Default Screen Template Dimensions
The dimensions for the default screen templates are fixed and cannot be changed.
Alternatively, you can create custom screen templates (where you specify different sizes for the screen template regions) and overlay screen templates (where you have a non-video or video region overlapping a video or mixed media region).
Table 1 defines the default screen templates that are included in Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director.
Note: Obsolete templates (such as 3-Region, 3-Region double, Emergency, Exit, Outside Emergency, Welcome) might still appear in your system if you have upgraded from earlier releases. Installing a full ISO image will remove previously available templates.
Note: For dual video playback on the CV-UHD2 DMP, the secondary video should not contain audio.
Table 1 Default Screen Template Summary
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Mixed Media |
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(Also known as just “Lwrapper.”) |
■Video (Live video or replay; Mixed media in Region 1) ■Advertisements (Playlist of advertisements in Region 2) ■Ticker (Feed of scores or news in Region 3) |
■Video: 1624x914 ■Ads: 296x914 ■Ticker: 1920x166 |
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Using a luma key on the video in region 2 (the top-layer video region), you can enable select areas of video content in region 1 to be visible through the video in region 2.
Note: A luma key on UHD video is not supported. However, an HD video in the secondary region can use a luma key over a UHD video in the primary region.
The Full Screen Dual Video template is available.
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Video 1 (bottom video): 1920x1080
Video 2 (top video): 1920x1080
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General Guidelines for All Screen Templates
When creating screen templates and populating content, consider the following guidelines:
■Templates are ordered by name.
■For Proof of Play, you can have more than one region with an ad playlist.
■Regions are listed from top-to-bottom layer order, where the top layer appears at the top of the list.
■Layers are numbered, if a screen template contains a non-video region and a video or mixed media region, the video or mixed media region always appears at the bottom of the list.
Note: You can manually drag a video region to be on top of other regions; however, the rendering of the regions below the video region will not be predictable and can be completely invisible.
■A box icon adds a non-video region.
■A film icon adds a video or mixed media region.
■Switching a non-video region to a video region might produce a warning if there is already an existing video region.
■Saving an existing template with regions removed will produce a force dialog for confirmation. In addition, when a template that is used in an event script is edited (including when one is adding a region) a force dialog appears for confirmation. You should also edit the scripts that use the changed template to verify that the added or removed regions contain the appropriate content and changes occur as expected.
Note: The SV-4K, CV-UHD, and CV-UHD2 media players support HD/SD and video content with UHD resolution. Graphics with UHD resolution are not supported. The DMPs only support HD/SD content and do not support UHD video streaming. Review the list of supported content in the Overview of Content Support in Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director.
Full Screen Dual Video Default Template
A full-screen dual video default template is available for the DMPs. Dual video regions allow you to overlay two video regions—a secondary local or multicast video region and a primary video region.
The dual video template provides the following capabilities:
■Show two video feeds at the same time.
■Place video-based advertisements.
■Promote a moment of exclusivity during an event.
■Apply luminance (luma) keying to the secondary video region.
Note: Do not apply a luma key to video content with UHD resolution on the SV-4K, CV-UHD, or CV-UHD2 digital media player. Luma keying is only supported for dual video when an HD video in the secondary region uses a luma key over a UHD video in the primary region.
Table 5 lists the specifications of dual video regions.
Table 5 Full Screen Dual Video Template Specifications
Region |
Specification |
Video 1 |
■Can be controlled using an infrared remote (IR) remote or local control. ■In the template, video region 1 appears as the bottom or primary layer. ■Supports audio. ■Source: Local or multicast video. |
Video 2 |
■Cannot be controlled through an IR remote or local control. ■In the template, video region 2 fully overlaps video region 1. ■Luminance (luma) keying is applied to second video region (it cannot be disabled or changed in the template). It cannot be applied on UHD content. ■Does not play audio. ■Source: Local or multicast video. |
Note: The luma key default is set to #ff2000. To enable luma keying, scroll down the Properties panel and click the checkbox (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Full Screen Dual Video Enable Luma Keying
To change the global luma key value:
Click Configuration > System Configuration > Global DMP Settings > Default - Audio/Video/Closed Caption.
