Back when I was running the internal communications. team at Tyson Foods, we upgraded our digital signage network (DSN) with all the bells and whistles. We then leveraged a peer network of “field communications champions” to deploy local content, and we mined that content for corporate-wide channels.
Since leaving the in-house side of corporate communications, I’ve missed having digital signage in my workspace. Well, no more. I’ve created a DSN nook in my home office.
Hardware
For the curious, here are the system details:
- Omni HD gaming monitor
- Rock 4 SE single board computer running Ubuntu
- 32Gb eMMC 5.1 module (i.e., the SDD)
- KKSB aluminum case
Software and player settings
I’m using the “Foyer” plugin for WordPress (free, but with limited scheduling options) as the DNS platform. On the Rock, I’ve made a few customizations for Ubuntu: (1) using “Unclutter” to hide the mouse when inactive; (2) disabling “screen blanking” (i.e., screen does not time out); and (3) autolaunching Chromium on startup at full screen and in Incognito mode (to avoid image caching between sessions).
Content
For weather channels, I’m using openweathermap.com for API calls (1,000 free per day) with site pages set to a custom (i.e., empty) layout template. Each “slide” is a jpg image with overlays created in Affinity Photo.
Channels
For my home office, I’m using a custom channel that includes local weather (forecast, radar, current conditions), forecasts for select cities, and images/videos. Publicly, I’ve made a few channels available for non-commercial use.
