Visual circuits firefly media player

Page 46 See Smart Card on page 5. Webview Firefly Update: Used to manually select the. System automatically updates and restarts. See Webview Software Channels may be Page Encoding Recommendations 4. Program stream files should have one end code 00 00 01 b9 at the very end of the file.

The Firefly can handle files without end codes, but it is still a good idea to include one. Page 49 Encoding Requirements and Recommendations 6. When encoding files, annotate and store notes on the audio levels of both the source tape and input settings of the encoder. Page 50 Encoding Requirements and Recommendations Yet, whenever possible, hardware-based encoding systems are preferred.

The remote control provides for a wide variety of options. Activating the Remote Control In some situations there may be more than one Firefly in a given Player Control Display Player Operation Once a channel s has been selected for manual player control, the keys on the lower portion of the remote control designated for player control will be active.

The following section describes the function and operation of each player control key. If one or more of the selected channels are already playing at the time this command is received, these channels will continue playing and will be unaffected by the command. Page Scan Reverse Remote Control not be displayed. To reverse or rewind the content, press the REW key. Moreover, note that the fast forward function cannot go past the start or end of the current file and that it only operates on one channel at a time.

When the skip reverse command is received, selected channels will be stepped back to the beginning of the video. When the MENU command is received, the menu will be displayed. You can also exit by simply pressing the EXIT key on the menu navigation section of the remote. Note that if there is no content selected or scheduled to play, the screen will be black.

Playlist Editor Chooser Screen In this screen you will have the option to start creating a new playlist, start editing an existing playlist or to delete an existing playlist. The graphical interface will now display the main Playlist Editor screen comprised of separate tabs for each of the four Firefly video output channels on the left side and the list of available media on the right side. The playlist will be deleted from the Firefly. Media Window Channel Tabs Page Removing Videos From A Playlist Pressing the right arrow key while the highlight is on a video in the playlist channel for a channel tab ex.

Repeat this process to remove additional videos from the playlist. Page Viewing Media Information The Media Information feature is available to help you view basic information about media loaded on the Firefly.

This window will show up to 60 characters for the name, file type description if available , size of the media in bytes and the date and time the media was transferred to the Firefly. Playlist Editor Media Information Window Shuffling Video Playback on a Channel Occasionally, you may want to vary the playback order of your videos for a given playlist. Page Remote Control Remote Control 1. Press the UP arrow on the remote control. You will notice that [Shuffle] will appear on the bottom of the playlist channel indicating that Shuffle playback has been activated for that particular channel.

Because the graphic Page 67 Remote Control 3. When adding a graphic overlay, it will always appear at the bottom of the Playlist Channel. The only image types that are compatible with Firefly are. This is necessary Page 70 Remote Control 3. If desired, adjust the key color. The key color property deals with blocking out or cropping specified colors within the graphic overlays.

For example, if the image you are using is your company logo in color and is placed on top of a white rectangular background, you may only want to display the company logo, instead of the logo on top of the white background. Page 71 At that point, the newly adjusted properties will be applied to all subsequent graphic overlays. NOTE If your use of Firefly requires frequent changes to the graphic overlay properties, you may want to use the WebView interface see Working With Graphic Overlays in a Playlist on page to be able to more effectively manipulate these settings.

Save the playlist and exit the Playlist Editor. A schedule is a group of one or more playlist events. An event is composed of a single playlist with adjustable playback properties. Beyond simple start and stop times, events can be set to play on certain days of the week, interrupt other events, play just once or at certain repeating intervals.

Page To Start Creating A New Schedule Remote Control In this screen you will have the option to start creating a new schedule, to start editing an existing schedule or to delete an existing schedule. The schedule will be deleted from the Firefly. Stop Designates time to stop playing playlist. Page 86 Remote Control b. Page 88 Remote Control 1. Video Dates Editor Screen Depending on your application, you may have a need for using any or all of the three previously mentioned date rules.

Page 92 Remote Control To delete a date rule for a video, use the following steps: 1. After selecting the Playback Selector from the Firefly main menu, the following screen will be displayed Playback Selector Screen Loading a Playlist or Schedule A list of playlists and schedules located on the Firefly will be listed in the box located on the left.

