In the above video, you may see that the name of the feature is Schedule. Please note that this has since been updated to the Availability option for media in Studio.
1. Benefits of scheduling availability and expiration dates for media
ScreenCloud's digital signage platform gives you robust flexibility and control over assigning both when a piece of content from your Media Library can be set to start displaying while using the media in a playlist, channel, or with the casting feature. You can also set expiration dates for content to stop displaying on your screen(s) the piece of content is being used on automatically upon the set date.
For example, this is useful for scheduling playlists and channels out in advance for events, meetings, or your organization. You can create bulk media channels and playlists, then set individual availability/expiration dates for specific pieces of content. Essentially, you're able to set it and forget it without having to worry about manually swapping out content that's no longer relevant after a certain period of time.
Pro tip: This is also useful while using ScreenCloud's casting feature as you can set a piece of content from your Media Library to begin casting to your screen(s), and set an expiration date/time for the message to end whenever you see fit. For example, this could help your organization in the event of scheduled maintenance or announcements you can cast on any screen for the allotted time you've set up for the piece of content.
2. How to schedule availability and expiration dates for media
2.1. Get started by visiting the "Media Library" and select the piece of content you'd like to set availability and/or expiration dates for.
2.2. Click on any piece of content, then select the "Availability" option. From here, switch on the schedule option and you can set up the exact date/time.
Please note: Leaving the "Expiration date & time" field empty will disable it from expiring automatically. You must set an expiration date in order for the content to expire, or it'll continue to run on the screen until you manually remove it from any channels, playlists, or casting. Or, if you forget you can always set an expiration date later on for it to stop playing on any screen(s) automatically.
2.3. Once you've successfully scheduled your content, returning to your "Media Library" page will showcase any content you've set availability or expiration dates for with a calendar icon. You can hover over this at any time to review the date range for the piece of media.
Please note, once a piece of content expires this will be noted in your Media Library below any piece of content which has been set with an expiration date that has passed as exampled in the image below.
Within your channel, playlist and media library, this content will also appear greyed out. When content is expired, an option to Clear Expired Content will become available in the Playlist or Channel's settings, which quickly allows you to remove all expired content.
To instead learn about setting up advanced schedules using Channels with ScreenCloud, please click here.