This page discusses Dynamic Playlist behavior in more detail, and advanced uses for the feature. Dynamic Playlists are powerful management and content delivery tools with the ability to upload and update presentations across networked BrightSign players from a single location. For more information on how to create a Dynamic Playlist, see the BrightAuthor or BSN Web UI guides.
Dynamic Playlist Behaviors
Dynamic Playlists support spontaneous removal or addition of content; however, the player behavior in how it processes these two cases is important to note. The deployment of all updates depends on the playlist's Update Interval value. When the Update Interval begins, the player communicates with the network to check the internal schedule against the networked schedule. BrightSign players will always defer to the network for content scheduling.
When a Dynamic Playlist is updated such that it removes content, the change will be reflected instantly following the next update interval; however, this behavior is not always the case in situations that add content. When a Dynamic Playlist is updated with new content, the player will begin downloading the new files after the next update interval.
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BrightSign players download content at the start of a presentation. If the playback rate is faster than the download rate, content will not be displayed. Players will terminate any open downloads at the end of a presentation. |
If the presentation's loop is shorter than the time it takes to download the new content, the player will automatically skip the unfinished files and continue with the presentation. When the new content is completely cached, it will be present in the next loop.
Dynamic Playlist Preload
While Dynamic Playlists are powerful, due to the player content download behavior noted above, it can be difficult to have a presentation play as desired when dealing with large file sizes. In order to best solve this problem, it is recommended to set up a preload data feed.
A preload data feed utilizes the basic Dynamic Playlist behavior to cache content data before the start of playlist's presentation. BrightSign players will never delete cache contents that are required for presentations on the same day, allowing the player to preload content for any presentation later in the day.
The following example details how to set up a preload data feed in an already existing interactive presentation:
- Add a MRSS Feed field to the presentation.
- Select Add Data Field.
- Select the Dynamic Playlist option and the desired playlist from the dropdown.
- Select the MRSS Feed option and name the feed (Check the 4K images box if 4K images are present in the playlist).
- Review the presentation. Be sure that the new MRSS feed will not be displayed.
As noted above, BrightSign players will only continue to preload for the scheduled duration of the presentation that contains the data feed.