Signage by Works In All Things

Required Rock Version
19.0

Documentation
Documentation Link

Support
Support Link

Package Description

Signage runs the TVs around your building from Rock. Build playlists of pictures, videos, Lava and web pages, schedule them with ordinary Rock schedules, and point each TV at its own Player URL. A dashboard shows what every screen is playing, and screens keep playing when the network or Rock goes down.

Features

• Add a TV in one step: Add Display makes the display, its display group and its playlist, uploads the slides and schedules when they play, then gives you the display's permanent Player URL to make the TV's home page. It keeps working on kiosks that clear their storage on every restart. No check-in devices, IP addresses or logins on the TV.
• Playlists of slides: images (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP) and videos (MP4, WebM), uploaded many at once or linked from a web address; Lava slides, rendered fresh each time they show; and web pages. Each slide can have its own time on screen, start and stop dates, an on/off switch, and campuses, so a multi-site church can share one playlist and still show campus-specific slides. Drag slides into order, choose from seven transitions, and show pictures and videos whole or filling the screen.
• Optional slide templates that use data every Rock install already has: Website Ads shows the current ads from the External Website Ads content channel, by their image, start and expire dates and campuses, and Upcoming Events lists the next events on the Public calendar for the screen's campus. Nothing is added on install; pick one when you add a Lava slide and change it as you like. A slide with nothing to show is skipped.
• Core Rock schedules: each display group has a default playlist plus a numbered list of schedules. Use schedules you already have, or set one up right in the dialog, even with a new playlist. The first schedule that's running and has something to show wins, so an empty playlist never blanks a screen.
• One-off events in a few clicks: on a playlist, choose Play on a Display Group > At set times. It shows instead of the usual content while the event runs, then stops by itself.
• Alerts for emergencies and urgent notices: Send Alert on the dashboard puts a full-screen red, amber or blue message on every display, the displays at chosen campuses, or chosen display groups, ahead of every schedule. It ends after the time you choose, even on a TV that has lost its connection, or when you clear it, and the dashboard shows which screens have it. Security or facilities staff can be allowed to send alerts without being able to change anything else.
• See what plays where, and when: the dashboard shows every display, online or offline, what it's showing (with a preview), its next change and whether it's ready to play offline. Each display group's page lists its screens with the same controls and has a This Week timeline with each playlist's start and end times, and the Preview page shows what plays at any date and time, and why.
• Offline playback: each TV stores its schedule for the next 7 days, its slides and (over HTTPS) the player page itself. If the network or Rock goes down, it keeps playing and still switches playlists on time.
• Instant updates through Rock RealTime. Identify shows a display's name on its screen, and Reload Player reloads it remotely.
• Embedded mode: play a display group inside any Rock page.
• Your storage, your theme: choose the file type (and so the storage provider) uploads are saved as. The admin screens use your Rock theme, and the player's colors can be changed with CSS variables.
• Built for Rock: Obsidian blocks, plugin migrations, standard Rock security, and a full uninstall script.

What gets installed

• Admin Tools > Installed Plugins > Signage (viewable by the RSR - Staff Workers and RSR - Staff Like Workers roles): Dashboard (/signage/dashboard), Playlists (/signage/playlists), Display Groups (/signage/groups) and Preview (/signage/preview).
• A hidden Player page at /signage/tv, viewable by everyone so TVs need no login.
• A Signage Media file type and a Signage schedule category.

Setup

1. Check that the Internal Application Root global attribute is the https:// address TVs can reach. Every address Signage shows starts with it.
2. On a computer, open Signage > Dashboard, click Add Display, name the display, and make a display group and its playlist. Upload some pictures or videos and set when they play, in the same dialog.
3. Make the display's Player URL the TV's home page. The TV starts showing the slides within seconds.