This window will show up to 60 characters for the name, in addition to the size of the media in bytes and the date and time the media was transferred to the Firefly. A dialog box will Deleting Selected Files To delete media files from the Firefly, you will first need to select them. Follow Selecting Files to Copy or Delete on page 69 to select the files you wish to delete. Page Uptime Remote Control Uptime Displays the total amount of time in days, hours and minutes a Firefly has been playing without a shutdown.

Resets any settings changed in advanced registry to default for test. Audio Settings Screen Volume This setting allows you to set the volume level for audio played back on the Firefly across all 4 channels. The default volume setting is 10 on the scale. Page Channel 1, 2, 3, 4 Audio Remote Control Channel 1, 2, 3, 4 Audio On a channel by channel basis, Firefly gives you several audio output options depending on the configuration you use see Table 5 below.

Standard MPEG layer-2 files will output from both the digital and stereo analog outputs. Example: You always want local television, such as news and weather, playing on the Channel 4 monitors. The LCD will echo on the top row of the screen and the bottom row will show the last command received in single quotes. Page Host Name Windows and Windows 98 , then you must manually configure all of your intranet hosts with an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.

See your Network Administrator for further information. Host Name Choose a unique name that identifies each Firefly unit on the network. Page Mode This address is typically represented in dotted-decimal notation, with the decimal value of each octet separated by a period, for example, Page Netmask Gateway A service that allows Firefly to connect to other servers.

Creating a gateway also allows client computers running only Microsoft client software to access server resources through the gateway. See your SNMP can be used to monitor the Firefly on your network. To allow a group of machines to control the Firefly, set the IP to a range, Ex. The diagnostic log can be used to view a record of all media update transactions and any system errors on a Firefly. Information contained in the diagnostic log include Storage Cleanup data: Records what media have been deleted by the automatic storage cleanup routine, including file names, sizes and dates.

Missing Elements Log: Records all missing media referenced by an active playlist or schedule, including date, time and file element. Page Upload Logs However, if you do not reserve enough space, Firefly will delete the oldest residing logs in order to make room for the new ones. Password Enter at least 6 but no more than 15 alphanumeric characters here. To determine this value, you will need to estimate the largest multicast update you will ever receive example: MBs. You may also eject the Smart Card using the front panel display on the Firefly.

See Ejecting the Smart Card on page for details. This may however result in poor audio to video synchronization. Consult with a Visual Circuits representative if the problem continues. Select media Displays media size. Example: Scale. Select media for deletion. Confirm delete. Read and follow all warning notices and instructions marked on the product or included in this manual.

If using a power strip or similar supply, make sure the power requirements of the chassis, plus the cumulative power draw of any other equipment in the rack, do not overload the supply circuit. Page 5 User Manual Regulatory Documentation There is danger of explosion if the battery is incorrectly replaced.

The battery has an estimated life expectancy of ten years. When the battery starts to weaken, the date and time may become incorrect. Page 6 Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1. This device may not cause harmful interference. This device must accept any interference that may cause undesired operation. Page 7 Class A Warning EN, EN In a domestic environment this product may cause radio interference in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.

Failure to provide adequate surge protection may cause damage to the Firefly. Visual Circuits does not warranty damage caused by electrical surges to the system. Page 12 Contents Diagnostic Logs Page 13 Installing the MZ Page Welcome To Firefly Sc And Mz The Firefly SC and MZ belong to a new-generation of commercial media players that fit into a wide variety of stand alone or network attached applications, from trade shows and exhibitions to retail merchandising, education and training, corporation communications and digital signage.

Page 16 Firefly or the player. Thus, unless specifically identified as belong to a particular player, the information in this manual applies to both. Page Quick Start Plug And Play The Firefly is a single-channel output device that is simple to con- figure and can reside on a network or stand alone. Install Firefly on network. Connect your video and audio cables to the back of the Firefly.

Connect the video and audio cables from the Firefly to the inputs on the monitor and audio component. Page 20 Quick Start Plug and Play 2. Attach the audio cables to the Firefly. The best method is to attach a computer to the media player. Refer to the Media Messenger User Manual for details. Whenever the installation sequence requests the Company Name or Registration Key, enter the name and key precisely as Visual Circuits provided it.

