Ryarc Support

Campaign manager

Topics
FAQs

What file formats does CampaignManager support?

  • All Standard Images
  • Shockwave / Flash
  • RSS Feeds
  • Live Analogue Television
  • DVB Format Digital TV
  • Live Video Capture (DVD, Web Cams, CCTV etc.)
  • XML
  • Web Pages
  • Windows Media Formats
  • Advanced Systems Format
  • DivX – With 3rd Party Codec
  • Windows Media Audio
  • Windows Media Video
  • Windows Media Video High Definition
  • Microsoft Digital Video Recording
  • Audio Visual Interleave (AVI)
  • MPEG-1 (.mpeg, .mpg, .m1v)
  • MPEG Audio Layer III (.mp3)
  • MPEG Audio Layer II (.mp2, .mpa)
  • M3U (.m3u)
  • MP4 (.mp4) – With 3rd Party Codec

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What do I need to run CampaignManager?

At a bare minimum, you will need one standard PC with windows, the .net framework and the latest version of DirectX. To operate a network of signage we recommend:

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Does CampaignManager Support Video Streaming?

Yes CampaignManager can display a streamed video.

Simply add the .asx file in normal in CampaignManager Screen Designer.

For more detail instructions on setting up a Video Stream session go to how to set up video streaming

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Does CampaignManager support MS PowerPoint presentations?

Yes but not in typical PowerPoint format. This would require PowerPoint to be installed on each media player increasing the overall cost per player.

You can save these in image formats from PowerPoint or convert to video or flash files using one of the many free applications available online. The image video or flash files can then be added to CampaignManager.

For more information on adding PowerPoint files to CampaignManager go to How can I add PowerPoint files to my Campaign

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Does CampaignManager support MS Word and Excel documents?

Yes but not in typical Word or Excel format. This would require Word and Excel to be installed on each media player increasing the overall cost per player.

Word and Excel will allow you both allow you to save the document as a web file format and can then be added to CampaignManager.

For more information on adding Word and Excel documents in CampaignManager go to How can I add PowerPoint files to my Campaign

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Can CM Player be configured to multiple zones?

Yes CM Player can be configured into as many zones as required.

The Zones are defined in the Screen Designer stage of CampaignManager.

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Can CampaignManager deliver interactive content / run kiosks?

Yes, CampaignManager can be used to deliver and update interactive content to kiosks.

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Can I show live TV?

Yes. Not only can you show live TV, CampaignManager also supports remote switching of channels, HDTV, DVB and wrapping broadcasts with your own material or tickers.

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Can CampaignManager be used to deliver High Definition video?

Yes. Use CampaignManager to seamlessy mix HD Video with any other media format – Flash, Live Web feeds, Jpegs etc.

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I’d like to see an example of a typical digital signage network controlled by CampaignManager?

The CampaignManager system consists of 3 main components. CampaignManager, CM Service and CM Player.

  • The CampaignManager is typically installed on the administrators PC.
  • The CM Service is typically installed on the Server.
  • The CM Player component is installed on each media player.

For more information on these components visit http://www.ryarc.com/digital-signage-software/features/

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What does Ryarc mean anyway?

Ryarc is derived from the word ‘radhairc’ (same pronunciation) which means ‘vantage point’, ‘vision’ and ‘view’.

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What is CampaignManager?

The CampaignManager application is the main engine of the CM System. CampaignManager is used to create new schedules and collate content for distribution to the RDDs that make up your digital signage assets.

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What will I typically use CampaignManager for?

CampaignManager will be used for the day to day administration of the digital signage network.

From CampaignManager you can create and publish new campaigns, edit existing campaigns, create tickers and remote commands to players and much more.

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What is CM Service?

(CM Service) is the central element of the CampaignManager system. It acts as the bridge between the CampaignManager application and the remote display devices running the CampaignManager Players (CM Players). The CM Service itself does not have a user interface and runs as a Windows Service. This means that the application can run outside of a user session, just like SQL Server or IIS.

