Hi Yodecker👋

Revamped RSS & News Widget Makeovers

You guys asked for a sleek new look for the RSS widget, and voila. We unveiled it in time so you can give your news feeds – and your screens – a fresh new summer style. Of course, BBC, CNN, ESPN, Al Jazeera and Google News widgets are now also equally chic and sophisticated. So go ahead and watch them spruce up your screens.

Also, we added a host of new customization options. For instance, you can select the text font and color, and split your screen between news photos and items. Similarly, you can display just the news item without a photo and set how long each news item will display. Added bonus? If the news item exceeds the character limit, you can make it scroll now. Get creative, and make your news feeds look exactly how you want them to.

Media Tag Filtering Per Screen Automates Content Updates

Larger organizations with lots of content across many locations will love this feature. Instead of creating different Playlists for each screen so as to tailor content per screen, you can now filter and customize content for each screen using media tags.

Got a screen in Los Angeles and one in Tokyo? Most likely each needs to display content that connects with different viewers and showcases different offers. So, now all you have to do is create one main Playlist for all screens and locations and then select different media tags to filter the content for each screen. It cuts down content creation time, and helps you automate the whole content selection and updating process.

Release Notes

New features

• Our RSS Widget had been moping for a makeover, so we gave it the all-star treatment with a bold new style we think will give you that wow factor you all want. You’ll also find it much more user-friendly with lots of customization options so you can get your news feeds looking exactly like you want them to on your screens. For example, you can now choose the text font and color, and have half a screen with the news photo and the other half with the actual news item. Similarly, you can choose to display news without an image, and also set the display time of each news item. Additionally, you can choose to make the content scroll if it exceeds the character limit for news items in feeds. And, just to add a touch more style, you can display RSS feeds in either horizontal or vertical views. All this means your favorite news widgets got the same love lavished on them, as the RSS widget. So go ahead and get those BBC, CNN, ESPN, Al Jazeera and Google news widgets rolling down the news runway with their brand new looks.

• Media Tag Filtering per Screen targets larger organizations with lots of content that might also change frequently, which then gets displayed on screens across locations. Specifically, it makes it easy to automatically tailor the type of content displayed on each screen, by using media tags. Most importantly, instead of creating a separate Playlist for a screen in London and another Playlist for a screen in Dubai, for example, users can create a main Playlist for all screens and locations, and then use media tags to filter the content that will display per screen. Therefore, you can automate your content update process by updating one major Playlist instead of many individual ones. Also, we included a number of logic choices, with explanations, inside the Portal, to make it easier for you to select and filter the exact combinations of content you want for each screen.

Improvements

• Pagination is here for faster loading (do excuse us, but every so often we like to bestow complex names on simple tweaks). Before, when you clicked on Playlists, Layouts, Schedules and Monitors, all the content loaded automatically. For small accounts, that works fine, but for bigger accounts with lots of content, it loaded slower than we wanted it to. So, now only the first page of content will load, along with all the media thumbnails, without any delays in response time. So go ahead and thank us for those extra seconds you get to spend on Wordle.
  Web Player users, we want to make your life even easier. That’s why, whenever you use a Widget that needs a Chrome extension to work, you’ll see a pop-up window with a link so you can download the required extension. Same thing applies to anyone who uses the preview feature in the portal.

Bugs fixed

• There was a problem transitioning from an empty scheduled Layout, to a regular scheduled Playlist that you wanted to display when you re-opened the next business day. For some reason, that transition to regular scheduled content didn’t happen in some cases. It does now.
• Also, when sound from a video was used as background audio, some ratios saw the video displayed on screen instead of just hearing the audio. We got that sorted too.

Secure Grafana Widget

Your sensitive business data must stay under lock and key. But what happens when it has to take center stage on signage screens so your teams can strategize? Our new widget puts safety first so that you can display Grafana Cloud graphs privately and securely. Specifically, you access your Grafana account by signing in from inside our platform - that way your charts don't have to become public. Also, you set how often it refreshes, so your screens display up-to-date analytics. So go ahead and put your heads together!

Easy-to-use DSMenu Widget (and you get 20% off!)

We're firm believers that the way to anyone's heart is through their stomach (ours is growling as we speak!). And when it comes to digital menu boards, wowing your customers with awesome-looking templates works wonders for your bottom line.

With our new DSMenu Widget, you can get DSMenu templates on your screens by simply pasting in a link. You can also create a playlist of menu templates. You get that on Yodeck screens with a link, too. In addition, you can customize their digital menu boards with your branding and other fancy flourishes.

We also have something special to sweeten the deal - get 20% off if you sign up for their service using the affiliate link you’ll find in the description of the widget. There's no profit for us, but the full discount comes your way, and it's already applied - no code necessary!

Happy New Year Yodeckers! We're back and raring to go! Our New Year's resolution? To give you tons of new features that make your screens soar to new levels of success. And we hope we're off to a flying start with a brand new look for our List views! Also, our new Birthday Widget just might get the party started. And check out our cool and creative PosterMyWall Widget. Both provide you with impressive and engaging content for your screens, and they're also super easy to use.

Our List views got a makeover!

Have you seen the new redesign for our List views? It looks absolutely fabulous, if we do say so ourselves. Of course, beauty isn't skin deep, so we made sure they also got great new functionalities. And we think you'll love how much smoother managing your screens and content will be.

