Ross XPression User manual

XPression Connect User Guide
Version 10.5

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XPression Connect · User Guide
• Ross Part Number: 3500DR-011-10.5
• Release Date: October 28, 2021. Printed in Canada.
• Software Issue: 10.5
The information contained in this Guide is subject to change without notice or obligation.
Copyright
©2021 Ross Video Limited, Ross®, and any related marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ross Video
Limited. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. PATENTS ISSUED and PENDING. All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Ross
Video. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, Ross Video assumes no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the
information contained herein.
Patents
Patent numbers US 7,034,886; US 7,508,455; US 7,602,446; US 7,802,802 B2; US 7,834,886; US 7,914,332; US
8,307,284; US 8,407,374 B2; US 8,499,019 B2; US 8,519,949 B2; US 8,743,292 B2; GB 2,419,119 B; GB 2,447,380
B; and other patents pending.
Notice
The material in this manual is furnished for informational use only. It is subject to change without notice and should
not be construed as commitment by Ross Video Limited. Ross Video Limited assumes no responsibility or liability for
errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual.

Warranty and Repair Policy
Ross Video Limited (Ross) warrants its XPression systems to be free from defects under normal use and service for
the following time periods from the date of shipment:
•XPression Server — 12 months
•XPression Software Upgrades — 12 months free of charge
•System and Media hard drives — 12 months
If an item becomes defective within the warranty period Ross will repair or replace the defective item, as determined
solely by Ross.
Warranty repairs will be conducted at Ross, with all shipping FOB Ross dock. If repairs are conducted at the
customer site, reasonable out-of-pocket charges will apply. At the discretion of Ross, and on a temporary loan basis,
plug in circuit boards or other replacement parts may be supplied free of charge while defective items undergo repair.
Return packing, shipping, and special handling costs are the responsibility of the customer.
This warranty is void if products are subjected to misuse, neglect, accident, improper installation or application, or
unauthorized modification.
In no event shall Ross Video Limited be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages
(including loss of profit). Implied warranties, including that of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, are
expressly limited to the duration of this warranty.
This warranty is TRANSFERABLE to subsequent owners, subject to Ross’ notification of change of ownership.
Extended Warranty
For customers that require a longer warranty period, Ross offers an extended warranty plan to extend the standard
warranty period by one year increments. For more information about an extended warranty for your XPression
system, contact your regional sales manager.

Environmental Information
The equipment that you purchased required the extraction and use of natural resources for its production. It may
contain hazardous substances that could impact health and the environment.
To avoid the potential release of those substances into the environment and to diminish the need for the extraction of
natural resources, Ross Video encourages you to use the appropriate take-back systems. These systems will reuse
or recycle most of the materials from your end-of-life equipment in an environmentally friendly and health conscious
manner.
The crossed-out wheeled bin symbol invites you to use these systems.
If you need more information on the collection, reuse, and recycling systems, please contact your local or regional
waste administration.
You can also contact Ross Video for more information on the environmental performances of our products.

Company Address
Ross Video Limited
8 John Street
Iroquois, Ontario
Canada, K0E 1K0
Ross Video Incorporated
P.O. Box 880
Ogdensburg, New York
USA 13669-0880
General Business Office:
Fax:
(+1) 613 652 4886
(+1) 613 652 4425
Toll Free Technical Support: 1-844-652-0645 (North America)
[phone] (International)
Alternately, you can contact:
Technical Support: (+1) 613 652 4886
After Hours Emergency: (+1) 613 349 0006
E-mail for Technical Support: [email protected]
E-mail for General Information: [email protected]
Website: http://www.rossvideo.com

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) C – 1
Contents
Introduction 1
About This Guide 1-1
Documentation Conventions 1-1
Getting Help 1-1
Contacting Technical Support 1-2
User Interface Overview
2
The XPression Connect User Interface 2-2
Setup 3
Setting Up an XPression Project for Use with
XPression Connect 3-2
Adding a Data Source 3-5
Setting Up a Data Source Rundown 3-8
Setting Up a Twitter Rundown 3-10
Setting Up a Playlist Rundown 3-13
Playback Controls 4
Playback Controls Window 4-2
Menus and Keyboard
Shortcuts 5
XPression Connect Menu Bar 5-2
Rundown Area 5-3
Keyboard Shortcuts 5-4