The CM Service will be installed on the server or server PC.

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What will I typically use CM Service for?

CM Service will run continuously in the background.

The CM Service UI can be used to monitor the CM Players. For example to monitor the players’ network connection, to check which campaigns are playing, preview the media within those campaigns and much more.

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What is Nodeserver?

Node Server is used in CampaignManager to reduce the media download for individual CM Players. The following diagram explains use of Node Server in the CampaignManager system.

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What is CM Player?

CampaignManager Player (CM Player) is the “business end” of the CampaignManager system. The CM Player is responsible for playing back media and managing play lists, media downloads as well as monitoring system health.

CM Player component is installed on each media player.

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What is CM Dappler?

Dappler is the Audio player component of CampaignManager. It can run independently of, and in the background of CM Player.

Dappler connects to the CM Service and receives Campaigns in the same way as CM Player. In the case of Dappler though, the files in the Campaigns are in an audio format.

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What will I typically use CM Dappler for?

If you have a need to keep the audio separate from the Visual display then Dappler is the perfect solution.

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What is CM Zusa?

CM Zusa is the screensaver equivalent of the CM Player.

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What is Neptune?

Neptune is the reporting component of the CampaignManager system. Its an ASP.net application and uses an SQL database to gather the information.

The players send information to the database on what campaigns have played, the media files that have played, when, how many times and more.

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What will I typically use Neptune for?

Neptune is used to produce ‘proof of play’ reports which can be sent to advertisers, customers etc.

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What are the minimum hardware requirements for CampaignManager?

The specs of the player are mainly dictated by the content that will be displayed.

If you want to show normal quality video clips and some web content then the most basic PC will do the trick.

If you will want to show High Definition videos then you will definitely need to include an external graphics card with 128/256 mb ram to ensure smooth playback.

If you will need to show rss feeds as a ticker then the player will need to be capable of running directx9.0c.

For the Ryarc software the minimum requirements are the same as .net framework

Generally speaking this is what we recommend:

  • 1 GB Ram
  • P4 or equivalent (not Celeron)
  • 128mb Separate graphics card (not shared)

Again, we must stress that for many applications a Celeron and 256MB of ram will suffice. It all depends on the media you want to show!

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What specification of Graphics card is required for CampaignManager?

This is very much dependent on the content that will be played.

If you will need to show High Definition videos then you will definitely need to include an external graphics card with 128/256 mb ram to ensure smooth playback.

If the content being played back consists of simple video and image files then the built in graphics will be sufficient.

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What is the required specification of the server?

There are a number of factors to take into account when considering the server specifications.

How many players will your network contain?

  • A standard PC with XP Professional would be sufficient for 50 or so players
  • A network of 1000 players would certainly require a dedicated server.

Will Neptune reporting be utilized?

  • SQL server will be required.
  • A higher spec server will be required for extra logging from the players.

Will the server used be dedicated to Ryarc software?

  • If other applications are using the same server then a higher spec server will be required.

For the Ryarc software the minimum requirements are the same as .net framework

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What TV tuner cards have been specifically tested with CampaignManager?

  • Card Tested
  • CampaignManager Version
  • Signal Tested
  • WinFast PCI TV card
  • 2.1.1120
  • DVB-T & PAL-B
  • KWorld USB DVB-T Hybrid Stick
  • 2.2.0320
  • DVB-T & PAL-B
  • Pinnacle USB PCTV 300e
  • 2.1.1120
  • DVB-T & PAL-B
  • Leadtek VC100U Video capture device
  • 2.1.1120
  • Normal video capture
  • Pinnacle PCTV 801e
  • 2.2.320
  • ATSC, NTSC, video

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What are the software pre-requisites for CampaignManager?

CampaignManager is built on Microsoft’s .net Platform and the latest version of the graphics engine DirectX. In order for CampaignManager to function correctly you must install the following applications prior to proceeding with the installation.

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What are the software pre-requisites for CM Service?

