Difference between revisions of "LightSpeed Vision Overview"

Revision as of 00:10, 9 January 2017

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Overview

Welcome to Vision!
Vision is a powerful, easy to use digital advertising platform. It provides users the power to control what advertising is played. Ad content and scheduling is controlled from our online Content Management System (CMS) portal using your customized and secure log in.

Vision is based on 4 things:

• Displays
• Library
• Layouts
• Scheduling

This manual will dive deeper into each of these sections, but let's take a quick look at each to get started:

• Displays

These represent the hardware connected to the Display (monitor) that is actually showing the end content. In other words, Displays drive the medium people will look at. Each Display is uniquely identified in the CMS so that they can have their own unique content, layouts and schedules set to them. They can also be uniquely identified for reporting statistics.

• Library

The Library houses your media content and is the core of Vision. The Library's Media are generally split into two categories. File based media that is uploaded and stored in the Library and Layout based media that doesn't have an associated file but is configured directly on a layout instead. An image or video would be Library Media and a RSS feed or some free Text would be Layout based media.

• Layouts

These are the designs that is seen on the screen. Vision allows you to split the screen up into different Regions, each containing their own Timeline of media to play. A layout itself remains on screen until the Timeline has finished playing through once, then an entirely fresh Layout can be loaded with different positioning and size of Regions, with different Timelines. This flexibility drives the dynamic nature of Vision.

• Scheduling

Once Displays are registered, media content is uploaded, and Layouts are designed, it is time to put them all together and Schedule Layouts onto the Displays. Each Display will check for new Scheduled content periodically, and download Scheduled Items in advance of playback. Scheduling is highly flexible and supports scheduling to single Displays and Groups, single Layouts and Campaigns and Recurring Schedules. Each Display has a Default Layout that will be shown when nothing else is Scheduled.

How is Vision managed?
A solution as flexible as Vision requires a powerful CMS to manage every aspect of storing your Media, creating Layouts and Scheduling your content. This allows you to have the most control and flexibility when it comes to your advertising campaigns. The Vision CMS is packed with features such as:

• User Groups
• User and Group Permissions
• Display Groups
• Display Group Permissions
• Menu and Page Permissions
• Campaigns (ordered groups of Layouts)
• Layout Templates
• Display Statistics

What types of Media can Vision play?
Vision can play a wide range of Media and Layout based content such as:

• Images
• RSS Feeds
• Text
• Video
• Web Pages

Login

The CMS is protected by an authentication system with a user name and password. Additional user accounts can be created with various permissions. Please contact LightSpeed to do so.

Any access to the CMS before logging in will cause the login box to appear requesting your username and password. This will happen on first use, if you log out and after any periods of inactivity.

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NOTE: The CMS uses your browser cookies to check whether or not you are logged in. If you are having trouble logging in please try and clear you browser cache.

Navigation

The CMS has a simple navigation bar that is always visible in the header of the user interface. This navigation menu provides access to all the core areas of the CMS.

The navigation bar
Most of the menu items at the top level will expose further options once selected, each will be discussed below.

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• Dashboard
  • The dashboard link returns you to your dashboard.
• Schedule
  • Calendar view to assign Layouts/Campaigns onto Displays. Discussed in the Scheduling section.
• Design
  • Layout administration for adding/editing and designing Layouts and Campaigns. Discussed in the Layouts section.
• Library
  • Media Administration in the library for all file based media, such as images and video. Discussed in the Library section.
• Displays
  • Display Administration for managing any connected displays. Discussed in the Users and Displays section.
• Preferences
  • User preferences for changing password, logging out and viewing the help.
    

You may not see all of these options when you log in. That is because these are shown based on the permissions you have been assigned. If you would like access to additional areas, please speak to your CMS administrator.

Change Password
A logged in user can change their Password using the Change Password Menu Item from the Preferences menu. The form will ask the user to confirm their existing password and enter a new one.

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Dashboard

The Dashboard is a personalized area which allows quick access to the main functions enabled on your user account. There are two types of dashboard which can be enabled for a user:

Icon Dashboard
When a user first logs in, they are presented with the Vision Dashboard. This page presents all the options available to maintain your Xibo Network.

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The dashboard icons allow the user to navigate to specific sections of the CMS, below is a description of each icon:

• Schedule - Access the schedule for each display, and schedule new or existing layouts to displays.
• Layouts - Links to manage all the user's defined layouts i.e. create, edit or delete layouts.
• Library - Links to server library to manage its media contentes i.e. create, replace or delete media items.

Status Dashboard
The status dashboard provides an overview of system health, including a Bandwidth usage chart, a library usage chart and a display activity grid.

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