Creating Playlists
The DMM can help feature different content offerings by displaying key videos in the Featured Playlist tab under the Playlists tab of the Video Portal
Playlists are managed in the Playlists page and are accessed using the playlists secondary navigation link under the VIDEO PORTAL tab of the primary navigation bar or using the Playlists link on the DMM home page.
Adding a New Playlist
To add a new playlist, follow these steps:
Step 1 Select the playlists secondary navigation link or the Playlists link on the DMM Home Page to access the PLAYLISTS page (see Figure 5-1).
Figure 5-1 Accessing the Playlists Page from the DMM Home Page
The Active Playlist window opens displaying all active playlists in the DMM, alphabetically by Name (see Figure 5-2).
Figure 5-2 Active Playlist Window
Table 5-1 describes the contents of this window:
Table 5-1 Field Descriptions for Active Playlist Window
|
|
Add New Playlist |
Lets you add a new Playlist to the DMM. |
Archive Selected |
Lets you archive all the Playlists marked for archiving by the check box. |
Archive Check Box |
Lets you select Playlists for archiving. |
Name |
The alphabetical listing of Playlists by name. |
Publish Dates |
The dates on which the Playlist is valid, between the Release date and the End of Life date. |
Last Modified |
The date on which the Playlist was last modified. |
Current Status |
Displays the approval status and lets you request an approval from another DMM user with Approve permissions (as specified in the Users module) prior to deploying the Playlist. |
Preview Button |
Lets you preview the Playlist prior to deployment. |
Properties Button |
Lets you edit the Playlist metatdata, such as the Playlist Name, and Status. |
List of Active Playlist Items |
Lets you access the list of Active Video Parts for the Playlist in the corresponding row. |
Add New |
Lets you add a New Video Part to the Playlist in the corresponding row. |
Deployment Choice |
Lets you select the Default Playlist in the corresponding row. |
Step 2 Select Add New Playlist from the upper right-hand corner of the Active Playlist contents (see Figure 5-3).
Figure 5-3 Add a New Playlist Window
Step 3 Enter the Playlist Name. This title appears in the SETUP module when selecting the Playlist to be deployed.
Step 4 Set the Playlist Status. The default value is Active. Setting it to Inactive stores the new Playlist in the Archived list of the Playlists page.
Step 5 Enter the Playlist Description. This field is for your reference only.
Step 6 Select whether or not this playlist should be the default choice during deployment.
Step 7 Set the Release Date for this playlist. This date is optional and is only for your reference.
Step 8 Set the End of Life Date for this playlist. This date is optional and is only for your reference.
Step 9 Click on Save to submit and save all the metadata.
The new playlist you just added appears in the list of Active Playlists (if the Status was set to Active), or in the list of Archived Playlists (if the status was set to Inactive) in alphabetical order by Playlist Name.
Adding Video Parts to a Playlist
A playlist must have at least one Video Part associated with it to be displayed in the Featured Playlist of the Video Portal.
To add video parts to your playlist, follow these steps:
Step 1 To start, do one of the following:
•From the list of Active Playlists, find the row containing the Playlist for which you want to add a new Video Part and click on the Add New icon in the Active Video Parts column.(see Figure 5-4).
Figure 5-4 Adding a New Video Part to an Active Playlist
The number located in the Active Video Parts column above the List View and Add New icon indicates the current number of Active Video Parts belonging to the corresponding Playlist in each row.
OR
•From the list of Active Playlist Items, click on the Add New Item to Playlist button located in the upper right-hand corner above the listing.
Figure 5-5 Adding a New Video Part from the list of Active Playlist Items
A newly added Playlist does not have any active Video Parts belonging to it. If a Playlist has any existing Video Parts belonging to it, the Video Parts appear in ascending, numerical Play Order.
