Use media

Audio

MP3

Audio recommendations

• Audio bitrate: 128 kB/sec.

• Audio channels: 2 (Stereo)

• Audio sample rate: 48 kHz (48,000 Hz)

• The recommended bit rate also applies to the audio track inside videos.

• Higher bitrates may cause the media player to quit the spots.

Image

JPG

PNG

GIF

Image recommendations

• Resolution: 3840 x 2160 px or 1920 x 1080 px

• Tizen Player: max. resolution of 1920 x 1080px. This is a Tizen limitation.

• You’ll achieve the best results when the resolution of the image matches the resolution of the displays.

• GIFs achieve a better quality than videos.

Video

MP4 (recommended)

MOV

MKV

H.264

WebM

Video recommendations

• We recommend videos in MP4 format. 

• You’ll achieve the best results when the resolution of the video matches the resolution of the displays.

Full HD

All players support full HD resolution.

4K

Whether you can play 4K videos without encountering any issues (stuttering, etc.) largely depends on the player hardware (PC, CPU, RAM, graphics card, SSD, display port) and the video codec. Videos in 4K resolution can be displayed with the following players:

• Linux (from player version 10.1.1)

• Windows (from player version 10.0.8)

• Android (from player version 8.1.0.2)

• Tizen only supports 4K videos without preloading.

Video encoding recommendations

Videos up to 1920 x 1080

• Container: MP4 or MKV

• Codec: H.264 

• Format profile: we recommend H.264 with a max. level of 4.1 for Full HD and 5.1 for 4K.

• Audio codec: MP3 or AAC

• Audio bitrate: max. 128 kB/sec.

Videos 4K 3840 x 2160

• Container: MP4

• Codec: preferred HEVC, possible H.264 (depending on firmware versions) 

• Format profile: high 5.1

• Audio codec: MP3 or AAC

• Audio: 128 kB/sec.

HTML spots

HTML

Grassfish does not guarantee that customer-specific HTML content can be displayed without any issues.

HTML recommendations

• HTML content must be tested on the target platform prior to a rollout. 

• HTML content (specifically websites) can offer a multitude of functions as well as the option to implement elements which can possibly lead to display issues on the players. 

HTML Basic

HTML Wizard

HTML Composer

HTML.ZIP

ASC.ZIP

HTML Composer

Implementing large media files and different types of effects and animations on different target platforms can produce different results. The use of external data sources such as UDC is only possible with the development of specific HTML basic or HTML Wizard spots.

HTML5 basic spots recommendations

• Simple spots have no embedded videos and little JavaScript code, for example, for animations or actions.

• Medium complex spots have embedded videos. However, all media including videos should have the lowest possible size.

• Avoid animations in the first two seconds of the spot. The preloading of the next spot may influence their performance.

Standalone HTML Wizard spots recommendations

• With the HTML Wizard, Grassfish provides a framework for creating your own HTML spots. You can specify which elements can be edited. 

• While there are no technical restrictions on the media or animations that you use in the HTML Wizard, we strongly recommend testing the content against the lowest performing hardware of your IXM Platform environment.

• Certain rules apply to the resolution or bit rate of the media you use.

• The animation type and length influence the performance of the spot. 

Composer spot recommendations

The performance of the HTML Composer spot feature depends on numerous factors such as: 

• Number of media, text, and widget elements

• Number and complexity of animations

• Possible actions like GoTo (touch) or trigger events

• Hardware

In general, there are some elements that you should take into consideration:

• Requirements on the file format and size

• The maximum number of video elements per HTML Composer spot depends on the whole playback system.^*

• The videos should match the size of the selected media element field. For example, an element section size of 500x500 px should contain a video file of that resolution and not the resolution of the overall HTML Composer spot. 

• The video length should not exceed that of the Composer itself. For example, a 60-minute video within a 15 seconds spot won’t work. 

^* Philips Android Player with Mstar M96 SoC supports only one video per HTML Composer spot. Tizen Player has similar limitations.

Images within the HTML Composer

• Consider that the number and size of the picture elements within the HTML Composer may influence the performance of the visual display even without the use of animations.

• The images should match the size of the selected media element field. For example, a section of 500x500 px should contain a media file of that resolution and not the resolution of the display.

• The number and type of animations may influence the performance.

• Animations with a higher duration like ten seconds may need more CPU resources than shorter animations to run smoothly. Grassfish uses the animation engine Greensock for the HTML Composer: https://greensock.com/docs/v3/Eases.

Website spots

Website URL

Depending on the player, it’s possible to preload the header of the website and thus skip it if the player can’t be reached. Additionally, it is possible to create a whitelist for website spots. In this case, the spot may only navigate to predetermined websites. If you use a top-level domain, the permission applies to secondary pages as well.

Website recommendations

• Websites must be compatible with the supported feature set of the currently used WebView component. 

• Only websites supporting iFrames work as website spots. You can test this using https://iframe.grassfish.tv/.

• The Grassfish website spot supports basic authentication.

PDF spots

PDF

The system uses open-source libraries to display PDF files.

PDF recommendations

• Specify the correct size when you create PDF spots. The size should not exceed the resolution of the display. A Full HD screen should display a PDF with a maximum size of 1920 x 1080 px. 

• Inserted media must not exceed the required resolution or size. 

• You must embed fonts as bitmaps to display them correctly. 

• We recommend testing all PDF spots before adding them to released playlists.

PowerPoint spots

PPT

PowerPoint presentations can only be played with the Windows Player (from player version 10.0.8).

There are two options to display PowerPoint presentations on the player:

• Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer 2010 (automatically installed with the Grassfish Player)

• Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 or 2016 (must be installed manually and requires an additional license key).

UDC

The player can get data from external data sources via the UDC interface. If applicable, transmitted data is reformatted and transferred to players. With data content, it’s possible to specify whether data should be transferred to a specific group of players or an individual player. 

An example for this are weather forecast values which, based on latitude and longitude, are only sent to corresponding players. 

It’s also possible to distribute images or videos (e.g., for the display of current news) to players. Transferred data is evaluated by HTML spots on player PCs and displayed dynamically. 

Please contact your Grassfish partner prior to the use of an UDC interface to ensure the use case’s feasibility in advance.  

Streaming spots

Streaming URL

UDP streams can be played back with the Windows and Linux-based players.

Image

✓

✓

✓

Video

✓

✓

✓

Audio

✓

✓

✓

Website

✓

✓

✓

HTML Basic

✓

✓

✓

Standalone HTML Wizard

✓

✓

✓

HTML Composer

✓

✓

✓

HTML Wizard in Composer

✓

✓

✓

PDF

✓

✓

✓

* Windows or Linux Player version 11.11 or later
** Android Player version 11.4.7 or later
*** Tizen Player 4.0, 6.5

Portrait vs. Landscape 

Landscape orientation
All players support the playback of content in landscape format.

Portrait orientation
Note that some display manufacturers have limitations on specific orientation modes.

Split screen

Split screen is only supported by the following Grassfish players : 

• Qt-based Linux (from 10.1.1)

• Qt-based Windows (from 10.0.8)

Multiple screens

Windows or Linux-based players can display two independent screen layouts on two screens.

Other players only support one screen layout.

Video wall

The Windows and Linux-based player on Windows and Linux can also be run with more than two screens side by side (with differing content). 

If you have questions about video walls, please contact your Grassfish partner.