Abstract: A digital signage content management system is provided that uses existing interfaces such as web interfaces and turns existing commercially available graphics programs such as web based tools or locally run programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint® into a digital signage platform to facilitate developing and managing digital signage applications through the creation of smart objects and intelligent templates that are easy to create and easy to modify to suit different applications. This enables digital signage content to be professionally created without requiring custom programming for each and every stream of new and/or changing content. The smart objects and intelligent templates can also be used to provide content with changing elements in real-time.

Abstract: Discloses a method for producing graphical overlay elements on a source video program stream using Microsoft PowerPoint slides as a source of the graphical overlay elements to be overlaid on the source video program stream, including representations of real-time information such as stock quotes or weather data. A computer software algorithm is describe which includes a PowerPoint data objects parser that interacts with PowerPoint data objects and user input to create and control the overlay of PowerPoint graphical elements on the source video program stream. The PowerPoint data objects parser produces enhanced data objects representing the overlay graphic elements that include mask and alpha channel data for use a graphics engine to composite the enhanced data objects of the overlay graphic elements with an input video program stream.