dsharp7th Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I'm creating graphics for a screen at an exhibition stand (really just hacking apart an existing powerpoint file and reworking everything 16:9). The exhibition is in another country and I don't think I'll be able to confirm what model screen it is, let alone try it out - it's looking like 28-32" from the stand visuals. (I can't persuade the stand operator to fly me out for setup and 'on call support' sadly). The idea is that the screen will autoplay images from a usb stick, and I can't rely on the stand staff to fiddle with the screen settings via some unknown on screen display/remote so ideally it will just work straight away if I get everything right on the usb stick. I presume I can force the correct the order by naming 01.jpg, 02.jpg etc in the root folder and not include any other files, and the screen will loop these all the time it is on. Is 1920 × 1080 safe to assume as the best resolution to use? Is there a common default display duration for each slide on screens that autoplay like this, or does it completely vary by make/model? Is it likely to do a nice fade transition or a jarring instant change? Should I dare try to create a video file on another stick to set preferred transitions/timings, if so what is the most likely format to work on an unknown screen and will it loop, or is this too much of a long shot? Or should I insist they take a dedicated display laptop, an hdmi and a vga cable, and a GO.pps file saved on the desktop? Any tips gratefully received! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sameness Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Playing with fire with this one... Treat it as a 16:9 screen at 1920x1080. You wont get anything less on an exhibition stand. The trouble with the domestic screens that get used on exhibitions is multiple - making sure the memory stick you use is formatted correctly; making sure that the file structure is sensible and that the screen will read it; trying to ensure any preloaded content is compatible with the screen. AFAIK they will have to fiddle with a remote no matter what, as most TVs make you navigate to the file/folder you want to play. Personally depending on the presentation content, I'd save the powerpoint as a movie file, that way you can keep any slide animations and also transition animations. Easiest way for everyone would be to send a dedicated laptop and an autorunning ppt file, set to open when booted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 How about burning it onto a DVD. Just about anybody can work those.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sameness Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Then you need to take a DVD player as well, hope it doesn't get scratched/broken/remote lost... Exhibition types are a nightmare, I've done AV support for exhibitions and the amount of calls you get to turn a screen ON are unbelievable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsharp7th Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Thanks folks, Managed to track down someone who knows the screen, and establish that it will autoplay an avi file on a memory stick. So if I can correctly predict the file system format and encode settings I think we're ok to play content as intended. If a DVD were the best option - is it possible to author it in such a way that it loops continuously in any player? (I use adobe encore) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I've not used Encore but yes there is facility in the DVD spec to be able to loop forever. In Avid DVD it's just a tickbox to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallenav Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Cyclone media player, put the files in Autoplay folder? HDMI out, cost about £20-30.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerJonny Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Cyclone media player, put the files in Autoplay folder? HDMI out, cost about £20-30.. There's an Autoplay folder feature? Did not know that. Will have to investigate that... We have around 10 of these in daily use in a gallery install, been running over a year now with absolutely no issues. If you don't use them for this job, I'd recommend getting one anyway - Cheap as chips and 5V you can power them off a USB port - something most TV's and Projectors have these days. Great for the bottom of the toolbag when someone suddenly wants content somewhere with no warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I know that this is teaching grandma to suck eggs but....One thing that I found using a domestic tv with USB stick on repeat was that the loop logo would come up for a few seconds on every repeat and we couldn't turn it off.The problem was that it was still on screen when the material came upWe sorted it by adding a bit more black to the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmiller056 Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 After the comments above I went and bought one of the Sumvision Cyclone boxes (micro 4) for a forthcoming job. It's neat and effective. I have tried to get autoplay to work with the named folder as suggested above but got nowhere. No help in the supplied instructions. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARWYN Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Hi Have you thought of using a Raspberry Pi with the free version of Screenly it is available online. you can load videos and images onto it and then put them in order then they should loop indefinately in the order they are put in the raspberry pi will automatically start looping it from the moment it boots up after the boot screen. Talk SoonCarwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveallenav Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 After the comments above I went and bought one of the Sumvision Cyclone boxes (micro 4) for a forthcoming job. It's neat and effective. I have tried to get autoplay to work with the named folder as suggested above but got nowhere. No help in the supplied instructions. Peter If I add files to the auto play folder, and set to loop, that works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 After the comments above I went and bought one of the Sumvision Cyclone boxes (micro 4) for a forthcoming job. It's neat and effective. I have tried to get autoplay to work with the named folder as suggested above but got nowhere. No help in the supplied instructions. Peter If I add files to the auto play folder, and set to loop, that works for me.Dave, what version of the box are you running? The Micro 4? There are many variants of these Cyclone boxes and almost no documentation - guess you get what you pay for eh?!? Do you know 100% for sure that this autoplay function works on the 4? Peter, after a bit of Googling it looks like you can't autoplay off the internal memory. Are you trying to do it off SD or USB?( https://www.avforums.com/threads/help-with-autoplay-on-sumvision-cyclone-micro-3.1882014/ ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmiller056 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 David, It is a Cyclone micro 4. This device has no internal memory for the user. I've tried both USB and SD memory attached with some basic variations on spelling of the directory name. I've started the (slow) process of asking the manufacturer if autoplay is available on this device. Once I get a definitive reply, I'll update this thread. Subject to the inevitable random vagaries of wireless signals, this device actually works quite well wirelessly mirroring the display of an Android tablet using 'Miracast'. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmiller056 Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 From Sumvision customer support... The cyclone micro 4 does not have Autoplay and it is unlikely to be added to any future firmware releases. The cyclone micro 2+ and cyclone micro 3 have this feature. Sumvision customer support have been helpful, but slow because they are many time zones away on the other side of the planet and English is not their first language. Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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