Daktronics DMP-8000 Series User manual

201 Daktronics Drive
Brookings, SD 57006-5128
www.daktronics.com/support
800.325.8766
DMP-8000 SERIES
DIGITAL MEDIA PLAYER
OPERATION MANUAL
P1833
19 May 2017
DD1881645
Rev 04

Copyright © 2017
All rights reserved. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this manual, the publisher assumes no
responsibility for errors or omissions. No part of this book covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied
in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, or information
storage and retrieval systems—without written permission of the publisher.
Daktronics trademarks are property of Daktronics, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective companies.

– i –
Table of Contents
1 Introduction.........................................1
Daktronics Contact Information ..............1
Product Information ..................................1
2 First-Time System Setup & Launch.....2
Computer System Requirements .............2
DisplayFind Utility........................................2
Downloading DisplayFind Utility............2
Launching DisplayFind Utility.................2
Conguring DisplayFind Utility...............2
Connecting to a Display...........................4
Dashboard .................................................4
3 User Interface Basics ..........................5
Interface Elements.....................................5
Right-Side Menu.........................................6
Password .................................................6
Firmware..................................................6
Storage ....................................................6
About .......................................................6
Legacy.....................................................7
Login ........................................................7
Left-Side Menu ...........................................7
4 Dashboard...........................................8
Dashboard Tiles..........................................8
5 Cong ................................................10
Identication ............................................11
Network.....................................................12
IP Conguration ....................................12
DNS Conguration ................................13
Display.......................................................13
Output Conguration ...........................14
Display Conguration...........................14
Time ...........................................................14
Time Zone ..............................................15
NTP Servers ............................................15
Sync Date and Time .............................15
Services .....................................................15
Services .................................................16
Management ........................................16
Media Management Server ................16
Diagnostics............................................16
Restart .......................................................17
System Restart.......................................17
VIP..............................................................18
5000 Series.............................................18
Brightness ...............................................18
Temperature..........................................18
Test Patterns...........................................19
4000 Series.............................................19
Brightness ...............................................19
Temperature..........................................19
Test Patterns...........................................19
Security .....................................................20
RTD.............................................................20
Adding a Mapping Zone .....................21
Deleting a Mapping Zone....................21
Data Sources.........................................21
6 Monitor...............................................22
7 System Backup &
Data Table Index ..............................23
System Backup.........................................23
Data Table Index .....................................23
8 Player Control Systems &
Diagnostics........................................24
Control Systems &
Content Management ...........................24
Industry-Standard Content ..................24
Audio .....................................................24
Live Video Feeds ..................................24
Visiconn®Display Management ............25
Registration ...........................................25
Show Control System...............................26
Venus®Control Suite................................26
Intelligent Device Management ...........26
9 Audio .................................................28
Overview ..................................................28
Enabling/Disabling Audio .......................28
Conguring Windows®Audio Output....29
Windows®7 Systems.............................29
Audio Delay .............................................29
Automatic .............................................29
Manual ..................................................30
10 Show Control System........................31
Overview ..................................................31
DMP-8000 Video Production ..................31

– ii –
Table of Contents
Clip Server.............................................31
Character Generator ...........................31
Supported Video Inputs..........................32
Supported Video Outputs ......................32
Conguring .DPF Input Files ....................32
Internal & External Keying.......................33
Internal Keying......................................33
Triggering Internal Keying.....................33
External Keying.....................................34
Triggering External Keying....................34
11 Zone Management...........................35
Planning the Layout ................................35
Changing Default Layout Files...............36
Editing Files............................................36
Copying Zones......................................37
Triggering the .LAYOUT File .....................38
12 Maintenance Guide.........................40
Maintenance Frequency........................40
Maintenance Tools..................................40
General Cleaning Precautions ..............41
Exterior Computer Cleaning ..................41
Interior Computer Cleaning ...................41
13 Troubleshooting ................................43
Initial Troubleshooting Checklist.............43
Retrieving Important Information...........43
GUID.......................................................43
DMP-8000 Software...............................43
XML File...................................................44
Software Version Number....................44
Missing Visiconn®Registration Code .....44
Blanking or Flickering on SDI
Input or Output ........................................45
14 Exchange / Repair &
Return Programs................................46
Exchange Program .................................46
Repair & Return Program........................47
Shipping Address..................................47
Warranty & Limitation of Liability............47
A Supplementary Documents.............49
B Daktronics Warranty &
Limitation of Liability .........................51

