Fabulous new version of our digital signage system is coming

A new version of the MRG digital signage system is due for release at the end of August 2012 featuring a new Page Editor and a complete rewrite of the Dashboard.

What’s new in the Dashboard?

  • Improved support for modern browsers including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox
  • Users’ preferred views are saved in the browser (requires cookies to be enabled)
  • Screens can be viewed as thumbnails, icons, or as a list
  • The Schedule pane shows the schedule for a screen, which can be viewed as a list or as a calendar with ‘Day’ and ‘Week’ views. The pane may be shown or hidden depending on your preference
  • The scheduler supports fortnightly repeating pages based on ‘Week A / Week B’ timetables commonly used in the education sector
  • A ‘Preview’ pane on the right-hand side of the dashboard shows the output from the selected screen. The pane is refreshed every few seconds. This pane may be shown or hidden
  • TV and video Items are now embedded within pages. (See below for further explanation)
  • Improved ‘Drag and Drop’ support allows for easy creation of carousels
  • Pages, carousels, and messages do not have to belong to fixed folders. Folders can now contain any type of item
  • Carousels support many new types of transition between pages, including ‘Slide’, ‘Zoom’, ‘Flip’, and ‘Fade’

What’s new in the Page Editor?

  • All pages are composed of ‘layers’ which contain text, images, video, etc. To simplify the process of page design and creation, and to avoid accidental errors when editing pages, the editor has two modes of operation: 
  • Design Mode - Layers are created in design mode. They can be resized, moved, and given a border if required. Each new layer has a specific function, simplifying page creation
    • Text layer – contains only text
    • Image layer – contains a single image
    • TV layer (video) – plays a video file or live TV (if a TV tuner is fitted)
    • Table layer – contains text formatted as a table
    • Slideshow layer – contains a slideshow of images
    • Panorama layer – displays a single image, scrolling horizontally
    • URL layer – displays content from another website
    • Render layer – displays content from an arbitrary source in custom format
  • Edit Mode – In edit mode, layers cannot be moved or resized, but the content may be edited
  • The editor is context-sensitive and specifically designed for page creation:
    • The size, shape and positioning of layers cannot be accidentally altered during editing
    • Toggling between modes is fast and easy
    • TV and video is now embedded in the page resulting in content loading more rapidly
    • It is now possible to incorporate TV & video into carousels
    • The TV Items folder is no longer required which reduces the number of steps
    • The use of '##' shortcuts for date, time, etc. has been automated and simplified

 

 

Posted: 7th August 2012

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