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Channels

The Channels page is where channels, queues and scenes are arranged. Most authoring time happens here. If you are setting up what plays, in what order, and under which conditions, you are on this page.

For live operation (cueing scenes during a broadcast), the On Air page is the dedicated surface.

The model in one paragraph

A channel contains queues. A queue contains scenes (or other queues, nested). A scene is an instance of a template. Whether a scene or queue plays is decided by its conditions: time of day, day of week, date range, play count, and others. A scene with no conditions is always valid.

See Core concepts for the full mental model.

Build a channel

A channel is the top of the hierarchy. It holds queues, and it drives what plays in a frame, much like a TV channel decides the programming. Content selection is condition-driven by default; an operator can override live from On Air at any time.

  1. Click New channel.
  2. Assign the channel to a frame. Frames are configured under Configure.
  3. Save.

A channel runs continuously. It plays the first valid queue's first valid scene, then the next, and so on.

Add a queue inside the channel

Open the channel. A queue is an ordered list of scenes, or of other queues.

  1. Inside the channel, click New queue.
  2. Name the queue after its purpose (Daytime loop, Match coverage, Sponsor reads).
  3. Save.

A queue walks through its items in order. When it reaches an item whose conditions are not currently valid, it skips past until it finds one that is.

Nesting queues

Queues can hold other queues, not just scenes. To nest one queue inside another, drag the queue you want to nest and drop it on top of its target. The dragged queue becomes a child item; the parent queue plays through it in order alongside its other items. Use nesting to group related scenes (a daypart, a campaign, a sponsor block) so the parent queue stays scannable.

Add a scene inside the queue

Open the queue. A scene is built from a template plus data filled into the template's variable slots.

  1. Inside the queue, click New scene.
  2. Pick a template (or a preset, which is a saved template configuration).
  3. Fill in the template's variable slots: text values, asset selections, numbers, colours.
  4. Save.

The scene is now part of this queue. It can be referenced from other queues too: a scene is reusable.

Scenes can also be built from the On Air page when you are operating live and need a new one on the fly.

For nested workflows (one template hosted inside another's slot), see Templates.

Schedule with conditions

CanvasPro does not have a timeline-based scheduler. Scheduling is done by adding conditions to scenes and queues. Each scene or queue can carry zero or more conditions, combined with any or all.

Examples:

  • Daytime content: add a Time Range condition 07:00-18:00 to a queue.
  • Weekend-only: add a Valid on day condition for Saturday and Sunday, combined with any.
  • Holiday banner: add a Date Range condition for the holiday window.
  • Run only ten times: add a Play count condition with limit 10.

The full list of built-in condition types is below.

Built-in condition types

Condition Valid when
Time Range Current time is between a start and end time of day
Date Range Current date is between a start and end date
DateTime Range Current moment is within a date-and-time window
Start Time Current time is after a given time of day
End Time Current time is before a given time of day
Start DateTime Current moment is after a given date and time
End DateTime Current moment is before a given date and time
On Week Day Current weekday matches one of the selected days
On Month Current month matches
On Year Current year matches
Play Count This scene or queue has played fewer than N times
Nth Loop This is the Nth iteration of the parent loop
Item Playouts The item has played a given number of times
Timer An internal timer has reached a given value
End Reached All items in the parent queue have played
Asset Duration Tied to the duration of an associated asset

Conditions can be inherited from a template by reference. When the template's conditions change, every scene that uses it inherits the change unless the scene has its own override.

Cue and take

Cue a scene to preview it in the cue output before sending it live. Take to send it to the main output. Cue and Take is the recommended workflow for broadcast environments. The cue and take controls live in On Air.

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