Setting up an Alpha eFlag via a TV Playlist

This guide will help you set up an Alpha eFlag via a webpage connected to the timing, running a TV Timing screen and special playlist.

  If you are trying to connect to an Alpha eFlag over a network to an Alpha eFlag controller, please see this guide.

There are two options on connecting to the eFlag's Video Sender box. 

• If your Timing PC has a secondary display output or you a using a laptop that has a display output, you can plug the display cable directly into the Timing PC
• You can use a second computer connected with a display cable (e.g. HDMI) to the eFlag's Video Sender Box

There are a variety of display ports on computers, but the most common is HDMI. Some newer laptops have started replacing HDMI with the new USB-C port which can output video with the correct cable. The Video Sender Box's input is usually a DVI port. These are some typical computer display ports and a Network port which is used to connect the Video Sender Box to the eFlag display panels. 

Using either option, it is important to get the correct cable that connects to the PCs display port and directly into the Video Sender box's display input (usually DVI port). 

STEP 1: A playlists needs to be configured on the Alpha Timing software running on the Timing PC. The TV and Playlist settings can be accessed by selecting the TV module from the left hand menu. 

Select the Playlist tab from the top. Click the new playlist button to create a new playlist. First, give the playlist the name, then click on the Add new item button to add an item to the playlist.

STEP 2: Add a new item to the playlist called eFlag. Set this to shown for Any session status in the dropdown and set the time to show as -1. Make sure the Type dropdown is set to Screen and in the second screen dropdown select eFlag. 

STEP 3: Adjust the eFlag settings as required e.g. screen size, whether it is a double width display etc then click Update Item. Once you have updated the item on the playlist, press the Save button at the top of the page to save your new eFlag Playlist. This playlist will now appear in the list of playlists on the left.

STEP 4: Now you need to configure the TV Screen for the playlist to be shown on. Connect your eFlag display to either your timing PC or a second PC. Open a web browser and enter the following address into the URL:

On the Timing PC go to http://localhost:8080

On a second PC go to http://[timingPC.local]:8080

You will need to replace [timingPC] with the device name or IP address of the timing computer. To find the device name of your Timing PC, right click on the Start button and select System. To find your PC's local IP address again right click on the Start button and select Network & Internet. Click Properties and look for IPv4 address.

‍Note: It should normally be possible to access the timing computer using it’s machine name, but some devices are unable to resolve the name so the IP address will need to be used.  In this case, please ensure that the timing computer has a fixed IP address.

The first time that the screen has been configured to the timing computer, you will see the following screen:

STEP 5: Return to the timing PC and go to the TVs tab of the TV module. You will see a new TV in the list that corresponds to the information on the TV screen. Click the display and give the TV a name so it’s easy to refer to it later. Select the new eFlag playlist and click save. Do not adjust the size of the TV. 

STEP 6: The newly configured TV display will now show the eFlag playlist. Depending on your setup you may need to configure the display in the PC's Window display settings i.e. keeping the scale at 100%

If the eFlag display is connected as a second PC screen on either the Timing PC or second PC you will need to ensure that in Windows display settings it is set to Extend your display and that the web browser is open on the second screen.

If the eFlag display is the only display connected to the PC then you will need to ensure that in Windows display settings it is set to Duplicate your display. 

More help for your version of Windows can be found on Microsoft's Support Website.

STEP 7: To setup the eFlag go to the Display Settings of the Timing App (Gear icon > Displays).  To use an eFlag make sure the slider set to Enabled and the model should be set to Standard.  If you have connected the eFlag display to the Timing PC use 127.0.0.1 as the IP Address or if using a second PC, use the IP address of the second PC displaying the eFlag playlist.  You can also choose whether the eFlag automatically displays the last lap board or Chequered flag, the number of milliseconds to show a notification after a driver has passed and the colour of the time (double width displays only).

You can select what type of flags are available by ticking the corresponding boxes on the right. 

Your eFlag is now ready to be tested and used. To see how to use the eFlag to show flags and notifications, please see this guide.