zebrix userguide

Zebrix is ​​accessible from any computer (PC / MAC) with internet. The only officially supported browser is Google Chrome for this reason, we recommend you to use it.(You can download by clicking this link). You can use another browser, but we are unable to guarantee the perfect functioning of zebrix with it.

For optimal user experience, we recommend working on a computer with a screen resolution of 1920×1080. However zebrix cms works with a resolution of 1368×768. But under this resolution, the experience can be less comfortable or even degraded.

You can access zebrix at the following address (depending on your location):

You will be asked:

• Your customer name
• Your username
• Your password

If you have forgotten this information, please contact your zebrix dealer or the official support (support@zebrix.net)

The orange icon is highlighted when one or more screen is downloading media, this usually occurs when starting a screen, when you just give its content, or when content planning starts. When you click this icon, you can view the list of screens that are in the process of transferring. With a click you can view the list of screens being transferred.

The green icon is highlighted when you transfer (upload) media to zebrix platform. A click on the icon shows you the transfer progress.

The filter bar allows you to filter the list of screens, media, pages, playlists based on tags that are associated with these elements. Please refer to the “tags” of this user guide to learn more about how tags work

The dashboard allows you to see the status of your network of screens. You will find the total number of screens and a graph showing you the number of screens currently broadcasting, in standby mode, or disconnected from the server zebrix. A summary of the number of pages created and the number of planning targets is also visible.

The chat gives you a status of your network of screens.

In green appear displays connected currently showing content (on). Connected displays that are not showing content appear in yellow. The screens not showing content were either voluntarily paused by a user from the zebrix interface, or they have no planning (or are outside the planning scheduled time, eg at night ). (Please refer to the section screens for more information). In red : the unreachable screens zebrix. Impossible to know if these screens may show content or not at this time. Unreachable screens can be for several reasons:

• Screens powered off with the remote control (note that it is possible to disable it, see section displays)
• Screens powered off with the button (note that it is possible to disable it, see section displays)
• Electrically disconnected
• Disconnected from the network / network failure or cable internet connection
• Possible failure of the screen

The “screen” you list displays your digital signage network. For each listed screen you will find its name, status (is it currently broadcasting or not, stopped, put into standby voluntarily or offline (ie. Off / disconnected from the network). Thanks to the “tags” column you can view and edit tags for each screen. the column “content” also informs you of the content that is being broadcast on the screen.

The button Set content allow to select the content (image, video, page, playlist) you want to display on selected screen(s). The selected content is then instantly displayed on the screen(s) (after the transfer completion of files). In this mode of operation, the screen does not take any schedule/planning into account, they will display selected content without limit.

These buttons can be in text form or as an icon depending on your screen resolution :

• Displayed in text mode for larger screen resolutions
• Displayed as an icon if your resolution is limited

Use the button Use Schedule to permit selected screen(s) to operate on the basis of planning. If no schedule is set for a screen, it remains powered off. The following icon appears in the “actions” when a screen operates on the basis of planning. A click on this icon displays the current plans for the clicked screen.

You can perform a remote screenshot using the screenshot button. The appearance of the screenshot may take a few seconds because of the transfer time between the screen and your computer.

Using the “Tool Material” button, you can display a window allowing you:

• Perform remote actions on the screen such as: reboot, lock the buttons / remote control, change the volume, etc.
• Check the “logs”
• Have monitoring information (version, uptime, serial number, etc.)
• Change settings of this screen (language)

The “media” is your library of images, video and flash files. You can list, add, delete, view and tag your media.

Images

• PNG
• JPG
• GIF
• Animated GIF (not recommended on SSSP v1 to v3 potential problems with too high resolutions or bitrate higher than 25 fps)

Maximum resolution screens for Samsung SSSP: 1920×1080 or 1080×1920

Videos

Uploaded videos are automatically transcoded into the best video format for zebrix. Therefore, zebrix supports over 200 formats / different video codecs. Here is a partial list of the most popular supported formats:

• MP4 / H264
• AVI
• MPEG 1 & 2
• MPEG4
• WMW (Windows Media Video)
• Apple ProRess
• .mov
• MKV
• OGG
• DivX
• XviD
• Bink
• 3GP
• VOB
• DNX
• Flash Video (FLV only, no .fla or .swf!)
• Etc.

Flash

• Samsung SSSP: The Samsung screen does not support flash
• NUC (Zebrix Box): SWF files supported maximum Flash Player 12 & Action Script 3

The easiest way to upload media is to drag & drop from your operating system files explorer, desktop or Finder (Mac) to the media section of the zebrix interface.

You can also use the button “Upload media” to browse your file system, and select the media you want to upload to the zebrix library.

