuring PDS Player Video Settings

PDS Player Video Settings is divided into two sections: Output Window and Capture Settings.

Settings defined in Output Window let you configure the properties of the PDS Player output window on the Player output display.

Settings defined in Capture Settings let you configure how the PDS Player communicates with 3rd-party capture devices.

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Configuring PDS Player Video Settings Configuring the PDS Player

Output Windows Settings

The Output Window section of Video Settings includes the following configuration options:

• Standard: Specifies the dimensions of the video output window. Choose

from a list of standard resolutions: 640x480, 720x480 (DV-NTSC), 720x486 (NTSC SMPTE), 720x576 (PAL), 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x1024, 1600x1200, and 1920x1080.

•Custom: Specifies the dimensions of the video output window according

to the specified Width (W) and Height (H).

• Orientation: Specifies whether the video output window should be

displayed in either Landscape or Portrait format, in conjunction with the Standard or Custom output window dimensions.

• Auto size output to match slide dims: When selected, the resolution of the

video output window will scale to match the slide template dimensions.

• Auto size slide to match output: When selected, the resolution of the slide

template is automatically scaled to match the resolution of the video output window.

• Dual monitor mode: When selected, configures the PDS Player display

output to appear on a second monitor. This mode can also be used for cloning the display. This supports multiuple monitors from one Player. See the Polycom Digital Signage Player Getting Started Guide for more details.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Startup Settings

• Full screen: When selected, the PDS Player output will be displayed in full

screen mode (either on the primary or secondary display). When unselected, the PDS Player output will be displayed in a separate window.

• Output Window Zoom: Select to resize the CG Rendering window to

100% (full size) or 50% half size when the Full screen mode is disabled.

•Wait on VSync: Depending on the features and the performance of your

system's graphics card adapter, select one of the following options:

—True: Significant loss of system performance with a high-quality

graphics output result.

—Hybrid: Improved system performance with some loss in the quality

of the graphics output result.

— False: Best possible performance with a low-quality graphics output

result.

Capture Settings

Capture Settings determine how video and audio are interpreted for input to the PDS Player.

NOTE: Only custom implementations support changes to capture settings.

• Video Capture Filter: Select the device for inputting video to the PDS

Player. This list depends on the video devices connected to the workstation.

• Video Crossbar Setting: Select the port for the video input to the

workstation, for example SVideo In or Composite In.

• Audio Capture Filter: Select the device for inputting audio. This list

depends on the audio card and audio devices connected to the workstation, for example SoundMAX Digital Audio.

• Audio Crossbar Setting: Select the port for the audio input to the

workstation.

• TV Tuner Channel: Select the channel to tune to when capturing from a

TV Tuner card. Select channel 0 if no TV Tuner card is present.

Startup Settings

The PDS Player Startup Settings tab is divided into two sections: Startup Properties and Startup Options.

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Startup Settings Configuring the PDS Player

Settings defined in Startup Properties let you specify templates or scripts that may load when PDS Player initially launches, as well as application functions that may occur when PDS Player initially launches.

Startup Properties

The Startup Properties settings of Startup Settings are described as follows:

• Default Background Template: Specifies a template to load by default in

the background layer of the CG output when the PDS Player first launches.

• Default Foreground Template: Specifies a template to load by default in

the foreground layer of the CG output when the PDS Player first launches.

• Startup Image Filename: Specifies an image to load in the CG output

when PDS Player first launches.

• Startup Script Filename: Specifies a script to execute when the PDS Player

first launches.

Startup Options

The Startup Options settings of Startup Settings are described as follows:

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Options

• Load previously loaded playlist on startup: When enabled, loads the

previously loaded playlist when the PDS Player launches. When disabled, the PDS Player launches remaining in a ready state with no content displayed on the CG output.

TIP: Enable Load previously loaded playlist on startup to automatically resume playback of your content on-air and recover from system anomalies or power failures

• Minimize on startup: When enabled, hides the PDS Player interface from

the system desktop.

• Auto launch renderer on startup: When enabled, automatically launches

the CG rendering engine.

