Terminology & structure

A digital sign on campus is made up of the following parts:

Physical installation (at onboarding)

  • Display
  • Display mount
  • Device
  • Installation (electrical, data ports, etc.)

Content management (ongoing)

  • Content manager(s)
  • Content creation
  • TelemetryTV content management software

Here are some definitions for terms use associated with the Digicaster program.

Central content

All displays must subscribe to the central content playlist which makes up 20 per cent of any displays' content. This playlist is available to any department, unit or UVic community member to submit content to for broadcasting across all displays. All content submitted to the central channel will be subject to approval. See content standards. The central content playlist is managed by UVic Communications and Marketing and also includes content created by UC+M that reflects the universities strategic goals.

Learn more about central content.

Content (digital screens/assets/slides)

Content is static, dynamic or video visuals created for digital signage. Content is added into TelemetryTV and then scheduled to run on a digital sign via playlists and playlist pages.

Learn more about content standards.

Content manager(s)

A content manager creates, manages and schedules all content on your digital signage system.

Learn more about content management.

Digicaster network

The Digicaster network is an integrated system of television displays that allows content to be shared easily and provides the capacity to broadcast campus-wide communication from a central authority. The Digicaster network promotes informational content produced by individual units as well as strategic content from UVic Communications and Marketing. The digital signage network does not deal with wayfinding signage.

Digital sign/signage

A digital sign is an installation within the Digicaster network that is made up of five components: a display, a display mount, a device and a network connection that connects the device to the campus-wide digital signage network, powered by the content management software TelemetryTV.

Digital signage coordinator

The digital signage coordinator is a position within UVic Communications and Marketing that guides the strategic implementation of digital signage and content standards across the university. They are responsible for signing up new units, providing content management training and support. They also manage the central content playlist.

Device

A device is a computer player connected to the back of a display that connects the display to the digital network and holds all unique data for a department’s display. The device is the “brain” that tells the display what to project.

Display

A display is a commercial grade television, rated for 24/7 use, that is wall-mounted inside campus buildings, in public areas.

Display mount

A wall or ceiling mount that is used for installing a digital signage display.

Playlist(s)

Each device across campus is tuned to a playlist. Playlists are a feature within TelemetryTV and includes the list of content that you would like your digital signage to display at any given time. A device can have one playlist tuned to it, or multiple. Additionally, a playlist can be tuned to multiple devices; for example, if you manage multiple digital screens that you’d like to all play the same content. Content managers can create and populate their own playlists with content.

Playlist page(s)

A playlist page is content that is added to a playlist. When you add a piece of content to a playlist you must assign it to a playlist page. Playlist pages can contain one piece of content (i.e., a single static image, an app or a short video) or can contain a collection of content (i.e., five images that play in a short slideshow). Playlist pages can be reordered within a playlist, shuffled and/or customized with specific scheduling (start date, end date).

Shared content media folder

Shared content media folders are folders within TelemetryTV where you can add, store and organize your content. Shared content media folders are housed within department accounts and are only accessible to individual teams. When you add content to a shared content media folder, it can be scheduled to multiple playlists if, for example, you managed multiple digital screens and wanted to include the same content on them.

Learn more about shared content.

TelemetryTV

TelemetryTV is the content management system software used for managing digital signage at UVic. Content managers access TelemetryTV online and the content that they schedule to TelemetryTV communicates to devices, which then projects on to a display. (i.e., Content manager > TelemetryTV > device > display).