C – 2 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) 1–1
Introduction
XPression Connect is a user controllable social media playout tool.
About This Guide
This user guide describes the XPression Connect, its configuration, and functions.
If, at any time, you have a question pertaining to the installation or operation of the XPression Connect, please
contact us at the numbers listed in the section “Contacting Technical Support” on page 1–2. Our technical staff are
always available for consultation, training, or service.
Documentation Conventions
Special text formats are used in this guide to identify parts of the user interface, text that a user must enter, or a
sequence of menus and submenus that must be followed to reach a particular command.
Getting Help
The XPression Connect User Guide is supplied as a print-ready PDF file. Locate the guide in the C:\Archive folder
to open a guide PDF in Adobe® Reader® for viewing or printing.
Bold text Bold text is used to identify a user interface element such as
a dialog box, menu item, or button.
For example:
In the 3D Model Files section, use the Mode list to select the
folder used to store 3D model files.
Courier text Courier text is used to identify text that a user must enter.
For example:
Enter localhost when the DataLinq server is running of the
same computer as XPression.
> Menu arrows are used in procedures to identify a sequence
of menu items that you must follow.
For example, if a step reads “Display > Widgets,” you would
click the Display menu and then click Widgets.

1–2 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)
Contacting Technical Support
At Ross Video, we take pride in the quality of our products, but if problems occur, help is as close as the nearest
telephone.
Our 24-hour Hot Line service ensures you have access to technical expertise around the clock. After-sales service
and technical support is provided directly by Ross Video personnel. During business hours (eastern time), technical
support personnel are available by telephone any time. After hours and on weekends, a direct emergency technical
support phone line is available. If the technical support person who is on call does not answer this line immediately, a
voice message can be left and the call will be returned shortly. This team of highly trained staff is available to react to
any problem and to do whatever is necessary to ensure customer satisfaction.
•Technical Support:
› 1-844-652-0645 (North America)
› [phone] (International)
•After Hours Emergency: ([phone]
•E-mail: [email protected]
•Website: http://www.rossvideo.com

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) 2–1
User Interface Overview
The XPression Connect interface is used for managing, previewing, and playing out social media feeds.
The following topic is discussed in this section:
• The XPression Connect User Interface

2–2 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)
The XPression Connect User Interface
The following screen capture displays the main elements of the XPression Connect user interface. Descriptions of
individual elements are contained in the legend below the diagram.
1) Menu Bar — use this menu bar to access the File and
Docking menus.
2) Data Sources — add or edit the data sources providing
feeds for the rundown.
3) Rundown Area — use this area to select and cue items
from a data source rundown or playlist rundown.
4) Playlists — use this area to create, edit, and select
custom playlists made of items selected from feeds.
5) Playback Controls — use this area to control the
playback of the rundown.
6) Preview/Setup Area — select the Preview tab to
display a preview of an item or select the Setup tab and
use the Setup options to configure XPression Connect
settings.
3
2
1
4
5
6

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) 3–1
Setup
If upgrading XPression Studio from 32-bit to 64-bit, a prompt to remove any previous 32-bit Studio installs will
open. If removing a 32-bit version of Studio, new installs of XPression Connect will not launch unless 64-bit Studio
is reinstalled again.
Before you start using XPression Connect, XPression and XPression Connect need to be configured to function
together, data sources need to be added to XPression Connect, and rundowns need to be added. This section
describes how to setup XPression Connect for playing social media feeds.
The following topics are discussed in this section:
• Setting Up an XPression Project for Use with XPression Connect
• Adding a Data Source
• Setting Up a Data Source Rundown
• Setting Up a Twitter Rundown
• Setting Up a Playlist Rundown

3–2 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)
Setting Up an XPression Project for Use with
XPression Connect
XPression and XPression Connect must use the same version and build numbers.
XPression Connect uses the default framebuffer and layer of the scene or scene group.
1. In XPression, open a project that contains the scene(s) for use with XPression Connect.
2. In the Scene Manager, select a scene or scene group.
3. In the Object Inspector, click the Metadata tab.
The Metadata tab opens.
4. In the Elements and Attributes section, right-click on metadata and select Add > Child Element.
A child element node is added to metadata.
5. Click inside element and enter the name xpConnect.
6. Right-click on the xpConnect element node and select Add > Attribute.
An attribute node is added to the xpConnect element node.

