BLOCKS - All-in-One Solution for Every Media Installation

This is actually the most difficult question to answer. 

Blocks is based on modern, standardized web technologies and is a powerful yet quite easy-to-use media control system that also includes an intuitive CMS system. 

Blocks also takes care of the playout of videos and other content on displays of all kinds. Any web browser can serve as a playout channel. 

In addition, touchscreens or multimedia guides can be programmed within the software. The multimedia guides do not require any pre-installed apps and can therefore be used on any smart device. 

Thus, Blocks can be used as an overarching system for complex and interactive media installations of all kinds.

Absolutely! 

Blocks is an easy-to-use, yet very powerful and reliable media control system. Unlike many other systems, Blocks is an open system and does not require proprietary hardware. 

Blocks can communicate with all common devices and sensors via networks.

As an open system, Blocks can work with many different systems. 

Protocols such as ModBus, UDP or MQTT are prepared and partly already available as drivers.

It is often sufficient to send simple strings to external devices via TCP/IP, UDP or web protocols. This is often referred to as "telnet" communication. 

If you need more features and feedback, you can create drivers using TypeScript (a JavaScript derivative). 

We also offer the creation of specific drivers or other scripts as an optional service.

Touch screens are often used to control a system, e.g. on a domestic staff smartphone. 

In conference rooms, you will find touch screens that can be used to operate the room, built into tables or on the walls. 

However, interactive touchscreens are often also needed for the visitor experience in an exhibition. 

For all these scenarios, the touchscreens can be designed and programmed directly in the Blocks Editor. Very complex touchscreen designs are created as a website in external tools and can then be integrated as an iFrame.

Blocks is a user-friendly CMS and can manage content of all kinds. However, the content must always be suitable for playback in a web browser. 

Any current web browser is suitable for playback, regardless of whether it runs on a computer under the usual operating systems, on a tablet or smartphone, in a smart TV or even on players such as the well-known Brightsign players. The playback quality depends on how well the current web technologies, such as HTML5, are implemented. 

Optimal results can be achieved with compact computers, such as the Asus NUC or the Shuttle Slim PCs. All you need here is some RAM, a small SSD and the PIXILAB Player software - a Linux-based and extremely stable kiosk browser.

Blocks can use media formats that can be displayed in a browser without additional codec packs. These include, for example::

• JPEG, PNG, SVG and GIF images
• H.264 videos in MP4 containers and WebM (not on iOS)
• Audio in AAC codec, e.g. as m4a but also MP3 or WAV
• 3D models in GLB data format (when using a 3D Block)

More information can be found in the Blocks Manual and in the wiki.

Dynamic content can be very different. 

These include, for example, adhoc texts or data and values from sensors or other sources, information from databases or other dynamic Internet sources, such as ticketing systems or room booking systems, but also more complex museum databases or web calendars. 

Dynamic content can also be external websites that can be integrated as iFrames or widgets. 

And of course, web streams or video signals from other sources are also dynamic content. Web streams can be displayed in different formats and video signals can be integrated via driverless capture cards.

External databases can be connected as a source or to store information from the Blocks system. Examples of this could be e.g. web calendars, Google Docs documents, museum databases, product databases or the like, which are integrated via feed scripts. 

These feed scripts must be created using TypeScript. They communicate dynamically with the API of the respective web application.

Very good, if an optional Synchronizer or Timeline Block is used. The synchronity is constantly checked and corrected and is completely sufficient for all separate displays with at least narrow bars between the screens. 

Blocks can also synchronize content to external timecode sources, such as a timeline of a WATCHOUT system. 

If large LED surfaces are to be used with several controllers, this is only possible with very powerful players with one powerful graphics card. The network synchronization is not sufficient to clock the graphics cards of several players to each other. 

For such scenarios, we recommend our software WATCHOUT and WATCHPAX Media Server.

The optional Timeline Block can synchronize different content with each other and route it to different players and outputs. In parallel, other information can also be programmed, such as signals to external devices, Artnet events for show lighting and many other things.

Blocks offers various design options via the user interface. However, further designs can also be made using the usual CSS functions, which allows very individual design options. 

In this way, all elements of the touchscreens, the multimedia guides or the elements on other playout channels can be individually designed. 

In addition, element design can be influenced via so-called behaviors. This can also happen dynamically, e.g. in response to a sensor.

For very simple applications, there are of course a large number of more or less powerful digital signage solutions on the market. 

The special thing about Blocks, in addition to the very easy usability and extremely reliable stability, is that all elements can be very easily linked to effects and behaviors that can react to external sensors, for example. This can be used to create very interesting immersive installations. 

In addition, Blocks offers all the functions of a powerful media control system at the same time. 

Furthermore, the playout paths of Blocks are permanently synchronous. Videos are not only started together at the beginning, but are constantly kept in sync. Unfortunately, this is often not the case with many signage systems.

This is one of the very frequently used functions of the Blocks software. 

Compared to classic audio guides, Blocks also has various advantages here:

• No proprietary devices are required to use it. Any smartphone can be used as a multimedia guide without having to install an app. A normal browser is sufficient.
• Content can be updated or changed very easily. This can usually be done by the operator of the system, e.g. the staff of a museum. Cost-intensive services of an audio guide provider are not required.
• A multimedia guide can be created in any number of variations. 
• The contents of the multimedia guide can be synchronized to videos that are displayed on Blocks players, but also to timelines on external media servers, such as a WATCHOUT server.
• With the help of the optional „Visitor Tracking“ function, visitors can be accompanied individually. They can listen to and see individually assigned content, collect results from interactive games and receive additional information at the end of a visit that corresponds to their personal visit profile.
• The multimedia guides can also be supplemented with synchronized subtitles or videos by a sign language interpreter, which can lead to better inclusion.

Any smartphone can be used for an audio or multimedia guide. Even on BYOD smartphones of the visitors, and they do not have to install any app for this. 

The optional "Visitor Tracking" function can observe and follow individual smartphones in compliance with the GDPR rules. This allows for highly individualized experiences in exhibitions and museums, and also allows game results and similar data to be collected and evaluated.

The Blocks Server is the heart of every Blocks installation and can run on computers running Windows, MacOS or Ubuntu (Linux). For reasons of stability, we recommend using the prepared Ubuntu server image, which you can find in the wiki. 

Alternatively, Blocks can also run on a virtualized system on a cloud server. 

Content playback can be done on any device running a web browser with good HTML5 support. PIXILAB offers a Linux-based kiosk player software that can be installed on computers such as small Asus NUCs or similar and is immune to hacker attacks on the device.

The manufacturer PIXILAB offers online seminars in English. 

We offer online seminars in German if there is sufficient demand. 

If there is sufficient demand, we will also host face-to-face training in Berlin.