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Channels for DOOH Networks: A Quick Tour

This guide walks through how a digital out-of-home (DOOH) network runs advertising on Wallboard with Channels: how to organize screens, how a Channel decides what plays, how to balance advertisers, and how Proof of Play shows what actually played. Each section links to the full article.

Organize screens: folders for where, tags for what​

  • Use folders for the location hierarchy, for example country > city > venue > screen.
  • Use tags for attributes, for example orientation, venue type or audience.

Channels can then target screens by folder, by tag, or both, so one rule reaches every matching screen, including screens added later.

A Channel is a set of playback rules, not a screen​

A Channel says what plays, when and where. It does not belong to a screen. Screens show Channels through a Channel Widget:

  • The Channel Widget is the frame on the canvas where Channel items play.
  • The Content that holds the Channel Widget must be assigned to the screens.
  • Several Channel Widgets in one Content give you several zones, each with its own Channels.
Pre-load

The Channel Widget's Pre-load setting (on by default) prepares the next item before it plays, for smooth transitions. On some Samsung models, pre-loading videos can cause a ghosting effect; see the Performance Mode article. Learn more: Performance Mode

Learn more: Channel Widget

The Channels list​

Channels are listed as cards (List view, the default) or in a table (Table view). Each card's menu has Toggle channel status to switch a Channel on or off, plus Edit, Duplicate, Manage tags, Manage teams, Go to proof of play and Remove.

Build a simple Channel​

The Channel editor has three steps:

  1. What to play? Pick Contents or Media. If you pick a media folder, files you add to that folder later are included automatically. ❓ Confirm how soon a new file reaches the devices.
  2. When to play? Set the date range, days and hours.
  3. Where to play? Pick specific devices, or match devices dynamically by tags and folders, or by a quick filter.

In How to play?, Maximum item duration (sec) caps how long any one item plays, which keeps the rotation fair between advertisers.

Learn more: Channels

Dynamic zoning: one Content, locally relevant Channels​

A Channel Widget can pull Channels by tag, and each Channel filters the devices it plays on by device tags and folders. Together this means:

  • the same Content runs on 500 screens,
  • each screen plays only the Channels that match it,
  • you roll out once, with no per-screen scheduling.

Learn more: Additional Settings on Channel Widget

Saturation: balancing advertisers​

Channel saturation is a weight, with a default of 1:

  • A Channel with saturation 2 plays twice as often as one with 1; 4 plays four times as often.
  • It is relative: only the ratio between Channels matters.
  • Plays are spread out over the rotation, not strictly alternated, and the result is predictable rather than random.

A typical setup: premium advertisers at saturation 4, standard advertisers at 1.

Saturation can also be changed while the Channels are running, from outside Wallboard, with the Integration action Change saturation of channel.

Learn more: Channel saturation

Sub-channels: keeping competitors apart​

Group competing or related advertisers, for example two soft-drink brands, or car ads and alcohol ads, into sub-channel groups. The playback slot then takes items from the groups in turn, so two competitors do not play back to back.

How many items each group contributes per turn is set in the playback slot options, and the order of the groups with Sub channel order. Ordering mode is a different setting: it sets the order of items inside a group (default, alphabetical or random).

❓ Confirm the exact playback slot option names on a screenshot before teaching them.

Learn more: Sub-channels

Learn more: Playback Slot

Check what will play: the Channel playlist snapshot​

On a device, the Channels Snapshot tab shows the server's forecast of the coming rotation for that device. It is a calculated preview, not a live log. Use it to check that a device matches the Channels you expect, and to count how often each item comes up, which shows saturation at work.

Learn more: Channel Playlist Snapshot

When Schedules overlap​

When two Schedules overlap, the one with the higher priority plays. If they have the same priority, the result is still fixed, not random: the one that became available earlier wins, and after that an internal ID decides.

Proof of Play​

Proof of Play shows what played, with tabs for Contents, Devices, Media files, Advertisers, Channels, Sub Channels and Custom statistics. Saturation shows up in the play counts, which supports billing.

  • Advertisers can be assigned to a Channel, a sub-channel, a Playlist item or a Content page. ❓ Which assignment wins when several apply depends on the level and is not straightforward in code; confirm with the product team before teaching an override rule.
  • Download data in spreadsheet downloads the report as CSV.
  • Each advertiser can get a public download link: the advertiser downloads a CSV of their own plays without logging in. The link gives daily figures for up to the last 31 days.
  • ❓ PNG export of a chart was not confirmed in code.
Stacked Widgets

Proof of Play does not check whether a Widget is visible. If two Widgets are stacked and both have reporting enabled, both report a play. Enable reporting only on the Widget that is actually seen.

Learn more: Proof of Play

Learn more: Advertisers menu

How Proof of Play data is collected​

QuestionAnswer
Is it real-time?No. Devices collect plays in 15-minute blocks and upload each block after it ends, with a random delay of up to 15 minutes so that a large network does not upload all at once
What if a device is offline?It keeps its plays and uploads them when it is back online. Plays older than 7 days are discarded
How far back can I report?Up to one year, as hourly totals. Detailed raw data is kept for 2 weeks
How long a period can I select?Up to 3 months at a time in the Proof of Play screen. For a full year, export four 3-month periods

❓ These collection rules come from the HTML player code; confirm they apply the same way on every player platform.