Basic Elements
Screens in Digital Signage

Screens

Add, manage and control your screens, from smart TVs to media players.

About

Each screen represents one device—whether it’s a media player or a smart TV. For every screen, you’ll find detailed information, configurable settings, and available actions, such as rebooting the device, enabling auto-launch, and much more.

Video: Screens

Get Started

Screen setup and settings can vary based on your operating system. Head over to the Setup section to find your OS, learn how to add a screen, and explore the available settings.

Add a screen

Adding a screen happens in two stages. You have to install our app on your device and then link the app to your account at my.playsignage.com.

  • Install the app on your device (find your guide in Setup) and note down the 6-digit code shown on your TV.
  • Go to Screens
  • Click Add Screen
  • Input the 6-digit code
  • Input a name for your screen
  • Add it to a group or to a playlist
  • Toggle on Production
  • Click Add Screen

Remove a screen

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Click Remove

Add a trial screen

Trial screens are for testing only. They show a watermark, and Play can remove them at any time without explanation. Your first production screen is free for 30 days, without a watermark and without a credit card; leave a review within those 30 days and it stays free forever.

  • Install the app on your device (find your guide in Setup) and note down the 6-digit code shown on your TV.
  • Go to Screens
  • Click Add Screen
  • Input the 6-digit code
  • Input a name for your screen
  • Add it to a group or to a playlist
  • Make sure Production is turned off
  • Click Add Screen

Upgrade a trial screen to production

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Trial
  • Click Upgrade

See what content is running on a screen

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Screen Capture
  • Click Click here to view (This is a notification you should be seeing in the top right corner)

Turn on Auto Launch on a screen

We always recommend you have auto-launch activated so that your content automatically starts if the app is closed or if there is a power outage.

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Toggle on Launch player on startup
  • Click Save

Turn on Analytics on a screen

Analytics is only available for the Ultimate subscription package.

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Toggle on Analytics
  • Click Save

Change the time when a screen reloads at night

By default, all screens are scheduled to reload at night; the time of day is not fixed, so you may see some screens reload at 1 AM and others at 12:24 AM. The reason we reload the screens is to prevent the cache from growing and risking a crash or poor performance on the device.

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Find Reload player every day at and change the time
  • Click Save

Turn off showing the top bar

When you move the cursor or use the remote, you’ll notice the top menu bar appearing on your TV. In some cases, you may want to avoid this altogether, for example, on LED signs, billboards, etc. Other scenarios could be preventing users from exiting the app.

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Open Advanced
  • Toggle off Show top menu bar

When the top menu bar is turned off, it will not appear when you move the cursor or use the remote. To bring it up, press Ctrl + O on your keyboard.

Change the orientation to portrait

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • In Display Orientation, choose between Portrait (clockwise) and Portrait (counter-clockwise)
  • Click Save

Find more information about screen orientation.

Transfer a screen from one team to another

If you have multiple teams and you are the owner of, for example, team A and team B, you can transfer screens between those teams.

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Click Transfer Screen
  • In Select New Team, pick the team you’d like to transfer the screen to
  • Click Save

Find more information about transferring screens.

Check how much storage is left on your screen

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Click Information
  • Scroll down to Disc usage

Turn on Screen Share on a screen

You can use screen share privately or with anyone who has the magic link.

Private Screen Sharing

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Click Screen Share
  • Click Start
  • Depending on what computer you’re using, you’ll be asked what to share
  • Click Stop Sharing to stop sharing content to the screen

Public Screen Sharing

  • Go to Screens
  • Click Settings (The gear icon on the right)
  • Click Screen Share
  • Toggle ON Allow public screen share
  • Copy the URL and send it to people who should be able to share to the screen

Find more information about Screen Share.

Options

Options when adding a new screen

  • Screen name (optional) - This is the name of the screen.
  • Group - If you have a group ready, where the screen should be added, find it here.
  • Playlist - If you have no groups or only know what playlist should be running on the screen, find it here.
  • Location (optional) - This is the location of the screen.
  • Notes (optional) - Notes about the screen.
  • Tags (optional) - Add tags to the screen
  • Production - If toggled off, the screen will be added as a trial screen. Toggle it on to add it as a production screen.

Options at the screens overview

  • Connect Indicator - If green, the screen is connected to Play’s cloud. If red, it’s not connected. (Read more)
  • Assigned to group - This is the group that is currently linked to the screen
  • Status Indicator - A green checkmark means the screen has downloaded the latest content. A red exclamation mark means it has not, and you should click Publish.
  • Screen Capture - Click here to see what is running on the screen at that moment
  • Publish - Click here to ask the screen to fetch the latest changes
  • Settings - Open to find settings, information and Screen Share

Screen Capture

Screen Capture lets you view what’s currently playing on your screen—similar to taking a screenshot.

Learn more about Screen Capture

Screen Edges

We added Screen Edges for older TVs as well as LED signs, billboards, etc. An older TV may not always align with a modern media player, so the edges can be a bit off. The same goes for large screens where playlists and content are based on a pixel-by-pixel resolution.

Learn more about Screen Edges

Transfer Screen

Transfer Screen lets you move a linked screen from one team to another without having to remove and re-link it.

Learn more about Transfer Screen

FAQ

Why is the content bigger than my TV’s area?

Use Screen Edges to adjust the screen edges. This is especially useful when you have an older TV or a non-standard TV size.

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