For additional information on luma keying, refer to the Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director Operations Guide.
Guidelines for Dual Video Screen Templates
When using the dual video template for the media players, consider the following:
■A combination of up to full-HD (1920x1080) at either 30 or 60 fps for local video and multicast video are hardware-accelerated.
■Using multicast videos for both video regions is supported; we recommend using a combination of multicast and locally stored videos for the video regions.
■Place video regions below any non-video content for consistent playback and performance.
■Match the template region aspect ratio with the aspect ratio of the video content that will play in that region.
■If the secondary video region is not displaying, verify that there are no staging errors, that the secondary region is not behind the primary region, and the resolution does not exceed 1920x1080.
■In the dual video template, the secondary region (video 2) will appear above the primary region (video 1). Using luma keying on video region 2, you can enable select areas of video region 1 content to be visible through video region 2. To change the order of the dual video regions, copy the locked template to create a custom template and change the order accordingly.
■Do no apply a luma key to video content with UHD resolution on the SV-4K, CV-UHD, and CV-UHD2 media player. Luma keying is only supported for dual video when an HD video in the secondary region uses a luma key over a UHD video in the primary region.
Dual Video Screen Templates–Enhancements
New in Release 6.3, you can set up the video / HTML layer order of a DMP display by using a new display specification: dmp.layerOrderMode.
Previously, the video layers would always render on the bottom of the stacking order on the DMP display, regardless of the stacked order in the template (Figure 7). You could achieve effects by transparencies and sizing, but video could not be overlaid.
Figure 7 Default Layer Order—Single Video On the Bottom
There are three settings for dmp.layerOrderMode. By using this new display parameter, you can achieve the following:
■VideoOnBottom (same as existing behavior, Figure 7)
■GraphicsInMiddle (Figure 8)
■VideoOnTop (Figure 9)
For a use case such as a menu in HTML5 with video background showing a video overlay content during a Moment of Exclusivity, use GraphicsInMiddle (Figure 8).
Figure 8 GraphicsInMiddle Value Output
Set VideoOnTop when you need the secondary region to always be on top of the primary region, regardless of region layer order. Videos will always be above non-video layers (Figure 9).
Figure 9 VideoOnTop Value Output
Figure 10 shows a graphic representation of single video behavior.
Figure 10 Single Video Content Layering Behavior
Figure 11 shows a graphic representation of dual video behavior.
Figure 11 Dual Video Behavior: VideoOnBottom/VideoOnTop
Note: Use when you want HTML content below primary/secondary regions. Diagnostics, StartWebApp, Guide, TV Banner and PIN may not be visible.
Figure 12 shows a graphic representation of dual video with graphics in the middle layers.
Figure 12 Dual Video with Graphics in the Middle Layers Between the Videos
Layering Content—What is Not Supported
We do not recommend doing the following when designing your content displays:
■Video in between two non-video content layers, such as when using a URL channel
■Secondary video below a primary video when using VideoOnTop. The runtime will force the primary video to be below the secondary video.
■Swapping layer order of two video regions across different script states. This may have unpredictable results.
■Template regions do not match layer order. This may have unpredictable results.
IMPORTANT: Here is the current caveat to using this new display parameter:
■The template layering must be consistent with the layer mode. For example, once VideoOnTop is set for a DMP, the video layer will always be on top, even if the template has the video layer on the bottom. Therefore, carefully design your display templates and content if you intend to use this new capability.
The following is an example process using GraphicsInMiddle. Make sure the template used in the script has the regions layered properly (Video/non-Video/Video).
