This month, Anode, Inc. is proud to introduce FireSign 4.0 as the first major upgrade to the FireSign Dynamic Digital Signage platform since May 2008. This full version upgrade includes numerous enhancements to both the usability and functionality of the FireSign software.

Redesigned User Interface

• FireSign now has a more consistent look and feel across multiple browsers for users with multiple computing environments.
• The FireSign interface is cleaner and more intuitive with a redesigned Home screen that provides more useful information and direct links to common tasks.
• Data tables have been completely overhauled to include checkboxes where you can select multiple rows for operations like Delete. In addition, data tables are now “paged” to show 20 records per screen with Prev/Next and page number links.
• Media groups have been eliminated in favor of new “Tags” which are more flexible and less restrictive. Each media item can have up to 8 tags, such as “backgrounds”, “outdoor shots” etc.
• FireSign 4.0 also includes a greatly improved media import screen with progress bars.

Redesigned Layout Editor

• Message segments no longer have individual scenes. Layout now has a more advanced timeline-based editor to simplify the creation of segments without the cumbersome Scene Sorter used in previous versions.
• Within Layout, media items are now listed by their “Tags” for faster access to relevant assets.

Exciting New Touchscreen Applications

• New Touchscreen Application editors make it easy to create and maintain interactive content such as Image  Browsers, Galleries, Scrapbooks, Jukeboxes and many more.
• Touchscreen Application editors can be used on Windows or Macintosh browsers to create and edit content.

Other Interface Changes

• New status listings identify when a segment is “In Use” by a schedule or as an override for a Player. Likewise, the schedule list screen now shows which schedules are “In Use” by a Player.
• Schedules can now be modified by simply dragging a schedule item to change its playback priority or order.
• More feedback prompts appearing at the top of the browser window have been built into the system on all operations.
• A new Comments feature allows user-to-user dialog about media, segments or schedules with direct links to the referenced items.
• No more confusing vertical or horizontal screen orientations, just width and height dimensions throughout the system.
• Two new reports are available: a summary report for segment playback and a Player status report.

Hardware Changes

• The hardware USB keys for Players have been eliminated, and Players are now authenticated by the server. New Players can now be deployed faster and more efficiently.