Artistic

Artistic is a content management and distribution application, optimized to showcase beautiful artistic content in lobbies and common areas.

Key Features

• Artistic Video Walls: Create a remarkable and distinct digital canvas by designing beautiful video walls in the shape of an arc or mosaic.

• UHD playback: Stream 4K and higher-resolution content.

• Editable Overlay: Overlay text or widgets on the base to add an informative layer.

• Playlists: Create a collection of content items to be streamed in a serial fashion. You can also categorize content to stream specific videos.

• Scheduling: Automate views or playlists to display at specific times of the day or week.

• Role-based Access Control: Enable canvas editing to the right people using role-based access content controls.

• Platform Sources: Users can securely intermix any other real-time platform source available to them.

• Unlimited Users: No limit to the number of people who can log in and provide dashboard content.

The cards below depict the high-level steps in using Artistic.

Create Mapping Groups.

Activate Mapping Group by adding a Source and one or more Destinations.

Create Playlists or Schedules if required.

Mapping Groups

There are two types of mapping groups:

Server Player : Plays Sources straight from the server.

uClient Player: Plays Sources from the uClient after processing.

Create and Activate a Server Player Mapping Group

1. In your Userful account, navigate to Artistic > Mapping Groups > Server Players.

2. Click Create Mapping Group at the top right corner.

3. Add a name and description for your Mapping Group.

4. Enter Latency. A higher latency value helps mitigate audio and video playback issues by preventing frame skips and audio popping/crackling in sub-optimal network environments.

5. Enter the Resolution. The Resolution value should be the resolution of the Destination. This value overrides the Resolution of the Source.

6. Select Behavior.

   • Always Active The server starts processes and allocates resources to the Mapping Group as soon as the you create the Mapping Group, which makes the streams readily available. This option consumes system resources.

   • Active when Destinations are assigned The server starts processes and allocates resources only when you assign a Destination to the Mapping Group.

7. Set Frame Rate Limit, and select GPU if required. Note: For Sources that use RTSP streaming, like a Web Browser or a YouTube Source, set a Frame rate Limit equal to or above 3. RTSP Streams can handle only frame rates equal to or above 3.

8. To restrict access to selected user groups, click the Permissions tab and add user groups.

9. Click Save Changes. The Mapping Group appears with empty slots for adding Sources and Destinations.

10. In the bottom tray, click the Sources icon (cube-shaped icon).

11. Drag and drop the Source from the bottom tray to the Source placeholder.

12. In the bottom tray, click the Destinations icon (screen-shaped icon).

13. Drag and drop one or more Destinations to the Destinations placeholder. The Destinations start playing the Source content.

Tip: To view Destination IDs, click on the three-dot menu on any Destination card and click Show ID.

Refer to the Sources and Destinations section for more information on creating different types of sources and pairing destinations.

HLS Streaming for Server Player Mapping Groups

Stream the Source content added in Mapping Groups in HLS format, which you can view from the Remote application of Userful Infinity Platform.

1. In Artistic, click Mapping Groups in the left panel.

2. Click the three-dot menu on the Mapping Group you want to stream.

1. Click HLS Stream. A panel named Stream to Remote Channels appears.

2. Enable the HLS Stream option.

3. From the list of Remote channels displayed, select the channels to which you want to stream the Source.

4. Click Save.

Create and Activate uClient Players Mapping Group

1. In your Userful account, navigate to Artistic > Mapping Groups > uClient Players.

2. Click Create Mapping Group at the top right corner.

3. Enter the Name and Description.

4. To restrict access to selected user groups, click the Permissions tab and add user groups.

5. Click Save Changes. The Mapping Group appears with empty slots for adding Sources and Destinations.

6. In the bottom tray, click the Sources icon (cube-shaped icon).

7. Drag and drop the Source from the bottom tray to the Source placeholder. Note: The size of the files you add to the uClient player should be 32 GB or less. Files larger than 32 GB will generate an error.

8. In the bottom tray, click the Destinations icon (screen-shaped icon).

9. Drag and drop one or more Destinations to the Destinations placeholder. The Destinations start playing the Source content.

Tip: To view Destination IDs, click on the three-dot menu on any Destination card and click Show ID.

• If you notice choppy content on asymmetrical video walls with 1x2, 1x3, 2x1, or similar configurations, changing the latency of the Mapping Groups to 500 can improve the displays.

• For added flexibility, video walls playing Artistic content can now be used in the Decisions app.

List of Sources available in Artistic

Source Type	Description
HDMI	HDMI input connected to a server capture card
Media	Audio, video and image files
Program runner	Linux programs
Remote desktop	Windows remote desktop sessions
VNC viewer	Desktop streaming using the VNC protocol
Web Browser	Web pages with a URL
YouTube	YouTube videos

Duplicate Sources

Create copies of existing Sources without having to create new ones from scratch. You can duplicate Sources as you want, changing the frame rate, resolution, scaling, permissions or any other parameter. This feature is available from Userful Infinity version 12.9.

1. In your Userful account, navigate to Artistic.

2. Click Server Player or uClient player in the left pane.

3. Locate the Sources section in the bottom tray.

4. Click on the three dots on any Source.

5. From the drop-down, select Duplicate.

6. In the Create Source panel, make the changes you need and click Save.

Note:

The Duplicate option is not currently available for:

• Sources that contain playlists

• Sources & Destinations app

• Engage app

Create a Playlist

You can add multiple Sources to create a Playlist, and specify the order in which they must be played on the Destinations.

1. In Artistic, click Playlists on the left pane.

2. Click Add Playlist at the top right corner.

3. Add a name and description for your Playlist.

4. Add Tags if required.

5. To restrict access to selected user groups, click the Permissions tab and add user groups.

6. Click Save Changes. The Playlist appears.

7. Click Add item at the top right corner. A row appears.

8. Select a Source from the drop-down list.

9. Set the duration.

10. To add another Source, click Add item again and repeat the steps.

11. Click Save Changes. The Playlist appears in the bottom tray in the Sources section.

• To change the order of a Source in the Playlist, drag it up or down by the dotted icon at the right.

• To delete a Source on the Playlist, click the 'X' mark at the right.

Create a Schedule

Schedule what Sources must be played on your Destination screens at specific times.

1. In Artistic, click Schedules in the left panel. A calendar appears.

2. Select a time slot on the calendar. A Create Event panel appears.

3. Add an Event Title.

4. Select the player: Server player or uClient player.

5. Select the Source from the drop-down.

6. Select the Destinations.

7. Enter Resolution.

8. Enter the Volume and the Frame rate limit (available from version 12.9).

9. Select GPU: The application automatically detects the GPU, but you can select from available options if required.

10. Enter the start and end times and the any recurring schedules if needed.

11. Click Save Changes.

Create Text Overlay

Display custom text on screens using Text Overlay.

1. Click on the Mapping Group you wish to edit.

2. Click the Text Overlay tab.

3. Click Text Block at the top right corner. A text box appears.

4. Enter the text you want to add. Use formatting tools to change font, color, and effects.