How to schedule messages, announcements, bells, ads and other assets on RetailPlayer

Prerequisites

• RetailPlayer S400 or SP400 device registered in the Portal and running FW 6.0 or above
• RetailHero Subscription activated on these RetailPlayer devices

• The player on which you want the schedule to be applied should be set in the correct Time Zone. This setting can be found in the Portal under the Settings  tab of the player as per below screen.  

  

  IMPORTANT

  The Audio Files Scheduler will work only if you will operate within the same ORG where the device is registered. Make sure you upload the audio files to be scheduled when you are in the same ORG of the devices on which you intend to run the schedule.

  To make sure you are operating in the right ORG check the selection in the left upper corner "Organization" 

Video

A short video demonstrating how the Asset Scheduler works and how to place an order for a RetailHero subscription

Schedule Assets (Messages, Ads, Bells...)

1. After login in the Portal, select the ORG where the device on which you want to run the schedule are registered, select it from the drop down menu in the Portal in the top left corner
   

   

2. Locate the Asset Organizer and upload your audio files in the Asset Manager  by clicking on the corresponding button. You are free to select and upload multiple files at once. The files are uploaded and stored in the Portal and pushed to ALL the devices part of the same organization.  
   

   

3. Locate the Scheduling page, if a Schedule is not yet created click on ADD and assign a name to the scheduler.  
   

   

4. An empty scheduler is created. Now it's time to create your first component. A scheduler is made up of "components". You can see each component as a dedicated scheduler for an individual asset or for a specific bundle. This is what allows the scheduler to contain multiple types of components, each with different needs e.g. closing announcements, that requires a one playback on each day from Monday to Friday or advertisements, that are more suited to play in a bundle over a defined time window on specific days of the week or month. In a scheduler it is allowed the creation of max. 20 components. 
   

   

5. The component window allows a very flexible configuration of the playback and repetition cycles. The logic of operation is as follow: 
   1. Select if this component must play a single and individual asset or should play an asset from a Bundle. Bundles can be defined in the Asset Organizer into a dedicated page, and a bundle is a sequenced group of assets. When play from Bundle is selected the files will play sequentially (first, second, third, ...) according to the sequence defined in the bundle itself. Bundles have the advantage of allowing you the possibility to easily replace a file in the bundle without having to change a component, plus they allow you to easily create rotations where you can define a specific interval in between each file of the bundle using the "Repeat" flag in the Component dialog. 
   2. Define the "when" the asset must play. The choice is wide: on a single day, weekly or monthly, with the possibility for each selection to adjust the corresponding settings. 
   3. Set the Start time 
   4. When the Repeat is enabled it is possible to configure eventually a repetition of the asset (or, in case of a bundle, set the interval between each file in the sequence) setting also an End time of the repetition
   5. Configure the Date Restrictions if it's needed to play this component only within a certain period
      

      

      

6. Once all the components are created they are plotted on a graphical timeline that extends over 13 months. The timeline offers scrolling and zoom capabilities. The components can be graphically re-arranged, copied or removed. It's now time to SAVE the newly created scheduler  
   

   

7. The last thing to do is to ASSIGN this scheduler to RetailPlayer devices . use the corresponding button ASSIGN DEVICES. (only devices part of the same ORG of the scheduler and the assets are showing up, plus only the ones with the RetailHero subscription will allow the scheduler assignment) 
   

   

On the device page Automation → Asset it is possible to check which scheduler is assigned and eventually change to another one. 

Always in the device context under the page Assets it is possible to check the audio files downloaded and ready to be used on the device. At the same time it is possible to anable / disable a specific file. This function comes handy for example if you are having a special deal ad playing in your shop, but for the offered product you already finished the stock. You can temporarily disable the corresponding ad and re-enable it when the material arrives. 

If the player doesn't behave as described above despite following all the steps described, please contact support@barix.com