Setting up a Collection Middleware Source

This type of Middlewarw Source is used to integrate social media content through our Middleware / Viz Social Plugin with your graphics insertion system allowing you to display, in real-time, Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram posts, Whatsapp messages, Twitch and Youtube comments, On-screen.

When you create this type of Middleware Source, you must associate it to the Collection from which it will take the data.

1. General Settings

Name (1): Naming your Collection Middleware Source is a good practice so that you and your teammates can identify it for later use.
Custom title (2): In the XML or Database; it appears in the title field/column.
Language (3): When a post comes with no Username information, the Collection Middleware Source by default changes To "Unknown Username". You can set the "Unknown Username" to English, Spanish or Portuguese language.
Hide Replied Users (4): You may choose if you wish to hide replied users from tweets.

2. Collection

When you create a Middleware Source of this type, you should assign to it a Collection that contains the posts you will display.

Click on Select to choose a Collection (1)
Select the Collection you want to connect to the Middleware Source (2)

3. Integration

Integration type (1): Select how you want to integrate the data according to the graphics system you have. If it is not listed click others.

Vizrt Integration

Version (2): This refers to the Middleware version. We recommend to always use the higher from the dropdown.
Connect to Middleware (3): Enable it, pick your middleware from the dropdown and find the destination path where the File or Database are being written in your destination unit by the middleware.
Download Media (4): You can choose to download the images and videos your middleware fetches and store them locally. Take into account that videos are available only for version 4.0 onwards.
Download Profile Pictures (5): You can choose to download the user profile pictures your middleware fetches and store them locally.

XML integration

4.1.1 XML Example

<ticker> <widgetId>26926</widgetId>     <title>Sample Ticker DS</title>     <posts>         <post>             <id>770351404896714757</id>             <userName>John Smith</userName>             <screenName>johnsmith</screenName>             <text>             How Social Media can help your Customer Journey - Download for Free http://hubs.ly/H038rYB0 #ebook #customerjourney             </text>             <url> https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/767771568575512576/kp-8wCsF.jpg             </url>             <date>1472501062000</date>             <verified>false</verified>             <publisher>twitter</publisher>             <geolocation>                 <latitude>40.745592</latitude>                 <longitude>-73.987857</longitude>             </geolocation>             <mainMediaURL> http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B89jMqKIgAAM2Fu.jpg:large             </mainMediaURL>             <mainMediaType>jpg</mainMediaType> <localMainMediaPath>/path/to/downloaded/media/image.jpg</localMainMediaPath>             <mainVideoURL> http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B89jMqKIgAAM2Fu.mp4             </mainVideoURL>             <mainVideoType>mp4</mainVideoType> <localMainVideoPath>/path/to/downloaded/media/video.mp4</localMainVideoPath>             <originalUserName>Flowics</originalUserName>             <originalScreenName>flowics</originalScreenName>             <originalUrl>https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1232/maoNYpMK_normal.jpeg</originalUrl>             <originalDate>1472501062001</originalDate>             <originalVerified>true</originalVerified>             <displayUserName>John Smith</displayUserName>             <displayScreenName>johnsmith</displayScreenName>             <displayUrl> https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/767771568575512576/kp-8wCsF.jpg             </displayUrl>             <localAvatarPath>/path/to/downloaded/media/avatar-kp-8wCsF.jpg</localAvatarPath>             <displayDate>1472501062000</displayDate>             <displayVerified>false</displayVerified>         </post>         ...     </posts> </ticker>

4.1.2 Fields Description

Note that some field names change when using the Avid Maestro integration type.

Field	Description	Field (Avid Maestro integration)
ticker.widgetId	Id of the widget.	ticker.widgetId
ticker.title	Title of the ticker, as configured in the Widget.	ticker.title
ticker.posts.post.id	Id of the post within the social network (e.g., id of the Tweet).	ticker.posts.post.idX
ticker.posts.post. userName	Full username within the social network.	ticker.posts.post. userNameX
ticker.posts.post. screenName	Username.	ticker.posts.post. screenNameX
ticker.posts.post.text	Post's text.	ticker.posts.post.text
ticker.posts.post.url	URL to the avatar of the user who generated the post.	ticker.posts.post.urlX
ticker.posts.post.date	Date on which the post was published (milliseconds passed since the epoch).	ticker.posts.post.dateX
ticker.posts.post.verified	Boolean that indicates whether the user who generated the post is verified.	ticker.posts.post.verifiedX
ticker.posts.post.publisher	Indicates the social network in which the post was published (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).	ticker.posts.post.publisher
ticker.posts.post. geolocation.latitude	If present, indicates the latitude in which the post was published.	ticker.posts.post. geolocation.latitude
ticker.posts.post. geolocation.longitude	If present, indicates the longitude in which the post was published.	ticker.posts.post. geolocation.longitude
ticker.posts.post. mainMediaUrl	URL to image posted by the user. It may be empty.	ticker.posts.post. mainMediaUrl
ticker.posts.post. mainMediaType	Image type of the media URL. It may be empty.	ticker.posts.post. mainMediaType
ticker.posts.post. localMainMediaPath	Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty.	ticker.posts.post. localMainMediaPath
ticker.posts.post. mainVideoUrl	URL to video posted by the user. It may be empty.	ticker.posts.post. mainVideoUrl
ticker.posts.post. mainVideoType	Video type of the video URL. It may be empty.	ticker.posts.post. mainVideoType
ticker.posts.post. localMainVideoPath	Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty.	ticker.posts.post. localMainVideoPath
ticker.posts.post. originalUserName	In the case of retweets, full name of the user whose Tweet was retweeted.	ticker.posts.post. originalUserName
ticker.posts.post. originalScreenName	In the case of retweets, username whose Tweet was retweeted.	ticker.posts.post. originalScreenName
ticker.posts.post.originalUrl	In the case of retweets, url of the avatar of the user whose Tweet was retweeted.	ticker.posts.post.originalUrl
ticker.posts.post.originalDate	In the case of retweets, time at which the tweet published was retweeted.	ticker.posts.post.originalDate
ticker.posts.post.originalVerified	In the case of retweets, boolean that indicates whether the user whose Tweet was retweeted is verified.	ticker.posts.post.originalVerified

