Specifications

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6. Appendix:FAQ
WhatcanIdotoimproveSignageManagerExpressperformanceonmyPC?
ThelatestMicrosoft.NET3.5SP1offersimprovedperformanceandbugfixestoSignageManager
Express.Youcaninstalltheupdateviathisinternetbrowserlink
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=124150orbysearchingfor“.NET3.5SP1”At
www.microsoft.com.
Whatis
themaximumfilesizeforasinglevideofile?
ThemaximumvideofilesizefortheCD‐1010is2GB.Werecommendreservingasafetymarginto
avoidexceedingthelimit(i.e.limitingfilesto1850MB).
HowdoImanagetheplaybackofcontents?
Playbackonascheduleisoneof
themainfunctionsoftheCD‐1010.Formostusers,itcanbe
managedviatheeasytouseSignageManagerExpresssoftware.Scalausersmayobtainaplayer
licensefromScalatomanagethemediaplayerdirectlyfromScalaContentManager.Foradvanced
customization,thereisSMILcompatibility.Seethedeveloper’s
manualforcustomizingtheplayer
withopen‐standardW3CSMILcommands.
AboutSignageManagerExpress:UnlikethedifficultyofprogrammingVCRsfromaremotecontrol,
theSignageManagerExpresssoftwareisdesignedtobesimplebyusingagraphicalpersonal
computerinterface.Playbackcontentsarelaidoutvisuallyina
calendarview.Anyonewithbasic
computerskillscanquicklycreateormodifyschedules,deliveringtherightmessagetotheright
audienceattherighttimes.PleaserefertotheSignageManagerExpressUser’sManualfordetailed
operationsandtechniques.
CouldtheplayerdisplayFlashorMicrosoftPowerPointpresentations?
Theplayerfeatures
limitedPowerPointsupport,butnotFlashsupport.
WhilePCscanplaymanyformatswithvaryingdegreesofsuccess,RISC‐basedmediaplayersare
designedtoreliablyplayspecificvideoformats(Pleaseseespecfordetails).While Microsoft
PowerPointnativefilescouldnotplaydirectlyonaRISC‐basedplayer,the
fileisconvertedthrough
othersoftware(i.e.SignageManagerExpress)intoanimageformattobeplayedasanimage
slideshow.
Whywon’tsomemediafilesplaysmoothly?
Thevideodatabit‐ratemaybehigherthantherecommendedbitrate.
Thevideodatabit‐rateistheamountofvideo
oraudiodatausedpersecondtostoreorplaythe
contents,usuallyexpressedinMbps(mega‐bitspersecond).Videoencodedwithexcessivebit‐rates
willnotplaybacksmoothlyinthemediaplayer,likelyduetostoragei/obottlenecks.Youcan
tryrecompressingunplayablevideofilesatlowerbitrates
usingthefreeandopensourceHandbrake
toolathttp://handbrake.fr/
.Onceyouhavefoundtherightoutputsettingsforsizeandquality,save
theminHandbrakeprofilesforfutureuse.Thenyoucaneasilyrecompressanyunplayablefilesyou
encounterinthefuture.
Whywon’tsomemediafilesplayatall?
Despiteourbesteffortstoadheretovideoformat
standards,videocompressionintroducesmany
variables,andsometimesthevideosyouacquiremaynotbeplayableonallplayers.Inthiscase,you
shouldcheckyourcompressionsettings(bitrate,audiocodec,andotherparameters)andusea
compatiblesetting.
IfthefilescanplayonyourPCbutnoton
yourplayer,youshouldrecompressthefiletoensure
playback.Forgreatestcompatibility,werecommendoutputtingtotheWMVformat(VC‐1codec,3
to5Mbpsbit‐rate).Youcanrecompressunplayablevideofileswithrecommendedfileformatsand
bitratesusingthefreeandopensourceHandbraketoolat
http://handbrake.fr/.Onceyouhave