April 2, 2020 - Ross Video Team, Ross News
Modernize Your User Experience With DashBoard 9.0
Ross Video’s release of DashBoard 9.0 focuses on modernizing the user experience. A key part component of the release is the introduction of the Aura theme. DashBoard is free for download on Ross Video’s website.
If you use or develop using DashBoard, you will be familiar with the traditional look and feel of its native controls. Specified using openGear Markup Language (OGLML), our user community has been craving an update to the default DashBoard user experience.
All new installations of DashBoard 9.0 will come with the new theme, Aura, selected by default. Aura applies to all DashBoard user interface elements and uses the flat, modern style popular among cutting edge user interfaces.
“Aura is the start of something new, something bold. It’s a re-envisioning of how our ecosystem of products look and feel, about how our users engage with them, and the efficiencies they can achieve. Consistency, accessibility, and the effective use of color are areas we’ve spent an immense amount of time to ensure we get it right”. – Shawn Snider, Vice-President, Production Workflow & Cloud Services
To learn more about the inspiration for Aura, please watch our introductory video.
Our designers thoughtfully chose some new, bright and fresh colors for use in the DashBoard interface. You’ll immediately notice the bright blue that appears by default when controls are interacted with.
In addition to this blue, we’ve updated our color palette with highlight colors that can be used to draw user’s attention to the mission-critical functionality being built into CustomPanels.
One of the most noticeable changes to DashBoard 9.0 is the removal of the bold gradient that was previously used throughout the interface. We’ve flattened many elements and softened others. This change has reduced the visual information being presented to the user and, as a result, will improve the tactile usability of the DashBoard control interfaces.
We have also restyled the iconic DashBoard interface control elements using the very same flat aesthetic. Additionally, we’ve performed usability testing to ensure that the user experience on touch devices is as good or better than the equivalent widgets from previous versions of DashBoard
We have received strong reactions to Aura’s new look. Some people love the flat style of our new buttons, sliders and touchwheels, while others prefer the more realistic style used in Classic mode.
Importantly, as the team began the work on Aura, we were mindful of the large number of CustomPanels that have been created by customers and partners. All panels using default DashBoard styles will instantly receive an facelift to the modern style when 9.0 is used, but some heavily customized panels will be required to use the Classic theme.
We recognize that people have different tastes and will happily support both Classic and Aura themes going forward.
Furthermore, there are two other improvements to DashBoard that enhance users’ experience, specifically, our new EQ graph widget and enhancements as to how cameras are controlled.
In the audio processing domain, equalization controls allow you to adjust the volume and frequency of any audio signal to remove any imperfections. Ross Video has historically supported this functionality, and now, with the introduction of the EQ graph widget in DashBoard, users can adjust the parameters to achieve the sound they’re looking for.
To learn more about the EQ graph and see it in action, please check out this video.
For the past year, our Camera Motion Systems team have been investing in enhancing the camera control user experience. In this latest release of DashBoard, the key enhancements to camera control now support:
Joystick control
PT head control for Furio and CamBot Pan/Tilt heads
Axis configuration and limits
Preset acceleration and deceleration settings
To learn more about the enhancements to camera control, please check out this video.
While DashBoard is a free product, most of DashBoard’s native camera control functionality does require a license.
DashBoard 9.0 is available free for download from Ross Video’s website.
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DashBoard is a free and open platform offered by Ross Video for facility control and monitoring that enables users to quickly build unique, tailored CustomPanels that make complex operations simple. DashBoard provides control and monitoring to hundreds of products from more than 80 partners within the openGear and DashBoard Connect ecosystem, and of course most Ross Video products.
Ross Video has recently made a significant investment in the size of the DashBoard development team with the goal of delivering on three promises:
Deliver a Modern & Effective User Experience – an attractive, easy to use interface decreases the barrier to adoption.
Create an Enterprise-ready Platform – prepares us for bigger projects and bigger customers.
Nurture a Vibrant Community – a worldwide community of internal and external developers means easier access to tips and tricks that solve even the very trickiest of problems.
In the coming months, you will witness us making continuous changes and improvements to the software to deliver on these promises.
We’ll put you in touch with a member of our team to discuss your specific needs.