Content Creation Guideline

Choosing the Right Content Type

When managing digital signage, selecting the right content type is crucial.
This guide compares Playlists, Content, Channels, and Schedules to help you make an informed decision based on your needs.

Playlists - Best for Sequential and Dynamic Content

Why use Playlists?

• Playlists offer advanced scheduling options, allowing you to control when and where your content appears.
• You can tag specific pages to ensure they run only on designated devices.
• If needed, you can assign an advertiser to a page to track it in your proof-of-play report.
• Playlists support dynamic media folders, meaning any changes made to the folder will automatically reflect in the playlist.
• PDF files can be added, and the playback engine will seamlessly cycle through all pages.
• Media files can have validity periods, ensuring they are played only within the specified time frame.
• For more advanced use cases, nesting playlists within playlists allows for greater flexibility and permission control.
• For more complex layouts, widgets, or customized designs, you can create a slide (or choose from templates) and include it in your playlist.

Use playlists when...

• You want to display a set of assets sequentially.
• You need simple yet powerful scheduling options.
• You want to tag pages to specify which devices should play them.
• You require advertiser tracking for proof-of-play reports.

✔️ Key Features

• Advanced scheduling capabilities.
• Dynamic bundling (media folders, PDFs, and other playlists).
• Ability to set how many elements to play from each bundle.
• Exclusive vs Fallback pages:
  • A Fallback page plays only when no other content is available.
  • An Exclusive page ensures that only that specific item is played when active.

❌ Limitations

• No direct embedding of playlists inside layouts without Content.
• Limited advanced permissioning options.

Learn more:
Playlist Editor
Playlist - Creation and management

Contents - Best for Structured Layouts & Frames

Why use Contents?

• You can endlessly customize the content you wish to display on your screens.
• Contents can handle more complex tasks compared to simpler options like Playlists.
• The toolset available for Contents is larger than that for Playlists, allowing for more creative possibilities.
• Contents are recommended for bringing creative or complex ideas to life, making them ideal for unique presentations.
• You can create Content Groups to manage and categorize your contents, enhancing organization.
• The export feature allows you to back up your content as a zip file, making it easy to transfer between servers.
• You can incorporate interactive widgets within your content, enhancing viewer engagement.
• Contents can be connected to data sources, allowing for real-time updates.
• The system provides reporting on display duration and interaction events, helping you track content effectiveness.
• You can embed external content or websites, expanding the information displayed on your screens.

Use Content when...

• Your project requires more intricate and creative designs, contents are the way to go.
• Your content requires customization, in Contents you can use a more extensive set of tools compared to simpler options like Playlists.
• You want to create engaging and interactive content that captures the audience's attention.
• Your content needs to be updated in real-time or connected to external data sources.
• You need to categorize and manage multiple pieces of content efficiently.
• You want the ability to back up your content and restore it later if needed.
• You plan to include interactive elements that enhance user engagement.
• You require an advanced scheduling system for different pages.
• You need performance mode to avoid iframe leakage.

✔️ Key Features

• Customizable Layouts
• Extensive Toolset
• Interactive Elements
• Dynamic Data Integration
• Export and Backup
• Proof of Play Reporting
• Multi-Content Display
• Performance mode
• Integration with External Sources

❌ Limitations

• Cannot balance playback like Channels.
• Requires additional setup for complex playback logic.
• Performance Mode vs Dynamic content Limitations
• Weaker devices may require additional configuration to avoid lag or stuttering.

Learn more:
Content Designer
Contents - Creation and management

tip

If you wish to play pages without interacton

Channels – Best for Balancing Content Across Screens

Why use Channels?

• Channels allow you to dynamically organize content playback, enabling you to control what, where, and when content is displayed.
• You can easily schedule content to play at specific times, ensuring that the right message reaches the audience at the right moment.
• Channels can handle various content types, including images, videos, and sub-channels, making it easy to create diverse and engaging displays.
• You can target specific screens or groups of screens, ensuring that content is relevant to the audience in that location.
• You can adjust the saturation of different campaign items, allowing for more frequent display of certain messages or advertisements.
• The advanced permission system allows you to define who can manage campaign items, enhancing collaboration across teams.
• You can create multiple campaign zones within the same screen, allowing for varied content to be displayed simultaneously.
• Channels can track play history, providing proof of play records for advertisers or internal reporting.

Use Channels when...

• You need to balance content playback across multiple screens.
• You want to display a mix of content types (images, videos, messages) in a single channel, enhancing viewer engagement.
• You want to manage and display different types of content dynamically based on specific criteria or events.
• You want to utilize advanced settings for more granular control over how often and in what order content is displayed.
• You want dynamic content distribution based on saturation levels.
• You need to target specific screens or groups of screens with tailored content bundle for different audiences.
• You want to rotate content frequently to keep the display fresh and engaging for viewers.
• You need to set specific times or conditions under which certain content should not be displayed, ensuring relevance and appropriateness.
• You need hierarchical permissioning via sub-channel groups.

✔️ Key Features

• Dynamic Content Management
• Targeted Display
• Scheduling
• Multiple Content / Source Types can be played
• Saturation Control
• Proof of Play Tracking
• Content Rotation
• Supports "Balanced" or "Serial" playback modes.

❌ Limitations

• More complex setup than Playlists.
• Requires understanding of saturation logic for balancing.
• There is interaction inside channels

Learn more:
Channel Editor and Channel Management

Slides - Best for creating reusable templates

Slides are 1-page contents that can be used to create quick editable contents that can be used as template.

Why use Slides?

• Creating a reusable template is always a great solution to avoid repeatable content editing.
• Can be used in Playlists as a page or even on multiple pages, which is way more effective than playing a whole content with repeatable elements.
• Can be Quick edited, which means the quick editable widgets can be manually overwritten without editing the Slide editor or disturbing the playback on devices.
• Can be exported as a backup save

✔️ Key Features

• Quick editable in Playlist editor
• Can be used as template to avoid repetitiveness
• Easy to use

❌ Limitations

Learn more:
Slide Editor
Slide - Creation and management

Schedules – Best for Temporary Overrides & Global Control

Use Schedules when:

• You want to override all running content for a specific time.
• You need to play a high-priority message (e.g., breaking news, emergency alerts).
• You require a repeatable schedule (e.g., show content every afternoon).
• You need offline scheduling that respects the device’s time zone.

✔️ Key Features

• Completely overrides existing playback for a defined period.
• Works offline and respects local time zones.
• Allows repeatable scheduling options.
• Provides UI visibility of what is currently playing.

❌ Limitations

• Does not allow multiple active items (unlike Playlists and Channels).
• Cannot mix multiple contents dynamically.

Learn more:
Schedule Editor
Schedule - Creation and management

Conclusion

Feature	Playlists	Content	Channels	Schedules
Sequential Playback	✔️	❌	✔️ (Balanced)	❌
Advanced Scheduling	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Dynamic Bundling	✔️	❌	✔️	❌
Balancing Across Screens	❌	❌	✔️	❌
Tag-Based Device Selection	✔️	✔️	✔️ (Advanced)	✔️
Playback Overrides	❌	❌	❌	✔️
Permissioning Options	✔️	✔️	✔️ (Sub-Channels)	❌

Which content type should I use

• Use Playlists if you need a simple and flexible content loop.
• Use Content if you require structured layouts and embedded Playlists.
• Use Channels for advanced balancing and permissioning.
• Use Schedules when you need to override everything with high-priority content.

Understanding these content types will help you optimize your digital signage strategy effectively!