ErsatzTV/docs/user-guide/filler.md

Filler is content that is used to fill otherwise unscheduled gaps, and to pad primary content to a desired time.

Filler Kinds

There are a number of filler kinds supported by ErsatzTV:

• Pre-roll: filler that plays before each media item
• Mid-roll: filler that plays between chapters within each media item
• Post-roll: filler that plays after each media item
• Tail: filler that plays after all media items/filler and before the next schedule item
• Fallback: filler that is looped and cut as needed to fill any remaining gaps

Filler Modes

Pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll filler support the following modes:

• Count: play a specific number of filler items from the collection
• Duration: play as many complete filler items that will fit in the specified duration
• Pad: after all other filler has been added, pad using additional filler until the wall clock minutes are a multiple of the selected number

Filler Presets

To add filler to a schedule, a filler preset must first be created under Lists > Filler Presets. Once a filler preset is created, it can be attached to any number of schedule items in the schedule items editor.

Sample Preset: Trailers Pre-Roll

This preset will play exactly three items from the All Trailers smart collection before each media item.

Sample Preset: Pad To 30 Minutes With Commercials

This preset will pad each media item to 30 minutes using items from the Short Commercials smart collection. Because mid-roll is selected as the filler kind, the filler will be approximately evenly distributed between chapters.