Decisions

Decisions is built for modernized operations centers. It is a single solution for the aggregation, distribution, and management of mission-critical information. It allows operators to easily share information across any screen or video wall, from any location. This improves collaboration and situational awareness for better decision-making.

Key Features

  • Stream content from any Source: This includes web content including web- pages that need authentication, network streams (RTSP, HLS, WebRTC, signage content) etc.

  • Drag-and-drop function: A simplified user interface to map, move, resize, and prioritize content with a few mouse clicks.

  • Multiple Video Walls: Share content across multiple video walls and remote operation centers.

  • View Live Updates: Stream content to Destinations concurrently for local and remote operators.

  • Audio Control: An intuitive interface and improved precision to control the source volume.

  • Advanced Layouts & Scaling: Quickly spread windows across multiple displays, customize the size of content and snap in place for any video wall size or aspect ratio.

  • Create & Save Layouts: Instantly switch between an unlimited number of custom content layouts or schedule layout changes by date and time.

  • Supervisor Dashboard: View real-time video streams from remote operations centers.

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

Set up Create an Operations Center.

Add Sources

Create a Canvas and add Sources.

Monitor

Add Destinations and monitor critical information.

Create an Operations Center

In Decisions, an Operation Center is a placeholder for having multiple Canvases. Each Canvas can have a different set of Sources and Destinations.

  1. In your Userful Infinity account, navigate to Decisions.

  2. Click Create Operations Center at the top right corner

  3. Add a name and description for your Operations Center.

  4. To add more settings, go to the next step. Else, click Save.

  5. Click the Advanced tab.

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

  7. Enter the Latency and Frame Rate Limit.

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

  9. Click Save.

Create a Canvas

A Canvas is a placeholder for arranging different Sources, which can finally be displayed on Destinations.

  1. In Decisions, navigate to an Operations Center.

  2. In the left panel, click the '+' sign next to Canvases.

  3. Add a name and description for your Canvas.

  4. Enter the Resolution.

  5. To add more settings, go to the next step. Else, click Save.

  6. Click the Advanced tab.

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

  8. Enter the 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.

  9. Enter the Frame Rate Limit.

  10. Click Save.

Preview and Publish mode for Canvas

The Preview and publish mode lets you edit your Canvas without updating them live to your Destinations or displays. This feature is available from version 12.9 of Userful Infinity.

Preview changes

  1. In Decisions, navigate to an Operations Center.

  2. Click the three-dot menu on a Canvas you want to preview.

  3. By default, the Live updates are turned on. To preview changes, without any update to your Destinations, first turn off Live updates.

  4. Make the required changes in your Canvas and preview them on your monitor.

Publish or Discard changes

  • When you are ready to update the changes to your Destinations, click the three-dot menu on the Canvas again and select Publish Changes. Alternatively, you can turn on the Live Updates button.

  • To discard your changes, click Discard Changes.

Create a Source

A Source is any form of content that should be displayed on Destination screens. See the list of Sources available in Decisions to understand the types of Sources you can create.

  1. In Decisions, navigate to an Operations Center.

  2. Click the Sources icon (cube-shaped icon) at the left of the bottom tray.

  3. Click Create Source at the right side of the tray.

  4. Add a name and a description for your Source. For example, Surveillance Unit ZC1. This feed captures the transportation stream of unit ZC1.

  5. Select the Source Type and a thumbnail image.

  6. Add the required fields that are specific to the Source Type you selected. The steps here differ for each Source Type.

  7. To add more settings, go to the next step. Else, click Save.

  8. Click the Advanced tab.

  9. Enter the Resolution at which the Source should be streamed to the Destination.

  10. Select Scaling option from the drop-down menu.

  11. Enable the Shareable option if you wish to reduce resource utilization.

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

  13. Click Save. The Source appears in the Sources tab in the bottom tray.

List of Sources available in Decisions

Source Type
Description

HDMI

HDMI input connected to a server capture card.

Media

Audio, video and image files

Network streamer

Network streams supporting RTSP, HTTPS and HTTP protocols

Program runner

Linux programs

Remote desktop

Windows remote desktop sessions

VNC viewer

Desktop streaming using the VNC protocol

Spaces Screencast

Cast your screen into a specific inset in Decisions as in a meeting

Web Browser

Web pages with a URL

YouTube

YouTube videos

Epic

Time charts and bed occupancy rates that come with Epic systems integration.

Power BI

Dashboards that come with Power BI integration

Tableau

Dashboards that come with Tableau integration

Duplicate a Source

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 Decisions

  2. Enter an Operations Center.

  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

Map a Source

Drag and drop the Source from the bottom tray to the Canvas.

  • Once a Source is mapped, it becomes an active Source. In version 12.9.0.1 and above, active Sources appear sorted in alphanumerical order by default.