The CM Service requires a web server. You can use any web server, but IIS comes with many versions of Windows including Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003. See more on Setting up IIS.

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How can I install the CampaignManager System?

A 30 day free trial of the software can be downloaded at:
http://www.ryarc.com/downloads/campaign-manager/

Detailed Installation instructions can be followed at:
http://www.ryarc.com/qsg

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How do I configure the components of the CampaignManager System?

Detailed instructions on how to configure the components of the CampaignManager system can be found at: http://www.ryarc.com/qsg

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Can you walk me through creating my first campaign?

Creating the new campaign

Open CampaignManager

‘Start’ > ‘Programs’ > ‘Ryarc CampaignManager 2008′

Go to ‘File’ and select ‘New Project’ or ‘New Campaign’

Give the Campaign a meaningful title.

You can also make some notes about the campaign for future users.

Designing the Screen

Go to the ‘Screen Designer’ Tab

Add required files, video, web pages TV stations etc

You can click on each one to preview individually or hit the play button to preview the entire campaign

To add a TV channel to Play you will first need to configure the channels, which will then appear as below:

Scheduling the Campaign

The campaign can be scheduled to run continuously between 2 specified dates.

Or by checking the advanced checkbox you can choose from more detailed scheduling options.

Targeting the Campaign

The next step in building your campaign is to select the display devices on which to display this Campaign.

To start the campaign click publish your campaign should appear on the player within 30 seconds.

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How can I add PowerPoint files to my Campaign?

While you cannot add PowerPoint files directly to CampaignManager there are 3 quick and easy ways to add them to your campaign.

  • PowerPoint gives you the option to save your slides in image format.
    When you presentation is complete Go to ‘File’, ‘Save As’, ‘Other Formats’ and choose from .gif, .jpg, .png, .tif, or .bmp all of which can then be added to CampaignManager.
    The only limitation with this option is that animation and transition effects will not be retained.
  • In order to retain the transitions and animation within a presentation a better option is to convert the presentation to a video file e.g .wmv. There are numerous PowerPoint to video converters available for download.
  • Similarly there are PowerPoint to flash converters available for download. These will also retain the animation and transition effects.

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How can I add Streaming videos to my Campaign?

In order to set up Video Streaming in CampaignManager:

Set up the streaming session in windows media encoder.

New Session > Broadcast a live event > Pull from the encoder

Select a free port on which to broadcast, e.g 8080 above

Start Encoding (more info on how to set this up can be found in the Windows Media folder help files)

Create an asx file in notepad with the IP and port details as configured above. For example:

 

<ASX version="3">
<Entry>
<ref href="http://127.0.0.1:8080" />
</Entry>
</ASX>

In CampaignManager, Screen Designer tab. Click on ‘Add’, ‘file’.

Change the ‘files of type’ to ‘All files’ and select the .asx file which has been created.

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How do I use the scheduling engine in CampaignManager?

The Scheduling of the campaign is the second step in creating the campaign. There are 2 ways of using the scheduling engine within CampaignManager: ‘Simple’ or ‘Advanced’. The bast way to explain these clearly is through real scenarios:

Scenario 1 – The Campaign needs to run from today until June 30th 2020 at 6pm.

For this scenario Simple Scheduling is sufficient. In the ‘Campaign Begins’ section choose now. In the ‘Campaign Ends’ section select the date June 30th 2020 and change the time to 6pm.

Scenario 2 – The Campaign contains News items and needs to play every weekday evening from 5.30pm to 7.15pm, from today until 30th June 2010.

For this scenario Advanced Scheduling is required. Check the Advanced option in the top left corner.

The recurrence range starts from today and ends 30th June 2010.

The recurrence pattern is set to weekly and the weekday options selected.

The daily pay time is set to: Occurs once at 5.30pm and the Loop Option is set to Loop continuously for 1hour and 45 minutes.

To double check that the schedule is set up as required, hold the mouse over the information bar at the top of the screen for a text version of the schedule.

