Graphics can be programmed to the timeline in two ways: manual or automated. Additionally all Playout features are API accessible, so you can program graphics to your channel via API using the Timeline Operations endpoints and create a custom solution for your specific use case.
Graphics Tracks
Graphics can only be programmed on GFX tracks, they cannot be published directly to the Base and Priority tracks. To avoid conflicts between automated graphics and manually programmed graphics, automated graphics will always be programmed to the GFX Auto track and manually inserted graphics can be programmed on tracks GFX 1 and GFX2.
To manage which tracks are visible in the UX, simply click the dropdown menu in the top left corner and toggle on and off the visibility of each track.
Enable / Disable Overlay on Priority Track
In the Graphics tab of the Channel Configuration page, there is a toggle called "Graphics on Priority Track" which determines whether the GFX Auto track is on top of or below the Priority track.
You can determine whether you want graphics overlay on top of content on the Base track only, or content that is either on the Base track OR the Priority track. If you prefer the overlay to be on top of both tracks, set the "Graphics on Priority Track" to "Enabled", or if you do not want the overlay on Priority track content and only on Base track content set this toggle to "Disabled".
Note this setting applies to both he Channel Branding Overlay feature and the Dynamic graphics overlay feature.
Manually Programmed Graphics
To program a graphic to the timeline, simply select it in the Assets panel and drag it to the timeline. Once a graphic is programmed to the timeline, the Track Item can be updated separately from the underling asset.
Automated Graphics
Playout allows you to automate the scheduling of graphics on the timeline by assigning a graphic to play at the beginning and/or the end of assets.
Automated graphics will be inserted the next time an asset is programmed to the timeline, of if you click "Bulk Add to Timeline" you will update the automated graphics strategy for all assets on the timeline.
To automate the programming of assets to the timeline, go to the Graphics tab of the Channel Configuration page and scroll to the Automated Graphics Insertion Section.
- Enable Feature: For both the Info Graphic or Exit Graphic, toggle the "Auto-Insert Graphic" setting to enable and disable this feature.
- Select Graphic: Select one of the graphics in your Assets library to automate.
- Duration: By default this is the duration of the underlying graphic asset, but you can override the duration here. If the sum of the duration of the Into Graphic and Exit Graphic is larger than the duration of the underlying asset, the Intro and Exit graphics will be reduced to equal durations so the switch from Intro to Exit graphic would happen 50% into the video.
- Seconds Delay: For Intro Graphic this is the time from the beginning of an asset to when the graphic begins playing. For Exit Graphic, this is the time from the end of a graphic to the end of the underlying asset.
- Applies To: Select whether this graphic applies to any combination of video, playlist, and block. If multiple asset types are selected, that apply at once (ie a video within a playlist) then the highest-level asset will be the only asset to display the automated graphic. Additionally automating graphics in playlists nested in blocks is not supported.
Exclude Videos from Graphics Automation
Sometimes you have videos that you don't want automated graphics to appear on. By default, automated graphics do not apply to Bumpers, Slates, and Ads. If you have promotional videos you frequently use, consider setting the as Bumpers.
If this is a one-off scenario, you can simply go into the timeline and delete the graphic track item after it is programmed.
If you have a video that you always want excluded from graphics automation, there is a video-level toggle visible in the Inspector panel when a library Asset is selected called "Exclude from Graphics Automation". This toggle is visible within Playout but can only be modified within the Zype Streaming Platform CMS.
To modify this toggle, click the "View This Asset in Zype Admin" button.
Then scroll down to the "Exclude from Graphics Automation" toggle within the Details tab. This video will now be excluded from automatically inserted graphics moving forward. Note the Channel Branding Overlay and manually programmed graphics will still appear during this video.