The following fields help with the proper compliance with the guidelines for viewing contents. E.g., for Twitter these fields will contain the information of the tweet and original user, and may display correctly both tweets as RTS.

ticker.posts.post.displayUserName	Full Name of the user in the Social Network that should be displayed.	ticker.posts.post.displayUserName
ticker.posts.post.displayScreenName	Username to be displayed.	ticker.posts.post.displayScreenName
ticker.posts.post.displayUrl	URL to the avatar of the user that should be displayed.	ticker.posts.post.displayUrl
ticker.posts.post.localAvatarPath	Full path to downloaded avatar image taken from 'displayUrl'.	ticker.posts.post.localAvatarPath
ticker.posts.post.displayDate	Date of the post that should be displayed (milliseconds since the epoch).	ticker.posts.post.displayDate
ticker.posts.post.displayVerified	Boolean indicator verified user that should be displayed.	ticker.posts.post.displayVerified

Database integration

When using this kind of integration, a database table with the following columns is created. The type of columns is textual. For the specific type, check the middleware configuration, but they typically are text for MySQL or PostgreSQL and ntext for Microsoft SQL Server.

Column	Description	Column (Avid Maestro integration)
widgetId	Id of the widget (same value for each row).	widgetId
title	Title of the ticker, as configured on the Widget (same value for each row).	title
id	Id of the post within the social network (e.g., id of the Tweet).	idX
userName	Full username within the social network.	userNameX
screenName	Username.	screenNameX
text	Post's text.	text
url	URL to the avatar of the user who generated the post.	urlX
date	Date on which the post was published (milliseconds passed since the epoch).	dateX
verified	Boolean that indicates whether the user who generated the post is verified.	verifiedX
publisher	Indicates the social network in which the post was published (e.g., twitter, facebook, instagram).	publisher
geolocation_latitude	If present, indicates the latitude in which the post was published.	geolocation_latitude
geolocation_longitude	If present, indicates the longitude in which the post was published.	geolocation_longitude
mainMediaUrl	URL to image posted by the user. It may be empty.	mainMediaUrl
mainMediaType	Image type of the media URL. It may be empty.	mainMediaType
localMainMediaPath	Full path to downloaded image taken from 'mainMediaUrl'. It may be empty.	localMainMediaPath
mainVideoUrl	URL to video posted by the user. It may be empty.	mainVideoUrl
mainVideoType	Video type of the video URL. It may be empty.	mainVideoType
localMainVideoPath	Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty.	localMainVideoPath
originalUserName	In the case of retweets, full name of user whose Tweet was retweeted.	originalUserName
originalScreenName	In the case of retweets, name of user whose Tweet was retweeted.	originalScreenName
originalUrl	In the case of retweets, url of the avatar of the user whose Tweet was retweeted.	originalUrl
originalDate	In the case of retweets, time at which the tweet published was retweeted.	originalDate
originalVerified	In the case of retweets, boolean that indicates whether the user whose Tweet was retweeted is verified.	originalVerified

displayUserName	Full Name of the user in the Social Network that should be displayed.	displayUserName
displayScreenName	Username to be displayed.	displayScreenName
displayUrl	URL to the avatar of the user that should be displayed.	displayUrl
localAvatarPath	Full path to downloaded avatar image taken from 'displayUrl'.	localAvatarPath
displayDate	Date of the post that should be displayed (milliseconds since the epoch).	displayDate
displayVerified	Boolean indicator verified user that should be displayed.	displayVerified

