monitorlThe display monitor in the lobby is the first point of contact as you enter the building’s main entrance.

Creating Slides

The slides that make up the display are standard JPEG images. They can come from many sources, such as digital cameras, various websites, or created by a graphic program such as, MS Publisher, PhotoShop, Open Office Draw, and many others. The image will expand or shrink to best fit the display, however, these parameters are guaranteed to produce appropriately scaled images:

  • Screen resolution 1366 x 768 (optimal)
  • Aspect ratio (page size) 16 x 9
  • Density 300 dpi (or better)

Less is More

Each slide is displayed for only 4 seconds so, keep it simple. The name and date of the event should stand out but, don’t expect visitors to remember phone numbers or other details. What may look acceptable on your computer screen, is often very different when displayed on the monitor.

Before you submit your file, step back at least 4 feet from your computer screen and glance at it for 4 seconds. If the image looks too complex, it probably is. Simplify it by reducing the number of words and making everything BIGGER. Do not create a “border”, as the monitor itself already has one.

Example:

Using MS Publisher
MS Publisher was the program of choice by those who produced most of the slides. The following techniques proved to work best:

  • Start with a 16″ by 9″ page size.
  • Create the slide with no additional borders.
  • Click “Save as”…
  •     Select Save as type: “JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg)”
  •     Resolution: click the “Change” button and select “Commercial printing (300 dpi)”
  • Also save the file as a .pub so it can be easily modified later, if necessary.

 

Implementation

A computer in the Cantor’s office (on the floor behind the monitor), runs a slideshow from .jpg images found in the C:\Slides\Active folder.

The computer hosts an FTP server to allow files to be uploaded remotely by the Cantor and authorized users. Files are uploaded to the C:\Slides\Synagogue folder. Every morning at 3am, the computer erases the files in the Active folder and copies everything from the Synagogue folder. This setup allows the caterer to remove the Active slides and replace them with ones for an event that day or evening. The computer, then automatically restores the Synagogue slides at 3am.

Access

Install any of several free FTP clients on your computer, such as FTP Commander 8.02 and configure it with the server name of bnaitikvah.dlinkddns.com and supply the password which you can get from the synagogue office. You can then connect and copy a file from your computer to the Synagogue folder on the server.