Playlists and the Media Library | easyCMS Digital Signage

The Media Library is where all your files live; playlists are ordered sequences of that content. Together they let you manage what plays separately from how it looks (layouts) and when it plays (the schedule). This separation is what makes day-to-day content updates fast: swap an item in a playlist once, and every screen using it updates automatically.

Supported formats

The safest, most portable formats across all easyCMS player platforms are:

Images: JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF and WebP are accepted. Match the image to the area it will fill, a 4000-pixel photo squeezed into a small corner wastes storage and bandwidth. Animated GIFs do not animate on any player, so if you need motion, use a short MP4 instead.
Video: MP4 (H.264 with AAC audio) plays reliably on every player platform. Other formats may work on specific players, but MP4 is the format we recommend standardising on.
Audio: MP3 for background audio or audio attached to other widgets.

Beyond library files, content such as web pages, tickers, weather and clocks is added as widgets rather than uploads, so nothing needs converting.

Uploading media

Open Library > Media and click Add.
Add the files three ways: drag and drop them, click Select to browse your computer, or paste the URL of a file hosted elsewhere and let easyCMS fetch it. Several at once is fine.
Optionally rename each file, descriptive names (“menu-breakfast-v2”) make a growing library manageable.
Use tags and folders to keep things organised from day one; you can filter the library by tag later, which also powers dynamic playlists.

You can also upload straight from the layout editor while you are designing, without a detour to the library first, the file lands in the library either way.

Keep an eye on your storage quota: a standard easyCMS account includes 1GB of cloud storage, and Enterprise accounts include 20GB. Compressing videos before upload (a 1080p H.264 file at a sensible bitrate) stretches your quota a long way. When a file is superseded, use the replace function so existing layouts pick up the new version, or retire it so it can no longer be assigned while remaining in old designs.

Durations

Every item has a duration, how long it stays on screen before the next item plays:

Images start from a default duration, which you can override per item: select the item, open the Advanced tab of the properties panel and set a duration in seconds.
Videos default to their natural length; you can shorten them or let them play out.
Widgets (tickers, weather, etc.) get whatever duration you assign.

Total playlist duration is shown as you build, which helps when you are aiming for, say, a two-minute loop.

Building and ordering playlists

A playlist is built in the playlist editor:

Create a playlist and give it a clear name.
Drag media and widgets from the toolbox into the timeline.
Reorder items by dragging them, the sequence on the timeline is the playback order.
Optionally set start and end dates on individual items, so seasonal content expires by itself without you touching the playlist.

Playlists can be placed on a layout and reused across many of them. A global playlist can also go straight to a screen with no layout at all. Use its row menu on the playlists page and choose Schedule. That is the shortest route from “here are eight images” to “they are on the screen”.

Dynamic playlists

Instead of hand-picking items, a dynamic playlist is defined by a filter, usually a tag. Tick Dynamic when you add the playlist, then set the criteria on its Filter tab. Anything matching the filter is included automatically, including files you upload later. Tag every store promotion “promo” and point a dynamic playlist at that tag. Updating the screens then means uploading a new tagged image, nothing more.

Tip Set the maximum number of files it may pull in while you are there. Without a cap, a tag that grows quietly turns into a playlist far longer than the loop you designed.

Keeping content fresh

Because players cache content locally, edits you make in the CMS propagate at the players’ next check-in, usually within a few minutes. There is no need to touch the screens themselves; the library and playlists are your single point of control.