Telvi - Manual

1What is Telvi?

Telvi is a system for scheduling and automatically playing out your own TV/broadcast channel. You define what should play when, and Telvi makes sure it appears on screen at the right moment.

Telvi consists of two main parts that together form one system:

• Telvi Server - the web interface (the "control room"). Here you manage your media, build formats, generate playlists and monitor the broadcast through the Cue Clock. You simply open it in a browser.
• Telvi Player - the player (the "playout"). This is the application that runs on the broadcast PC and actually plays the media full screen according to the playlist.

Both parts talk to each other through a shared data folder (the TelviData folder, for example on a network drive/NAS). The Server writes the playlists and settings into it; the Player reads them out. This lets you run one or more players on different screens, all driven from the same central schedule.

2Core concepts

You will come across these terms everywhere in Telvi. Once you understand them, the rest almost falls into place.

Cue types: how start and end times work

Every rule in a format has a start type and an end type. These determine when an item begins and ends:

3First installation & login

On a fresh installation, Telvi first needs to know where the data lives and which license you are using. You do this once.

Step A - Unlock setup

If the server is not configured yet, the Setup screen opens automatically. During installation Telvi creates a file LOGIN_CODE.txt in the application folder. Open that file, enter the code in the Setup screen and click Unlock. Then you provide the path to the TelviDrive (the data folder) and save.

Step B - Data folder & license (Bootstrap wizard)

If the server is not fully configured yet, the setup wizard appears. There you fill in:

• Telvi data directory - the path to TelviData (e.g. D:\TelviData).
• License - your Organization and license key.

Click Save and then Recheck. As soon as everything is correct, setup is complete and you can log in.

Step C - Log in

On the login screen you enter your username and password. Users and rights are managed later in Settings > Users. Passwords are stored encrypted (hashed).

4Telvi Server - navigation & language

After logging in you enter the web interface. Navigation is on the left; the title of the current page is shown at the top.

The sidebar holds all sections: Dashboard, Media, Formats, Playlists (with Playlist viewer and Playlist builder), Cue Clock, Logs and Settings. At the bottom of the sidebar you find your username, a logout button, and the language selector.

5Dashboard

The home screen with a quick overview and shortcuts.

The Dashboard shows the status at a glance (including the server's local time and whether the player is connected), a block with the latest logs, and quick actions to jump straight to the media library, the playlist viewer, the settings or the logs. It is meant as a starting point; the real work happens on the other pages.

6Media

The library of all your playable items. Here you manage videos, websites and livestreams.

Overview & search

The media page shows your items as cards with a thumbnail. At the top you can search (by name, group or ID), filter by type, and use the Archived button to also show archived items. Use Reload to refresh the list.

Adding a new item

With the New button you create a Website or Livestream yourself (you provide a name, group and the URL).

Editing an item

Click a card to open the edit window. For a video file the thumbnail plays as a player (if the browser cannot handle the format, it shows the thumbnail with a message). On the left you see quick info (ID, play count, date added, last played) and the Save and Delete buttons. On the right there are three tabs:

• Overview - name, group, media type, (for Website/Livestream) the URL, description and private notes.
• Automation - whether the item is included in automatic scheduling, media weight (how often it gets picked), minimum hours between plays, validity period (start/end date) and the automation grid.
• Advanced - archiving, show in API, run scripts at start/end, and volume.

7Formats & the Format editor

A format is the day template of your channel: the rules that determine what plays. You generate playlists from a format.

Formats overview

On the Formats page you see all your formats. You can create a New format, Edit an existing format, or Delete it. Formats are stored locally in the Telvi data directory.

The Format editor

This is the most powerful place in Telvi: a long-list editor where each row is a single programme point. At the top you enter the format's Name and Notes. Below that is the toolbar with all editing actions:

• Add row / Insert above / Insert below - add rules.
• Copy, Cut, Paste, Duplicate, Delete - manage rules.
• Move up / Move down - change the order.
• Search by note/group/media id, and To toolbox to save a selection as a snippet.

Per row you set:

8Generating playlists (Playlist builder)

Here you turn a format into concrete playlists, up to 30 days ahead.

1. Choose the Format you want to use at the top.
2. Select the days in the calendar grid (click days), or use the quick buttons Next 7, Next 14 or Next 30.
3. Click Generate selected. Telvi builds the playlists; you see the progress per day and per format rule.