When your media is being transferred, the transfer indicator (green) changes color and indicates the number of media that still need to be transferred. A click on this cloud icon displays the list of media files: being transferred or whose transfer is completed. When a media is fully transferred it automatically appears in the file list.

Section “Pages” allows you to list, preview, create, tag, duplicate, and delete pages.

The zebrix Page Editor allows you to create pages that will be displayed on your screens. These pages can display a media (an image / video) full screen mode or be more sophisticated thanks to multizone.

For example, you can position on the same page several zones that can each accommodate one or more media of a predefined type: text, images, videos, etc. These zones can be resized and positioned freely on the page, they can even overlap.

Use the + New button to create a new page

To create a new blank page, click the first button. You can create a new page based on a existing template with the second button. (A template is a pre-formatted page with a number of zones and content)

Name your page.

The Page Editor opens. On the left, you see the preview of your page. On the right, the properties of the pages and zone properties.

The button + lets you add a new zone on your page.

The collapsible properties allow you to adjust settings of the new zone and define its content.

A zone can contain different types of media.

A zone can be resized and moved freely

A page template lets you define a page that can be used as the basis for creating a new page. To create a template, first format the page as desired (add required zones, etc.), then you have to check the “Save As Template” and it's recommended to write a description which will be useful for the user wanting to create a new page from a template.

The “Playlist” allows you to list, preview, create, editor, tag and delete playlists. A playlist is a sequence of several pages, each with a defined duration.

• Click the “+ New” button *

• Define the Name *

• Using the playlist editor *

The concept of “tags” is very important in zebrix, it is important to understand how it works in order to take advantage of most advanced system features.

Tags can be defined as criteria, qualifiers, properties or labels you link to the screens, users, media, pages, playlists, as well as planning targets.

For example, tags will allow you to:

• Classify your screens, your media, your pages, etc.

  • Restrict pages based on certain criteria so that they can only be displayed on certain screens
  • Restrict the use of certain media in some pages.
  • Restrict user access to some screens, some pages, playlists and media.
  • Establish a “planning target” of type “selection” (see “planning” section of this guide) to schedule content on a group of screens with tags that you've specified.

  8.3 Setting tag families

A family of tags is defined as a list of tags related to the same theme. You can for example define a tag family of “shops” that will contain a list of all your stores (each store will be a tag), another family titled “Locations” listing the different possible locations in a shop (shop entry, cash, stock, office, etc.). By default, your client account includes only one family of tags named “Group” which you can rename as you wish, you can also request free family creation of additional tags to the zebrix support (support@zebrix.net). zebrix allows up to 7 families of tags.

Adding new tags is done through the tag seaction in the text field provided for this purpose.

A tag may be associated with an object (screen, users, media, pages, etc.) by a simple click on the tag column and typing the first letters of the tag you want to apply to the object. A drop-down list to be proposed.

• An object can have several tags of the same family if necessary
• An object (image / video / page / playlist) tagged on a tag “BRUSSEL” of a family “SITES”, can not be broadcast on a screen tagged “DUBLIN”.
• An object that has no tag is considered “universal”, it is like having all tags, it is visible to all. (Except in the case of a screen, see fifth rule)
• An object that is not tagged by a tag of a given family is considered universal within that family (as having all tags in that family). (Except in the case of a screen, see fifth rule)
• The two rules above do not apply quite the same to screens. A screen, when it has no tag, is indeed still able to broadcast any content (regardless of the tag configuration of this content) however, the major difference applies in terms of its visibility by users: unlike other objects, the screen without tags is visible only by a user with no tags.
• By extension of the previous rule, if a screen has no tag of a given family, it will only be visible to users who have no tag in this family. (The rule applies independently for each family).
• A user tagged “WELCOME SCREEN” (family of tags “TYPES”) will see only the screens having at least this tag. Those who are not tagged by another tag of the family “TYPES” or tagged by any tag other than “WELCOME SCREEN” will be invisible.

  9. "Schedules/Planning" Section

The “planning” allows you to manage schedules targets, targets that you can apply content delivery schedules.

Before you can plan, you must establish a planning target. A planning target is a group of screens (which may include 0 screen and all the screens of your network). Once an established target, it remains in zebrix and can be used at any time to schedule a broadcast.

When creating a new target, zebrix offers three options:

• A very specific screen: This screen will always remain the single screen of the target
• All screens: all your screens are concerned (the current screens and future you might add)
• A selection of screens: a dynamic selection of screens based on one or more “tags” of your choice. The number of screens involved evolve with “tags” that you assign to your screens.

Note that conflicts are possible. Indeed, a screen can easily end up in the scope of several targets simultaneously. A priority management system will allow you to determine which is the target that will be predominant on this screen. See the rest of this manual to understand how priorities are set in case of conflict.

After the creation of the target, zebrix displays the schedule for that target. A click on the calendar allows the opening of a planning addition window.

