Catalyst Blog

News and information related to Catalyst products and services.

Platform Update (1.8.4.0)

 Our latest platform release includes some great features to improve the quality of life for developers as well as a new core feature of the CMS related to network monitoring and alerts. We are also happy to report our latest ISO 27001 audit has been successfully completed, reaffirming our commitment to best in class security standards.

New tools for development and publishing of Webapps

Modern HTML5 based application frameworks are a great option for advanced UX designs. The flexibility offered by the wealth of libraries and tools available make it possible to achieve design goals without compromise.

New tools to streamline web app development and deployment on the Revel Digital platform

While it's always been possible to utilize web based applications within the Revel Digital platform, we have expanded on this aspect in order to streamline the development and deployment process.

Enterprise Workflows with GitHub Actions

We have published a new GitHub Action to support deployment of Webapps directly from within your CI/CD workflow. This Action automates the process of packaging and uploading your Webapp to your Revel Digital account. Tags are automatically applied for build version and release type for simplified management of your Webapp assets with the Revel Digital CMS.

With Workflows you are able to maintain a clear separation of concerns between the UX development team and the network management team. Whenever a new build is published it is immediately available for deployment within the CMS.

For more on this please see our developer documentation here:
https://developer.reveldigital.com/webapps/

New Player Client Javascript Library

We have published a new library for use within Webapps or Gadgets designed to simplify the player / client interface. This interface is the bridge between the Webapp and the underlying player application providing access to player specific information and functionality. While it's not a requirement to utilize this interface, in most cases it's beneficial for the app to be aware of the current player state, player information (e.g.. location), or to call player methods for event tracking or sending commands.

This library is compatible with most any modern Javascript framework including Angular, React, Vue or just plain vanilla JS.

New top-level section of the CMS for alert monitoring

Our new Alerts feature section of the CMS provides instant insight into the current health of your network. Fully customizable alert rules allow you to target specific metrics such as network usage or time offline. Our existing network monitoring will continue to provide our standard set of alerts for offline, hardware utilization, and 'no content'.


New CMS feature dedicated to the monitoring of network/device alerts


By defining your own alert rules you can target just the metrics that are most critical to your operations. For example, networks relying on 4G cellular for connectivity may want to create a rule for alerting when data usage is over a certain limit.

Customize alert rules to target specific device metrics


This new functionality also adds the ability to target specific users within your organization for alert notification, as well as the ability to send alert details to 3rd party services via webhook.

ISO 27001 Maintenance Audit

Our ISO 27001 has been successfully audited renewing our commitment to the highest levels of security and disaster recovery. Along with re-certification, we have also undergone our annual penetration testing performed by A-lign and are happy to report no remediation is required.

More information on our security along with access to your certification is available here: https://www.reveldigital.com/trust



Thanks again for using Revel Digital!

New Jumbo Weather Gadget

    We've added a new weather gadget to our collection, this time specifically designed with a bigger footprint. This gadget is a great option for when weather is to be a central component to your signage, (e.g.: ski resorts, theme parks, charter services, etc.). This gadget is unique in that it includes an always visible extended forecast, along with other useful information such as date/time, 'feels like' temperature, and conditions. There are layout options to accommodate landscape and portrait orientations, as well as the standard options for font format, temperature units, etc.


The new Jumbo Weather gadget in design mode


    This gadget is available now in the gadget library and is free to use with any of our multi-zone service tiers.

    Thanks for your continued support and feedback. If you have a minute, please provide a review of our product which goes a long way towards helping us continually improve our product and services.

New Integrations for Slack

    Slack is a fantastic tool for communications and is widely used in the corporate space to maintain up-to-date messaging across teams or entire organizations. Driving factors for its usage are its simplicity and the ability to disseminate information quickly. Digital signage is of course another method for disseminating information and combining the two makes for a powerful way to get your messaging across to a wider, more public audience.

