The Show Player plays scheduled or on-demand shows created in the Create Shows section.
Controls in the heading (master dimmer, volume, etc) were covered in the previous section.
The Show Player logs every sequence that it plays to the Player Log.
The Show Player screen is divided into several sections:
If the media file for a musical sequence has cover art, the cover art will be displayed in the Current and Upcoming Sequence lists. Otherwise, a default icon is used.
Current Show
There are 3 rows of text in this section:
•The name of the show being played. If the show was started on-demand, the name will have a "!" prefix.
•The show status. If a sequence is being prepared for playback the first time, the status will show as "Initializing".
•The time range that the show is scheduled to play
In the heading are 4 buttons:
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Clicking this button will open the Show On Demand dialog prompting you for a show to run. |
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Clicking the Pause button will open a menu with 2 options: pause immediately, or after the current song. After the show is paused, this button will display a play icon. Click it to resume playback. |
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Clicking the Stop button will open a menu with 2 options: stop immediately, or after the current song. |
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Clicking this button will open a dialog prompting you for how long you want to extend the show. You can choose from 15, 30, 45, or 60 minute presets, or you can set a specific end time. This extension is temporary -- it does not permanently change the show's schedule. However, it will change the end time displayed in the Current Show area. |
Upcoming Shows
This section will display any shows scheduled to play in the next 7 days. Clicking the Play button next to a show opens the Show On Demand dialog for that show.
Override Sequences
The sequences listed in this section are not associated with a show. Typically you would use this area for special announcements -- clear out traffic, arrival of a VIP, etc. Click the "Add" button (upper right) to add a new one. For each sequence, you can designate that it should be played immediately or after the current song.
•Click the Play button to play the override sequence. If it is designated to play immediately, it will show up in the Currently Playing area. If it is designated to play after the current song, you will see it at the top of the list of Upcoming Sequences.
•Click the Prep button (diagonal arrows facing each other) to prepare the sequence for playback. The button is not displayed if the sequence is already prepared. If you click the Play button before a sequence that has been prepared, it will be prepared before playback starts.
•Click the Edit icon to modify the override (e.g. change Play Immediately to Play After Current Song).
•Click the Trash Can icon to remove the override from the list.
When adding or editing an override sequence, the following window will appear. If time code synchronization is enabled, there will also be a time code field displayed.
•Click the Browse button to choose the desired sequence.
•Choose how the sequence should be played
•Click the Add / Update button to save your choices.
The Override Sequence dialog
Currently Playing
This section lists the currently playing sequences. While there can only be one musical sequence playing at a time, multiple animation sequences can play simultaneously (e.g. from the Background section of the show).
Above the progress bar, 3 times are shown:
•How much of the sequence has played so far
•The time the sequence started
•The amount of time remaining before the sequence ends
Click the "+" button if you want the sequence to play again. A copy of the song will be added to the top of the Upcoming Sequences list. If you want the current sequence to repeat 3 more times, click the button 3 times.
Click the Skip icon to stop the currently playing sequence. The next item in Upcoming Sequences will start playing.
Upcoming Sequences
This is the list of upcoming sequences. The item at the top is the next to play. The list is refreshed every time the player has cycled through all of the sequences in the main section of the show.
To move an item to the top of the list, click the Up Arrow icon. This does not move the item one position, it moves it directly to the top.
Clicking the Trash Can icon will remove the sequence from the current cycle. It will be put back into the list on the next cycle.
Show On Demand
The Show On Demand dialog
Using this dialog, you can choose a show file to play immediately, or at a certain time, without needing to add it to your schedule. You can choose to let it play until a certain time, or else indefinitely, in which case it will not stop until you click either the "Stop" or the "Disable Player" button,
If a show is already playing at the time the on demand show is supposed to start, the playing show will be allowed to stop gracefully before the on demand show will start. That is, if a sequence from its Musical Section is currently playing, that sequence will be allowed to continue to play until its natural end; also, the sequences from its Shutdown Section, if any exist, will be played (after the current sequence from the Musical Section ends, or immediately if there is no current sequence from the Musical Section).