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WSU's digital signage service includes over 100 displays on the Winona and Rochester campuses used to deliver campus information, including emergency notifications. Content is either managed centrally or by the owners of specific display or display groups (e.g., Chartwells, Admissions, etc.).
Availability
The service is managed by Teaching, Learning, and Technology Services (TLT). Members of the campus community who wish to have digital slides or digital video displayed on the Digital Signage system can submit their content via the Winona State Service Portal. Before creating and submitting digital slides or digital video for display on the Digital Signage system, please review the Digital Signage Policies, as well as the Digital Signage Content & Format Requirements, posted below.
General Information
All materials for digital signage display must be acceptable to the Winona State Digital Signage Group. Any questionable material (copyright infringements, other-than “G” rated content, etc) will NOT be run until approved.
All submissions must have the name, the phone and the email contact information of the individual making the submission.
Procedures
- Completed materials must be submitted for acceptance prior to being placed on the digital signage play list/scheduler and will be scheduled for display according to the date range entered on the service request ticket.
- Materials must have a name of an individual, department, club, or organization and a phone or email address contact included with the submitted slides and/or video.
- If you are submitting a group of slides to be played concurrently, the maximum slide count is 6. Please note: slides are scheduled to be displayed for 8 to 12 seconds each. Videos that are submitted may be no longer than 1 minute in total run time.
- Submitted materials must be one of the following three categories:
- WSU sponsored on/off campus events
- General student information
- Student services
Priority of Playlist/Scheduler
Priority of presentation of material is given in the following order:
- Emergency or time-sensitive announcements
- WSU College or University announcements
- WSU Campus Department or Event announcements
- WSU recognized and registered Student Clubs and Organizations
- MnSCU System announcements
- WSU Campus vendors
- Winona area community groups, organizations, companies, associations, corporations, or individuals sponsoring an event for the campus.
Regulation Enforcement
Winona State University (and its appointed administrators) reserve the right to refuse approval for any submitted material that is not compatible with the University’s educational mission.
Fees/Charges
Use of the digital signage system is at no cost to Winona State University recognized and registered clubs and organizations; entities and departments within the University; or members of the MnSCU Campus System.
- EXCEPTION: A select group of Campus Vendors have been approved to display signage, and fees are included in their individual Campus Support contracts.
Content & Format Requirements
General Considerations: The creation of content for the Digital Signage system requires consideration of technical, legal, and aesthetic factors. The technical considerations deal with the system's capabilities and limitations. The aesthetic or creative considerations relate to making the digital slides and/or digital videos visually interesting and accessible for effective communications. When creating content for Digital Signage, it is important to consider the system's 16 x 9 horizontal aspect ratio, graphic readability and balance, graphic colors, compatibility and overall style.
Minimum Requirements: Content submitted for display on the Digital Signage system must meet the following minimum requirements before it will be approved and scheduled for display. Digital slides can be submitted in JPG or PNG format. Slides should be formatted in widescreen- 16 x 9 ratio. The standard resolution is 1920 x 1080.
Digital video must be 60 seconds or less in length and may not contain audio. Videos may be submitted in any of 3 formats, including: mpeg, mov, or mp4 file types. At this time, Digital Signage does NOT support including an audio track in a submitted video. Audio will be removed from any videos played.
Digital slides or digital video using a solid red background will NOT be scheduled for display. Solid red backgrounds are reserved for Emergency Communications only.
Do NOT incorporate any element into digital signage content that violates copyright laws. If there are any questions regarding copyright issues about submitted content, that content WILL NOT be displayed until it has been verified that there is NO copyright infringement.
Digital Slides
Digital slides can be produced in any program that can create a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or PNG (Portable Network Graphics) file such as Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Microsoft Office Publisher, Photo Shop, etc.
Aspect Ratio
It is important to realize that Digital Signage content should be created in a horizontal format. The areas of the Digital Signage screens reserved for display of digital slides use a 16 x 9 aspect ratio (16 units wide and 9 units tall). This means that when preparing digital slides the width of the slide should be approximately 1.77 times greater than the height. For Campus presentations, digital slides should be formatted at 1920 x 1080 pixels, @ 72 dpi.
Readability
Campus digital slides are typically displayed for up to 8-12 seconds at a time. Therefore, it is best to limit the number of elements (text and graphic images) in a digital slide so that viewers have sufficient time to read the slide during its brief display time. A good rule of thumb is to “Keep it Simple”.
Text and Fonts
Limit the number of characters (letters, spaces, etc.) in a line and the number of lines on a slide. Forty characters or less is a preferred line length. A maximum of ten lines per slide is a good target. Be sure to allow sufficient white space between and around text so that it appears balanced and visually pleasing. The resolution limitations of the Digital Signage displays require the use of simple, bold text or type. It is best to avoid light, ornate fonts with fine thin lines or fonts with delicate serifs (even in larger sizes) because they are difficult to read. As a general rule of thumb, avoid font sizes any smaller than 24 points.
Graphic Images
When using graphic images in digital slides, be sure to use images that are visually compatible with the other elements in the slide. Use images whose formats are compatible with creating slides in either JPEG or PNG formats.
Color and Contrast
Other readability considerations are color and contrast. Insufficient contrast between text and background colors can make reading difficult. Some color combinations may provide sufficient contrast but still be difficult to view because one or more of the colors is extremely bright.
Digital Video
Supported Formats Supported file types include: mpg, mpeg, mov, mp4, avi, dv, and wmv file types. Recommended Quality Settings MPEG-4 is best. Using a bitrate setting of 10Mbps - 15Mbps is recommended for high definition video.
Audio
Digital video may not contain audio. The audio portion of any submitted video will be erased, and NOT played over Campus Signage.
Aspect Ratio
It is important to realize that Digital Signage content should be created in a horizontal format. The areas of the Digital Signage screens reserved for display of digital video use a 16 x 9 aspect ratio (16 units wide and 9 units tall). This means that when preparing digital video the width of the video frame should be approximately 1.77 times greater than the height.
Copyrighted Material
Do not use digital video clips or incorporate elements into digital video content that infringe upon the copyright or trademark rights of others. Digital signage content that infringes on the copyrighted or trademarked works of others will NOT be approved for display. Copyrighted and trademarked material may include, but are not limited to, logos, digital images, photographs, paintings, movies, videos, and written works. Copyright and Fair Use information is available from the library.