Developing a Digital Signage Strategy with Chromebit

Using a Chromebit for digital signage requires some hardware and a process with several steps.  Once the configuration is complete, making changes to the signage content is nearly trivial.

The hardware:

• A Chromebit with Kiosk License ($24)

• A wireless keyboard and mouse (either Bluetooth or RF)

• A TV screen or projector with an available HDMI port

The Chromebit must be enrolled as a managed Chrome device in your Google Domain. The process for enrolling a Chromebit is the same as for other Chrome OS devices:

• connect the hardware to the TV
• connect the keyboard and mouse
• select a WiFi network
• press Ctrl+Alt+E and enroll the Kiosk license

Once enrolled, the device will appear at the top level of the domain’s OU tree. Create a sub-OU to contain all devices that will run the same signage content, and move the enrolled Chromebit to that sub-OU.

Create the signage content. It must be accessible with a URL. The easiest way to create the sign content is to use Google Slides.  The content does not need to be complete yet.  It can be modified at any time.

• Select the appropriate page format (from the File menu, choose Page setup… and select the screen ratio appropriate for the TV screen)

• Add two or three pages to the file and add some simple content

• From the File menu, select Publish to the web…

• Modify settings:

• Select Link (not Embed)

• Select the time to display each slide

• Check the box to Start slideshow as soon as the player loads

• Check the box to Restart the slideshow after the last slide

• Click Publish, then leave the dialog open

Configure the device in the Admin console.  See the Google Support page - https://goo.gl/QYCYn4.  It has suggestions for how to create a YouTube playlist for use as signage, in addition to the details for using Google Slides (a. k. a. Presentations).  

The name of the Sign Builder app is misleading.  It does not build the signs (that’s what we did with Slides above).  It does build the schedule for displaying different sign content at different times of day or on different days.

• Install and open the app.

• Click on the cell for Sunday, all-day.  A dialog will open.  This will define the default content for the sign.

• Switch windows or tabs to the Slides file containing the sign content and copy the URL from the Publish to the web dialog.

• Switch back to the Sign Builder window and paste the URL into the field.

• Check the box to Show forever

• Click Advanced, and then check the box to automatically reload the URL.  Enter the number of seconds between reloads of the URL.  While the signage is running, changes can be made to the underlying Slides file.  The content displayed on the TV will not be updated until the URL is reloaded.  Balance the need for rapid updates to the viewable content against the display’s continuity. (If you use a YouTube playlist as the content source and the playlist contains 600 seconds of content, but the URL is set to reload every 300 seconds, the last half of the playlist will never be shown.)

• Click Save to close the settings in the dialog.