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Core concepts

ArenaDirector gives you two ways to play media during an event: slots you fire by hand in the moment, and shows that run on their own in the background. Those are the two ideas to hold onto — everything else here simply describes what your slots and shows are made of and where they send their sound and video.

Unsure about a word? The Glossary defines every term in one place.

Slots​

A slot is a button you press to play media during an event — a goal horn, a team intro video, a sponsor sting. It is the thing you fire live, in the moment.

Each slot remembers what to play and where to send it, so you set it up once and reuse it all event long. Build your slots on the Slots page.

Slots are arranged on layers — pages of slots you switch between while you work. Layers keep a busy event organized: one layer for goal moments, another for sponsor breaks. You name and arrange them on the Layers page.

Shows​

A show is a saved program that plays in the background of an event — walk-in music, a sponsor loop, or a half-time package. It runs on its own through your chosen mixers and canvases while you focus on firing slots live.

When you fire a slot that needs a mixer or canvas the show is using, ArenaDirector steps the show aside for that moment, then brings it back on its own. Build and run your shows on the Shows page.

The supporting pieces​

The rest of these building blocks describe what slots and shows contain and where they play.

Sources​

A source is the actual media inside a slot — an audio file or a video file.

A single slot can hold more than one source, so one button can fire a sound and a video at the same time. You add the media itself in your Media library, then point a slot's sources at it.

Mixers​

A mixer is an audio destination — a named set of speakers you send sound to, such as the main bowl, the concourse, or a specific zone. Instead of choosing raw speaker channels every time, you pick a mixer.

Because each slot chooses its own mixer, you can send one sound to the whole venue and another to a single zone at the same time. Set up your mixers on the Audio and mixers page.

Canvases​

A canvas is a video destination. You design it at a chosen size and ArenaDirector shows a live preview of it inside the app right away — nothing needs to be plugged in yet.

When you connect the screen a canvas is assigned to, that canvas appears on it full screen automatically. You build and assign canvases on the Canvases page.

Displays​

A display is a physical screen — a video board, a projector, or a monitor. A canvas is what you design; a display is the real-world screen it appears on.

You assign a canvas to a display once, and ArenaDirector remembers the screen even after you unplug it, plug it back in, or restart. You manage these assignments on the Canvases page.

Pipelines​

A pipeline is the behind-the-scenes chain that carries your media from a source all the way to the speakers or a display. It is what lets several slots play at once, each routed to its own destination.

Pipelines run automatically. Most events never need you to touch them, so there is nothing to set up here — this is background knowledge for when you read about how playback works.

How they fit together​

Here is the whole picture. Your media flows through a slot to its destinations, while a show plays quietly in the background.

Read it as three short paths:

  • A source plays through a slot, which sends sound to a mixer and on to your speakers.
  • The same slot sends video to a canvas, which appears on a display.
  • A show feeds the same mixers in the background, so the event always has a bed of sound and video even between the slots you fire.

The background show and your live slots share the same destinations. When you fire a slot that needs a mixer or canvas the show is using, the slot takes over for as long as it plays — and the show resumes automatically the moment the slot finishes. You never have to restart it by hand.

Ready to put this together? Walk through Your first show.