Interview with a Trainer

Have you ever wondered if there were some secret features in Venus 1500 V4 that you don’t know about?  Have you ever got off the phone with one of our trainers and thought, wow, how do they know so much about this software?

Well, this week I sat down with our trainers and asked them a few questions.  Some of the questions were about the Venus 1500 V4 software, and some were about the trainers themselves.

We also asked each trainer to give you a Trainer Tip.

So sit back and relax, while we get to know the Software Training Group.

Q:  What could people do with their displays to show their holiday spirit this year?

A:  The media kit has several pre-made holiday pieces customers can add to their schedule. In addition to that, we have some great pieces from the Textures category to add some sparkle to their signs just in time for the New Year. 

Our Daktronics creative services group offers some amazing content in the media library.  Check out their extra pieces for sale at http://buy.daktronics.com/. 

For a smaller display, there is a really fun Santa sleigh and reindeer in the character map – and if you put that in a scrolling text, the sleigh and reindeer fly across the marquee!

Trainer Tip:  If you love the idea of having Santa fly across your display for Christmas time, then by all means please read our blog post on Scrolling Characters!  It’s a great way to get people to notice your message center by adding some movement.  Remember, movement gets people’s attention more than static messages.

If you’ve ever attended one of our trainings then you should have received an invitation to join our Venus 1500 Training Alumni page on Facebook.  This page is an online forum for software support where you can ask questions and even help out other users.

If you’ve never taken a training from us or received an invitation to join our Facebook page, but are interested in joining, then please email us at softwaretraining@Daktronics.com and let us know.

If you visit our page right now you will see that we have a holiday contest going on until December 14th!  So, another thing you could do to show your holiday spirit is to post a picture of your display on our Facebook page for a chance to win a free holiday-themed content package just in time for Christmas!

Q:  What is the craziest question anyone has asked you?

A:  A customer once wanted to play a 30-minute video of someone giving a speech, but the display didn’t have sound; it was just a marquee.  They didn’t care! One of our trainers also was recently asked if she was married!  Ooh la la!!

Trainer Tip:  Importing videos and animations into Content Studio is quick and easy. Import from 3 places: the Quick Insert Panel in the Home Tab, the Media Panel in the Insert Tab, and the Daktronics Media Library.

Just remember to always make sure that you are importing one of our supported file types that are uncompressed: .avi, .mp4, .mpg, .mpeg, .mov, and .wmv.  They must also be 24 bit and 30 FPS.

For more information on video requirements for Venus 1500 V4, please click here:  What are the video and audio specs or requirements for Venus 1500 v3, v4, Show Control Systems and Visiconn?

Q:  What question do you get asked the most?

A:  We get two questions asked of us a lot.  The first being, “Can I get extra animations?”  A lot of people also ask, “How can I make this message look better?” Or, they will create something and ask my opinion of it. I always put myself in a potential viewer’s spot and ask myself, if I saw that piece of content while going by the business, would I stop?

Trainer Tip: You can find extra animations by visiting our e-commerce site where you can choose from all kinds of different content packages to purchase.  There are even quite a few you can get for free!

If you find yourself wondering if there’s something you can do differently to make your content look better,  check out our complimentary Content Best Practices brochure, which provides color and text recommendations to create unique, eye-catching content that is bold and legible.

Q:  What is a cool feature about Venus 1500 V4 that you think people might not know about?

A:  Our trainers mentioned a couple cool features.  The first was the Smooth Text Feature.  The second is using the color picker to create a background color in a text box. Then the  text box can cover up something in an image you don’t want to show.

Trainer Tip:  For step-by-step instructions on using the Smooth Text feature in Venus 1500 V4, please click on the following Knowledge Base Article:  How do I use the Smooth Text feature in Venus 1500 v4?.

If you like the idea of using the color picker in Content Studio and want to know more, then be sure to check out our 2-part blog series on Adding Color Using Text Boxes.

Q:  What is the neatest thing you have ever seen someone do on their display?

A:  A customer used the animation from the Media Library called “deep sea,” but when importing it, they cropped off the bottom of the video, and then used the “stretch to fill” feature.  Since the portion of the video they were importing was just dark blue with some bubbles rising up, it didn’t distort.  Then they added a colored text box on top.  It looked nice!

Q:  What’s your favorite thing about being a trainer?

A:  We all had similar feelings about this one, which I’m sure you can guess!  Here is what was actually said: “I love helping people learn the software! It’s so gratifying when someone ‘gets it,’ and I love the sense of accomplishment that customers have when they’ve created some amazing content!” “Every day is different. Our group gets to interact with a variety of customers. I get joy from helping customers.”

Like we always say, thank you so much for reading, and please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or ideas for future posts!

Oh, and don’t forget to post a picture of your display on our Facebook page for a chance to win a free holiday-themed content package!!

P.S.  Remember, if you are interested in joining our Facebook group, then please email us at softwaretraining@Daktronics.com and let us know.  Thanks again!