For more help on scheduling: http://www.ryarc.com/library/CM2009Help/CMHELP/campsched.htm

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How can I upload multiple Remote Display Devices in CampaignManager?

The Multiple RDD Upload feature is very time-saving if you are targeting a campaign to a number of players

1. Create a spreadsheet with the players listed, for example:

  • RDD Name
  • Category
  • Description
  • Display 1
  • Flower Shop
  • Flower Shop
  • Display 2
  • Toy Shop
  • Toy Shop
  • Display 3
  • Childrens clothing
  • Childrens clothing
  • Display 4
  • Grocery
  • Grocery
  • Display 5
  • Hardware
  • Hardware
  • Display 6
  • Cafe
  • Cafe
  • Display 7
  • Electrical
  • Electrical
  • Display 8
  • Gardening
  • Gardening
  • Display 9
  • Chemist
  • Chemist
  • Display 10
  • Stationery
  • Stationery

Save the file as .xls or .csv

In Campaign Manager. Go to File > New > Remote Display Device > Create Multiple RDDs

Click to ‘Open a CampaignManager RDD Document’ and browse to your save .xls or .csv file

The information from the spreadsheet will then appear as below. When you have verified that all information is correct, click to ‘Import’.

The uploaded RDD’s can now be viewed as below:

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Can I use the same Remote Display Devices in different Projects?

Yes – If you have 20 Remote Display Devices set-up in a Project but need to create a new project for the same Remote Display Devices, you can export them from Project 1 and import them to project 2.

Open the Project 1 file which contains these Remote Display Devices.

Go to Tools > Export Remote Display Devices, to create the .rdl file

Open the Project 2 file, Go to tools > Import Remote Display Devices, and browse to the previously created .rdl file.

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What is pooling?

The Pooling feature in CampaignManager allows users to create pools of related files which are then used for randomised playback based on cyclic patterns.

Pool Patterns can be created to emulate structured playlists similar to those used in commercial radio and TV broadcasting. Below is a table illustrating how Pool Patterns define the way in which pool patterns are displayed

Example File Pools

  • News Pool
  • Sports Pool
  • Weather Pool
  • Advertisement Pool
  • NewsItem1.wmv
  • SportsItem1.wmv
  • WeatherUpdate1.swf
  • Ad1.avi
  • NewsItem2.wmv
  • SportsItem2.swf
  • WeatherUpdate2.swf
  • Ad2.jpg
  • NewsItem3.wmv
  • SportsItem3.wmv
  • Ad3.html
  • NewsItem4.avi
  • SportsItem4.avi
  • Ad4.wmv

Example Pool Pattern

News Sport and Weather Pattern ~ 30 Minutes

  • Block 1
  • Block 2
  • Block 3
  • Block 4
  • Block 5
  • Play 10 minutes of files from the News Pool
  • Play 1 file from the Advert Pool
  • Play 10 minutes from the Sport Pool
  • Play 2 files from the Advert Pool
  • Play 1 files from the Weather Pool

This pool pattern is then assigned to a campaign as an individual file with a set duration (in the example above the duration would be 30 minutes). If no other files are added to the campaign, then the above pool pattern would play repetitively for the length of the campaign. Each block will draw random files from its assigned pool, but will exhaust the pools playlist before repeating any files (unless the play count for a particular file is greater than 1.

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Can I display an RSS feed?

Yes – An RSS feed can be added to the ticker. You can create your own or add an online RSS feed.

For more information about tickers: http://www.ryarc.com/library/CM2009Help/CMHELP/campticker.htm

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How can I set up Remote Connection to default to VNC instead of Remote Desktop?

In CM Service, double-clicking on a Network CM Player will automatically try to Remote Desktop to that player using the recorded IP Address. To have this default to VNC instead of Remote Desktop:

In CM Service, go to Settings and in the Remote desktop command add the following line, changing the location and program to your VNC software: C:\Program Files\EchoVNC\vncviewer.exe {0}

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