Digital signage device management
Most digital signage platforms leave the device to someone else. Screenly manages the player as well as the content: the operating system updates itself, a frozen screen reboots from the dashboard, and settings, certificates, and network access are handled from the same place you publish content.
The device is part of the product
Signage is three layers: content, device management, and the operating system on the hardware. Most vendors own the first and leave the other two to you. Screenly owns all three on ScreenlyOS, and manages what it can reach on Screenly Anywhere.
ScreenlyOS
Our own operating system for signage. It replaces everything on the device, updates itself over the air with signed, transactional updates that roll back on failure, has no open ports and no remote login, and runs on the Screenly Player, the Player Max, Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, Scala players, and Sharp displays.
Screenly Anywhere
An app for hardware you already own: Samsung and LG displays, Android, Fire TV, ChromeOS Flex, and any browser. We manage what happens inside the app, the device manufacturer keeps the system around it, and both kinds sit in the same fleet.
One dashboard for the fleet
Settings, reboots, screenshots, certificates, labels, and transfers between workspaces, for every screen you run, from a browser. The device itself needs no keyboard, no mouse, and no visit.
Updates that install themselves and undo themselves
The expensive part of running digital signage hardware is keeping the operating system current on devices you cannot easily reach. On ScreenlyOS the operating system and the player software update together, over the air, cryptographically signed and transactional. Every night between 3am and 5am local time the device checks for a new release and installs it, and if an update fails it rolls back on its own. There is nothing to patch, nothing to log into, no antivirus to install, no reboot schedule to maintain, and no imaging process to keep current.
Because the whole device runs Screenly and nothing else, nothing appears on top of your content: no operating system dialogs, no vendor updates restarting the screen at lunchtime, no launcher. That is the single biggest operational difference between a purpose-built signage operating system and an app on a consumer device, and it is why a ScreenlyOS screen can be mounted somewhere awkward and left alone for years.
Remote control for the moments something goes wrong
When a screen misbehaves, the dashboard is the first tool rather than the last. Reboot the device remotely. Request a diagnostic screenshot, captured from the device’s own display output so it shows exactly what is on the wall, or turn capture off per screen with Privacy Mode where the content is sensitive. Read the device report, which turns raw hardware data into a ranked list of problems with the cause and the fix for each: an under-voltage power supply, a board running hot, an SD card that has gone read-only, a drive nearing the end of its rated endurance, a network route that is blocked.
Display settings live on the screen itself and apply to that screen only: rotation, resolution, overscan, object fit, and audio and video output, with the low-level HDMI controls available on Raspberry Pi based screens for the display that will not behave. Copy one screen’s settings, labels, and playlist assignments onto another when you install a batch, and transfer a screen between workspaces when an estate is reorganized.
Built for corporate networks
Screens make outbound connections only, so nothing is opened on your network and any number of screens run behind one public IP. ScreenlyOS players support 802.1X on wired and wireless networks, static IP configured from the on-screen setup or a file on a USB stick, and mutual TLS client certificates so a screen can authenticate to your own internal services. Screens that need to show something on a private network join your Tailscale network, configured once for the workspace. IT requirements has the hostnames to allow and the security posture to hand to a review.
Hardware that outlives the display
A smart TV or a commercial display stops getting software updates when its manufacturer moves on, and the screen ages out with the panel still in perfect condition. A device running ScreenlyOS in front of that same panel makes the display only a display, which is the part that lasts, and puts the software lifecycle in our hands. Many estates run both: Screenly Anywhere to get an existing display working today, and a ScreenlyOS device to keep it working after the display’s own software has stopped moving forward. ScreenlyOS or Screenly Anywhere compares them, platform by platform.
Device management capabilities
What you can do to a screen from the dashboard. The full set applies to ScreenlyOS; Screenly Anywhere exposes what the host system allows.
Signed over-the-air updates
Operating system and player update together, nightly in the device's local time, transactional, with automatic rollback. ScreenlyOS.
What ScreenlyOS is >Remote reboot
Restart a frozen screen from its Actions tab. Commands arrive immediately on a connected screen, or on its next check-in.
Reboot and delete >Diagnostic screenshots and Privacy Mode
See exactly what the display is showing, captured from the device output, or switch capture off for screens with sensitive content.
Screenshots >Health report with causes and fixes
Power, cooling, storage, memory, connectivity, clock, and security, each check with its threshold and what to do when it trips.
Health and diagnostics >Display settings per screen
Rotation, resolution, overscan, object fit, video and audio output, and HDMI controls for the panel that needs them.
Screen settings >Copy settings and transfer screens
Clone settings, labels, and assignments onto a new screen; move a screen to another workspace with its configuration.
Managing screens >Device certificates and mutual TLS
Every screen carries its own certificate. Your services can require it, so only your screens reach your dashboards.
Device certificates >Private network access
Join screens to your Tailscale network from workspace settings, once, so they can show what lives behind your firewall.
Reaching your private network >Enterprise network setup
802.1X on wired and wireless, static IP, custom time servers, and a network config generator for headless installs.
ScreenlyOS networking >Licenses that follow the screen
Disable a screen and its license returns to the pool; enable it and everything comes back. Nothing is lost while a display is repaired.
Enable and disable >Digital signage device management, answered
Can I reboot a digital signage screen remotely?
Yes. Every ScreenlyOS screen can be rebooted from its Actions tab in the dashboard. If the screen holds an open connection the command lands immediately; otherwise it runs on the screen’s next check-in, within a few minutes.
How are digital signage players updated?
ScreenlyOS updates itself. The operating system and the player software update together, over the air, signed and transactional, during a nightly window in the device’s local time, and a failed update rolls back automatically. There is nothing to schedule, approve, or install. Screenly Anywhere devices are updated by their own manufacturer.
What hardware does Screenly manage?
ScreenlyOS runs on the Screenly Player (up to 1080p), the Screenly Player Max (up to 4K, with a TPM and Secure Boot), Raspberry Pi 4 and 5, Scala players, Sharp large-format displays, and other tested x86 hardware. Screenly Anywhere runs on Samsung Tizen commercial displays, LG webOS televisions, Android and Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, the Amazon Signage Stick, ChromeOS Flex, and any current browser.
Can I see what a screen is actually showing?
Yes. Request a screenshot from the screen’s page. On ScreenlyOS it is captured from the device’s display output, so it shows the wall exactly. Privacy Mode turns capture off per screen for displays showing sensitive information.
Does Screenly work on a corporate network with a firewall?
Yes. Screens only connect outbound over HTTPS, so nothing is opened inbound. On a restricted network you allow a short list of hostnames. ScreenlyOS also supports 802.1X, static IP, and mutual TLS. IT requirements has the details.
What is the difference between managing a ScreenlyOS screen and a Screenly Anywhere screen?
On ScreenlyOS the whole device is ours to manage: updates, reboot, screenshots, full display settings, health, and network access. On Screenly Anywhere we manage what happens inside our app, so display control is limited to rotation and object fit and the manufacturer looks after the system. Both appear in the same dashboard and take the same content.
Every screen connects the same way, and the steps for your device are here: Connect a screen.
For the people who run the network rather than the screens: IT requirements.
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