Firstly, you can now see your files and folders in one view, in both row and grid mode. Specifically, in row view you can see your item details, while in grid view you can get an overview of more items in each category, at a glance. Most importantly, navigation got so much easier. Just click or double-click anywhere on the file to open it. Also, the entire List view experience is mobile-friendly too!

All these signage superpowers to help you with your daily tasks, with a super sleek look to boot! So please let us know what you think!

Celebrate in digital signage style with our Birthday Widget!

Nothing’s more heartwarming than when someone wishes you happy birthday out of the blue. With our new widget, you can make your team members feel just as valued on their special day. Plus, it’ll warm the cockles of your HR department’s heart, too, as it’s easy to use and fully automated!

All you have to do is upload a CSV file with everyone’s date of birth and you’ll automatically see a personalized message appear on your signage screens on their birthday, hassle-free. You can also switch things up using a number of customizations, such as font and color.

So go ahead and delight them as soon as they walk into the office!

Add extra sparkle to your screens with our PosterMyWall Widget

When you really want to wow people with your screens, you need something extra special – great animation, cute graphics or a cool design. That’s where PosterMyWall swoops in to save the digital signage day.

If you subscribe to their service, you get access to a huge selection of templates for everything from menu boards to flyers. They also cover all the occasions and promotions you can imagine.

How do you get it on your Yodeck screens though? Just copy the link you’ll see on their platform, that gets created specifically for Yodeck. Then you paste it into our PosterMyWall widget and watch your screens shine.

Check out our Release Notes.

Yodeckers, you spoke and we listened. The brand new Tableau widget now awaits in the Gallery, ready to display your tables and graphs on screen, and in fine form. It's our little stocking stuffer for all you data mavens out there.

And on that note, all of us here at Yodeck send all of you, your teams and loved ones the warmest of wishes this holiday season! May 2022 be healthy, happy and creative for us all!

The Tableau Widget joins the party!

You can now get your Tableau charts on your signage screens quickly, easily — and right in time for those end-of-year number-crunching sessions. Also, this service could help you visualize stats for metrics such as call center volumes, employee satisfaction and sales tracking. Added bonus? Setup works like our other dashboard widgets - no fuss, no muss. So go ahead and conquer those annual targets in digital signage style!

Handy holiday layout templates

It's that time of year when your screens have to work overtime, displaying promos such as holiday sales and specials. Or perhaps you use them to get staff excited about office parties and events. Either way, our customizable, professionally - designed holiday templates help you get great-looking content up on screen quickly, easily and for free. Just go to our Layouts section - you'll find the right one to get you in the festive spirit. So this way you can wrap things up in two shakes of a reindeer's tail and head on home! Choose your templates!

Behind the headlines

As usual, we’ve been busy beavering away behind the scenes and polishing up a few other smaller things.
Check out our Release Notes, chock-full of improvements.

Roll out the red carpet and get those cameras flashing, Yodeckers, because it’s opening night for our brand new Yodeck Web Player! And we bet it’ll cause hashtag havoc in digital signage circles. Why? Because now, you can transform any device with a browser into a digital signage player without using external hardware. Intrigued? Read on for all the must-know, behind-the-scenes news!

What is the Yodeck Web Player?

Think of the Web Player as one more way of getting Yodeck digital signage on your screens. Specifically, if a device, such as a tablet or PC, has a Chrome-based web browser, including Chrome, Chromium and Edge, then the Web Player can turn it into a Yodeck-powered digital signage screen.

Essentially, the Web Player lets you play back content, without an external Yodeck Player. However, it doesn’t offer the same kind of super-robust, super-reliable enterprise-grade solution you get with our Raspberry Pi Yodeck Player. We have thoroughly tested the RPi Player. Therefore, we guarantee it does a stellar job as a digital signage player. Additionally, our trusty little Raspberry Pi Player provides device management and control – something that the Web Player can’t do.

We created the Web Player because it offers easy, instant setup and deployment. Some of you need that extra “magic” you get from our Raspberry Pi Players. Others won’t. So now the choice is up to you! Read our guides for more details!

You now have one more way to display content on your signage screens! With our latest feature, you can add an HDMI input port on your Yodeck Player to display any video feed directly on your screens. Υou can add any USB HDMI capture card, connect it your set-top box receiver (satellite, cable, or terrestrial) and show live video along with your messaging in a cool layout. This also works with typical USB cameras, in case you want to relay a local live feed. You now have one more way to display content on your signage screens! With our latest feature, you can add an HDMI port on your Yodeck Player to display any video feed directly on your screens. Υou can add any USB HDMI capture card, connect it your set-top box receiver (satellite, cable, or terrestrial) and show live video along with your messaging in a cool layout. This also works with typical USB cameras, in case you want to relay a local live feed.

Also, if you ever want to let us know what kind of new features you'd like to see in the future, just go to the new 'Make a suggestion' button inside the Portal. Plus, you can give other suggestions a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Finally, have you always wanted to try out our Walls.io integration but just needed an extra incentive? Well, Walls.io just offered Yodeckers an exclusive 25% discount on all Walls.io plans! Simply use this unique code: YODECK68 to get this special offer. It's valid until Dec 31, 2021. So go on, start creating hybrid social media walls that look great on screen!