Ribbon
An LED ribbon is the long, thin screen that wraps around a seating bowl — the band of LED panels that shows sponsor logos and promotions above the seats. A rotation is the looping playlist you run on it: a sequence of sponsor images and clips that cycles continuously on its own while you fire slots and run shows. For how the ribbon fits alongside slots, shows, and canvases, see Core concepts.
To open the Ribbon view, select the ad-board icon in the left sidebar — the section sits next to Slots and Shows. Your rotations appear in the Rotations list on the left; the rotation you select fills the rest of the view.
Before you start
A rotation plays onto a ribbon canvas — a canvas shaped like your LED board. Create one first: in the Configuration window, add a canvas and set its Kind to Ribbon. See Ribbon canvases for the steps and the ribbon size presets.
You can create a ribbon canvas and build a rotation with nothing plugged in. The preview stays live the whole time, so you can prepare your sponsor loop ahead of the event and connect the LED controller later.
Create a rotation
- In the Ribbon view, select New Rotation.
- Select the pencil next to the rotation's name to open Edit Rotation.
- Give the rotation a Name — for example, Half-time sponsors or Walk-in loop.
- Set Target canvas to the ribbon canvas the rotation plays on.
- Select Save.
You can keep as many rotations as you like and switch between them whenever you want. Only one rotation plays on a given canvas at a time.
Add content
A rotation is built from a list of items — the images and clips that play one after another, top to bottom, then loop back to the start.
Select + Add content from library to pick media, or drag an image or video file straight onto the list. Drag the handle on the left of a row to reorder items.
Each item has these settings:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Fit | How the media is placed on the ribbon: Center (scaled to fit while keeping its original shape, with empty space around it if the shapes differ), Repeat (tiled side by side across the full width at its natural height), or Stretch (stretched to fill the ribbon exactly, which may distort the image). |
| Duration | How long an image stays on screen. Videos play for their own length, so this has no effect on them. |
| Transition | How the next item arrives: Cut (an instant switch) or Fade (a crossfade). |
| Enabled | Clear this checkbox to skip an item without removing it — useful for content that is not ready yet. Skipped items never stall the loop. |
Go live
Select LIVE in the rotation editor to start the rotation. It begins cycling through its items on the target ribbon canvas right away, and the active rotation shows a LIVE badge in the Rotations list.
To stop, select Stop — the same button, now labelled while the rotation is running. The ribbon returns to black. Starting a different rotation stops the current one and starts the new one.
ArenaDirector remembers the active rotation for each ribbon canvas and your rotations save as you edit them, so everything comes back the way you left it after a restart.
How slots and shows interrupt the ribbon
The ribbon shares its canvas with your slots and shows. When you fire a slot or run a show that targets the ribbon canvas, it takes over the board for that moment and the rotation steps aside on its own.
The rotation's clock keeps running behind the scenes during the takeover, so when the slot or show finishes, the rotation fades back in on whichever item should be showing at that point — never replaying or skipping a sponsor as a side effect of the interruption. You never restart the rotation by hand.
The ribbon gives priority in this order:
- A slot or show that targets the ribbon canvas — takes over for as long as it plays.
- The active rotation — the continuous background loop.
- Black — when no rotation is running and nothing else targets the canvas.