Support

Can I develop my own DSF Player side custom components?

Yes, DSF Signage supports custom Modules which may be developed in Flash CS5 or Adobe Flex.

Can I add my own custom web components to my signage presentation ?

Our DSF Player Desktop version system supports the HTML component. This allows you to develop any component using your favorite web technology (cgi, php, Tcl, etc..). Once you post your developed application online (you host it) you can link to it from within DSF Studio using our HTML components. Simply point to your URL and your custom application will load into the AIRPlayer signage presentation (the DSF Player Web version does not support the HTML component).

What are shared resources ?

Shared resources is a version of our own Digital Signage social network. It allows you to mark resources as public and make them available to the community to all users. Of course you may also use shared resources from the community for your own presneation. Resources include videos, animation, vectors, bitmaps and more.

Can I run PowerPoint?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is that we support the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer but it does have some limitations as it requires full screen and licensing from Microsoft. And so we highly recommend, that you simply spend $40 and get a PPT > SWF convertor (Power Point to Flash converter). We recommend these two: http://www.acoolsoft.com/http://www.flashdemo.net/

which allows you to save directly from PowerPoint onto a swf file, easy!

Do you support RSS, Weather, Stock, Podcasts ?

We support all common RSS feeds. We provide the editor tool so you may completely customize the look of any really simple syndication.

Why is my input device blurry or squished (seeing interlace) ?

To remove the interlace (to deinterlace) you must set the width and height of the screen division where the capture component resides to match the input resolution.

For example, for most DVD and other sources use a width and height that is a multiplier of 1.5. So try and set screen division to 720x480 and put the capture component inside that area to de-interlace.

Can I connect external DVD, Satellite TV, Cable box or other input devices ?

We have the capability to connect any S-Video, RCA or beautiful High Definition (HD) source (satellite, cable, security cameras etc) via a capture card.

How can I disable the Adobe AIR software auto updates which Adobe releases ?

Simply download and install the following software in your DSF Player PC. Once installed, run it and configure it for "No Auto Update".

http://airdownload.adobe.com/air/applications/SettingsManager/SettingsManager.air

What is the SignageController software and do you need it ?

SignageController is a small software utility which is installed on the same machine that runs a desktop version of DSF Player.

The softwares job is to continue and monitor the status of DSF Player (essentially keeps the player healthy). If for some reason DSF Payer crashes or becomes unstable, SignageController will restart it to ensure continued uninterrupted playing of your presentation.

I can see my Player registered but I can not remote control it, why?

If you are having issues connecting to our server you must have issues with a local firewall. We support both LIVE Sockets as well as HTTP Polling.

Under the DSF Studio > Stations you may get 3 color indicators:

Yellow: connected via Polling

Green: connected via live socket

Red: not connected at all

You will need to setup port forwarding in your firewall if it is not connecting. If this is included in your contract please contact tech support.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of the desktop and web versions?

DSF Player-web version is a "light" signage player that is suitable for online viewing. The resources (videos, images and database) begin downloading to the player as soon as the player loads. The web version runs inside a web browser. A web visitor can view the presentation as soon as the content begins to download. The web version of DSF Player lacks some advanced features such as caching engine support, live administration control and recoverability. If you wish to make you signage presentation available for public viewing through your web site we recommend using the web version of DSF Player. DSF Player-desktop version is an advanced signage player that requires minimal installation. Each desktop version uses one paid license. The desktop vesion is powered by a sophisticated content caching engine that always keeps your content up to date. The desktop version of DSF Player also supports watch dog (fail and recover functionality) as well as many enhanced features including live administration control. If you are going to operate a signage monitor in a physical location (such as a retail store or office building) we recommend using the DSF Player-desktop version.

What should I use, the web version or the desktop version of DSF Studio?

DSF Player-web version is NOT designed to run on a dedicated machine. For example, an online visitor to your web site may click a link and view your signage presentation.) The web version runs inside any browser and doesnt require special licensing or installation. With our web version of DSF Player, you may run an unlimited number of monitors (no license restrictions). The web version does require a dedicated internet connection, and it does not support our caching engine and lacks some enhanced functionality. DSF Player-desktop version is designed to run on a dedicated computer. It requires one license per computer and minimal installation. The desktop versin does support enhanced functionality such as real time syncing for content and data, caching engine, detail operation statistics and more. With the desktop ersion of of DSF Player you do not need a dedicated internet connection so if your network fails a few times a day, your player will not be effected. Also, the desktop version allows for tuner card support.

Where is my configuration saved ?

Once you make or change a signage configuration using DSF Studio, these changes are saved to our servers and propagate to the appropriate signage players. Media files (such as vidoes and images) also are saved to our servers and download to each signage player.

Who can access and configure my signage presentation ?

Anyone who has the user name and password can access and configure the digital signage presentation.

What are Signage templates ?

Signage templates allow you to quickly get up and running by selecting a pre-configured digital signage presentation. You can choose from a range of templates for one that best matches your needs. Once you select a signage template you may begin to modify it and its resources to accommodate your requirements. These are not to be confused with our Content Templates which are ready made background FLV files to add to your campaigns. With our Content Templates you can easily overlay text or graphics so you have a presentation that will really pop!

