Understanding Unified View - E500

Unified View in Skykit Beam Collections is designed to support video wall configurations with the E500 Media Player.

This guide explains what Unified View is, what hardware you need to use it, and how to set it up within your Collections.

What is Unified View?

Unified View is a specialized layout orientation option within Skykit Beam Collections. Unlike standard Landscape or Portrait layouts, which are designed to play content on a single physical screen, Unified View layouts are designed for video wall configurations.

When you select a Unified View layout, you are telling Skykit Beam to treat multiple connected displays as a single large screen. The layout grids available in Unified View correspond directly to how your physical screens are arranged on the wall [1].

For example, if you have four screens mounted in a horizontal row, you would use a 4x1 Unified View - Landscape layout. You can then add a single piece of content to that layout, and Skykit will stretch it across all four screens.

Hardware Requirements: E500 Media Player

To use Unified View layouts, you must have the appropriate hardware. Unified View is exclusively designed for tenants using the Skykit E500 Media Player [2].

The E500 is a commercial-grade media player built specifically for multi-display setups. It features four HDMI outputs, allowing a single device to drive up to four separate screens simultaneously [1].

Because the E500 handles synchronization across its four HDMI ports, the Unified View layouts in Beam only need to match the physical configuration set up on the E500 device [1].

Available Unified View Configurations

Depending on how your screens are mounted and connected to your E500 media player, you can choose between two primary orientations.

Unified View - Landscape

Use this option when your physical screens are mounted horizontally.

• 2x1: Two screens side by side
• 2x2: Four screens arranged in a square (two on top, two on bottom)
• 3x1: Three screens side by side
• 4x1: Four screens side by side

Unified View - Portrait

Use this option when your physical screens are mounted vertically.

• 1x2: Two screens stacked vertically
• 1x3: Three screens stacked vertically
• 1x4: Four screens stacked vertically
• 2x2: Four screens arranged in a square (two on top, two on bottom)

How to Use Unified View in Collections

Setting up a Unified View layout is similar to setting up a standard layout.

1. Navigate to Collections in the Skykit Beam main menu.
2. Create a new Collection or open an existing one.
3. Click Add Entry or Create Entry.
4. In the Choose a Base Layout window, click the Select Orientation dropdown.
5. Select either Unified View - Landscape or Unified View - Portrait, depending on your physical screen setup.
6. Click the specific grid layout that matches your video wall, such as 4x1.
7. Click Create Entry.

Once the layout is added to your Collection, you will see a layout builder that reflects your multi-screen grid. You can then click the + icon in any zone to add content, playlists, or programs as you normally would.

Note: A blue E500 Unified Display badge appears in the layout builder to indicate that this layout requires an E500 media player to display correctly.

References

[1] Skykit Support. E500 User Manual. https://support.skykit.com/docs/e500-installation-guide

[2] Skykit Support. How to Set Up Collections & Layouts (New Edition). https://support.skykit.com/docs/how-to-set-up-collections-layouts