Setup guide

From a bare iPad to pictures on your TVs in about ten minutes. Everything here is also in the app's Help page.

1Set up the iPad

  1. Install AVHUD Digital Signage from the App Store and open it.
  2. Create your username and password. They stay on the iPad — there is no online account.
  3. Note the address along the bottom of the app, something like 192.168.0.20:8742. That's your signage server.
  4. Plug the iPad into power and leave the app open.
The iPad and the TVs must be on the same network. Guest Wi-Fi often stops devices seeing each other — use the main network.

2Get the TV app

The free AVHUD Display TV app turns a TV into a screen. Open it, choose Scan network, and it finds your iPad by itself.

Google TV and Android TV (Sony, TCL, Hisense, Philips, Chromecast with Google TV and others)

  1. On the TV, open the Google Play Store and search for AVHUD Display, or use this link on your phone and choose your TV: AVHUD Display on Google Play.
  2. Install, open, and choose Scan network.

Amazon Fire TV (Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, Fire TV televisions)

  1. On the Fire TV: Settings → My Fire TV → Developer options → Install unknown apps and allow the Downloader app. (If Developer options is hidden: Settings → My Fire TV → About, then press Select on the device name seven times.)
  2. Install the free Downloader app from the Fire TV's app store and open it.
  3. Type this address and press Go: digitalsignage.austech.online/tvapp
  4. Choose Install, then Open, and choose Scan network.

Download the TV app (APK)

Any other TV, tablet or computer

  1. Open its web browser.
  2. Type the iPad's address followed by /display — for example 192.168.0.20:8742/display.
  3. Save it as a bookmark or the home page so it comes back after a power cut.
Each TV appears on the Screens page a few seconds after it connects. Press Show numbers on all screens to see which is which, then give each one a name like "Front window".

3Add pictures and videos

Open Library and add files from the iPad. Or, from any computer on the same network, type the iPad's address into a web browser, sign in, and upload from there.

Signs look best made at 1920 × 1080 (a normal widescreen TV). Make them in any tool you like and save them as JPG, PNG or MP4.

4Build a playlist

  1. Playlists → New playlist, and give it a name.
  2. Add pictures and videos and drag them into order. Set how long each picture stays up; videos play to the end.
  3. Choose which screens it plays on — all of them, or just some — and press play.

5Put it on the calendar

Open Schedule, press New schedule, pick the playlist, the days and the start and end times. The TVs switch over by themselves. If two blocks overlap on the same screen the calendar marks it Clashes with… — move or shorten one.

6Keep it running

iPads don't let apps run in the background, so the app must stay open on screen. If it's closed, your TVs keep playing what they already have, but schedule changes and new content wait until it's open again.

Lock the iPad to the app (strongly recommended)

  1. On the iPad: Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access, turn it on and set a passcode.
  2. Open AVHUD Digital Signage.
  3. Triple-click the Home button (or the top button on iPads without one) and press Start.

Nobody can press Home or swipe the app away until you triple-click again and enter the passcode.

Stop surprise updates: Settings → General → Software Update → Automatic Updates → turn off Install iOS Updates, and update when the venue is closed.

7TVs that won't start the app by themselves

Most TVs open the TV app automatically when they're switched on. A few brands — TCL and some other Google TVs — block apps from starting on their own.

  1. In the TV app open Settings → Startup and press Check auto-start on this TV.
  2. If the TV doesn't allow it, turn on Extra start-up method, then test by switching the TV off at the wall and back on.
  3. Still not starting? Plug in an Amazon Fire TV Stick and run the app on that — they start it reliably every time.

8The iPhone app

Install the free AVHUD Digital Signage Remote from the App Store. It finds your iPad on the Wi-Fi; tap it and press Connect. If you set an access code (Settings → Phone and tablet apps on the dashboard), enter it once.

9Troubleshooting

A TV says "Reconnecting". It has lost touch with the iPad but keeps playing. Check the iPad is on with the app open and both are on the same network.

A TV isn't on the Screens page. In the TV app choose Scan network again, or use Manual entry and type the iPad's address.

The wrong thing is playing. Check the Schedule for overlapping blocks, then open that screen's settings and press Restart the screen.

The iPhone app can't find the iPad. Make sure the phone is on the same Wi-Fi, and allow local network access: iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network → AVHUD Digital Signage Remote.

Everything stopped after moving the iPad or changing the router. The iPad probably has a new address. The TV app finds it again by itself; browser screens need the new address.

Stuck? Email austech.online.tech@gmail.com and tell us what you see on the screen.