Glossary A–ZLetter O
Offline operation
In offline operation a player keeps playing even when the connection to the management system drops, because content and schedule are stored on the device.
The screen therefore does not go black just because the network fails.
In practice, connections drop more often than one might think: routers are restarted, the Wi-Fi is overloaded, a mobile data allowance is used up. A player with offline operation downloads new content in advance and plays it from its own storage. It keeps reports of what has played and sends them on once the connection is back.
Continuing has a limit: if contact is gone for long, an offer may be out of date, a price wrong or an event over. The operator therefore sets the period after which a notice appears instead of old content. Content that comes live from the internet, such as web pages or data feeds, does not work offline. The management system should report when a device has not been in touch for a while.