Video Kiosk supports Split Screen Mode, which divides the playback screen into 4 areas, A, B, C and D, allowing you to play your content loop in area A, while you run standard Android app widgets and/or web URL based content in areas B, C, and D.
Each area has a default it will display. When split screen mode is enabled, the following will be displayed:
- Area A will display your video content
- Areas B, C and D will display your background, or a black screen if no background is configured
Configuring the Split Screen Display
To enable Split Screen mode,
- If you haven’t already done so, enable Split Screen Widget Mode.
Go to Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Enable and check the checkbox.
Video Kiosk will re-launch and display a 4-panel split screen, with the default layout and the default display. - Configure Video Kiosk Areas B, C and D with which widgets | URLs to display.
For each of Areas B, C and D, go to Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Choose Area x Widget and select and configure the widget(s) and URL(s) to display. Each widget area of the split screen can display multiple app widgets and/or web URL rendered content. The web URL can be any valid protocol including http://, https:// (remote content) and file:// (local content).
Add any other widgets and/or web URLs to be displayed in that area.
Optionally, enter the amount of time, if it is different than the default value, to display it in minutes. - Optionally, configure the “Monitor Internet” feature. If your widgets are dependent on the Internet, they may behave in an unexpected manner if Internet connection is lost. You can configure Video Kiosk to monitor the Internet and return to full screen mode when Internet connection is lost. To enable this feature, go to Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Monitor Internet, and tick the box.
- Optionally, configure the “Arrange in rows” option. The default is to arrange your widgets in columns.
Optionally, adjust the widget area layout and the widget area padding. (see below)
To Return to Full Screen Mode
To return from Split Screen Mode to Full Screen Mode,
- Go to
Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Enable
and uncheck the checkbox.
Video Kiosk will display full screen.
Built-in Video Kiosk Widgets
Video Kiosk includes a set of built-in widgets. These include Date and Time, Image Folder, URL, and RSS widgets.
When you pick a built-in widget, the settings for that widget are displayed. You can configure the widget using these settings or using an XML file. For more information about using an XML file, refer to Appendix C – Built in Widget XML Settings.
Date and Time Widget
Use the Date and Time widget to display the Date and / or the Time and an optional group of images from a folder. When you pick the widget, the settings will be displayed.
Date and Time Widget Settings
XML Settings – path to a file containing XML settings for the widget
Image folder – pick the folder that contains the background images
Image display time – the time, in seconds, to display each image
Time font size – the font size of the time
Time switch – turn on or off the display of the time
Date font size – the font size of the date
Date switch – turn on or off the display of the date
Font color – the font color
Image Folder Widget
Use the Image Folder widget to display a group of images from a folder. When you pick the widget, the settings will be displayed.
Image Folder Widget Settings
XML Settings – path to a file containing XML settings for the widget
Image folder – pick the folder that contains the background images
Image display time – the time, in seconds, to display each image
URL Widget
Use the URL widget to display a local file:// or remote http:// HTML / CSS/ Javascript based widget. When you pick the widget, the settings will be displayed.
URL Widget Settings
XML Settings – path to a file containing XML settings for the widget
URL – the local file:// or remote http:// URL to display
RSS Widget
Use the RSS widget to display a list of RSS News feeds from remote servers. When you pick the widget, the settings will be displayed.
RSS Widget Settings
XML Settings – path to a file containing XML settings for the widget
Kind – one of Tall | Wide | Marquee
Next download hours – the number of hours to wait between loading the feed from the server
Next URL minutes – the number of minutes to wait between displaying feeds
Max document items – the maximum number of news items to display per feed
Next item seconds – the number of seconds to wait between displaying document items
Title font size – the font size of the item title
Description font size – the font size of the item description
Font color – the font color
Hide when value is – if the title or description contain this value, they will be hidden
Justify title – one of Left | Center | Right and on Android v8 or later Full
Justify description – one of Left | Center | Right and on Android v8 or later Full
Background – a tint color and path to 1 or 2 background images (they rotate every hour)
Feeds – the list of RSS Feed URLs
Customizing Widget Area Layout
You can use the Video Kiosk’s split screen default layout, or you can customize the layout by adding or removing padding between the areas or by changing the size of the widget areas.
Adjusting Widget Area Size
Widget Area Size is the boundaries of the four Areas (Areas A, B, C and D) including the area used by the widget and the padding.
By default Video Kiosk assumes a 1080p display in landscape orientation with a screen resolution of 1920×1080. The horizontal weights are 1426 and 494 and the vertical weights are 800 and 280. So on a 1080p display the pixel sizes will be as follows Area A: 1426×800, Area B: 494×800, Area C: 1426×280 and Area D: 494×280. The best way to understand | use the layout weights is to determine the horizontal width and vertical height of your display based on its orientation and then set the weights to the number of pixels that you want in your layout.
To adjust a widget’s area size,
- Go to Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Horizontal weights and adjust the horizontal weight for the widget’s area.
- Go to Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Vertical weights and adjust the vertical weight for the widget’s area.
Adjusting Widget Area Padding
Padding is the area between the Widget area boundaries and the sides of the Widget. Each widget area has a default padding amount which allows the background to show through between the widget areas and aligns the widget within the area. If you’d like to change a widget’s placement slightly within it’s area, use the padding feature. Please note that the padding can be both positive and negative. For web URL content, additional padding and formatting may need to be included in the html description of the content.
To adjust a widget’s padding,
- Go to Video Kiosk Settings > Widgets > Area X Padding and adjust the padding in the widget’s area.
Example: Customizing Widgets
In this is an example, the split screen is using the default widget area layout and default widget padding.
In this example, the split screen is using the default widget area layout and the padding for Area A and Area D have been increased.
In this example, the split screen is using the default widget padding. To allow Area A to use the entire width of the screen, the horizontal weight of Area B has been set to O, while the horizontal weight of Area A has been set to the maximum for the screen resolution.
Widget Considerations
Where to find widgets
- Video Kiosk includes some built-in widgets
- Burningthumb Studios has developed some widgets specifically for Video Kiosk Digital Signage. Click here for more information about Video Kiosk widgets
- Widgets are available from the Google Play Store.
- You can develop your own widgets and sideload them onto the device.
Widget Readability
Because Areas B, C and D are of different sizes, you need to give some consideration to how well the widget will be seen when placing the widget in one of the areas. When deciding on which area to place a widget, consider how the widget was intended to be displayed (landscape, portrait or square), the device’s display size (TV or tablet or phone) and how far away the viewer will be from the screen.
Take the Next Step
Video Kiosk Help
- Read the FAQ
- Refer to the Tutorials
- Read the Video Kiosk User’s Manual
- If you have any questions, Contact Support