In the grid you can see, per day, whether a playlist already exists (green) or is still missing (red), and which days you have selected. Use Refresh status to reload that state.

9Viewing playlists (Playlist viewer)

See exactly what is scheduled per date - and spot potential problems.

Choose a date (or click Today), and browse through the days with Prev/Next. You can search and use Only issues to filter to rows that need attention. The table shows, per row, the start and end time, duration, type, title, ID and note. In the Flags column you see warnings:

• Missing - the linked media file was not found.
• Static start / Static end - the rule uses a hard (fixed) time.

Click a row for its details (timing, type, title/group, any issues and the URL). This page is read-only: you view here, you edit in the Format editor.

10Cue Clock & live cues

The live screen of the broadcast: what is playing now, what is coming, and the button to decide a moment yourself.

The Cue Clock shows a large clock, the item that is playing now (with remaining time and a progress bar) and the next items (Next, Then, Later). Perfect to run on a second screen during the broadcast.

The NEXT CUE button

Top right is the NEXT CUE button. It only becomes active when the next transition is a user cue - that is, when the current item has a user-cue end time, or the next item has a user-cue start time. At all other moments the button is greyed out.

When you click it, Telvi sends a command to the playouts and they jump to the next media. This way you decide the exact moment of the transition live - perfect for, for example, playing out a live item or a manual cut.

11Logs

Watch live what Telvi is doing - handy for checking and troubleshooting.

The Logs page shows the recent server logs. You can filter by text, choose how many lines to show, and use Auto to refresh automatically (with an adjustable interval). Use Top/Bottom to jump quickly through the list. While you are typing in the filter, auto refresh pauses briefly so the view does not jump around under your hands.

12Settings

All configuration in one place, split across tabs. At the bottom you save everything with Save all.

13Telvi Player

The player that runs on the broadcast PC and puts the playlist full screen on the display.

What the Player does

The Player reads the day's playlist from the data folder and plays the items on time: videos, websites and livestreams. If configured, it shows the station bug on screen, can bring in an emergency playlist when there is nothing to play, and responds to user cues (the NEXT CUE button from the Cue Clock) to continue on your signal.

The settings screen (SHIFT+ESC)

The Player has its own local settings screen. You open it like this:

1. Start the Telvi Player. During startup the splash appears.
2. In the first 2 seconds after the splash, hold down the keys Shift + Esc. At the bottom of the splash you see the hint "Press SHIFT+ESC for configuration menu".
3. The settings screen opens. Adjust your settings and click OK. The Player saves and restarts automatically with the new settings. (Use Cancel to simply continue.)

In this screen you set per machine:

• Output display - which connected screen the Player plays on.
• GPU rendering - hardware acceleration on or off (for both the browser rendering and video decoding).
• Start automatically with Windows - have the Player start as soon as Windows starts.

14Typical workflow (step by step)

This is what a full journey from "empty" to "on air" looks like.

1. Prepare media. Add websites/livestreams via Media > New, and videos via the Telvi Importer. Put items into logical groups.
2. Set properties. Decide per item its automation: may it be scheduled, how often, and during which hours (automation grid).
3. Build a format. Create your day schedule in the Format editor: rules with the right media, selection and start/end types (Follow/Hard/User cue).
4. Generate playlists. In the Playlist builder, choose your format and the days, and click Generate selected.
5. Check. In the Playlist viewer, verify that everything is correct and there are no red flags.
6. Broadcast. Start the Telvi Player on the broadcast PC (correct screen set via SHIFT+ESC). It plays the playlist automatically.
7. Steer live. Keep an eye on the Cue Clock and use NEXT CUE at the moments where you decide the transition yourself.

15Administration & good to know

A few things that are handy for administrators and while running.

• Shared data folder. Server and Player(s) share the TelviData folder. Put it on a reliable, fast location (local or NAS) that all machines can reach.
• Multiple players. You can run multiple playouts; they read the same schedule and respond to cues together. Telvi tracks which players are active and healthy via "heartbeats".
• Emergency playlist. Make sure there is emergency content, so a black screen never occurs if the regular list runs empty.
• Compliance recording. For compliance you can automatically record snapshots and audio/video (Compliance tab).
• Watchdog. Monitors the player and can warn/intervene on problems.
• Security. Passwords are stored hashed; keep the login screen enabled in production.
• Logs. When in doubt: check the Logs - there you see live what is happening.

16Glossary

17Appendix: keyboard shortcuts