← Back to Support
Guide

Content

Everything that can land on a screen — uploads, web URLs, Canva designs, Smart Displays, live streams, and content piped in from your existing tools like Planning Center and OneDrive.

Uploading files

Drag files onto the Content page or click Upload Files. We accept everything you're likely to throw at a screen: JPG, PNG, MP4, PDF, and PPTX. Files start at “Processing” for a few seconds (sometimes a few minutes for big videos) and become “Ready” once they're available on screens.

What happens to videos

Videos are transcoded in the cloud to a format every player understands. The transcoded version is what plays on screens — not your original upload. This is why the displayed file size in the admin may not match the file you uploaded.

What happens to PowerPoint

PowerPoint files are converted to images, one per slide. Each slide becomes its own content item you can add to playlists. Re-uploading the PowerPoint replaces the slides.

What happens to PDFs

PDFs play as multi-page slideshows on screen. One PDF, one content item; the player flips through pages automatically.

For ideal resolutions, bitrates, and compression settings to avoid surprises, see the Content Specs & Formats guide.

Other content sources

Click + Add on the Content page for sources beyond a regular file upload.

URL

Add any web page as a content item; it renders in an iframe. Useful for live dashboards, internal portals, or live event pages.

Canva

Import designs directly from your Canva account. Pick PNG (static) or MP4 (animated). Multi-page designs land as a slideshow content item. See the Canva integration guide.

Smart Display

Compose a custom-built screen: image or color background plus live widgets like clock and weather. Pick the background, position the widgets, and save.

BoxCast / Stream Hub

Add live stream sources (BoxCast, raw HLS, YouTube Live). Use them in Stream Hub auto-takeover schedules so screens switch when a broadcast goes live.

Integration content

TouchPoint birthdays, Planning Center order of service, eSPACE room schedules, Weather, and more — rendered natively for screen, no design work needed. See the integrations guide.

OneDrive / Google Drive folders

Sync a folder; new files land as content items automatically. PowerPoint and Word files get converted to images. Configure in OneDrive / Google Drive integrations.

Folders

The folder sidebar on the Content page is your top-level organization. Common layouts:

  • By ministry — Children, Youth, Adults, Worship, Hospitality.
  • By campus — Main Campus, South Campus, etc.
  • By content type — Slides, Videos, Announcements, Sermon Series.

Click a folder to filter the view. Move content between folders by selecting items and using Move, or by dragging.

Folder permissions

You can restrict a folder to specific team members. They'll see and manage only their folders — useful when, say, the children's director should only touch the Children folder. Admins still see everything.

Nested folders from integrations

TouchPoint and other integrations can write into folder paths (e.g., TouchPoint/Birthdays) so their output stays grouped. Don't manually edit content inside those folders — the integration manages it.

Tags

Tags are an orthogonal way to label content. A piece of content has exactly one folder but can have many tags.

  • Apply tags by selecting items and clicking Tag.
  • Filter by tag to see everything labeled a certain way.
  • Dynamic playlists can auto-populate from a tag filter — tag a new upload sunday-am and it joins the Sunday rotation automatically. See Manual vs Dynamic playlists.

Bulk actions

Click the checkbox on any content item to enter selection mode. From there you can:

  • Tag — apply or remove tags on the selection.
  • Move — relocate to another folder.
  • Delete — remove from the org. (Content that's currently in a playlist will show a warning; integration-managed content is protected from accidental delete and you'll see a helpful 409 error.)

Preview & details

Click any content item to open its preview. From here you can:

  • See exactly what will appear on screen.
  • Rename the item.
  • Replace the file (keeps the same item ID, so every playlist that references it picks up the new version).
  • Add to playlist directly without leaving the page.

Offline caching rules

DisplayCache is offline-first. Every device downloads its assigned content to local storage so playback continues if Wi-Fi drops. But not everything can be cached — some content is inherently live.

What caches

Uploaded files (images, videos, PDFs, PowerPoint slides), Canva imports, Planning Center attachments, OneDrive / Google Drive synced files. Each shows an Offline ready badge once it's downloaded to every assigned device.

What streams (doesn't cache)

YouTube and Vimeo links, BoxCast and HLS live streams, external URLs, and live integration widgets (real-time TouchPoint room schedules, live weather). These need internet at the moment they play.

What happens when Wi-Fi drops

The device skips over uncacheable items and continues with what's cached. Visitors see a normal slide transition, not an error screen. When connectivity returns, streamable items rejoin the rotation on the next loop.

Plan for offline if it matters. If a screen absolutely has to keep going through an internet outage, build that screen's playlist with cached file types (images, videos, Canva) and treat YouTube embeds as a nice-to-have.

The full cache-bar / offline-playback view is on the Devices guide.

File specs & formats

For ideal resolutions, bitrates, compression settings, and what plays smoothly on which player, see the dedicated Content Specs & Formats guide →

Getting content onto a screen

Content sitting in the library doesn't play anywhere by itself. The path is:

  1. Add content items to a playlist.
  2. Assign the playlist to devices via a schedule.
  3. Within a few seconds, the targeted screens switch over.

Stuck?

Email hello@displaycache.com and we'll help.