– 1 –
1 Introduction
This manual helps Daktronics customers operate the DMP-8000 series digital media player
(DMP). Review all of the information in this manual to understand the features that the
DMP-8000 series player offers.
This manual assumes the operator has a basic working knowledge of personal computer
operations such as using menus and folders. Terms that describe commonly used
computer operations are used frequently in this manual.
Daktronics Contact Information
For further assistance, Daktronics Customer Service is available 24/7 via phone or online
connection.
Daktronics Customer Service can be reached via telephone by calling either number
listed below:
• Domestic (U.S. and Canada): 1-800-325-8766
• International: [phone]
Daktronics online customer support can be reached at the following web address:
• www.daktronics.com/support
Product Information
The DMP-8000 series is a product family of digital media players (DMPs), which, when
combined with a digital display control system such as Show Control, Venus®Control
Suite, or Visiconn®Display Management, can be used in both scheduled and interactive
display control scenarios. The player distributes graphics, animations, live video, real-time
data, 3D effects, web page content, and other types of creative content to a digital
display network.
Within a display system, the player dynamically composites content onto a video output
to deliver playback to a single display or multiple displays in a digital display network.
Compatible with large-screen LED or at-panel displays, the player provides the following
functions:
• Multiple Display Technologies - Supports LED, LCD, plasma, and projection display
technologies
• Live Data - Maintains fresh, informative content using real-time data feeds
• Scheduling - Manages les using web-based scheduling when combined with
Visiconn®Display Management or Venus®Control Suite.
• Playback Reporting - Provides proof-of-performance reports (when combined with
the Visiconn®Display Management or Venus® Control Suite) to indicate when les ran
and for how long
• Split Screen Capability - Splits the display screen into zones for additional
display options
• Direct Control - Pairs with the Show Control system and/or the Venus®Control Suite to
provide customers direct control in environments with or without internet access
• Device Management - Uses Daktronics Intelligent Device Management (IDM) service

– 2 –
2 First-Time System Setup & Launch
Computer System Requirements
Internet access is necessary to install additional components if needed. Access to the
player user interface requires the one of the following web browsers:
• Google®Chrome®- latest version
• Microsoft®Internet Explorer®- version 7.0 (or later)
• Mozilla®Firefox®- version 3.5 (or later)
DisplayFind Utility
Downloading DisplayFind Utility
The DisplayFind utility is used to nd devices on a local network when the IP address is
unknown. The computer running the DisplayFind utility must be on the same subnet as the
target player.
Operators can download the application software from either the control software CD
or from the internet. To download the DisplayFind le from the internet, follow the steps
below:
1. Open a web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer®or Firefox® browser).
2. Navigate to dakles.daktronics.com.
3. Click venus1500 > Utils > DisplayFind > DisplayFind.exe.
4. Click Run to download the DisplayFinder utility or Save to save the le to the
computer for later use.
Launching DisplayFind Utility
The DisplayFind le automatically opens if Run was selected in
Step 4 above.
If Save was selected instead of Run, locate where the DisplayFind.exe
le was saved during download and double-click the icon to open
the program. Refer to Figure 1.
Conguring DisplayFind Utility
After launching the DisplayFind utility, review the list of associated
items. The top two items in the list should have a green check mark.
Refer to Figure 2.
Figure 2: DisplayFind Utility Window
Figure 1: DisplayFind Icon