To set the Display Parameter allowing new video layering:
1. Click Configuration > Devices > Display Specifications > Display Parameters.
2. Select the DMP in the left panel.
3. Type layer in the Search field on the right. The dmp.layerOrderMode displays in the list.
4. Click Edit (pencil icon). The Edit Display Parameter dialog box appears (Figure 13).
5. In the Configured Status field, type GraphicsInMiddle.
6. Click Save.
Figure 13 Configuring dmp.layerOrderMode Display Parameter
7. Reboot the DMP to get the new configuration to appear on screen.
Custom Screen Templates
In addition to using the standard templates that come with Cisco Vision Dynamic Signage Director, you can also create your own custom or overlay template.
Custom screen templates allow you to change the size and arrangements of the regions on the screen to fit the sponsor/venue needs. See Figure 14 for an example.
Figure 14 Custom Template Example
Guidelines for Custom Screen Templates
Consider the following guidelines when creating custom screen templates:
■Regions can contain non-video content (static graphics), video, or a combination of both (in a mixed media region).
■Up to 5 regions are supported for each screen template—more than 5 may cause degradation. Results may vary depending on what type of non-video content is used. For example, a very simple widget may not cause degradation but a very complex widget could.
■A custom template can contain up to two video regions.
–Dual UHD video regions on the SV-4K, CV-UHD, and CV-UHD2 are not supported.
–Using luma keying on video content in Region 2, you can enable select areas of video Region 1 content to be visible through video Region 2 (see Figure 6).
–Change the order of the video regions by changing their relative layer order in the template.
■When layering regions, the non-video content (graphics, widgets, etc.) will always appear according to how you set the display specification: dmp.layerOrderMode. See Dual Video Screen Templates–Enhancements.
Note: When layering two video/mixed media regions, if the playlist for the first video/mixed media region includes both video and non-video content, the non-video content in the first region will always appear on top of the video in the second video region. To alter this, see Dual Video Screen Templates–Enhancements.
TIP : If you must include non-video content in Region 1, create a local video of the static content and use that in the playlist so that it remains in the primary region.
■To optimize performance, the video and graphic aspect ratio sizes should match the aspect ratio of the region. Multi-screen template stretching generally is not currently supported. However, multicast video and local video scaling is supported on all digital media players.
■All regions must fit within the 1920x1080 dimensions. If you are using an overlay, then you can have two regions that are both 1920x1080.
Note: The DMPs support negotiation to many resolutions. However, when the negotiated resolution is less than 1920x1080, the template will crop to that lower resolution.
Table 6 provides the number of content regions you can have when creating custom templates.
Table 6 Number of Allowed Regions When Creating Custom Templates
Region Type |
SV-4K, CV-UHD, CV-UHD2 |
DMP 2K, CV-HD and CV-HD2 |
Non-Video Graphic |
0 or more |
0 or more |
Video Region 1 or Mixed Media |
Up to One |
Up to One |
Video Region 2 or Mixed Media |
Up to One |
Not Supported |
Custom Overlay Screen Templates
Overlay screen templates are custom templates that allow a non-video region (graphics) to overlap a video (or mixed media) region on the media players. You also can create a custom screen template with dual video regions (or you can use the default full-screen dual video template).
The screen overlay feature can be assigned to any region. Using the overlay feature you can display:
■A full-screen video (or mixed media) region with a full-screen non-video (graphic) content region overlaid on top.
■A brand/graphic overlaid in a small region of the screen.
■A ghosted brand/graphic such as a transparent logo where some of the colors in the logo are transparent and others are not.
Note: When creating an overlay screen template that has a primary video and a non-video region on top, be sure that the image is designed to fit on the canvas. If the image is placed off the canvas, only part of the image will appear.
Guidelines for Graphics in Overlay Screen Templates
■Use 8-bit or 24-bit PNG (transparent pixels supported) file format.
■Make the pixels transparent in the.PNG for the full-size video region.
■Do not use JPG files because they do not preserve transparency.
Note: Graphics always overlay video. You cannot place video over graphics.