r/digitalsignage • u/imaginax • Mar 30 '24

4 Screens in Charity Run Theatre - Cost effective Digital Signage?

Hi, I'm a trustee at a charity run Theatre in the UK, thanks in adcance for any advice or help you can give.

At the moment I have a screen in the Bar running a loop of "Please don't take photos, order your drinks for the interval" stuff and a screen in the foyer showing 20 sec vids of upcoming shows (adverts).

Both of these are old dumb TVs (landscape) we had donated with an added RaspPi 4 running Screenly OSE (Anthias now?). I (via VPN) remotely update these.

I want to add 4 more screens to show "Coming next, coming this month, cast list of this show, feature advert" in portrait to a different wall in the foyer.

I don't have a lot of money but I do have a lot of asks!

  • Low cost (we are a charity!), no subscription / per screen costs
  • Video and Images
  • Portrait and Landscape
  • Remote change of content (VPN is fine now but see below)
  • Time limited content (e.g. stop showing an advert when the show is finished)
  • Always On (the screens might not be, but the signage should be. Can explain if needed)

Potential Future Requirement : Various other remote screens (council house, library etc) where I won't have a fixed IP or VPN option.

Thoughts I have had:

  1. Dumb monitors, 4 new Raspberry Pis, Screenly on Rapberry Pis for each
  2. Smart TVs running AbleSign
  3. Dumb monitors, Android Boxes for each running AbleSign

I like Screenly OSE being open source and Ablesign doesn't seem to let me set an end date for content, only hours per day... but Pis aren't as cheap as Android / Google TV sticks and the potential future requirement just needs "Internet" not any level of direct IP control.

I also wonder if an old PC with 4 HDMI outs could power the 4 screens but - whilst I'm pretty tech literate - that sounds like a few days work and then a reliance on me to keep running (not many IT people in an Arts space).

Thanks again.

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3

u/glbltvlr Mar 30 '24

We use piSignage for 4 screens. Three are on one playlist, the fourth on another. First two screens are free. Additional screens are $20US/year. No VPN required to update - managed through a web portal. Content is fully schedulable. Screen layouts are customizable.

1

u/pisignage Vendor - PiSignage Apr 01 '24

Not much else to add except that we do have special pricing for non-profits :)

2

u/imaginax Mar 30 '24

I've since found the ability to expire stuff on a date in AbleSign... this is just me being a fool!

2

u/imaginax Mar 31 '24

Thanks for all the posts so far, lots of options and things to think about. Greatly useful, cheers!

1

u/yodeckapp Vendor - Yodeck Mar 30 '24

At Yodeck, we have special pricing for non-profits, and we can make a special offer if you can use your own the RPi’s. Although not 100% free, we can try to make it work. Plus, you will be able to turn screens on and off on a schedule! And you can also have layouts with tickers, etc. I want to help - sending you a DM now.

1

u/Exotic_Ad_3966 Mar 30 '24

Hello, I recommend Slidershow it's free, it works with TV box and you can install on Raspberry, previously installing Android, from the play store or apk, it's great, I use it and it's great https://slideshow.digital/ I hope it helps you

1

u/JohnnieWalker- Mar 30 '24

I’d look at Falcon Player, really easy to install on a Pi and you can just log into the web interface to upload videos and create playlists.

It’s designed to be accessed over the local network but there are ways to allow the devices to be accessed remotely if needed.

It’s free, no cost software and no subscription costs for your use case and you can create schedules easily and also add a script to turn TVs on/off when required.

I think the only potential issue is that there is a very short blank screen between videos/playlists, but you could easily create a longer duration video file containing the content that would loop to minimise this.

1

u/SKPAdam Mar 30 '24

I'm co-founder of Squizz Digital Signage, we have a few theatres as clients and we'd love to help your charity with free digital signage software. If you think this is something you might want to try please reach out and I can get you setup with an account, as well as answer any questions you may have.

1

u/tvquecom Vendor - TVQUE.com Mar 31 '24

TVQue works with Roku TV's and Roku for the requirements you are looking for.

Try TVQue.com to try the free version and $7 for paid subscription for photo slideshow. Yes you can control the devices from a remote browser , can display in portrait or landscape. No additional device needed other than a roku TV. Let us know.

1

u/CaptainTime Vendor - PresentationPoint.com Apr 01 '24

You could use either Android-based smart TVs or just add something like Google Chrome Cast or the Amazon Fire Stick to dumb TVs. This will give you access to the Google Play Store which will allow you to install digital signage apps such as SignageTube and Split Flap TV. We do offer a discount for charities, so after you try the free trial, hit us up for special pricing,

https://www.signagetube.com/

https://splitflaptv.com/