– 3 –
If one of the top two items has a red icon next to it as shown in Figure 3, click it for
additional information or to access the download.
Figure 3: DisplayFind Utility Errors
A red next to The Current User Is Not An Administrative User On This Computer
indicates that the operator does not have administrative rights on the computer being
used. After installation, administrative rights are no longer necessary.
A red next to Windows Firewall is Currently Blocking Communication indicates that
the Windows® rewall is not disabled. Temporarily disable the Windows® rewall to allow
discovery responses to be received from any displays. Temporarily disable other third
party anti-virus/rewall applications (i.e. McAfee®, Symantec®, ZoneAlarm®software etc.).
Note: Congure rewall exceptions to allow inbound TCP and UDP trafc on Port 3702
if temporarily disabling the rewall is not desired.
Ignore a red next to Silverlight Version and Java Version as these programs are no
longer required by the system.
Increase the Discovery Timeout value if the connection is slow. Follow the steps below:
1. Click the DisplayFind icon in the upper-left corner of the application header.
2. Click Settings. Refer to Figure 4.
3. Set a new Discovery Timeout using the Up and Down Arrow buttons. Refer to Figure 5.
4. Click OK.
Figure 4: Display Finder Settings
Figure 5: Discovery Timeout Settings

– 4 –
Connecting to a Display
Prior to connecting to the display, verify that the display is turned on and connected to
the network currently in use. To connect to the display, follow the steps below:
1. Select the correct network adapter used to communicate with the display from the
Adapter Name drop-down menu. Refer to Figure 6.
Figure 6: Network Adapter Selection
2. Click Find Displays to detect any displays using the selected network adapter.
Detected displays are listed in the bottom window of the utility. Refer to Figure 7.
Figure 7: Detected Displays
3. Double-click the desired display to launch the conguration utility within a web
browser.
Dashboard
After logging into the player the rst time, an initial screen opens showing status tiles
for various aspects of the device. This interface screen is called the Dashboard. For a
general overview of the system interface, refer to Interface Elements (p. 5). For details
on the dashboard, refer to Section 4: Dashboard (p. 8).
Click Show Menu in the upper-left corner of the screen to expand the left-side
menu. The left-side menu links are listed in Left-Side Menu (p. 7). For more detailed
information on each menu item, refer to Section 4: Dashboard (p. 8),Section 5:
Cong (p. 10), Section 6: Monitor (p. 22) and Section 7: System Backup & Data Table
Index (p. 23).

– 5 –
3 User Interface Basics
Interface Elements
The DMP-8000 series player interface includes elements that are always visible to the
operator, including a header bar, left-side menu, right-side menu, and main window.
Refer to Figure 8.
Header bar Right-side menu
Status tiles Main window
Left-side menu
Figure 8: Interface Elements
• Header bar contains the application title across the top of the screen.
• Right-side menu is in the upper-right corner of the screen. Click User to expand
the menu panel to show the full session-specic navigation information. Refer to
Right-Side Menu (p. 6) for more information.
• Left-side menu is on the left side of the screen. Click Show Menu in the upper-
left corner of the screen to expand the menu panel to show the full navigation
information. Refer to Left-Side Menu (p. 7) for more information.
• Main window displays elements, information, and data related to current operator
selections and system triggers. The example in Figure 8 above shows the initial
Dashboard screen with status tiles in the main window.

– 6 –
Right-Side Menu
This section describes the tools and features available in the right-side menu. Click User
in the upper-right corner of the screen to expand the menu panel to show the full
navigation information. Refer to the table below.
Menu Item Description
Opens the Change Password window allowing an operator to change
the system password
Opens the Controller Firmware window allowing a controller rmware
update
Opens the Delete all Content window allowing an operator to delete all
content les
Opens a window showing Daktronics contact information and open
source / licenses used to build the DMP-8000 series player
Opens a link to the previous player user interface in order to access a
few functions that are not yet operational in the new user interface
Opens a general system login window allowing the logged in operator
to make changes to any system conguration settings
Password
Password opens a window that enables the operator
to change their password. Enter the current password,
new password, and conrm the change. Refer to
Figure 9.
After entering a new password and conrming it, click
Update Password at the bottom to save the changed
password. Click another menu item to close the
Change Password window without saving the new
password.
Firmware
Firmware opens a window that enables the operator
to update the player rmware. Refer to Figure 10.
Click Update Firmware, browse to the correct le, and
click Open to start the update.
Storage
Storage opens a window that enables the operator to
delete all stored content les. Refer to Figure 11. Use
caution with this action as all media les in the default
content folder will be permanently deleted.
About
About opens a window with Daktronics customer
service information and a link to the Daktronics
website. There is a licensing Information link to a listing
of the open source libraries / licenses used to build the
DMP-8000 series player.
Figure 9: Password
Figure 10: Firmware
Figure 11: Storage

