Repeat once option

Introduction

This is a f/up feature request as an result of Play layout once within hourly repeating schedule

Currently you can schedule a layout or campaign for a specific time(-range) and can repeat this schedule.

Imagine a scheduled campaign running forever with several layouts in a loop. I’d like to play out a special layout (a video of a certain length) additionally every hour - no problem setting up an repeat for every 1 hour but this will probably run in a middle cutted video playout due to incorrect set schedule length (schedule length = video length).

What is a practical use case? You have your public display showing some nice layouts which can repeat without problems always. But sometime you want to show a video - e.g. a corporate brand marketing image video. If you would put in the regular capaign, it would run way to often and would result in ignorance.

User Story

As a Corporate Communication Manager I want to show a layout (e.g. including a video) and repeative way (e.g. every hour) and define an amount of playouts (e.g. playout twice every hour) in order to avoid a playout which is interrupted during playout.


For the dev team to fill in:

Status

The current status and the username of the:

  • Reporter
  • Drafter
  • Implementer

Implementation

A broad description of the changes required.

Effected Software

Which parts of Xibo are effected

DB Schema Changes

Any necessary DB Schema Changes

first of all, what xibo version are you talking about…am confused reading this post…what are you trying solve?

I’m running latest version from 1.8 tree.

Following text is copied from my original post which is referenced in first sentence and could maybe better explain where I’m coming from and what I would like to achieve:

Imagine a scheduled campaign running forever with several layouts in a loop. I’d like to play out a special layout (a video of a certain length) additionally every hour - no problem setting a repeat hourly 1.
BUUUT: my goal is to play this layout/video just once(!) every hour.

My understanding is (based on conversations here in that forum and documentation) that I would need to define a length of this repeating hourly schedule similar to the layout/video length but this will probably result in a middle cutted video playout.

try dayparting and set the time well…you must set priority for this new schedule to run …i have set a schedule to run daily which is like 24hr manner. I use this schedule to put an empty template on my screens at the times when the shop closes to stop ads from running when tv screen is off…a way to save bandwidth…so i have the schedule se by a custom dayparting time…and so it starts from let say 9pm and stays on screen till 8am then it ends and the ads begins as shop is now opened for the day

this schedule is given THE PRIORITY OVER ALL OTHERS so if you do the same and select hourly in the repeat section, all other ads will give way for your video ad to run till the end

if your video is approximately 30 seconds…whatever it is…the time your set to END your schedule is what AFFECTS the duration of your ad…so if your video is 45 seconds long…then when you schedule it to run…start date is let say jan 15, start time is 09:00 (9:00am) then the end date, also jan 15 but end time should be 09:01…your video will run twice…meaning 30sec x 2=60sec aka 1minute. xibo timing doesn’t allow for seconds to be added…its better if you have a group of ads to show every hour a single template…if your video is 1minute long then perfect

Thank you so much for your support and suggestions. This is very much appreciated!

In general all suggested options would/could work. But they have nevertheless a realistic chance to end up in a video playback which is interrupted in somewhere within the playback time. Usually it takes some few seconds (depending from bandwidth, location, display,…) until the video really starts. This means, when I have a 1min video it will be cutted at the very end for let’s say 1-2 seconds. If I have a 45 second video in a 1min priority schedule, it will run twice - once full and the second cutted after aproximately 15seconds.
Sure, I can work around all this by defining propper video length with some “flexible” time at the end so that a “cutted” video isn’t recognized by the audience. Nevertheless it would be more convenient and flexible to have this play-count option as it was already taken into concideration by Dan in Feb 2018 (Scheduling question).

strongly agree with you on that matter

This is still a great idea but is not on the roadmap as of yet!