If you're used to building Playlists, Channels, and apps in ScreenCloud Studio, this guide maps those concepts onto Arc's Collections and Layouts.
Quick Comparison
Studio | Arc | What Changed |
Playlist | Collection | Playlists organize content into one container with a play duration. Collections now hold and manage that content directly: posts, feeds, and apps together. |
Channel (content) | Collection | Channels hold multiple Playlists. You can now add multiple Collections directly to a screen, without an extra container. |
Channel (zones) | Layout | Layouts handle the zones, with Layout Apps built to fit each one. |
Channel (scheduling) | Not available | Scheduling isn't available in Arc yet. |
App | Collection or Layout | Apps are created separately, then added to a Channel or Playlist. In Arc, an app lives inside a Collection as content, or as a Layout App filling a zone other than Main. |
Playlists, Channels, and Apps Become Collections
In Studio, you choose between a Playlist, a Channel, or adding an app directly to a screen, and each option works independently.
In Arc, start with your Collection. It's the central point of your screen's content, and it holds everything: posts, feeds, and apps together in one continuous sequence. You can add multiple Collections to a single screen, so there's no need to create a Channel to group them. Apps live inside a Collection directly, so there's no separate step to create one first. Arc determines the play duration and order of the content automatically.
Layouts Add Extra Content Alongside Your Collection
Zone layouts still exist in Arc as their own feature called Layouts, separate from Collections. You start from a Layout Template, a predefined zone pattern such as Main, Bottom & Side, and assign it to a screen.
Use a Layout when you want to display extra content next to your Collection, such as a weather app running beside it. The zones other than Main hold Layout Apps rather than Collections, and you pick a Layout App directly from the zone you're filling.
The Main zone is always reserved for your Collection. In Studio, a Channel's zones can each hold a Playlist. In Arc, only the Main zone holds a Collection.
Note: Channels in Studio can schedule content to change at specific times. Scheduling isn't available in Arc yet.
In Summary
Building your main content? That's your Collection. Add apps, feeds, and posts directly, with no separate Playlist or Apps step.
Arranging it across multiple zones on a screen? That's a Layout, applied to a screen here. Your Collection goes in the Main zone, and Layout Apps fill the rest.
Publishing still works the same way: publish your Collection, and publish your Layout if you're using one.