– 7 –
Legacy
Legacy opens the previous version of the player user interface. Refer to Figure 12. Click
the web browser's back button to return to the current user interface.
Figure 12: Legacy User Interface
Login
Login opens a general system login window for administrative level access. The player
interface can be used without this login but in this case, no changes can be made
to conguration settings. If an operator is not logged in and attempts to make a
conguration change, the login prompt opens.
Left-Side Menu
This section describes the tools and features available in the left-side column. Click Show
Menu in the upper-left corner of the screen to expand the main menu panel to show
the full system navigation information. Refer to the table below. For more detailed
information on each left-side menu item, refer to Section 4: Dashboard (p. 8),Section
5: Cong (p. 10), Section 6: Monitor (p. 22) and Section 7: System Backup & Data
Table Index (p. 23).
Menu Item Description
Shows status tiles for various aspects of the player, clicking any tile
opens a menu item or triggers an operational window
Lists all current conguration settings and tools including tools for
setting the output, local time, and security
Opens a window showing a live video feed of the display content
Saves the current system backup le or restores the system by
uploading a saved backup le
Shows the currently stored player application information including
diagnostic information and any data feeds received by the player

– 8 –
4 Dashboard
Click Dashboard to show the system status tiles. Refer to Figure 13.
Figure 13: Dashboard Status Tiles
Dashboard Tiles
Every dashboard status tile is interactive; click any tile to open an operational window or
menu item.
• Identication - This tile provides the player's descriptive data including the name,
description, and player ID number. Click this tile to open the Identication link under
the Cong menu.
• Time - This tile shows the current date, time, and time zone. Click this tile to open the
Time link under the Cong menu.
• Firmware - This tile shows the current version of the
player rmware. Click this tile to open a window to
trigger a rmware update. Browse to the correct
le and click Update Firmware to update the
player rmware. Refer to Figure 14.
• VIP - This tile shows information about any
system-congured video image processor (VIP).
If there is no associated VIP, the message No VIP Congured is shown. Click this tile to
open the VIP link under the Cong menu.
• Network - This tile shows network address information. Click this tile to open the
Network link under the Cong menu.
• Storage - This information tile shows how much le
storage is currently being used and how much is
available on the player. Click this tile to open a
window that enables the operator to delete all
content les. Refer to Figure 15. Use caution with
this action as all media les in the default content
folder will be permanently deleted.
Figure 14: Firmware Update Prompt
Figure 15: Delete Content Prompt

– 9 –
• Monitor - This tile shows a thumbnail of the current display output. The content
shown in this thumbnail is not a live video feed; the image is refreshed once every 30
seconds.
• Scheduling - This tile shows details of the software program used to schedule and
manage the media les. Click this tile to open the Services link under the Cong
menu.
• Security - This tile shows the security settings for the player. Click this tile to open the
Security link under the Cong menu.
• Display - This tile provides information about the display output conguration and size.
Click this tile to open the Display link under the Cong menu.

