How does a display decide what to play?

A display checks three things in a fixed order: a running override comes first, then the program entry whose time applies, and otherwise the base program. Playlists sit inside this as content that takes turns, and a display without any assignment shows your placeholder.

Playlists: content that takes turns#

A playlist plays scenes, images, videos, and app contents one after another, each for a set time, in a loop. An app content is an app of your library that you have set up, such as the weather of a branch. A PDF runs as a series of its pages, 8 seconds each unless you set something else.

You put a playlist together by hand, or it fills itself from a Folder, from Tags, or from OneDrive: new matching files then appear on their own. A playlist can also run in a zone of a scene, as on a display of its own. A single piece of content needs no playlist. You can assign a scene or a file directly.

Programs: what runs when#

A program describes a week. Its Base program runs whenever nothing else is planned, so a display with a program is never empty. Program entries are the exceptions with their own times: the lunch menu from 11:30 to 14:00, a club night on Thursdays, a holiday notice for a single day. A window that ends before it starts, such as 22:00 to 06:00, runs into the next day.

A program says what runs when, not where. You assign it to displays, and one program can run on as many displays as you like. Two displays that should show different things need two programs.

The order of decisions#

1. If someone started Show something else now on the display, that content runs. Nothing else overrules it until it ends.
2. Otherwise, the display's assignment counts. With a program, the program entry whose time applies runs, and if none applies, the base program. A scene, playlist, or file assigned directly runs around the clock.
3. If nothing is assigned, the display shows your brand as a placeholder.

Override beats program entry, program entry beats base program.

If the content that applies is Off air, the display stays dark as planned. That is a decision, not a fault. The Program tab of a display shows the result of this calculation for the whole day.

When program entries overlap#

Overlaps are allowed. Entries marked Paused don't count. For the rest, four rules decide in this order:

1. A one-off entry beats a recurring one. A holiday notice set with One-off only wins over the weekly rhythm.
2. The shorter window beats the longer one. A two-hour promotion wins over an all-day block.
3. If both are equal, the entry created last wins.
4. If no entry applies, the base program runs.

What follows#

• Set the base program first. It runs most of the time.
• Plan exceptions as program entries, and put a promotion as a short window over a longer block. It wins on its own.
• For a single day, create a one-off entry instead of changing the recurring one.
• If a display shows something unexpected, check for a forgotten override first, then the assignment, then the program entries.

Related#

• Create a program
• Show content at specific times
• Show something else now, such as an urgent notice