Tightrope Media Systems

Pro-Tips: Creating a twitter bulletin in Carousel

2012-04-20T20:51:31Z

Creating a twitter bulletin in Carousel is much like creating an RSS bulletin, with a few minor differences.

Step One: Choose the zone you wish to see your twitter bulletin displayed in.

Step Two: Click on New Bulletin / Dynamic / RSS Bulletin

Step Three: At the top of this page you will see RSS Feed URL:

Use this code below and replace xxxxx with your Twitter username to use your Twitter RSS Feed: http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=xxxxx (Where xxxxx is the username.)

For example, the Tightrope twitter url looks like this: http://twitter.com/#!/trms If I take the end part of that url and replace the x’s above I will have my RSS twitter feed for Carousel. The final URL I plug into Carousel will look like this: http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.rss?screen_name=trms

After making sure the rest of the settings are to your liking, click continue.

Step Four: Be sure you have the following fields in your bulletin:

#ChannelTitle#

#ChannelPubDate#

#ItemDescription#

#ChannelCopyright#

If there are any other fields besides these ones, click on the edit icon and go into the bulletin.

For example, I don’t need #ItemTitle# below. Select the field you want to delete and click on delete under options.

Step Five: Follow the directions to save your bulletin and voila, you’ve got yourself an RSS twitter feed running on your channel.

Understanding Digital Signage

2012-03-12T19:29:26Z

Understanding digital signage is easier than you think! Hopefully our new video will take a little bit of the mystery out of your search for the perfect digital signage solution:

Pro Tips: Weather Forecast Bulletins

2012-01-03T18:14:46Z

“Pro Tips” is a new series for intermediate–advanced users. We will make our posts as comprehensive as possible, but if you are a beginner, we recommend you start with our basic training. We offer customized training packages, and many free resources such as training videos, software manuals, and access to our forums. Visit our training page for more information.

Adding New Weather Forecast Bulletins To Your Carousel System

New to Carousel 6.2.2 is the ability to create a weather forecast bulletin. The tutorial on how to create one from scratch is here. The following instructions will guide you through uploading our weather forecast templates to your system. Note: this is a bulletin package and will appear in your Active Bulletins section, not in Weather Templates.

You must be running Carousel 6.2.2 for the weather forecast bulletins to work

Step 1. Download our weather forecast bulletins

If you haven’t already, please download our weather forecast bulletins from the store and unzip only the “2012_WeatherForecastPackage.zip”. You will see individual zips for each aspect ratio (4×3, 16×9, 5x8Vertical, 5×3); keep them zipped.

Step 2. Upload bulletin package

In Carousel go to the zone you wish to add your weather forecast bulletins and click on “New Bulletin”. Switch to the “Uploaded” tab and select “Upload a bulletin package”. ”Choose” the zip file — make sure you choose the one that best matches the aspect ratio of your zone — and click “Upload. A message will ask you to confirm. Click “OK”.

Step 3. Edit the bulletin

From your Active Bulletins, click on the edit template button. Update the Location and Caption. Ignore the Outlook Length for this bulletin. We recommend that you upload your zone background if you want to keep the bulletin seamless with your channel design. When your backgrounds are loaded (or if you want to skip this part), click on “Continue”.

Click “Continue”, then “Finish”, then “OK”. If the alignment looks fine, you are all done!

If the alignment of text and images have shifted, click on the Edit Template button on the top right of the bulletin.

You may see a message that reads: “This template is not sized correctly for this zone…”, see the optional step below.

(Optional) Step 4. Resize Media for zone

If your zone dimensions do not match the bulletin dimensions, you will need to resize the media for that zone. Please use caution though. If you have media in your zone that mismatches the size of your zone, you may see unexpected shifting of text and image blocks in your templates.

To resize your media, click on “Configure” from Carousel’s main menu. Click on “Zones” and select the zone you’re working with. Click “Resize Media”. A message will ask you to confirm. Click “OK”. When it finishes, exit the configuration menu.

Step 5. Nudge

It’s possible that the text and image icons shifted after resizing the media. If so, just click on Edit Template and nudge the text and images blocks into place.

That’s it! We hope you enjoy the new weather forecast bulletins.

Creating a 5 Day Weather Forecast in Carousel

2011-12-23T17:43:58Z

Ever wish you could create a 5 day weather forecast in Carousel? Well, now you can! Actually, you can create any weather forecast with up to seven days worth of data. Below is a quick tutorial to get you on your way!