    We are introducing our new Slack integration with the goal of providing a simplified method of distributing Slack messages across your digital signage network. Now you can post a new message on Slack and it will appear on your signage with proper formatting, emojis, and with any associated media items. Post corporate events, employee birthdays, meeting schedules - any number of use cases which Slack is great for.


Messaging can include images or video


    For more advanced users we have included support for triggers which can be used in a variety of scenarios from simple conditional content activation to more advanced functionality utilizing scripting. Each new Slack message posted to a channel is instantly delivered to players in real-time as a command with the message as the payload.

    Enabling this new functionality is a matter of activating the Slack integration in your Revel Digital account settings, then adding our Slack bot to any of your Slack channels. Our gadget library contains the new Slack gadget which can be added to any template or playlist.

Click here for more detailed information on getting started.

We hope you find this functionality useful and as always we appreciate your feedback and support!


Platform Update (1.8.2.0)

We've got some great new features included in our platform release version 1.8.2.0 including:

  • Enhanced automated alerts for NWS/EAS/CAP monitoring
  • New alert gadget for embedding an alert gadget in any template or playlist
  • Improved device details page with separate tabs for alerts, telemetry, extensions, and notes
  • Reports now render to PDF by default
  • Device listing now includes the ability to ⭐ your favorites for quick reference



Enhanced Automated Alerting

Automated alerting received a refresh with a cleaner UX, more information on the alerts received, and the ability to customize the target for the alert. Now each alert can be assigned it's own custom event name which, when used in conjunction with the new alert gadget, will provide greater control over when and where the alerts are to be presented. There is also new functionality for viewing the alert history as well as for testing alerts directly from the alert details page. More info available here: https://support.reveldigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001565711-Automated-Emergency-Alerts



New Alert Gadget

With the new alert gadget you have more flexibility around when and where to include automated alerts. Prior to this, the alerting was an integral part of the player with little or no customization options. This gadget will make is possible to include alerts in templates or playlists with all the control and stylistic options available with our gadget framework.



Enhanced Device Details

The device details page has been redesigned to better accommodate the various attributes related to device monitoring and management. A new tab based UX provide more breathing room for the real-time charts related to hardware health and network utilization. There are also tabs specific to alerts, device extensions, and notes.


PDF Report Viewer

Reports now utilize PDF as the default format for in-browser viewing. PDF provides a better presentation of the report versus the original HTML generator. Reports can still be exported to all other formats including HTML, Image, CSV, Excel, PDF.



Device Favorites

We've added a simple tool for toggling a device as a favorite. Sometimes it's the little things!


As always, thanks for continuing to support Revel Digital and of course for your feedback!



The Case for QR Coupled Signage

The QR code, a magical collection of squares with a secret wealth of invaluable information unlocked by your mobile phone. Well it's not magic, but it is a rather convenient method of accessing information - valuable or not. Usage of QR codes outside of industrial applications has had a slow adoption rate, but as of late and can be found virtually everywhere which, in some cases, could be better thought out.

Image courtesy WTF QR CODES.

The QR code is indeed useful as a means of distributing content to mobile users without requiring the installation of yet another app. While there are still valid use cases for technologies such as NFC and Bluetooth beacons, in many cases it's simply easier and therefore more effective to simply embed a QR code in your print and/or digital signage. We think the QR code is a great companion to traditional signage, digital or not, and hope to make the case for its expanded use.

The QR Code as a Device

As a digital signage company we specialize in pushing content to anything with a screen. Enter the QR code, which enables pushing that same content to mobile devices. This is certainly not a new concept, however the merging of both types of distribution methods is something unique. Revel Digital has promoted the lowly QR code to first class device status in the Revel Digital CMS with full support for content scheduling, reporting, and analytics.



With just the scan of a QR code, any smartphone user can view your scheduled media on the go, on their device, with options for sharing and interactivity. This capability allows you to easily push content simultaneously to both your digital signage, and your viewers mobile devices, in just one go.

