Display Types

Display types are one aspect of a display unit.

A display type allows you to configure the resolution, and orientation, of a screen attached to a player.

Note: If you neglect to configure display types, your content may have performance issues.

The "Display Types" training video is part of the "Network Setup" playlist:

Note: If you are new to Broadsign Control, we suggest you start with the Network Setup playlist.

Display Types – Outlines how to create and configure display types.

"Display unit" is Broadsign’s term for a screen on your network. A display unit brings together several settings for each display, one of which is the display type.

Broadsign Control Player software supports any resolution that your operating system, and video card, can output to.

If you select Display Types from the resource tabs on the left, then right-click anywhere in the work area, you will see this menu:

  • Add Display Type – Opens the Add Display Type Wizard.
  • Edit Display Type – Opens the Display Type Properties dialogue box.
  • Deactivate Display Types – Deactivates any selected display types.
  • Add Display Type Folder – Opens the Add Folder Wizard dialogue box.
  • Edit Folder – Opens the Display Type Folder Properties dialog box.

For general information about adding, editing and deactivating resources, see Overview - Resources.

To add a display type, use one of the following methods:

  • Go to the Network Setup ribbon, and then select the Display Type icon.

  • From the resource tabs on the left, select Display Types. Then, right-click anywhere in the work area. From the contextual menu, select Add Display Type.

By default, the Add Display Type Wizard contains the following pages:

  • Welcome – Name the display type.

  • Specify Resolution – Specify the maximum resolution of the display type, that is the maximum amount of pixels in width and height that fit within the display type.

To edit a display type, use one of the following methods:

  • From the list panel, select a display type. Then, from the view bar, select Edit.

  • From the list panel, double-click on a type.

A display type's properties has three tabs: General, Log, and Display Units.

The resolution of the display type is meant to be the display resolution of the profiled hardware. Any display units created using this display type should have this resolution. You can ensure that the player’s desktop resolution is automatically adjusted to this new resolution by checking the Enforce resolution on player check box. If the specified resolution cannot be set due to graphics card/screen incompatibilities, a resolution mismatch incident will be opened.

You force the player to rotate the display to the left, right or inverted to remotely switch to portrait or landscape mode. You can ensure that the player’s desktop orientation is automatically set by the player by checking the Enforce orientation on player check box.

Note: If unable to set the specified orientation due to graphics card/screen incompatibilities, Broadsign Control Administrator will open a resolution mismatch incident. See Incident Types.

The Log tab details changes made to the display type (either manually or through Broadsign Control API). The type of change made is recorded also. From this tab, it is possible to add new changes and to acknowledge existing changes made to the display type. When a change is made or acknowledged, the current user and date is recorded.

To add a log entry:

  1. Click Add.
  2. Enter the content of your log.
  3. Select the type of log entry:
    • Creation
    • Modification
    • Cancellation

  4. Click Finish.

The Display Units tab lists all display units associated with this display type.

This tab provides the following features:

  • A list of associated display units.
  • The ability to sort the display units:
    • Alphabetically, by name (or reverse); and,
    • Numerically, by ID # (or reverse).
  • The ability to assign more DUs to the display type. Click Assign.
  • The ability to select a display unit from the list, open its properties and edit them. Click Edit. For more information, see Edit Display Unit Properties.

In the list panel of explorer view, each resource has a column selector menu. With this menu, you can configure the list panel to display information you want.

To access a resource's column selector menu:

  1. From the view bar, select Explorer view.
  2. In the list panel, hover your pointer over the panel header.
  3. Right-click, and the column selector menu will appear.

  4. Select as many column options as you want.

  • Id – Indicates the unique ID number of the resource. See Overview - Resources.
  • Active – Indicates whether the resource is in an "active" or "inactive" state. See Overview - Resources.
  • Domain Id – Indicates the unique ID number of the domain. See The General Section.
  • Resolution Width – The width, in pixels, of the display type resolution.
  • Resolution Height – The height, in pixels, of the display type resolution.
  • Enforce Resolution – Indicates whether or not resolution enforcement is enabled. See Edit Display Type Properties.
  • Container Id – Indicates the unique ID number of the resource folder.
  • Screen Orientation – Indicates the orientation of the screen, that is, landscape or portfolio.
  • Enforce Orientation – Indicates whether or not orientation enforcement is enabled. See Edit Display Type Properties.

After you have created some display types for your network, you can then move on to other basic steps: