.. _audience-about-index:

About Audience Display (Windows App Version)
============================================

Introduction
------------

Audience Display is a software program, built and distributed by *FIRST* that is used to relay game and status information from FMS to the Audience at the venue and online
(via the live stream, if applicable). The Audience Display can either be run as a standalone application or as a web app on a separate machine connected to the field network via Ethernet, it cannot run on *FIRST* 
Servers. This manual will walk through the available displays, configuration options, and best practices related to the Audience Display.

.. important::
   Please do not install the Audience Display on official *FIRST* servers ("case 33") - use the laptop marked Audience Display instead

Wiring Audience Display
-----------------------

In order to connect to FMS, the Audience Display must have a wired connection to FMS. The Audience Display needs to be on the same network as the FMS
machine. 

Opening Audience Display
------------------------

.. image:: images/about-audience-display-0.png
   :alt: Audience Display Icon: The FIRST Logo inside a computer monitor
    :align: center
    :width: 200

To open the Audience Display, after installation, simply double-click on the television icon containing the *FIRST* logo for either the "Primary" or "Secondary" display. 
In most cases, only a single instance (the "Primary") is needed. In some cases, it may be useful to have a second instance running (the "Secondary") to retrieve additional graphics or 
looks. Consult with the FTA and/or *FIRST* Engineering before using the Secondary Display. A splash screen will be displayed while background processes complete, and the display will 
go to either the Background, or, if instructions are actively being sent (such as during a match) will jump to the appropriate position for that point in time.

Audio Output
------------

The game sounds commonly associated with FRC events, such as the start of match 'charge' sound and the end of match buzzer, are processed by the Audience Display. On *FIRST*
official fields, output is made available for the venue from either a standard 1/8" female connection ("headphone jack") on a laptop that runs the Audience Display, or the HDMI connection
(if using HDMI for video as well). Either audio configuration can be configured using Windows Audio configuration.

.. note::
   In order to hear game sounds, the Audience Display program must be running

Event Setup Order
-----------------

It is highly recommended that you do not run the Audience Display program until after initial configuration of the event is complete through
the Event Wizard. Opening the programs out of order may result in freezing while event data is attempting to process.

Hover Menu
----------

The Audience Display has a Hover Menu, accessible by simply hovering over the icon in the Taskbar. The menu provides additional functionality not accessible anywhere
else in the Audience Display.

.. image:: images/about-audience-display-1.png
    :align: center
    :width: 250

From left to right, the hover icons are:

[*Open Config Panel*] Open the config panel, the same as using the hotkey combination

[*Center Display*] Arrange the display to the center of the current monitor

[*Reset To Primary Display*] Force the program to go to the primary display, centered, as determined by which display has your taskbar

[*Play Sound Once*] Play a single test sound

[*Play Sound Looping*] Loop a test track for audio testing and tuning

[*Play Match Result Animation Test*] Runs the Post-Result animation one time in order to verify render quality


Closing Audience Display
------------------------

To close the software, either right-click on the taskbar icon and select 'Close window' or use the Windows hotkey combination of ALT-F4 (making sure the active window is the Audience Display)