Entech Provides FTP Access to all users of our Expert Digital Signage Package

Entech Signs is currently offering FTP Access for all interested individuals currently subscribed to our Expert Digital Signage Package.  If you find that certain images are not loading properly on your current server of choice or you need a secure location to store your videos for sharing, our FTP would be the perfect solution for you!

Ftp Client

If you find that your backgrounds, logos and banners not reliably loading properly and it is significantly impacting the performance of your screen this FTP would be highly recommended way to reduce and eliminate these issues.

Please note that depending on the current rules and operating procedures at your location; an FTP is not always a viable option.  FTP is sometimes blocked at workstations and restrictions on software installation could prevent you from utilizing our FTP.  Please contact your Technical Department to find out if you will be able to use FTP and what steps need to be taken if you would like to implement FTP access at your location.

If you have any further questions about our FTP or would like to sign up for our FTP service please do not hesitate to contact us!

ENTECH SIGNS
(972) 641-0390
www.alpha-led.com

How to get more Font Styles and Font Sizes!

Ever wish you had more Font Sizes or had a different font available in the text editor gadget?  Using this simple trick will allow you to expand on the functionality of your system and provide you with additional options!

Standard list of fonts 

In the original editor you will only have access to about 15 basic font types and 7 different font sizes available.  This is very limited if you compare to the number of fonts and sizes available in your word editor.  After doing some editing you will find that on occasion you wish you could have larger font or have some more variety in font so you can properly convey your message to your viewer.  

Wing Dings and Showcard Gothic with Font Size 48

Next use your editor of choice and create the message using the font size and font you would like to use. 

Highlight and copy message

Next you will want to highlight everything you want to use and do a right click and select the copy option.

Insert message into text gadget

Right click in your online message editor paste and you will now see that your text including all fonts and sizes will be retained.  As long as it is part of the standard font package that is installed typically on all windows machines you should not have a problem previewing having this message being sent to your Electronic Displays.

ENTECH SIGNS

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com

Which picture format should I use? PNG or JPG? What's the difference?

While designing content for your Digital Displays I am sure you have run into the issue when saving your files and asked yourself "Which file format should I use?"  There are advantages to both file formats however understanding why one is better than the other will bring many benefits such as quicker file transfers and less storage space required.

JPG's

JPG is a popular file format typically used because of its ability to provide great looking photos and images while keeping file sizes low.  You will be surprised at how much smaller your files can be if you save them as a JPG vs a PNG.  You just need to make sure that you do not need to have a transparent background and the level of quality of the JPG is acceptable for your application.

Image saved as JPG 

Image saved as a PNG

Can you see a difference?  Well neither will  most of your viewers however the PNG will be almost 10x larger then the JPG of the same image!  The JPG file comes in at a reasonable 1/2 a meg while the PNG file  is almost 5 megs.

Now lets pretend for a moment that you have 10 images.  That means if you used JPG you would have approximately 5 megs total to upload.  On the other hand if use PNG you would need to upload nearly 50 megs of data!  Not only will using JPG for your photo's save you time when uploading your photo's, you'll also notice that your players will load the images much quicker as well!

JPG result in more data loss then PNG

These benefits however result in the loss of image data and results in a decrease in image quality.  If you look carefully at these zoomed in images you will notice that the crispness has been lost in the JPG (first image) and this will get progressively worst the more you edit and save the image.  If you plan on doing any additional photo editing or changes in the future I would highly recommend using PNG instead to preserve the quality of your image.

PNG's

PNG is a lossless image format meaning that it will preserve all the original data in the original image. The problem is all that data takes up a lot of room and if you are saving photo's you can eat up a lots of memory very quickly.  I would only recommend using this format if you have a need to insure that no quality is lost in the image (such as keeping a master copy of your picture for editing) or if you need to have a transparent background.  This can be a very important issue when designing your content as you may want to do things such as have a logo placed over your background image.

Inserted image saved as a JPG

Inserted image saved as a PNG

By taking advantage a transparent background you can seamlessly integrate images into your presentation allowing you create professional looking content.

By saving your files in the right format you can significantly improve the performance of your signs, save time transferring files, and save significant amounts of storage space.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us:

ENTECH SIGNS

(972) 641-0390

www.alpha-led.com