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Questions about UL Lafayette Digital Signage Project

 

How can I get digital signage for my building?

Please explain the terms used in this project

How do I create a feed for my department or organization?

How do I submit content to a feed?

Can I view content that is currently displaying in various feeds?

How does a Feed Moderator view existing feed content?

How does a Feed Moderator delete existing feed content?

How do I change my password?

How do I get Emergency Notification System (ENS) messages to display on my digital signage?

What if I have questions after I start using the software?


What is the UL Lafayette Digital Signage Project?

The UL Lafayette Digital Signage Project is an IT service offered by University Computing Support Services (UCSS).  The project has two components:

  •     Digital signage which consists of an LED display and a small computer used to display content, in text or graphics format, of interest to a building, location, department, or the entire university.
  •     Web based software that manages the digital signage and the content displayed.

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How can I get digital signage for my building?

Entities desiring digital signage should contact digitalsignage@louisiana.edu  The Digital Signage Project is being offered as a service by UCSS.  The service costs $10/month or $100/year per sign.  These funds are used to provide and maintain the computers which connect to the screens and the central server and software.  UCSS will assist you in identifiying the appropriate screen for your installation.  You will be responsible for the purchase and maintenance of the screen.

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Please explain the terms used in this project

Concerto is the name of the web based software which controls the digital signage system.  The software was developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  Dashboard is the first page, the home page the user sees when he logs into the web software.

Screens are the displays set up in buildings throughout campus.  Screens are managed by a group of privileged users called Screen Moderators who control the content (feeds) and settings of a particular screen.  Templates are preconfigured displays.  Each template has four fields or display areas.  The four fields are time (system date and time), graphic, ticker, and text.  The Screen Moderator selects which template to display on the screen, and selects what content (feeds) to display in the template fields.

Feeds are subject based categories which contain the content that is displayed.  For example, the UL Events feed includes content of general interest to the entire UL community.  Each feed includes a description of the content that is suitable for the feed.  Feeds can be campus wide (of interest to the entire campus) or internal (of interest to a particular building or department).  Each feed has one or more individuals who act as Feed Moderators.  These individuals approve all submissions to the feed.  Content submitted to a feed by one of its Feed Moderators is automatically approved.  Feeds can be Normal Feeds (anyone can submit text or graphics to the feed), Restricted Feeds (only moderators of that feed submit text or graphics to the feed), or Private Feeds (only the moderator of the feed sees and submits content to the feed).

Two types of content can be submitted to a feed:

  •     Ticker - text that is shorter than 150 characters
  •     Graphics - 1280 x 1024 pixels; 4 x 3 ratio; file of type jpg, png, gif, or pdf.  An easy way to create a graphic is to create a Powerpoint presentation consisting of one slide.  Save the presentation as a jpg file and submit the jpg.

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How do I create a feed for my department or organization?

Contact digitalsignage@louisiana.edu  The Feed Moderator(s) will receive instruction in managing the feed.

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How do I submit content to a feed?

Step 1: If this is your first time to submit content, send an email to digitalsignage@louisiana.edu  In the email, state why you want to submit announcements.  You will receive an email with instructions on how to log in to the web software.

Step 2: Log in to https://webapps.ucs.louisiana.edu/concerto. You will see the Dashboard page.  If this is the first time you are logging in, click the different tabs to become familiar with the software:

 

  1.     Click View Account (on left side).  Click the Approved, Denied, and Pending tabs to see the status of submitted content.  Because you have not submitted any content, you will not see any entries.  After you submit content, you can come back to this page to view the status of your submitted content.
  2.     Click Browse Feeds to view information about the various feeds.  In particular, you will see the Normal Feeds (open to everyone submitting messages) and Restricted Feeds (not open to the public).  View this page to select the feed that best matches your announcment.  Do not submit an announcement to multiple feeds.  Displays are set up to alternate between feeds, so submitting to one feed ensures that the announcement is displayed the proper number of times.
  3.     Click Screens to view information about the various displays.  You can see where screens are located.  Click on any Screen.  You can see which feeds display on that screen.
  4.     Scroll down to the bottom of any page.  Click Support Center to view online documentation.  Before you create content, you should read the following documents:
  •         What are Feeds?
  •         Adding New Content
  •         Style Guide for Graphical Content
  1.     When finished reading the documentation, click the Return to Dashboard link (left side) to go back to the Dashboard page.

Step 3: Click Add Content and create the announcement (text, graphic) and submit it to the feed.  Each feed has Feed Moderators who approve the content of the feed.  If you are a Feed Moderator for the feed, your content will automatically be approved.

If you are not a Feed Moderator for the feed, you can log back in, click View Account, and check your list of announcements and see what content has been approved.  If the content is not approved, you will see a message explaining why it was not approved.

After the content is approved, it is added to the particular feed and displayed on the screens configured to display that feed.  The content will display during the date range you specified when you created the content.

Step 4:  When you are finished, click Logout (on left side, below View Account).

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Can I view content that is currently displaying in various feeds?

You may view the graphical items in each feed.

  1.     Log in.
  2.     On the Dashboard page, click Concerto Wall.
  3.     Click the Down arrow to view a list of feeds.  The number to the right of the feed indicates the number of graphical submissions.  Click one of the feeds to view thumbnails of graphical submissions to that feed. Double click an image to view a larger image.
  4.     When done, click the Back to the Concerto Panel link in the lower left corner.

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How does a Feed Moderator view existing feed content?

  1.     Log in and click Browse Feeds tab.
  2.     Scroll down to the feed.  Note that below the feed are buttons for Ticker and Graphics.  The buttons also list the number of active items.
  3.     Click the Ticker or Graphics button.
  4.     Select Active (default), Expired, or Declined tab to view that type of content.
  5.     Click the announcement Name to see detailed information about the content.

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How does a Feed Moderator delete existing feed content?

  1.     Log in and click Browse Feeds tab.
  2.     Scroll down to the feed and click the feed's Ticker or Graphics button.
  3.     Click the announcement Name.
  4.     Click the announcement Name that is to the left of the Disapprove link.
  5.     Click the Delete Item button.
  6.     You are prompted to confirm the delete.  Click Yes.

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How do I change my password?

We strongly recommend you change your password the first time you log in to the web software. To change your password, click View Account (on the left side).  You can Edit Profile or Change Password.

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How do I get Emergency Notification System (ENS) messages to display on my digital signage?

In the event of an ENS notification, information will automatically display on every screen connected to the UL Digital Signage Project.

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What if I have questions after I start using the software?

Contact the IT Help Desk for assistance.  An agent will guide you through the steps and answer any questions.  Call 337 482-4357

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