Archive for August, 2008

Feature Focus: Bowling Music Scheduler

August 27, 2008

Last week, the new Bowling Music Player version 5.0 went live for all subscribers. We have been working on this update for quite a while and we were all excited to get it out. Amongst the many new features and updates which shipped as part of the new player was an all new version of the Bowling Music Scheduler and an update to our exclusive Smart Marketing Technology (“SMT”). For those of you not aware of just what exactly SMT is; all you have to know is that it’s an incredibly useful thing that helps you to sell more of what you want to sell. The Bowling Music Scheduler is the front-end to SMT which not only allows you to automate it, but also helps you to automate just about everything you use the Bowling Music Network for.

Bowling Music Scheduler v5.0

The new version of the Scheduler is dramatically easier to use and navigate. It works on a 7-day, time-slot based design which allows you to quickly find the time that you want to insert or change something. We’ve added the ability to schedule Custom Video Playlists and Custom Video Programs, as well as system Volume changes, and even pre-programmed video Marquees. Scheduling music or music-video programs to change is simple and only takes two clicks:

Music/Video Selector

Using the Scheduler to schedule “Content” is where it gets really exciting for bowling center managers and proprietors. With as few as three clicks, you can select from hundreds of preloaded audio and video promotions to help promote things like Food & Beverage, Leagues & Bowling Clubs, Special Events & Event Services, and much more.

Content Selector

There are also tons of other great things preloaded like Safety Messages, Pre-League & Shift Openers, Closing Announcements, and Novelty Dances that can be scheduled to play whenever you need them.

SMT Auto-Update

We know how difficult it is to find time for things like this. When we talk to bowling center staff and managers, everyone agrees that they *should* be using this stuff, but they just don’t have the time to deal with it. For this reason, we created SMT Auto-Update. An all new feature that allows us to create templates of scheduled items and then apply them to individual subscriber accounts or full groups of accounts for multi-location chains. These templates are designed with generic content that will work in any bowling center. The best part is that they will be automatically updated and assigned throughout the year. You no longer have to worry about updating your schedule; we’ll take care of it for you!

If you’d like a more in-depth walk through of the new Bowling Music Scheduler, we welcome you to give us a call at 1-866-684-8324. We would love the opportunity to show you how you can get more by doing less!

-Aaron Lewcock, Partner & Technical Director.

Posted in Bowling Marketing, Bowling Music Technology, Feature Focuses | Leave a Comment »

Version 5.0 Launch Wave

August 4, 2008

We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our early adopters and software testers. Over the last 8 weeks, the preview of our new version 5.0 software update has gone extremely well. We have gathered some tremendously useful information along the way and we would now like to update everyone on what’s coming and when.

The new Bowling Music Player contains hundreds of updates and over 30 new features. Here are some of the ones we think are important.

For Bowling Video subscribers:

  • The video playback engine has been significantly changed and now provides even better and more transparent transitions between music-videos and video content like promotions and enhancers.
  • Music-Video Search has been updated for better and more accurate results.
  • Now Playing now offers simple Drag and Drop of playlist items for faster and more intuitive playlist management.
  • PlayNow Custom Playlists have been updated so that you can now edit saved playlists independently of your Now Playing playlist.
  • PlayNow Custom Programs is a new feature that gives you the ability to build custom music-video programs with built in content ratings. The number of music-video programs is now limitless!
  • Bowling Video Marquees can now be saved for future use and quick implementation.

For all Bowling Music subscribers:

  • The Bowling Music Enhancer has been updated with a new Search feature to help you quickly find what you’re looking for and features fast inline results.
  • We have also added short text descriptions for all promotional and enhancer content so you know what you’re playing before you even click play.
  • Enhancer Favorites is a new feature that allows you to pick up to 16 of your favorite enhancers and save them for quick access.
  • The Bowling Music Scheduler is all new with a more intuitive user interface and now runs on a 7-day, date and timeslot-based design.
  • Scheduling items is faster than ever now with easier to use “Selectors” for each type of schedule item which are designed to better expose item selection. Content Selector presents identical options for searching and discovering content as available in the Enhancer. The Music / Video Selector offers full program descriptions when selecting a program. We have also added the capability of scheduling saved Marquees, custom Video Programs & Playlists, and volume actions to automatically adjust the player’s volume at specified times.
  • SMT Auto-Update is a new feature that allows BMN to create templates of scheduled actions and then apply them to individual subscriber accounts or full groups of accounts for multi-location chains. Templates will be automatically updated and assigned throughout the year. You no longer have to worry about updating your schedule; we’ll take care of it for you!

These are just a few of the new features coming in the version 5.0 update. We know that a lot of BMN subscribers are excited about this update and we want to get it out to you as soon as possible. We also respect that there are many subscribers who are quite happy with the current version. With this in mind, we have limited the design changes on this update. Did you know that Bowling Music Network now services over 650 bowling centers across North America? As the largest and most popular entertainment service provider to the bowling industry, we have to be responsible for how new updates will affect all of our subscribers. You have our guarantee that we will be available to train staff and provide helpful documentation and tutorial videos for the new update.

Release Schedule

On August 18, 2008 we will be opening up the new version to all subscribers who would like to try it out. When you log in to your services, you will be presented with an option to use the new player, or to continue to the old version.

On September 15, 2008 all subscribers will automatically be switched over to the new version. Don’t worry though; all your settings will be automatically migrated. As noted previously, most subscribers won’t even notice any major changes in the player. Just about everything is right where you’ll expect it to be.

If you have any questions or concerns, we welcome you to contact the Bowling Music Helpdesk at 1-866-684-8324. Once again, thank you for your support. We really appreciate your business and look forward to continuing to provide you great value and superior entertainment and marketing services.

Posted in Bowling Music Technology | Leave a Comment »

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