1. Click New Bulletin

2. Click the Dynamic Tab (Choose Weather bulletin)

3. Add Location, Caption ( “5 Day Weather Forecast” ) and Outlook length

(click continue)

4. Backgrounds (Upload or confirm backgrounds)

(click continue)

FIELDS

Click on Edit bulletin (The icon in the top right corner of your thumbnail)

5. ADD NEW BLOCK

Click on “Name and Type” and name the block: Caption and City
Click on “Text” and enter: #caption#: #City#, #State# into the default value area.
POSITION YOUR BLOCK

6. ADD NEW BLOCK

Click on “Name and Type” and name the block: Day One
Click on “Text” and enter: #Forecast0Title# into the default value area.
POSITION YOUR BLOCK

7. ADD NEW BLOCK

Click on “Name and Type” and name the block: Weather Icon 1
Change block type to web picture
Click on “Picture” and enter: #Forecast0IconUrl# into the default value area.
POSITION YOUR BLOCK

8. ADD NEW BLOCK

Click on “Name and Type” and name the block: Low
Click on “Text” and enter: #Forecast0TemperatureHigh# into the default value area.
POSITION YOUR BLOCK

9. ADD NEW BLOCK

Click on “Name and Type” and name the block: Low
Click on “Text” and enter: #Forecast0TemperatureLow# into the default value area.
POSITION YOUR BLOCK

10. REPEAT FOR EACH DAY

Please Note: Day 1 starts with 0, Day 2 will be 1 … (EXAMPLE: #Forecast0Title# = Day 1 #Forecast1Title# = Day 2)

11. FINAL RENDERED BULLETIN

Carousel 6.2.2

2011-12-20T18:06:34Z

Hi Carousel Users!

Carousel 6.2.2 is ready! We have made many improvements to dynamic bulletins like weather and RSS, and we also made stability enhancements to our Micro Channel Players.

Typically, new features are not common in a maintenance release, but we have a surprise for you! Ever wish you could create a 5 day weather forecast in Carousel? Well, now you can! Actually, you can create any weather forecast with up to seven days worth of data.

As always, this update is available to any registered user of Carousel 6.2 and anyone with a current Silver or Gold Assurance Contract. If you aren’t either of those and would like the update, ask your dealer about purchasing an assurance contract, or reach out to one of our regional sales people at www.trms.com/sales.

If you do qualify for this update, please email support@trms.com to request the update. Make sure you let us know what you have (model numbers) and the versions that you are on!

Please visit our GetSatisfaction page for Release Notes.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-14T19:47:27Z

Happy Holidays from Tightrope Media Systems!

Download Icons

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday. As a small thank you for being our customer, we wanted to let you know about a new, FREE graphics package of icons for your Carousel channel. We have created many useful images for categories like Health, Education, Celebration, Office and Navigation.

Installation instructions are provided in the description of the icons on our store. Click on the link on the left to begin.

As the new year approaches, you may want to freshen up the look of your channel with one of our free pre-made channel designs on our store. Custom branding is available too. Contact your local dealer for more info.

Tightrope will be closed Monday, December 26 and Monday, January 2 in observance of Christmas and New Years.

Happy Holidays!

ZEPLAY 2.0.5

2011-12-13T21:51:43Z

A maintenance update for ZEPLAY 2.0 is available. It includes minor changes related to hardware performance. Registered ZEPLAY customers will be contacted by our development team with details. Visit our GetSatisfaction page for the release notes.

Cablecast 5.0.3 Software Update

2011-10-21T18:01:41Z

Today we are releasing a maintenance update for Cablecast 5. Among some minor enhancements, we’ve added hardware support for select models of the Videohub router family from Blackmagic Design, as well as V-Chip support for the Evertz 8084AD closed caption encoder. Check out the full release notes on our GetSatisfaction page.

Here are the highlights:

Support for Select Blackmagic Design Videohub routers
The Micro, Smart, and Compact Videohub routers are now supported using the LeitchRouter Control Module.

Implemented V-chip rating for Evertz 8084AD
The Evertz 8084AD can now be used to embed v-chip ratings in a channels output.

Improved Fill Gaps with Project Batch Function
Fill Gaps batch function will not schedule the same show multiple times in a gap unless the Allow Repeats option is selected.

ZEPLAY 2.0.2 is out!

2011-10-21T16:31:11Z

Hi Everyone:

ZEPLAY 2.0.2 is now shipping! It is also available as an update for existing systems. We’ve made some refinements to ZEPLAY 2.0, and we recommend the update to all ZEPLAY users. Our development team will be reaching out to all ZEPLAY users with instructions on how to obtain this release. Check out the release notes here.

We won a “STAR” Award from editors of TV Technology Europe

2011-09-29T15:14:56Z

Hey Everyone!

We’re super excited about our recent win at IBC in Amsterdam. ZEPLAY is the recipient of a 2011 STAR (Superior Technology Award Recipient) Award given by the editorial staff of TV Technology Europe magazine at the 2011 IBC convention.

The STAR Award (Superior Technology Award Recipient) is designed to celebrate and showcase the preeminent technological innovations available to the broadcast industry. TV Technology Europe’s editor reviewed a variety of products, examined the technical applications and their overall contribution to the industry, and then chose 25 winners.

“STAR awards are given to interesting new products that help a user save money or accomplish a task in an easier way,” said Mark Hallinger, Editor of TV Technology Europe. “The products selected help advance the industry—-some were chosen because of technical novelty or innovation, some because they filled an important gap in the production or transmission chain, and some because they were just cool products.”