Table 5-2 describes the buttons and icons in this window:
Table 5-2 Field Descriptions for Active Playlist Window
|
|
Add New Item to Playlist |
Lets you add a new Video Part to the corresponding Playlist. |
Archive Selected |
Lets you archive all the Video Parts marked for archiving by the check box. |
Archive Check Box |
Lets you select Video Parts for archiving. |
Name |
The Video Parts by Video Name and Video Part Number. |
Date Added |
The date on which the Video Part was added to this Playlist. |
Play Order |
Lets you modify the order in which the Video Parts will be listed in the Featured Playlist tab under the Playlists tab in the Video Portal. |
Step 2 In the Video Part Selector Wizard (see Figure 5-6), select the Video Part to add to the Playlist by navigating through the Category, Program, and Video Parts.
Figure 5-6 Video Part Selector Wizard
Step 3 When the Video Part is selected, the popup window closes and the selected Video Part is listed in the Video Part Link of the New Playlist Item. To change the Video Part for this Playlist, click the Select a Video Part button and use the Video Part Selector Wizard to select a different Video Part for this Playlist.
Figure 5-7 Adding a New Video Part to a Playlist
Step 4 Select the Play Order for this Video Part in the Playlist.
Step 5 Set the Video Part Status. The default value is Active. Setting it to Inactive stores the new Video Part in the Playlist Archive List.
Step 6 Click on Save to submit and save all the metadata.
The new Video Part you just added appears in the Active Playlist Items list (if the Video Part Status was set to Active) or in the Archived Playlist Item list (if the status was set to Inactive) in ascending Play Order.
Previewing a Playlist
After a Playlist has been created, you can preview the Featured Playlist in the Video Portal before deployment.
To preview your Playlists, follow these steps:
Step 1 From the list of Active Playlists find the row containing the Playlist you would like to preview. Click on the Preview Button icon to view this playlist as the Featured Playlist.
Figure 5-8 Playlist Preview
Step 2 The Playlist you selected to preview is displayed in the Video Portal's Featured Playlist tab under the Playlist tab.
Figure 5-9 Preview Featured Playlist in the Video Portal
Playlist Approvals
An approval process can be used to validate each Playlist. This process includes requesting an approval and either obtaining the approval or having the approval request denied.
Note An approver must be designated as someone with Approver permissions and can NOT be the same user as the requestor.
Note Approvals are NOT required before a Playlist can be deployed.
Requesting a Playlist Approval
To request a playlist approval, follow these steps:
Step 1 From the list of Active Playlists, find the row containing the Playlist for which you want to request an Approval. Click on the Request Approval link under the Current Status column.
Figure 5-10 Requesting an Approval for a Playlist
The Playlist Approval Request Popup window opens.
Figure 5-11 Playlist Approval Request Popup Window
Step 2 Select an Approver from the drop-down list of users with Approver permissions. Additional comments or instructions about this Playlist can also be added to the approval request.
Step 3 Click the Request Approval button to send an email to the Approver requesting approval for the Playlist, or Cancel to abort the operation.
After clicking the Request Approval button, a Playlist Approval Message window opens (see Figure 5-12) displaying the message that has been sent to the Approver.
Figure 5-12 Playlist Approval Message Window
Click the Close button after reviewing the email sent to the Approver.
Approving or Not Approving a Playlist
After a Playlist Approval Request has been made, an email is sent to the Approver requesting the approval. The email contains a link to preview and approve or not approve the Playlist.
To approve or not approve a playlist, follow these steps:
Step 1 In the email request for the Playlist approval, click on the link to preview the Playlist.
Figure 5-13 Link to Preview the Playlist
Step 2 In the Approval Request page that appears, click on the Preview Now button.
Figure 5-14 Preview Playlist Approval
A preview Video Portal opens displaying the Playlist that has been requested for approval. After reviewing the Playlist, use the controls at the bottom of the window to approve or not approve the Playlist.
Figure 5-15 Playlist Preview
Step 3 Enter feedback in the text box for the Playlist. This feedback is optional. Click on the Approve Playlist button to approve the Playlist or click on the Not Approved button to deny the Playlist's approval.
Step 4 Click Close and Return in the Video Portal preview to return to the Digital Media Manager.
The action will be immediately reflected in the PLAYLISTS page under the list of Active Playlists. The requestor will also be notified via email of the Approver's response.
Figure 5-16 Playlist Approval Status Updated