JSON File integration

6.1.1 JSON Example

{ "widgetId":34310, "title":"Ticker JSON", "posts":[ { "id":"1313886440342859777", "userName":"blackbird", "screenName":"artsportfun", "text":"Lionel Messi as Picasso artwork.\n#Messi", "url":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1273927994248237056/SQbufxfs_reasonably_small.jpg", "date":1602089912000, "verified":false, "publisher":"twitter", "geolocation":null, "mainMediaUrl":"http://pbs.twimg.com/media/EjvcwBWWoAAJC7Z.jpg:large", "mainMediaType":"image/jpeg", "mainVideoURL":null, "mainVideoType":null, "originalUserName":"", "originalScreenName":"", "originalUrl":"", "originalDate":"", "originalVerified":"", "displayUserName":"blackbird", "displayScreenName":"artsportfun", "displayUrl":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1273927994248237056/SQbufxfs_reasonably_small.jpg", "displayDate":1602089912000, "displayVerified":false, "localMainVideoPath":"", "localAvatarPath":"C:\\Midlleware test\\media\\https\\3rd-cdn.flowics.com\\dbadb934889b5bedd77b92e0e8c17199fd070d4b.jpg" }, { "id":"1313886950647099393", "userName":"Yanger Jamir", "screenName":"YangerJ24108662", "text":"@Lionel_Messi_ID Leo please don't be discouraged you are the best player....when you are sad I feel you but nothing is impossible.. bring the la Liga home #messi", "url":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1230915842172321792/aGwL_eQe_reasonably_small.jpg", "date":1602090034000, "verified":false, "publisher":"twitter", "geolocation":null, "mainMediaUrl":null, "mainMediaType":null, "mainVideoURL":null, "mainVideoType":null, "originalUserName":"", "originalScreenName":"", "originalUrl":"", "originalDate":"", "originalVerified":"", "displayUserName":"Yanger Jamir", "displayScreenName":"YangerJ24108662", "displayUrl":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1230915842172321792/aGwL_eQe_reasonably_small.jpg", "displayDate":1602090034000, "displayVerified":false, "localMainVideoPath":"", "localAvatarPath":"C:\\Midlleware test\\media\\https\\3rd-cdn.flowics.com\\4cff42e9a49ae719043434106b08d5618e2e2ceb.jpg" }, { "id":"1313889353710542849", "userName":"Nexho_11", "screenName":"Nexho__11", "text":"#CFC #MESSI #CHELSEAFC", "url":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1263412725780303874/LvAkrt52_reasonably_small.jpg", "date":1602090607000, "verified":false, "publisher":"twitter", "geolocation":null, "mainMediaUrl":null, "mainMediaType":null, "mainVideoURL":null, "mainVideoType":null, "originalUserName":"", "originalScreenName":"", "originalUrl":"", "originalDate":"", "originalVerified":"", "displayUserName":"Nexho_11", "displayScreenName":"Nexho__11", "displayUrl":"https://3rd-cdn.flowics.com/3rd/https/pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1263412725780303874/LvAkrt52_reasonably_small.jpg", "displayDate":1602090607000, "displayVerified":false, "localMainVideoPath":"", "localAvatarPath":"C:\\Midlleware test\\media\\https\\3rd-cdn.flowics.com\\222cc504f7d67ccc3057036fc5d81758be6472e8.jpg" } ] }

6.1.2 Fields Description

Field	Description
widgetId	Id of the Widget
title	Title of the ticker, as configured in the Widget.
posts.id	Id of the posts. within the social network (e.g., id of the Tweet).
posts.userName	Full username within the social network.
posts.screenName	Username
posts.text	Post's text.
posts.url	URL to the avatar of the user who generated the post.
posts.date	Date on which the post was published (milliseconds passed since the epoch).
posts.verified	Boolean that indicates whether the user who generated the post is verified.
posts.publisher	Indicates the social network in which the post was published (e.g., twitter, facebook, instagram).
posts.geolocation	If present, indicates the latitude and longitude in which the post was published.
posts.mainMediaUrl	URL to image posted by the user. It may be empty.
posts.mainMediaType	Image type of the media URL. It may be empty.
posts.mainVideoUrl	URL to video posted by the user. It may be empty.
posts.mainVideoType	Video type of the video URL. It may be empty.
posts.originalUserName	In the case of retweets, full name of user whose Tweet was retweeted.
posts.originalScreenName	In the case of retweets, name of user whose Tweet was retweeted.
posts.originalUrl	In the case of retweets, url of the avatar of the user whose Tweet was retweeted.
posts.originalDate	In the case of retweets, time at which the tweet published was retweeted.
posts.originalUserName	In the case of retweets, full name of user whose Tweet was retweeted.
posts.originalVerified	In the case of retweets, boolean that indicates whether the user whose Tweet was retweeted is verified.
posts.localMainMediaPath	Full path to downloaded image taken from 'mainMediaUrl'. It may be empty.
posts.localMainVideoPath	Full path to downloaded video taken from 'mainVideoUrl'. It may be empty.

posts.displayUserName	Full Name of the user in the Social Network that should be displayed.
posts.displayScreenName	Username to be displayed.
posts.displayUrl	URL to the avatar of the user that should be displayed.
posts.displayDate	Date of the post that should be displayed (milliseconds since the epoch).
posts.displayVerified	Boolean indicator verified user that should be displayed.
posts.localAvatarPath	Full path to downloaded avatar image taken from 'displayUrl'.

Configuring the Viz Flowics Middleware

Setting up a Counter Middleware Source

Setting up a Social Poll Middleware Source

Setting up a Flock to Unlock Middleware Source

Setting up a Flow Middleware Source