Images

Follow these simple steps to add images to your content.

Add an image to your library

• Go to Library
• Click + Upload assets or simply drag and drop images from your computer

Play automatically converts your file, if it's not optimized for digital signage

Add an image to your content

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide or add a new slide
• Click Assets (Top menu)
• Find your image, then click it

Remove an image from your content

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide
• Click the image you want to remove
• Click delete on your keyboard or Remove (Top menu)

Crop an image

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide
• Click the image you want to crop
• Click Crop Image (Alignment and cropping in settings on the right)
• You can use the default styles at the top, you can move the blue-outlined points, and you can manually type in width and height.
• Click Save

Cropping an image is also useful if you're wanting to make an image smaller. For example, if your screen is running HD and the image is 4K, we recommend you make it smaller. Check out Cropping Images.

Lock and unlock an image

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide
• Click the image you want to lock or unlock
• Click Lock (Alignment and cropping in settings on the right)

Locking an image means the image can not be removed, resized or moved on the canvas. Make sure you set the permissions in Playlist settings. Check out Locking Objects.

Find and add an image from Unsplash

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide or add a new slide
• Click Unsplash (Top menu)
• Type what you're searching for (The results update on the fly)
• Click the image to add it to your canvas

Find and add an image from Pixabay

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide or add a new slide
• Click Pixabay (Top menu)
• Click Image
• Type what you're searching for (The results update on the fly)
• Click the image to add it to your canvas

Adding multiple images to a playlist

There are two ways you can add multiple images to a playlist. You can add multiple images to a slide, or you can add multiple images to the playlist (This is what we're exploring in this example).

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Click Assets
• Check the images you'd like to add
• Click Create slide per asset
• Set the slide duration
• Set a transition
• Open Advanced to set scaling and background color
• Open Slide conditions to add a slide condition to all slides
• Click Create Slides

When using this feature, Play creates one slide per image that you're adding, so adding 50 images to a playlist takes only a few seconds. This feature is also referred to as Multi Create. 

Add images from Google Drive

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide or add a new slide
• Click Assets (Top menu)
• In the pop up open Google Drive (You can search or sort by folder)
• Find your image, then click it to add it

Before you can use images from your Google Drive you have to link your Google Drive to Play, check out Google Drive to see how you add it to Play.

Using Google Drive as your content

• Go to Playlists
• Open the playlist you're working on
• Find your slide or add a new slide
• Click Plugins (Top menu)
• Search for Google Drive, click Google Drive

This may seam confusing since we just talked about adding images from Google Drive. At Play we offer to ways of using Google Drive. You can connect your Google Drive in your library and use one or many files from Google Drive in your content, or you can link a Google Drive folder (One that holds all your images). Check out Google Drive Folder.

Which file types are supported?

We support most formats; see supported file types.

What is the recommended file type?

In general, photos should be in JPG or PNG format. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files are also a great choice. Vector graphics scale without losing quality.

Can I replace an Image?

Yes, click the image, and you'll find Replace Assets on the right side (Settings). Keep in mind if you replace an image, it will be replaced anywhere it's used.

Can I lock the position of an image?

You can lock any object you have in your content. Locking an object ensures that the object stays where it’s supposed to be, and can not be resized or removed; read more about Locking Objects.

What is the recommended image resolution in pixels?

The best resolution for images depends on which kind of TV and media player you have. HD format (1920×1080) will be sufficient in most cases; however, if you have a 4K (3840 × 2160) setup, then you should use images in 4K resolution for the most optimal quality.

We don’t recommend using higher-resolution images than your setup capability. If your TV is capable of 1920×1080 pixels, using a large  4K (3840 × 2160) image will only make it more difficult for the player to load and render, as it has 4 times the pixels and needs to be downscaled, thus slowing down your player device. The same reasoning can be applied for images that you’re not using in full screen – if your image only takes up a quarter of the space on the canvas, you should use (roughly) equivalent resolution.

The image has changed upon uploading

Our service will automatically try to optimize the image to reduce the file size – this is to keep our storage space low and also make the service faster, as smaller files load faster. PNG lossless files that have no transparency (alpha channel) are converted to lossy JPG format, but we try to keep the loss in quality as little as possible.

If your image is larger than 4K resolution 3840 × 2160 (or  2160 x 3840 for portrait images), it will be automatically scaled down to 4K resolution while maintaining an aspect ratio. This is because there is no practical use for gigantic images and they can potentially crash entry-level players with limited RAM.

If you need higher resolution images, say for a video wall configuration, you can turn off this option in Profile -> Default Values -> Library defaults -> Downscale high-resolution content to 4k

My 4K image is blurry

If you have a lot of information in a 4K image, such as a lot of text in a food menu, the fine details may become blurred or unreadable in your content. A workaround to this issue is to convert your image to a short 4K video. You may use the software of your choice to do so. Below are a couple of examples.

Convert image to 5 second 4k video using ffmpeg command line tool:
ffmpeg -loop 1 -i input.png -t 5 -vf "scale=3840:2160:flags=lanczos" -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset medium -pix_fmt yuv420p -r 30 -movflags +faststart output.mp4 Convert image to 5-second 4K video using DaVinci Resolve 20:

1. Start a 4K project/timeline

Open Resolve → New Project.

Click the gear icon (bottom-right) → Master Settings.

Set Timeline Resolution to 3840 × 2160 Ultra HD. Click Save.

Tip (slideshow): If you’ll add lots of photos, set the default still duration now: DaVinci Resolve → Preferences → User → Editing → Standard Still Duration.

2. Import your image(s)

Go to the Edit page.

File → Import → Media… and choose your photo(s).

Drag them to the timeline in the order you want.

3. Make the image fill the 4K frame (no black bars)

Select the clip on the timeline → open the Inspector → under Transform, adjust Zoom/Position as needed.

If your image aspect ratio doesn’t match, set scaling behavior: Project Settings → Image Scaling → Input Scaling and pick:

Scale entire image to fit (keeps full image, may add bars), or

Scale full frame with crop (fills frame, crops edges). Click Save.

4. Control how long the image stays on screen

Right-click the clip → Change Clip Duration… and enter the length (e.g., 00:00:05:00 for 5 seconds).

5. Export a real 4K file

Go to the Deliver page.

Render Settings → Custom Export.

Format: MP4

Codec: H.264

Resolution: 3840 × 2160; set your desired Frame rate (e.g., 24/30/60).

Add to Render Queue → Render All.

If you see a warning about "render higher than timeline resolution," your timeline isn’t 4K—go back to step 1 and set Timeline Resolution to 3840×2160