Everything ScreenlyOS does

Recovers on its own

A screen with nobody near it has to fix itself. ScreenlyOS watches every part of the device and restarts what stops.

• Network watchdog

  If a screen cannot reach Screenly, it restarts its networking after 30 minutes, then again at 1, 2 and 3 hours, and reboots itself after 3.5 hours.

• System watchdog

  If the operating system hangs, the device reboots itself.

• Services that restart themselves

  The player checks in every 90 seconds, and any service that stops is started again within seconds.

• Stuck web pages are stopped

  A web page that hangs is closed so it cannot freeze the screen.

• No black screens on a failed item

  When something fails to load, what is already on screen stays there while the player retries.

• Clock recovery after a power cut

  A device that comes back without a network sets its clock from the newest content it holds, then corrects it from Screenly's servers, so schedules stay right.

• Re-pairs itself

  A screen whose registration was deleted shows a new pairing code on its own.

Updates

Kept current by Screenly, with nothing to schedule or approve.

• Nightly updates

  Each screen checks for updates every night at 3am in its own time zone.

• Updates on demand

  Screenly can send an update to a screen at any time, without waiting for the night.

• Signed updates from Screenly's own store

  Every update is signed and comes from Screenly's own store, with the versions a device may run pinned, so nothing unexpected installs.

• Rollback

  A system update that fails to start rolls back to the version that worked.

• Built on Ubuntu Core

  ScreenlyOS is built on Ubuntu Core 24, in partnership with Canonical.

Playback

What plays, and how it keeps playing.

• Every common format

  Images, animated GIFs, video, audio, PDFs page by page, web pages and apps.

• Live streams and capture devices

  RTSP and RTSPS streams, USB cameras and HDMI capture cards.

  Applies to: Screenly Player Max and other x86 devices

• Offline playback

  Playlists and files are stored on the device and played from it. Downloads are checked before they play, and the device keeps space free.

• Schedules in local time

  Schedules run on the device in its own time zone, through daylight saving changes, without a connection.

• Smooth transitions

  The next item loads about a minute ahead, so it starts without a gap, with fade or push transitions.

• 4K video

  Video up to 3840 by 2160, decoded in hardware.

  Applies to: Screenly Player Max and other x86 devices; Raspberry Pi plays up to 1080p

• Audio

  Sound over HDMI or the 3.5 mm jack, with the volume set remotely and kept after a restart.

Web pages and apps

Live content runs on the device itself, in a modern browser engine.

• Web pages, kept apart

  Each web page gets its own cache and storage, so one page cannot see another's data.

• Pages behind a login

  Custom headers, user agent and language, JavaScript injection and zoom, to sign a page in and fit it to the wall.

• Device certificates for your own pages

  A screen can present its own certificate when it loads a page, so your server serves internal pages only to your screens.

• Your network stays private

  Pages from the internet are blocked from reaching your local network or the device's own services.

• Encrypted app secrets

  API keys and passwords for apps are encrypted for the one device that uses them and decrypted only there.

  Applies to: Held in the TPM on Screenly Player Max

• Apps that step aside

  An app with nothing to show can skip its turn instead of showing an empty screen.

Remote management and diagnostics

Everything you would walk to a screen to do, from the dashboard.

• Remote commands

  Reboot, sync, take a screenshot, factory reset and turn the display on or off, from the dashboard.

• Display power control

  Turns the display on and off over HDMI-CEC or DDC/CI, or by cutting the signal where neither works.

• Screenshots

  Regular and on-demand screenshots of what is on the wall. They never include the pairing code.

• Confidential mode

  Stops screenshots from leaving the device, for screens that show something sensitive.

• Health reports

  Temperature, storage, memory, network, the connected displays, and whether Secure Boot and disk encryption are on.

• Diagnostics on the screen

  Plug in a keyboard for network checks, system details and a device information page with a QR code. The setup screen opens them on its own when the network is down.

• Metrics for your monitoring

  An opt-in Prometheus endpoint, served over HTTPS with the device's own certificate.

• Logs on request

  Logs collected remotely or copied to a USB drive, with Wi-Fi passwords removed.

Networking

A screen joins your network the way a managed laptop does.

• Wi-Fi setup on the screen

  Join a network, including a hidden one, from the screen with a keyboard.

• Static IP and DNS

  Set an address, gateway and DNS servers for wired or wireless.

• 802.1X

  PEAP authentication on Wi-Fi and on wired Ethernet.

• Setup from a USB drive

  Put a network file on a USB drive and the screen applies it, with no keyboard needed.

• Custom time servers

  Point screens at your own NTP servers.

• Tailscale

  Screens join your Tailscale network and reach internal pages and APIs with nothing exposed to the internet.

• Mutual TLS

  Every device has its own certificate for all traffic to Screenly. The key is created on the device and never leaves it.

  Applies to: Key held in the TPM on Screenly Player Max

Security

The device is locked down before it leaves the box.

• Nothing listening

  A firewall drops every incoming connection by default, and there is no remote login.

• Every service confined

  Each part of the player runs in its own confined space, with only the access it needs.

• TPM

  The device's keys and app secrets are held in the TPM.

  Applies to: Screenly Player Max

• Disk encryption

  The disk is encrypted with a key held in the TPM, where the hardware supports it.

  Applies to: Screenly Player Max

• Bluetooth off

  Bluetooth is turned off by default.

• No secrets in reports

  Reports and logs leave out passwords, URL secrets and process details.

Hardware and displays

One operating system across the devices you choose.

• Raspberry Pi

  Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, and Compute Modules 4 and 5, including Sharp displays with one built in.

• Screenly Player Max

  Every generation of Screenly Player Max.

• Scala players

  ScreenlyOS installs on Scala x86 players, so an existing fleet keeps its hardware.

• Rotation per display

  Each display keeps its own rotation, and its settings follow it if it moves to another port.

• Resolution per display

  Choose from the modes the display and the device both support.

Setup

From the box to the wall.

• Pairing by code or QR

  A new screen shows a code and a QR code to add it to your workspace.

• Zero-touch setup

  A USB drive with a provisioning token registers a screen with your workspace, where an admin approves it.

• Factory reset

  Reset a screen from the dashboard or with a USB drive.

Questions