What is DSF Studio?

DSF Studio, which comes in a web version and a desktop version, is the application you will use to configure and administer your digital signage presentation.

What are the copyright restrictions and regulations ?

It is your responsibility to ensure you follow your country's copyright laws. Digital Signage Factory will not be responsible for any copyright infringements associated with your account. Be sure you receive full written approval for media and content used in your signage presentation. Digital Signage Factory will remove content which was brought to our attention as a violator of any copyright laws. View the Wikipedia Article on Trademarks here.

Is my information and content secure ?

DSF's software solution is powered by 128 bit SSL encryption. Multiple levels of authentication are used for user level access. Powered by Amazon S3 services, media is accessible using public / private keys allowing for the highest level of access restrictions for your private data. Our AIR application is SSL signed and approved.

Where can digital signage be used ?

Wherever you can hang an LCD monitor and reach potential customers...THAT'S where you can use digital signage. The possibilities are endless: Retail Education Leisure Public Transport Museums Entertainment Gas Stations Public Spaces Restaurants and menu systems Hospitality and more...

Can my business or company benefit from digital signage ?

Are you a business? Do you have message you want to get across to potential customers? Do you want to reach a captive audience using an effective and efficient method that will allow your company to up sell and cross sell either your product or service? Then yes, digital signage is right for you. Digital Signage Factory makes the transition into the new medium effortless and inexpensive. Best of all with the DSF solution you can run your signage on any flash powered device including web, mobile and portable devices.

Which file formats do you support ?

Our Signage software officially supports all of the Flash Media Formats which include:

Video Formats: Flash video FLV (H.263), MPEG-4 (H.264) ,MOV, M4A, MP4V, 3GP, 3G2, AAC (HE, LC), SWF

Animation: SWF

Images: JPG, PNG

Sound: MP3

However, you should note, due to the hundreds of different encoders available today, it is possible that some of your files may not run properly in your signage presentation.

For the best experince with encoding for Adobe Flash we suggest the Adobe Media Encoder. You can also use VLC which is an opensource solution.

Do I need a static IP ?

No, dynamic IPs are fully supported. In fact our system is smart enough to move into polling mode and bypass firewall restrictions if need be.

Do I need a fast, persistent internet connection ?

Our Studio software and the web version of the Player do require a dedicated internet connection. However, our desktop version of the Player software, powered by the built-in caching engine, does not require a dedicated connection. In fact, the Player-desktop version searches for internet activity only during power up and when it searches to see if new content is available for it to download. If there is no internet connection at all at these stations, you can update your digital signage manually using a portable hard drive or flash memory device.

What kind of display monitors can I use ?

You can use any display such as a Computer monitor, LCD or Plasma which supports PC input. However we suggest a Commercial Display with are rate at a run-time of 16-24hrs a day and come with a 3 year manufacture warranty. Stop by our Hardware store and get the latest technology for your business.

Which operating systems do you support ?

We support any OS which runs Flash Player 10+ or above.

This includes Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4; Windows XP with Service Pack 2; Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise; and Windows 7 - all versions. For Linux use Ubunto 9.10 or later release. Mac OS X 10.5.1 or later. Other devices such as portable and handheld are also supported as long they have Flash 10+ running natively.

Does the Player run on devices with Windows XP Embedded ?

The Digital Signage Factory Player can run on low-end devices with as little as an 800MHz processor with Win XPe SP3 (embedded XP). Of course, you will be limited to simpler videos (no HD) and simpler swf animation due to the lack of processing power.

What are the software requirements for the Player ?

Our software requirements are amazingly simple, allowing anyone to use almost any computer.

Studio - Desktop or web version - Any computer, with any OS, running a commonly supported web browser with Flash player 10+ or above.

Player - web version - Any commonly supported web browser running Flash player 10+ or above ( Any OS or device )

Player, - desktop version - Any OS which runs Adobe integrated runtime including Linux/Ubuntu, Windows XP, Windows 7 or above as well as Mac OS X

What are the hardware requirements for the Player Software?

The following is recommended for good digital signage playback which include swf animations, images, HD Video, Weather, RSS feed etc:

Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.5GHz or faster Intel based processor with 1GB RAM; with 80GB hard drive. This is true for all operating systems including Windows, Ubuntu and Mac.

You maybe be able to get away with lower end hardware, but you may also not receive the desired smoothness and miss out on the full potential of our software.

High quality signage presentation do require higher-end hardware. If your presentation includes multiple HD Video (H.264), vector based images and high-quality full screen swf animation including support for multiple screens, you should invest in better performance hardware.

Large monitors running high resolution screens (i.e: 1920x1080) will also require better hardware; for improved rendering and high frame-per-second (FPS) refresh rate.

For best performance we recommend:

Intel Pentium 2.8GHz Quad Core2 with 2GB of RAM

Note: The Player for the Mac OS is supported only on the Intel base player, not PowerPC!