Don't forget that these QR codes aren't limited to static images, essentially anything you can publish to your digital signage can also be published to the QR device. This includes video and any dynamic content from our gadget library such as news, weather, flight information, ratings, etc. Let's review some example use cases to better illustrate how beneficial a QR code can be to your signage campaign.

Use Cases

Say you're a busy restaurant owner. QR codes embedded in table toppers or other signage is a great way to keep your menu accessible and up-to-date. Promotions can be highlighted and scheduled to coincide with special events or holidays. As a bonus, if you schedule the same menu content to both your signage and QR devices you only need to update it in one place.

Or what if you're a tradeshow exhibitor. You've got all the time in the world to prepare for your booth, but how do you keep track of everyone who stopped by? Well, QR-Coupled Signage can help with that as well! Whenever someone scans one of your QR codes, not only are you pushing the latest of your media directly to their device, but you're also getting their real-time status and AdHawk analytics directly on your own dashboard. So long are the days of guessing your reach at conferences, now you get that data wherever you need it. And this isn't just limited to expos or conferences, add it to some of your permanent fixtures and you'll get those real-world analytics at the tip of your fingertips.

Another great use case would be in a retail setting where the details of a sale event can be included as a QR code in print or digital signage. The QR code itself is static, however the content scheduled to the QR code can always be modified and even scheduled in advance with a defined end date. This could inform customers that the sale is approaching or has already ended. The content presented to the customer is always mobile friendly and shareable which makes it simple to share the specifics of the sale with others.

So how does it actually work?

As far as the Revel Digital CMS is concerned, a QR code is treated like any other device. This means you can schedule content right along with your traditional digital signage. In fact, digital signage does not even have to be involved if you are primarily concerned with utilizing QR codes for content distribution. Register as many QR devices as you like and change up the content on demand.

Schedule content to a QR code device along with any digital signage

The analytics piece is critical in order to determine the performance of a QR code campaign. Every scan of the QR code is recorded in AdHawk along with many other valuable metrics including dwell time, individual media views, and even custom events from gadgets. For example, our 'Rating' gadget will record the rating selected by user in AdHawk. Any other custom gadget can also easily record relevant metrics as an event in AdHawk.

AdHawk provides valuable insights into QR code campaigns

Getting Started

As with our digital signage, we offer a 30 day trial of our services. Creating an account is free, no credit card required. For more specifics on creating a QR device in your account, please reference our KB article here: https://support.reveldigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/12722832414477-QR-Code-Device

Questions? Please don't hesitate to ask us, we are always happy to assist.

Revel Digital achieves ISO 27001 compliance certification

Revel Digital has received ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, recognizing our commitment to the highest level of information security. Following an extensive audit of the Revel Digital Information Security Management System (ISMS), this certification was issued by A-Lign Compliance and Security, Inc.


ISO 27001 is a globally recognized standard for the establishment and operation of an ISMS or Information Security Management System. The Revel Digital ISMS is designed to cover key areas of our enterprise information security program focused on providing secure products and services for customers, partners and employees.

Along with data security, another important aspect of ISO 27001 compliance involves service availability and operational resilience. We understand how important it is to maintain a consistent, dependable level of service to our customers. The Revel Digital ISMS addresses this by ensuring redundancy and failover protections are in place in order to recover as quickly as possible from potential service disruptions.

In addition to ISO 27001, Revel Digital also complies with GDPR and CCPA. These regulations ensure our customers have complete control of their data including privacy assurance and the right to delete account data.

ISO 27001 compliance is an ongoing process involving continual improvements and 3rd party audits of our ISMS. This means our investment in security is also ongoing and we hope this helps to build a high level of trust with our customers and stakeholders. As the digital world becomes ever more connected, we owe it to our customers to take a security first posture where the safety of your data is paramount.

For more information, or to request specific ISO 27001 certification documents, please contact us or visit our Trust Portal.