Digital Signage Software Development
- Shannen Leafs
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Objective: Develop a digital signage software, easy to use for end users.
• Reference Research Phase
During the research phase, I analyzed the user interfaces of various software platforms, including Maya, 3Ds Max, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Nuke, Wix, and Sketch. I observed that the user's primary focus is typically concentrated at the center of the interface, where they spend 70% to 90% of their time on finishing their jobs. This central area serves as the most critical visual target to be their ultimate goal. Consequently, editing tools should be strategically positioned along the four sides of the interface—top, left, right, and bottom—to maximize accessibility and usability.
• What file formats are supported?
File Formats:
Picture: jpg, png, gif, raw, tif, tga, psd, ai, cdr, svg, pdf
Video: mov, mp4, flv, wmv, mpeg, m4v, mkv, 3gp, webm, avi, flv, swf, rmvb
(highlighted in green when applicable)
Image Specifications:
The bit depth of an image can vary, including 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit.
Typically, it contains 4 channels: R (Red), G (Green), B (Blue), and Alpha (Transparency).
It may also be necessary to specify whether the standard is NTSC, PAL, or SECAM.
The refresh rate options could include 50 Hz, 60 Hz, or 120 Hz.
For video files, the frame rate (FPS) may range from 23.98, 24.00, 25, 29.97, 50, 59.94, to 120 FPS.
File Size:
I defined 4 conditions of sizes:
Original
High
Medium
Low
When a user uploads a file, the system should be able to determine if the file is supported.
There are three possible statuses that define the system's behavior:
Supported: The system recognizes the file, which is supported by its built-in decoding methods (e.g., JPG files).
Unsupported: The file is not supported by the system (e.g., PSD files).
Limited: The file exceeds allowable conditions, such as size limitations, to prevent system instability or crashes (e.g., a file that is 120 gigabytes in size).
Do we need an loading bar while user is uploading?
After crossing the first threshold, the system should provide basic information for each file to help users review and manage their uploads. The details include:
File Name: The name of the file.
Category: Indicates the type of file, such as video, audio, image, or document.
Format: Specifies the file extension (e.g., *.jpg).
Size: Displays the file's size (e.g., 1.2 MB, 2GB).
Resolution: For videos, the system shows the resolution (e.g., 1920x1080, 4k).
Create/Import/Edit Time: Provides timestamps to help users identify files as the file pool grows larger and more complex.
Duration: Indicates the length of a video.
Pages: For PDF files, displays the number of pages (if the system supports PDF functionality—this feature is pending).
• What actions can a user do for the files?
Play
Pause
Download
Delete
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̶A̶d̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶v̶o̶l̶u̶m̶e̶
̶F̶u̶l̶l̶s̶c̶r̶e̶e̶n̶
̶E̶x̶i̶t̶ ̶f̶u̶l̶l̶s̶c̶r̶e̶e̶n̶
̶S̶i̶g̶l̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶e̶w̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶p̶d̶f̶
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We don't want No.5 to No.12 features yet.
• How Do We Want It Displayed on Screen?
The screen orientation, as set up by end users, could be either portrait or landscape.
Additional conditions we may consider:
Screens are far apart from each other.
Screens are clustered together.
Screens overlap.
It may feature different aspect ratios, such as:
1920 x 1440 (1.33)
1920 x 1152 (1.66)
1920 x 1080 (1.78)
1920 x 1036 (1.85)
1920 x 816 (2.35)
and more.
End users might also want to determine how the video is displayed on the screen when the source video doesn't match the screen's aspect ratio.
Pan and Scan: Crops the video to fill the screen, cutting off portions of the frame that don't fit. (eg., 16:9 video is played on 4:3 screen.)
Letterbox: Adds black bars above and below the video to preserve the original aspect ratio without cropping. (eg., 16:9 video is played on 16:10 screen.)
Or do we want to support PIP(picture in picture) mode?
• Conclusion
We have identified four distinct display modes:
Single View: Each monitor displays a single file containing video and audio signals.
Multiview: Each monitor displays multiple files simultaneously, including one or more video and audio signals.
Wall Mode: Multiple monitors work together to broadcast portions of an image signal, combining to form a complete image. This mode includes both video and audio signals.
Customize Mode: Users can tailor the display setup to their preferences, allowing for unique configurations based on their specific needs.
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