Options

The PDS Player Options tab is divided into three sections: General, Messages, and Audio Settings. Settings defined in General let you specify options available to the PDS Player. Settings defined in Messages let you specify options related to the Messages window. Settings defined in Audio Settings let you specify options related audio output from the PDS Player.

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Options Configuring the PDS Player

General

The General Settings panel allows administrators to dictate certain general configuration settings for the CG Rendering engine that is launched by default from the PDS Player. The settings are described as follows:

• Show renderer control panel: When enabled, displays the CG rendering

engine control panel.

• Enable auto screenshot: When enabled, takes screenshots of the content

being displayed by the PDS Player. These screenshots are then displayed in the “Current Output Window” section of the PDS Player.

• Close renderer on exit: When enabled, closes the CG rendering engine

when the PDS Player quits.

• Prerender next slide in presentation: When enabled, stores the next event

in system memory while the current event is displayed on the output.

• Restrict cursor to primary display: When enabled, prevents the system

mouse cursor from appearing on the secondary output of the the PDS Player.

Messages

The Messages Settings panel is described as follows:

• Show Messages Box: The Messages dialog in the PDS Player interface

provides moment-by-moment details regarding functioning of the PDS Player. The frequency of messages can be determined in the Show Messages Box. Select one of the following options:

—On Error: Displays messages in the Messages dialog only when an

error has occurred.

— Always: Displays all messages-errors, information, status-in the

Messages dialog.

— On Request Only: Displays messages only upon request when you

click the Show Messages button in the PDS Player.

— Log All Messages: Writes all PDS Player events to the log file.

• Message Filter Box: Select one of the following options:

— Show Critical Messages Only: Displays messages in the Messages

dialog only when an error has occurred.

— Show All Messages: Displays messages only when you click the

Show Messages button in the Settings dialog. Messages displayed include content updates, configuration changes, output changes, and updates to data-driven templates, as well as error messages displayed in red text.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Configuring PDS Player Advanced Settings

Audio

The Audio Settings of the Options window are described as follows:

• Adjust volume on slide load: When enabled, increases or decreases the

audio output level based on the number configured in the Player Default Volume.

• Use Default Volume From Box: Select one of the following options:

— System Volume: the PDS Player will output audio based on the

volume of the system's mixer settings

— PDS Setting: the PDS Player will output audio based on the default

volume specified.

•PDS Default Volume: Audio level (from 0 - 100) to use for audio output.

Configuring PDS Player Advanced Settings

The PDS Player Advanced Settings tab allows users to change system defaults. These settings should not be changed without consulting Polycom Support.

The PDS Player Advanced tab is divided into three sections: Renderer Settings, File Locations, and Playout Settings.

NOTE: Please avoid modifying these values unless instructed to do so by Polycom support.

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Configuring PDS Player Advanced Settings Configuring the PDS Player

Renderer Settings

The Renderer Settings options of Advanced Program Settings are described as follows:

• Renderer IP Address: Displays the IP address of the rendering engine.

• Renderer Executable Filename: Displays the executable filename that

corresponds to the PDS rendering engine.

• Connection Delay: Displays the delay, in seconds, from the time you click

the Render button until the scene is submitted CG rendering engine.

File Locations

The File Locations configuration in Advanced Program Settings allow users to dictate which directories the PDS Player uses:

•Output folder: Displays the folder to which the CG Renderer sends

rendered output that is displayed in the output monitor.

• Cache folder: Displays the folder to which the CG Renderer caches

information while rendering the output.

• Template folder: Displays the default folder to which the PDS Player

saves exported templates.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Configuring PDS Player Advanced Settings

• Command folder: Displays the folder to which the commands are stored

on the system for use with other PDS applications such as Remote Manager, or Web Screens.

Playout Settings

The Playout Settings of the Advanced Program Settings are as follows:

• Player Mode box:

— Standard: Configures the PDS Player to function as an authoring

station.

— Interactive: Configures the PDS Player to function as an

interactive/kiosk station.