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) 3–3
7. Click inside attribute and enter the name Name.
8. Click inside the Data section and enter the value for the attribute. For example, Twitter.
9. Right-click on the xpConnect element node and select Add > Attribute.
An attribute node is added to the xpConnect element node.
10. Click inside attribute and enter the name Type.
11. Click inside the Data section and enter Crawl Test.
Adding Animation
To assign animation to the scene or scene group, add three animation controllers named In, Change, and Out.
Ensure the following is set up for In, Change, and Out animations:
•TheIn animation brings in items from the data source (for example, Inception) such as ‘Text1’, ‘Avatar1’,
‘Name1’, etc.
• In the Change animation, ‘Text1’ from the In animation is now ‘Text1A’ and is in the same position as the next
‘Text1’ to follow ‘Text1A’.
XPression Connect will copy data from In ‘Text1’ to Change ‘Text1A’, and copy new data to ‘Text1’. The same
applies for Avatar1, Name1, etc.
The following image from the Key Graph Editor provides a visual of the necessary setup for the Change
animation, whereby ‘Text1A’ is transitioned out as ‘Text1’ is transitioned in:
•TheOut animation has ‘Text1’ animated out, so that if the animation goes from In to Out without a change in
between, ‘Text1’ is still taken out.
Using a Roll/Crawl
For a crawl/roll:
• the object name for the text object for the social media feed must be ‘Name1’ in the Object Manager.
• the object name for the text object for the user handle/screen name must be ‘ScreenName1’ in the Object
Manager.
• the object name for the quad object for an avatar must be ‘Avatar1’ in the Object Manager.
Te x t 1 A
Text1
Te x t 1 A
Text1

3–4 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)
Using Full Screen
For full screen:
• the object name for the text object for the social media feed must be ‘Text1A’ in the Object Manager.
• if there is a change animation in the scene or scene group, then a text object named ‘Text1B’ must be added
in the Object Manager.
For More Information on...
• XPression features and functions, refer to the XPression User Guide or Online Help.
• setting up data sources in XPression Connect, refer to “Adding a Data Source” on page 3–5.
• GPI controls, refer to “XPression Connect Menu Bar” on page 5–2.

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) 3–5
Adding a Data Source
XPression must be launched and a project loaded before launching XPression Connect, or XPression Connect
will not be able to display scenes in Scene Settings or Preview.
1. In XPression Connect, click the Data Sources tab.
The Data Sources window opens.
2. Click Add.
The Add Data Source dialog box opens.
3. Select a data source from the list:
•Inception — use feeds from the Inception social media tool.
•Mass Relevance — use feeds from the MassRelevance social media tool.
•Twitter — use feeds from the Twitter social media tool.
•Arktan — use feeds from the Arktan social media tool.
•Never.No — use feeds from the Never.No social media tool.
•Wayin — use feeds from the Wayin social media tool.
4. Click OK.
The dialog box for the selected data source opens.

3–6 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)
Inception, MassRelevance, Arktan, Never.No, & Wayin
a. In the URL box, enter the URL for the Inception, MassRelevance, Arktan, Never.No, or Wayin data source.
XPression Connect will download attachments from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram when using Inception data
sources.
b. Use the Refresh Rate box to enter or select an amount of time between queries to the data source for the
latest data.
c. Select the Strip http:// links from text field check box to remove URLs from the tweets in a rundown or
playlist provided by the data source.
d. Select the Strip non-ASCII data from text field check box to remove any data from the tweets in a rundown
or playlist provided by the data source that is not ASCII character encoding.
Twitter
a. Select the Strip http:// links from text field check box to remove URLs from the tweets in a rundown or
playlist provided by the data source.
b. Select the Strip non-ASCII data from text field check box to remove any data from the tweets in a rundown
or playlist provided by the data source that is not ASCII character encoding.
c. Click Generate PIN Code to generate a user authentication code for the Twitter data source.
A Twitter URL is provided below the fields in the dialog box.
d. In the Enter PIN Code box, enter the PIN code available from the provided Twitter URL.
e. Click Authenticate PIN to access the Twitter data source.

XPression Connect User Guide (10.5) 3–7
5. Click OK.
The dialog box for the selected data source closes and the data source is added to the Data Sources window.
For More Information on...
• setting up an XPression project for use with XPression Connect, refer to “Setting Up an XPression Project for
Use with XPression Connect” on page 3–2.
• setting up a data source rundown, refer to “Setting Up a Data Source Rundown” on page 3–8.
• setting up a playlist rundown, refer to “Setting Up a Playlist Rundown” on page 3–13.

3–8 XPression Connect User Guide (10.5)
Setting Up a Data Source Rundown
Use rundowns to play out social media provided by a data source.
XPression must be launched and a project loaded before launching XPression Connect, or XPression Connect
will not be able to display scenes in Scene Settings or Preview.
1. In XPression, open or set up a project to be used with XPression Connect.
2. In XPression Connect, add a data source. The options are:
• Inception
• MassRelevance
•Arktan
• Never.No
•Wayin
3. In the Data Sources list, double-click the data source.
The data source opens in the rundown area.
4. In the Source window, click the Refresh button in menu bar to load the Inception, MassRelevance, Arktan,
Never.No, or Wayin data for the rundown.
The Data Source section of the Source window is populated with data.
XPression Connect will download attachments from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram when using Inception data
sources.
To clear a rundown, select File > Clear all items from the window menu.
Cued items can be removed from the feed and the next item will be cued.