By default, a screen plays its playlists one after the other, each in full. When a long playlist (for example 20 news items) shares a screen with a short one (for example a single safety message), the short one only appears once every 21 contents.
The Content playback mode setting lets you choose how playlists share airtime on a screen. You can set it on a screen or on a screen profile.
The two playback modes
In order (default): one playlist at a time, each in full. This is the behavior you already know: nothing changes for screens that keep this mode.
Balanced: playlists take turns, one content each. Every playlist gets the same number of turns, whatever its size.
In Balanced mode, each playlist continues where it left off at its next turn, and starts again from its first content once it reaches the end. The safety message B1 now appears every third content instead of once every nine.
đĄ Tip: you no longer need to duplicate a content inside a playlist to show it more often. Balanced mode gives small playlists the same exposure as large ones, without skewing your statistics.
Set the playback mode on a screen
Go to Displays and open the screen you want to configure.
Click "Edit". The "Modify the screen" panel opens.
In the "Properties" section, select a value in the "Content playback mode" field: In order or Balanced.
Click "Save".
The screen refreshes automatically and applies the new mode. The selected mode is shown in the screen's properties.
â ď¸ If a profile is assigned to the screen, the "Content playback mode" field is hidden: the screen uses the profile's mode (see below).
Set the playback mode on a screen profile
To apply the same mode to a whole fleet of screens, set it on their profile.
Open the screen profile you want to configure, then click "Edit".
Select a value in the "Content playback mode" field.
â
Click "Save".
All the screens assigned to this profile refresh and switch to the new mode. In each screen's properties, the mode is shown with a badge indicating that it comes from the profile.
âšď¸ The profile's mode always takes precedence over the screen's own setting. To use a different mode on one screen, remove it from the profile or assign it to another profile.
To learn more about profiles, see Create a Screen Profile.
Broadcast a playlist's contents consecutively
In Balanced mode, some playlists only make sense when they are shown as a whole: a series of slides that tell a story, a step-by-step safety procedure, a product launch sequence⌠For these playlists, enable the "Broadcast contents consecutively" option: during its turn, the playlist plays all its contents back to back, without interruption from other playlists. The other playlists keep playing one content per turn.
With the same example, and the option enabled on playlist A:
Enable the option on a playlist
Go to Playlists and open the playlist, then click "Edit" (the option is also available when you create a playlist).
Turn on "Broadcast contents consecutively".
Click "Save".
In the playlist list, an icon next to the playlist's name shows that the option is enabled.
â ď¸ Permission required: the option is only visible to users whose role includes the "Can broadcast contents consecutively" permission.
This permission is disabled by default: an administrator must add it to the relevant roles. A user without this permission can still edit the playlist, but cannot change the option.
âšď¸ The option is designed for Balanced mode. In In order mode, every playlist is already played in full, so enabling it does not change playback.
đĄ Tip: keep consecutive playlists short. While a consecutive playlist plays, the other playlists wait for their turn: a 10-content consecutive playlist delays the others by 10 contents.
How Balanced mode works
Balance in turns, not in seconds. Each turn plays one content, whatever its duration. A playlist made of 60-second videos therefore gets more airtime than a playlist made of 10-second images.
Multi-page contents play in full. A content that displays several pages (for example a data source template with pagination) shows all its pages during the same turn.
Scheduled contents are respected. A content that is out of its schedule is skipped. If none of a playlist's contents can be played at a given time, that playlist leaves the rotation and the other playlists share the turns. It comes back automatically as soon as one of its contents can be played again.
Priority playlists keep their behavior. While a priority schedule is active, only priority contents are shown, and they take turns between their playlists. See Prioritizing Playlists.
Rotation order. Playlists take turns in the same order as in In order mode. You cannot choose which playlist starts the rotation.
Restart. After the player restarts or reloads, the rotation starts again from the first content of each playlist.
FAQ
Does this change anything for my existing screens?
No. All existing screens and profiles use In order by default. Playback only changes if you select Balanced.
Why have the view counts of some contents increased?
In Balanced mode, the contents of small playlists play more often, so their proof-of-play view counts rise accordingly. This is expected.
Does it work with zoning?
Yes. The playlist zone of your zoning plays contents according to the screen's playback mode.
Can I give a playlist more weight than another (for example twice as often)?
Not at the moment. In Balanced mode, every playlist gets exactly the same number of turns.
Does it change the playlist preview?
No. The preview shows a single playlist, so the playback mode does not apply. Use Simulate a display to check the result on a screen.