• Choose the content that has to be shown (page / playlist)
• Set the desired date range (start time, end time)
• Define, if necessary, the recurrence of this planning (daily, weekly)
• Define, if necessary, end date of recurrence

The event is added. You can create as many as desired. Out of the define planning time range, the screens are automatically switched off. At the beginning of each schedule they will be switched on.

To ask your screens take into account the established schedules, it is necessary to go in the “screens” to select / screen (s) and click on the “Use Schedule” button.

Once a target is defined it is no longer needed to create it. It will be listed in the “Schedules”. Other schedules events can then be added / modified / deleted on this target with the edit button in the column “actions”.

The rule is: the more a target is specific, the more it has priority.

That said, how to prioritize between two selection-type targets?

The basic rule is always the same: the more a target is specific, the more it has priority. In practice, selecting multiple tags of the same family can increase the number of screens in the selection. Conversely, selecting multiple tags from different families limits the selection. When two targets have identical weights, it is not possible to predict the conflict. However, this might reveal a possible bad organization. To manage this conflict, it is recommended to prepare an additional selection criteria that will be added to a target.

Situation: The “My Company 06” is tagged

Target 1
Target 2
Target 3

The screen is one of three targets. But it is the target 2 prevails because it is done at the screen. Planning at a screen always takes priority over all others.

Situation: The “My Company 06” is tagged

Target 1
Target 2

This is the target 2 that prevails because it is done at a selection which includes the screen. The target selection overrides the target “ALL”.

Situation: The “My Company 06” is tagged

Target 1
Target 2

The screen is one of the two selections. This is the target 1 prevails because it is done at a more restrictive selection as the target 2 (which concerns more screens, as it is for screens tagged “Vitrine” more those tagged “Caisse”, two tags of the same family).

Situation: The “My Company 06” is tagged

Target 1
Target 2

There is no conflict in this situation. This is the target 1 is the only consideration because the screen is not tagged “Communication visiteurs” it is not within the perimeter of the second selection. Remember, the target is for 2 screens being both tagged “Vitrine” and “Communication visiteurs” simultaneously (because they are from different families). The screens tagged only “Vitrine” or only “Communication Visiteurs” is not within the perimeter of the target.

Situation: The “My Company 06” is tagged

Target 1
Target 2

The screen is within the scope of both targets, but it is the target 2 prevails because it is more specific (restrictive) than the target 1. In fact, the target 1 includes all screens tagged “Vitrine” and all the tagged displays “Caisse” when the target 2 includes all screens simultaneously tagged “Vitrine”and “Communication Visiteurs”.

Situation: The “My Company 06” is tagged

Target 1
Target 2

In this context, zebrix is ​​not able to determine which of the target will be prioritized in the case of the “My Company 06” screen. The relevant target will be random. This case of conflict, however, rarely occurs in practice because it denotes a lack of organization. In this case, we would either find a target Is one of the two aforementioned targets pa would have existed.

Incremental planning can handle conflict situation with a concatenation of contents issue of multiple planning. A planning on a screen of 5 pages in conflict with planning of 2 pages on target “ALL” will result in playlist composed of 7 pages.

The “Users” allows you to create zebrix users editor properties (name, email, password, language, role, etc.) or delete them.

Admin

• The user “Admin” has the highest level of access to zebrix. He can “do everything” within his “tag-scope” (the working perimeter specified by him tags applied on him).

Limited User:

• He can only create a page from a “template”, he is not allowed to create a blank page
• In page editor, he can only edit the content in zones but not zone themselves. And only zone defined “editable by limited users”.
• he is not allowed to modify the layout and properties of your zones (positions, sizes, colors, etc.)
• Limited user is authorized to add / delete pages in a customizable playlist placed within a playlist created by an admin user.
• It is allowed to upload content.

“Settings” is divided into two sections:

• The “Global Settings”
• The “Local Settings”

These settings are only available to “admin” type of users, these settings affect your overall way of account (ie they have an impact on all users).

The language setting defined at this level will be the language used by default for all new users that will be created and for all screens will be activated on your account. (For displays, the language setting determines the format used for date and time displayed thanks to the “date / time” zone type)

If you enable this setting, after 3 login attempts with an incorrect password, that user will be locked for the duration you've set. Enabling this option is recommended because it adds an extra level of security against malicious persons.

The zebrix interface is accessible from any Internet connected computer in the world. If you want to add an extra level of security, you can enable this setting. It will only allow connections to zebrix interface from IP adresses you've definted. Note that if your users need to connect from several different locations it is likely you have to list multiple IP addresses. Council: Do not enable this unless you know exactly what you are doing or contact the Support team zebrix for more information. (Support@zebrix.net)

These settings are only for your user account

This parameter defines the language you want to use in the zebrix interface. This parameter is specific to each user.