Add and schedule advertising

Advertising has two parts: the assets that can be shown, and the settings that decide when this player shows them. For a cinema player, adding an asset does not automatically turn advertising on. An Advertise Only player uses its enabled assets directly.

Set up an Advertise Only screen

1. On Settings → Player, choose Provider → Advertise Only, immediately below Manual, and save.
2. Open Advertising Assets. Upload compatible images/videos or add a URL poster. Name each asset, enable it, set a positive weight and optional campaign dates, then save asset settings.
3. On Presentation, select Poster for images and URLs, or Video for videos.
4. For Poster, choose Ad-image, Ad-image +90 or Ad-image -90. Set Advert Display Duration, Artwork sizing and transition; Cut is the default.
5. Choose Playback Order on Presentation and save. Random and Clock-synchronized both support fresh URL preloading. Clock-synchronized also offers a dated playlist.
6. Watch the actual screen through several changes and check campaign boundaries using the player’s date.

No ticketing feed or Media API key is required. Film/session/import, Playlist and advertising-insertion menus are hidden. Every eligible item is an advert, so there is no insertion interval. Missing uploaded media, invalid URLs, disabled assets, weight 0 and inactive campaign dates are excluded. Video plays full clips and cuts between them. Poster offers Cut, Fade, Crossfade, Slide Left, Slide Right and Zoom.

Normal cinema provider settings and cached media are retained. Returning to that provider restores its own presentation; Advertise Only retains its independent presentation preferences too.

Use advertising inside a cinema programme

Advertising Assets is the campaign library. Settings → Advertising enables insertion on this player. Follow the steps below for a normal Poster or Trailer programme; they do not apply to Advertise Only.

Add an image advert

1. Open Advertising Assets.
2. Under Poster adverts, choose the upload button and select the image file.
3. Wait for the upload to finish, then check the preview.
4. Give it a meaningful name, such as “Membership offer — October”.
5. Set enabled state, weight and any campaign dates.
6. Select Save asset settings.

Add a video advert

1. Under Video adverts, upload a compatible video file.
2. Wait for completion and check its preview.
3. Set name, enabled state, weight and dates, then save asset settings.
4. Enable Trailer Advertising on the intended trailer player.
5. Watch a real cycle to confirm picture, audio and return to normal trailers.

Enable advertising on this player

1. Open Settings → Playlist and choose Playback Order → Clock-synchronized. Save.
2. Open Settings → Advertising.
3. Choose Poster for image/URL poster adverts or Trailer for video adverts.
4. Set the appropriate advertising option to Enabled on this player.
5. Enter the advert interval in seconds and save.
6. Check Playback → Up Next and the physical screen.

Understand weight and dates

Weight controls an advert's approximate share among eligible adverts of the same type. A weight of 0 never plays. If three adverts have weights 100, 50 and 25, their expected shares are about 57%, 29% and 14%. These are relative opportunities, not a guaranteed fixed sequence.

Start and End dates are optional and inclusive. Leaving Start blank allows the campaign before any end boundary; leaving End blank gives it no end date. Check the player's date, especially for a time-limited promotion.

A disabled asset, weight 0, expired campaign, missing file or invalid URL prevents that advert from playing. The Ready indicator means the asset is viable; it does not prove it is scheduled in the current playlist.

Understand the interval

Poster intervals are measured from advert start to advert start and round up to a poster-slot boundary. With Poster Delay 7 seconds and an advert interval of 10 seconds, the advert starts every 14 seconds and occupies one 7-second slot.

For a less frequent campaign, use a longer interval, such as the normal 300-second default. Setting the interval to one poster slot can make every slot an advert. Use a short interval only while testing, then restore the cinema's intended value.

A trailer advert begins after the current video finishes. Its effective interval therefore depends on the videos' lengths.

Preload a web advert

Each URL poster has a Preload time (seconds), set when adding the page or edited beside its URL. The default is 30 seconds; choose 0 to turn preloading off, or up to 120 seconds for pages with slower embedded content. Save asset settings after editing. With Random or Clock-synchronized poster playback, a fresh page loads and continues rendering behind the current item before each change. A single URL advert also refreshes this way, so changes at the same URL are picked up without replacing the visible page with a loading message. If the replacement takes longer than its preload window, the current item stays visible until the new page is ready; a failed refresh leaves the current item in place and can retry later. Clock-synchronized players only reveal a late page when it still belongs to the current slot. A first page after startup can still show loading because there is no previous advert to retain. The preload time is a head start rather than a guarantee that a website will finish loading in that many seconds. Use a display duration longer than the preload time to allow the full requested head start.

Remove an advert

Disable the asset and save if you may need it again. Use the labelled Delete button below its preview only when you intend to remove it permanently; confirm the deletion dialog. Uploaded media is removed, while a URL poster's saved link is removed.