– 10 –
5 Cong
Click Cong to open a conguration menu with a number of options. Refer to
Figure 16. The currently selected link is underlined. In the example in Figure 16, the
Identication link is selected.
Figure 16: Conguration Menu
While editing any conguration setting, a save icon opens next to the selected link.
Refer to Figure 17. If a change is made incorrectly, a red error icon opens next to the
selected link. Refer to Figure 18.
Changes are
not yet saved
Figure 17: Save Icon
Before saving a change, a dialog box opens at the top of the screen warning that
changes are pending. Refer to Figure 19.
Figure 19: Pending Changes Prompt
Cancel any entered changes at any time before the change is saved; click the Cancel
button as shown in Figure 19 to cancel the change and restore the previous information.
A prompt opens to conrm that the change will be discarded.
After a conguration change is made and saved, a Successfully saved the cong.
message is shown in a green banner across the top of the screen. Refer to Figure 20.
Figure 20: Changes Made to Conguration Settings
Changes are
entered incorrectly
Figure 18: Save Icon

– 11 –
Identication
Identication shows general information about the
player including the Dynamic Host Conguration
Protocol (DHCP) device name, a brief description,
player ID number and the chosen startup boot
sequence. Refer to Figure 21.
The information in the Device (DHCP) Name,
Description, and Player ID elds is set by Daktronics
during system installation.
If the Device ID character string is needed for other
operations, use the Copy to Clipboard function
to easily copy this information to the computer’s
temporary clipboard.
Click the red Change button to change the player
ID number; however, changing the ID will result in a
loss of communication with any registered services.
Note: Do not use this feature unless instructed to
do so by Daktronics technicians.
The Boot Sequence drop-down menu enables the operator to select what is shown
during the display’s startup procedure. Refer to Figure 21.
• None shows no information and playback starts immediately following start-up.
• Compact shows only product and version information. Playback begins after this is
shown.
• Full shows the description, display dimensions, color depth, time zone, list of
communication services, rmware version, and the IP address. Playback begins after
this is shown. Full is the default mode.
After making a change to any Identication setting, press the Save button in the upper-
left corner.
Figure 21: Conguration - Identication

– 12 –
Network
Network congures the player for communication on the local area network (LAN)
including IP conguration and DNS conguration. Refer to Figure 22.
Figure 22: Conguration - Network
IP Conguration
The IP Conguration section enables the operator to congure the Internet Protocol (IP)
address automatically or manually.
1. Select either automatic or manual conguration by clicking Obtain an IP address
automatically or Use the following IP Address, respectively. Refer to Figure 22.
• Automatic: Selecting Obtain an IP address
automatically uses Dynamic Host Conguration
Protocol (DHCP) to automatically assign an IP
address to the player. A DHCP server is required
on the network for proper operation. If the
network conguration is left in this mode and no
DHCP server exists on the network, the address
will default to 169.254.x.y, where xand ywill
vary to assign a unique address on the network.
• Manual: Selecting Use the following IP Address
manually congures the IP address. Congure
the IP address manually when a DHCP server
does not exist or when an installation requires the player always use a static IP
address. Refer to Figure 23.
Note: If using manual conguration, values must be entered for the IP address,
subnet mask, and default gateway in their appropriate text boxes before
proceeding to Step 2.
2. Click Save.
Figure 23: IP Conguration

– 13 –
DNS Conguration
The DNS Conguration section enables the operator to congure the domain name
server (DNS) address automatically or manually. Daktronics remote diagnostic tools
require that internet host names are resolved to their dotted IP address format for
communication. An example of such a resolution is the internet host name www.
daktronics.com resolved to 64.233.169.147.
1. Select either automatic or manual conguration by clicking Obtain DNS server
address automatically or Use the following DNS server addresses, respectively. Refer
to Figure 24.
• Automatic: Selecting Obtain DNS server
address automatically is similar to IP address
conguration and uses information received
from a local DHCP server to congure DNS
information. This is the default setting.
• Manual: Select Use the following DNS
server addresses when a DHCP server is not
available on the local network. The operator
can congure the player to explicitly use a
DNS server on the network or on the internet
to provide name resolution. Both a preferred and an alternate server can be
congured. Refer to Figure 24.
Note: The player will query the alternate DNS server address in the event the
preferred server does not respond.
2. Click Save.
Display
Display shows the basic display and resolution information including output and display
settings. Refer to Figure 25.
Figure 25: Conguration - Display
Figure 24: DNS Conguration