Configure Firefly Properties 1. Open the Main window of Media Messenger. Right-click in the Firefly object in the Network Pane and display Player drop down menu. WebView interface program see Using the Playlist Editor on page Media Messenger, refer to its user manual. Confirm that the network and security settings are correct. Return to the Media Messenger main workspace.

Select the target player or player group in the Network Pane. Page 29 Upload to Firefly option, otherwise leave unchecked. Click Begin Update button. When the upload completes, close the Update Control window. The Firefly MZ loads immediately and begins playing back the playlist. If using a schedule, the playback begins at the appropriate time. It prepares the necessary files so that when they are burned on to a disc, an autorun application is created.

Page Software Updating Software Updating Visual Circuits is continuously looking for ways to improve and expand its features and product performance. We provide a variety of simple methods to keep your Firefly updated with the latest software for your application. Software updates are available from www. The Encoding Requirements, as well as the Encoding Recommendations, listed below provide a brief set of criteria to create MPEG files that will be compatible with the Firefly playback system.

The recommended audio bit rate is kbps and a sampling rate of 48khz. Page 35 7. When encoding files, annotate and store notes on the audio levels of both the source tape and input settings of the encoder. It will then be possible to verify audio levels of later encoding sessions.

It is desirable to maintain a baseline audio level across all files of a presentation whether at single or multiple locations. Page Web View The WebView interface allows you to access a Firefly over a network using only a conventional web browser. No special software is required. While WebView may work with other web browsers, Visual Circuits cannot guarantee full compatibility. If you have not yet changed those defaults, you should enter them at this time. Otherwise, if you have already created a new user name and password, enter them now.

Along the left side of the page are the navigation buttons used to access different pages in the WebView interface. Page Transferring Media Transferring Media From this page you can transfer media from your computer or network to the Firefly. Up to six media files can be transferred at once by simply specifying the files to be transferred in each of the Media 1 through Media 6 boxes.

Figure 2. Page 42 If you cannot remember the names and locations of the files you wish to transfer, simply click the Browse button to the right of the box you wish to fill in. This will bring up a window that allows you to search your hard drive s and network for the desired file.

Figure 3. Page 43 When WebView begins transferring the selected files, an animated sequence of flashing circles will appear over the Visual Circuits logo in the lower left portion of the page to let you know that the transfer is in progress.

Because media files can be quite large, the transfer process can take several minutes depending on the size of files you have selected and the speed of your network connection.

After the file has been transferred, the system will immediately begin to process the update for approx. Figure 6. Previewing Videos and Graphic Overlays on the Firefly Within the Media Review page, you will be able to view basic previews thumbnail images of videos and graphic overlays on the Firefly.

Select the proper file type tab video, overlay, playlist or schedule at the top. Select the file s from the media list on the right. Page 48 Figure 8. This includes files that may be in use by the current playlist. If you delete a file that is currently playing, it will be allowed to finish playing before the file is actually removed. A playlist is essentially a group of videos arranged in a particular playback sequence. A playlist can be used for immediate playback or saved on the Firefly for future playback.

Page Moving Videos Within A Playlist Moving Videos Within a Playlist While you are creating or modifying a playlist, you may find yourself wanting to modify the order of the videos. To move a video up towards the beginning in a playlist: 1. Select the video from the Video list you would like to move. Page 52 There are two ways you can add a graphic overlay to a video.

The first method is as follows: 1. Today, the third generation of Scala's InfoChannel software platform is the world's leading digital signage platform. For more information, please visit their Web site at: www.

Visual Circuits' products are found worldwide in retail, entertainment, education and healthcare facilities and range from circuit boards to standard and high-definition network-storage media appliances, all delivering industrial strength reliability with unique features and compelling value.

Attach video and audio cab les to the video and audio inputs on the monit or and the audio component. Attach the Firefly to the network. Plug in the power supply and a … 6. All other products, services or company names mentioned herein are claimed as trademarks and trade names by their respective companies. All rights reserved.

No portion of this manual may be copied by any means without the prior consent of Visual Circuits. Create the Video Zone first. Add Scrolling Text Zone if required.

Add Graphics Zones 4. Save the layout. Creating the Playlist 1. Return to the Media Messenger main work- space. Open the Playlist Editor. Verify that the correct Playlist is shown in the Playlist Menu field.