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How To Create and Use Operational Schedules (HDMI-CEC, RS-232)

Do you want your screen to automatically turn on and off according to a schedule to save time and energy? Operational Schedule, an all-in-one feature, makes this easier than ever before!

Use Case
In a corporate office setting, this feature can be employed to control the power, volume, and brightness settings of digital displays across multiple conference rooms and common areas, ensuring they operate only during designated business hours or specific events. 

In this article:

  1. Introduction to Operational Scheduling
  2. Assigning Operational Schedules to Screens
  3. Create Your Own Advanced Schedule

Introduction to Operational Scheduling

Operational Schedule allows you to schedule when your TV powers on/off and to control the volume and brightness through the device level, HDMI-CEC, or RS-232 connections. HDMI-CEC is a popular feature available on most consumer TVs right now, while RS-232 is useful for commercial-grade displays.

Limitations
  • You will need the Pro+ Plan or above to have access to this HDMI-CEC and RS-232 feature. The HDMI-CEC or RS-232 capabilities allow you to Power On/Off your TV using the Operational Schedule, and change the volume or mute the screen.
  • If you have the Free or Standard plan and create an Operational Schedule, the player will display black to save power and device life. 
  • To access Operational Schedule with an HDMI-CEC port, you will need our OptiSigns Android Player or Pro Signage Player. The player will need to be plugged in to an HDMI-CEC port to function. RS-232 functionality can be used with any device which supports it.

One last important note:

HDMI-CEC is referred to by numerous names. Depending on the brand of your TV or device, it might be called something else, and may need to be enabled in the device software.

Here is a complete list of TV Manufacturer CEC Names. Simply find your device on the list and enable HDMI-CEC, if necessary.

Assigning Operational Schedules to Screens

1. Navigate to Screens Management, then select Edit on your desired screen.

 

2. Select Operational Schedule, then select your schedule from the dropdown menu:

  1. Default Schedule: Screen is on, 4:00AM - 11:59PM, every day
  2. New: Create your own schedule

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3. If Default Schedule is selected, the time and days can adjusted by clicking Edit.

Note: Advanced Scheduling will allow you to create your own schedule.

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4. Select your Operational Schedule, assign your desired content, then click Save.

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5. Once saved, your TV power will be on during the operational schedule and will be turned off or display black outside of the operational schedule. 

Note: If there is nothing scheduled, your screen will automatically turn off or display a black screen during that time. You don't need to set a specific schedule for this function to activate.

Create Your Own Advanced Schedule

1. Navigate to your Screens Management, select your desired screen, click Operational Schedule, select + New from the Operational Schedule dropdown menu. 

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2. Select your desired event time by clicking on a time, then drag-and-dropping to create an event.

On the side menu, you can customize your schedule with the following options:

    1. Name: Create a name for your schedule.
    2. Time: This is the time of your event, click on it to edit the day and time.
    3. Repeat: Choose whether you'd like your event to repeat from the available options, or create your own custom repeat.
    4. Power: Choose from On, Off, HDMI-CEC On or Off, or RS-232 On or Off.
      • On: Controls software only. Your content will be displaying while TV is on.
      • Off: Controls software only. Your content will stop displaying, but your TV will still be on.
      • HDMI-CEC - On: Powers on your TV and content.
      • HDMI-CEC - Off: Powers off your TV and content.
      • RS-232 - On: Powers on your TV and content.
      • RS-232 - Off: Powers off your TV and content.
        Note: Your device will try RS-232 first if available, then HDMI-CEC command to turn off TV/Monitor. Your TV/Monitor model and player needs to support this feature for it to work. Players sold by OptiSigns support HDMI-CEC and RS-232.
    5. Mute: Choose if you'd like your screen to be mute or not if sound is available.
    6. Volume: Adjust the volume of the screen.
    7. Brightness: Adjust the brightness of the screen, with 100% being your screen's current brightness.
    8. RS-232 Commands: If you have already configured RS-232 commands, you can select them from this dropdown.

3. Make sure to Save your event at the bottom so that it will assign the event to the schedule. Then, click "Apply" to assign it to your screen.

4. Once applied, click Save to apply and activate all changes to your screens.

That's it! You've successfully configured your operational schedule!

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