NOTE: Interactive mode is not supported in most implementations. Please do not select this option without input from Polycom support.

• Interactive Window: When in Interactive Player Mode, defines the

topmost and leftmost location (XPos/YPos) and size (Width/Height), in pixels, of the interactive window.

• URL Loader Window: When displaying an internet browser window,

defines the topmost and leftmost location (XPos/YPos) in pixels, of the Loader window.

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Using the PDS Player

This chapter outlines local control of the Polycom Digital Signage Player. In a typical implementation, however, all configuration and content management will be performed through the PDS Remote Manager and PDS Web Controller. Please note that these tools are described in subsequent chapters.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Getting Started

Getting Started

• The PDS Player Interface

• Scheduling Events with the PDS Player

• Controlling the VertigoCG Renderer

When the PDS Player application is opened, it will immediately begin displaying the default playlist.

Loading a Template

1 To load a PDS Template, in the PDS Player choose File > Load

Template…

2 Locate a PDS Template (.xtmpl) on your computer and choose Open.

The template plays in the PDS Player output.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Getting Started

3 If you have elected not to use full-screen mode, the content will be

displayed on the CG Rendering Window. To disable the CG Rendering Window, open Tools > VertigoCG and select Stop. Alternatively, press

LT + ESC.

Further controls for the CG Renderer are detailed below.

Loading a Playlist

1 To load a PDS Playlist, in the PDS Player choose File > Load Playlist…

2 Browse to a PDS Playlist (.xplst) on your computer and choose Open.

The playlist plays in the CG Rendering window.

3 To playback a PowerPoint slide in the PDS Player, with a PowerPoint

presentation loaded, select a slide and choose Tools > Render

PowerPoint Slide.

The slide plays in the CG Rendering window.

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The PDS Player Interface Using the PDS Player

The PDS Player Interface

The PDS Player is designed to facilitate the task of playing out either individual templates, playlists, or creating schedules of events.

Current Playlist

Displays the directory path and name of the currently active playlist.

NOTE: Previously loaded playlists can be quickly loaded by clicking on the Current Playlist filename bar and choosing a playlist from the drop-down list that appears.

Default Layer

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide The PDS Player Interface

Specifies the rendering layer in which a template loads. Options available are Background and Foreground.

Default Transition

Specifies the default transition effect to be used in between templates loaded in a playlist. Transitions from which you can select include Cut, Fade, Crossfade, Push Right, Push Left, and Random.

Events

• Last Event: The time of the last event loaded or executed in the Player.

• Next Event: The time of the next planned event to occur in the Player.

• Time to Next Event: Countdown timer of the next planned event to occur

in the Player.

Control Buttons

•Load: Opens a dialog box to load templates or playlist files.

• Clear: Removes the contents of a previously loaded playlist from the

Player.

•Reset All: Clears the output of the CG rendering window.

Playlist Controls

The PDS playlist controls are described as follows:

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The PDS Player Interface Using the PDS Player

Button Function

Pauses the playback of the currently loaded playlist.

When paused, resumes playback of the currently loaded playlist.

Plays the previous event in the currently loaded playlist.

Plays the next event in the currently loaded playlist.

Jumps to the first event in the currently loaded playlist.

Jumps to the last event in the currently loaded playlist.

Message Control

• When Show Messages is enabled, displays messages from the PDS Player. The Clear button clears the contents of the Messages window.

Current Output Window

• When Enable Auto Screenshot is enabled, displays a preview of the current output of the PDS Player.

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Polycom Digital Signage Administrator Guide Scheduling Events with the PDS Player

Scheduling Events with the PDS Player

With the PDS Scheduler, you can create playout schedules for several different playlists, or assign PDS commands to occur at specific times throughout the day.

Schedules can also include control events, such as starting a crawling ticker on the output screen. This allows users in the central location to schedule any kind of control event by assigning the appropriate event in the schedule.

To activate PDS Scheduler:

1 In the PDS Player, choose Tools > Schedule…. The PDS Scheduler

window appears.

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