Java Announcement Display System

• Introduction
• Examples
• Features
• Installation
• Support

Powerful digital signage features

The Java Announcement Display System includes a number of powerful features to simplify content creation and presentation. Multimedia announcements can be added in seconds using the web-based user interface, intelligent text scaling and layout templates. Content can also be imported from any RSS feed, providing constantly updated news and information throughout the day from any Internet source. JADS also includes announcement scheduling, timetable generation, live previews, password protected access, and many more advanced features requested in digital signage systems.

Fullscreen high definition output

JADS utilises the powerful, cross platform graphics support provided by Java Swing to display high definition imagery on any screen. JADS dynamically rescales content to ensure it matches template criteria and maintains the highest graphics quality possible. JADS can output at any resolution supported by a graphics card. For best results a resolution of at least 1024x768 (or 1360x768 for widescreen) is recommended. JADS can also perform geometric manipulation to enable a 4:3 output to display correctly on a 16:9 screen.

Text anti-aliasing, alpha blending and image interpolation techniques provide an extremely high quality output.

Web-based user interface

JADS does not require custom software to update the content on the presentation screen. Any modern Internet browser can be used to view, configure and add content. The web-based user interface makes it easy to perform tasks such as adding a photograph or a plain text announcement. Timetable items can also be quickly added or changed. All changes take immediate effect. The web-based interface is easy to navigate and perform both simple and complicated tasks with minimal effort.

To gain access to the interface a user account must be created. User accounts control who can add content to the presentation screen. Individual users can be configured to have access to the timetable or any of the feeds managed by JADS.

Slide designer

Content is added to a slide. Multiple slides display in sequence on the presentation screen. The slide designer helps create and order slides for presentation. A number of templates are available that define how content is positioned on slides. The slide designer within JADS will be familiar to those who have used Microsoft Powerpoint or other presentation tools.

The slide designer greatly simplifies positioning images and formatting text by dynamically scaling content. If a slide contains a large amount of text or a high resolution image, JADS will automatically adjust the size to ensure the content fits perfectly and is optimised for fullscreen high definition output.

Timetable editor

JADS version 4 includes timetable support. Up to 10 timelines can be maintained and used to display activities that occur during the day. For example, JADS might be used to display what is happening in various conference rooms in a building.

The timetable editor makes it easy to add items. The user clicks the time in the timetable, provides text and colours and JADS automatically scales and renders item to fit the table. Additional options are available to duplicate items for repeating activities and import data from other sources. The layout of the timetables is customisable within the editor. For example you can specify how many and what hours are in the day, how many timelines required, custom week numbering etc.

Timetables generated by JADS can be served to other machines. For example a timetable image of the days activities can be linked into an intranet web page. JADS will also generate individual, week long timetables for each timeline added to the system. Timetables can be updated as events change, a timetable can be modified by any computer on the local network and the changes can be seen immediately. With support for a variety of colours, importance and changes can be highlighted. The timetable data can be exported and imported and future plugins will enable reading data directly from other time tabling systems.

Scheduling functionality

JADS has the ability to schedule announcements for display in the future. This means that items can be entered into the system days, weeks, months even years in advance and the item will be shown (or become part of an RSS feed) on that date. An expiration (the date when the item should no longer display) can also be specified.

Quick and easy deployment

JADS only needs to be installed on the computer connected to the presentation screen. Content can be added and the current screen output can be viewed from any computer on the local network. No additional software is required.

You will need to connect the presentation computer to your existing network infrastructure if you have not done so already. For large screens in places out of reach from cable network infrastructure, a wireless network can be configured.

RSS support

JADS incorporates an RSS client and RSS server to exchange live information between other JADS installations and feeds on the Internet. An RSS feed from BBC News, for example, can be displayed on the presentation screen and will update live as the latest news develops.

The RSS server functionality enables items created within JADS to be read by other JADS installations and news aggregators on the local network. JADS supports multimedia feeds too, this means you can use JADS to create podcasts and photo feeds. RSS support makes it possible to share content between multiple JADS installations on a network.

Extensible design

Functionality can be extended to solve specific digital signage problems. Any data available on your local network or the Internet can be displayed on the presentation screen using custom JADS components. For example, JADS can be linked to a database to display a staff list, a web cam to display live images a local weather station to display flight data for pilots.

Custom components to solve specific digital signage requirements are created on request and onsite support is available for southeast England.

Excellent reliability

JADS provides stable, reliable operation with system uptimes exceeding 99.9%. JADS version 4 is the product of 3 years development and testing at the University of Kent.

Incorporated technologies