Playlists Overview

Learn how to create and manage playlists by combining different types of content.

What are Playlists?

Playlists are sequences of media content that appear on your screen and play one after another. Playlists also provide you with a percentage breakdown of how much screen time is allocated to each feature. You can use the playlists created by Shift or create a new one as needed.

Types of Categories Available

Shift organizes the content into five categories, each type defined as a slot.

Back of House
QR Code
Spotlight
Apps
Content Blocks

Adding a Playlist

Open the Manager Platform.
Navigate to Playlists.
Click on the Create Playlist button in the middle-right area of the screen.
Name the playlist with a recognizable name.
Drag and drop the group you need.
Click Save and Close to create the Playlist.

Playlists Actions

You can change the group's position by dragging and dropping them in your desired order.

You can delete the playlists.
You can duplicate it.
You can preview it.
You can set a default playlist.
You can choose specific content to include in a playlist using granularity.

How do you preview the playlist's content?

To preview what will appear on your TV screens, click Preview in the top-right corner. A new window will open, and the playlist will begin playing. The current group will be highlighted. When that group finishes, the highlight moves to the next one. Preview plays through the list once; on a real screen, it keeps looping.

What is a Default playlist?

A default playlist defines the standard playlists shown on your screens. You can only set one playlist as the default.

What is Granularity?

When you set specific content within a block, that content will play instead of all available content for that group. If one specific item is selected, it will play during that block and will not rotate unless other content is also included in the block.

How does the Playlist work?

In the playlist editor, you can see the five categories by label. All available content will rotate within each category. You can drag and drop the order in which content types are played.

You can see which specific content items will rotate by selecting the granularity drop-down.
You can leave it blank for each slot category so the content will rotate each round of the playlist.

How does it play?

The first item for the first slot category shows on the screen.
It stays up for the time you set (for example, 15 seconds).
Then it switches to the next item in the second slot category.
That continues down the list.
When it reaches the last item, it goes back to the first and starts over.
So the screen keeps cycling through the same order until you change the playlist.

A few extra behaviors you’ll notice:

Each screen can start at a different point. The order stays the same, but one screen might begin with item 3 while another starts with item 1. That way nearby screens don’t all show the same thing at the same moment.
A slot can hold more than one piece of content. Each time that slot comes around, the screen shows one of those pieces; the next time through, it shows the next one.
A takeover or special schedule can interrupt. That content plays once (or for its scheduled time), then the screen returns and keeps looping.

Best Practices

We typically recommend keeping the default playlist and not scheduling items in granular detail. Shift is designed to be a truly plug-and-play system!
If you want more control over what content is shown, the order in which it is shown, and how often, please review the details below.
Playlists provide the ultimate control over your Shift screens
Create Playlists that align with your business goals
We recommend leaving the Playlist groups blank to ensure that everything is played throughout the day

Page updated

Report abuse