– 14 –
Click Active or Inactive under the Daktronics Player section to enable or disable the
player. Set the player as Inactive only when third-party playback software is installed.
Clicking Active opens the Output Conguration and Display Conguration sections as
described below.
Output Conguration
This section contains the following parameters:
• Device sets the device used to output data to the display.
• Resolution sets the output resolution from a drop-down list.
• Keying turns alpha keying on or off on the display.
Display Conguration
This section contains the following parameters:
• Width is the width of the display’s active area
(area that shows the image) in pixels.
• Height is the height of the display’s active area
(area that shows the image) in pixels.
• Mode determines how the content is arranged
on the display. Refer to Figure 26 and the table
below.
Mode Description
Single Rectangle Used for displays that have a width no greater than the output width
(most video displays)
Manual Used with Daktronics technical support
Striped
Used for displays that have a width greater than the output width
(typically ribbon displays). Display content is broken down into sections
smaller than the output width. Refer to contract-specic Schematic
Drawings for a description of the number of stripes and their widths.
Time
Time sets the display's current time zone, congures the Network Time Protocol (NTP)
servers, and synchronizes the date and time. Refer to Figure 27.
Figure 27: Conguration - Time
Figure 26: Display Conguration - Mode

– 15 –
Time Zone
Under Time Zone, use the drop-down menu to pick the correct time zone for the display.
The correct time zone ensures the time and date elds are accurately presented if
included in messages. The default time zone is (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).
NTP Servers
Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers synchronize
the controller’s clock with a selected time server.
Refer to Figure 28.
This setting selects a default clock source and
updates in the background to automatically
maintain a precise time. The controller’s network
settings must be correct and the operator must
have access to the time server for this function to
work.
To set an NTP server, follow the steps below:
1. Click Active.
2. Set the Sync Interval to determine how frequently the NTP server is synchronized with
the player.
3. Enter the NTP server address.
4. Click the Add Server button to enter a second server address for synchronizing the
time. Add up to three NTP servers; the rst address is the primary server and any others
are secondary servers.
Sync Date and Time
Click the Sync button to synchronize the display’s clock with the laptop’s internal clock.
Services
Services congures the player to communicate with other related software programs
and enables the Daktronics Intelligent Device Management (IDM) diagnostic system.
Refer to Figure 29.
Figure 29: Conguration - Services
Figure 28: Time - NTP Servers

– 16 –
Services
Management
The port number specied in the Management eld must match the number used in
the control software. Failure to match parameters in Services with those in the control
software will result in communication loss. Each port must be unique and changes
should be made only when necessary. Contact the network administrator for assistance
locating available ports. The default port is 80.
Media Management Server
Choose the desired client program from the drop-
down list. Refer to Figure 30.
If Venus is chosen from the drop-down list, the Host
and Port elds must be set for either Daktronics
hosted or locally hosted Venus®Control
Suite software.
• Daktronics hosted: This option selects the Daktronics-hosted (remote, cloud-based)
Venus®Control Suite software program. Set the Host eld as venus.daktronics.com
and choose 443 from the Port drop-down list. Refer to Figure 31.
• Locally hosted: This option selects the Venus®Control Suite software program that is
hosted on a local computer server. Set the Host eld as the local server address and
choose 8811 from the Port drop-down list. Refer to Figure 32.
• Figure 31: Services - Daktronics-Hosted Venus
If Visiconn is chosen from the drop-down list, enter the Visiconn®Display Management
server address in the Host text box.
Diagnostics
The IDM option toggles the Daktronics Intelligent
Device Management (IDM) system as Active or
Inactive. Refer to Figure 33.
IDM is an internet-based monitoring and diagnostic
service. For more information on IDM, refer to
Intelligent Device Management (p. 26).
Figure 30: Media Management Server
Figure 32: Services - Locally Hosted Venus
Figure 33: Services - Diagnostics