  • The list of active Sources in a Canvas can be viewed on the right side of the Canvas under Active Sources.

View Source Labels

Source labels show you the Source type of specific insets. The Activate Source label icon helps you view and identify the source types of each inset in Decisions Canvases. This feature is available from Userful Infinity version 12.9.

  1. In your Userful account, navigate to Decisions.

  2. Go to an Operations Center.

  3. Within a Canvas, click an inset (a Source that is inserted within the canvas).

  4. By default, the ‘T’ icon ( the Activate Source label icon) is enabled. You can view the Source types of your insets in your Destinations.

  5. Click the Activate source label icon alternately to enable or disable the option.

Map a Destination

A Destination is a screen to which a content source is streamed or displayed.

  1. In Decisions, navigate to an Operations Center.

  2. Click Destinations in the top tab next to the Operation Center name.

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

  4. Drag and drop the destination from the bottom tray to the Mapping group placeholder. The content starts streaming on the destination.

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

Layouts

Creating a Layout saves the active Sources, their sizes, and their placements within a Canvas in the instance you save it. Saving a Layout enables you to re-use the Layout with all its active Sources, their sizes and placements exactly as they on a different Canvas or in a different Operating Center in Decisions.

Note: Currently, saving a Layout does not save grids you may have added in your Canvas.

Create/Save layout

You can create or save a layout after you add active Sources, size and place them properly in your Canvas.

Whenever you feel that a Layout that is currently on your Canvas could be re-used for other Canvases or Operating Centers:

  1. Click the Layout icon (the list-like icon) in the bottom tray and click Create Layout at the right side.

  2. Add a name and a description for your Layout.

  3. Click Save. The Layout will be available for you to use in the bottom tray.

Apply a layout

When you apply a new layout to a Canvas, the Sources in the previous layout will be replaced by the Sources in the new layout.

  1. In Decisions, click and enter an operations center. Canvas names will be listed on the left side.

  2. Click and open a Canvas.

  3. Click the layouts icon (list-shaped icon) in the bottom tray.

  1. Drag and drop the layout you want to apply to the Canvas.

Enhancement in version 12.9.0.1 and above

While a layout is applied to a Canvas, further action on the layout is blocked until the operation is complete. The layout turns inactive for a few seconds, so a different user does not edit or delete it while the action progresses.

Filter layouts

By default, all layouts available across different operation centers are displayed in the bottom tray. However, you can apply filters to view layouts that belong to specific Canvases.

To apply a layout filter:

  1. In Decisions, click and enter an operations center.

  2. In the bottom tray, click the layout icon (list-shaped icon).

  3. Click the filter icon at the top of the tray. A Canvas drop-down appears.

  4. Select one or more Canvases to view the layouts that belong to them.

Note:

  • If a layout is overridden on a new Canvas, that Canvas becomes the parent of the layout.

  • Currently, layouts created in Preview mode (when the Live updates option is off) on a Canvas do not belong to that Canvas. Please select the ALL option in the layout filter to view those layouts.

  • When you apply a filter, your selection gets saved in browser cookies and will be available the next time you log in or refresh the page. Your selection will be cleared when you delete your browser cookies.

Edit and update a layout

  1. In Decisions, click and enter an operations Center.

  2. Open a Canvas with the Layout you want to edit.

  3. Click the Layouts icon (list-like icon) in the bottom tray.

  4. Make the changes you want in the Layout - add or remove Sources, resize Sources, or change the positions of Sources on the Canvas.

  5. In the bottom tray, locate the Layout you are editing and click the Override icon. A message asks you to confirm the update.

  6. Click Override.

Create a layout Schedule

Schedule layout changes in your Decisions Destinations at a specific time of the day. This feature is available from Userful Infinity version 12.9.

  1. In your Userful account, navigate to the Decisions app.

  2. Click Schedules on the left pane. A calendar appears.

  3. Click on the time slot in the calendar where you want to schedule a Layout. A Create Event panel appears.

  4. Add a name for the schedule you want to create.

  5. Select the Layout and the Canvas to apply it.

  6. Enter the date and time to apply the Layout to the Canvas.

  7. To schedule the Layout change more than once, enter the frequency in the Repeat field.

  8. For more scheduling options, click Advanced Repeat Options and add Active weekdays and Active hours.

  9. Click Save Changes.

Delete a layout Schedule

  1. In Decisions, click Schedules on the left pane.

  2. In the calendar, click the layout schedule you want to delete. A panel appears on the right side.

  3. Click Delete.

Grids

Grids help you divide your Canvas into rows and columns. They help you place and organize Sources on a screen or a video wall.

To create a Grid:

  1. In Decisions, navigate to an Operations Center.

  2. In the top menu bar, click the grid icon (the four squares icon).

  3. Enter the number of rows and columns.

  4. If needed, enter the gap width between rows and columns in pixels.

  5. Click Change Grid.

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