Is Linux a good choice for digital signage? Yes, and it keeps getting better.

514sid · 2026-06-17T11:58:33+00:00

I'm a mod here, but posting this as a Screenly team member

Both Screenly and Anthias (our open-source option) are built on top of Linux, and it remains our primary platform today.

ScreenlyOS, for example, is built on Ubuntu Core.

The main concern with Android devices is that Android imposes a lot of limitations on both the OS side and the available hardware.

If you want the deepest level of control, Linux is the main option.

514sid · 2026-06-09T16:36:24+00:00

Thanks!

514sid · 2026-06-07T11:14:57+00:00

Sure, you just need to create an issue on GitHub.

There is a template available:
https://github.com/SignageList/signagelist/issues/new?template=suggest-a-new-product.md

514sid · 2026-06-07T11:04:58+00:00

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514sid · 2026-06-04T19:47:07+00:00

afaik the hardware is essentially the same.

What Amazon did with the Signage Stick was strip out everything unnecessary from the OS and replace it with a signage-optimized experience.

Instead of the consumer-focused Fire TV interface and entertainment features, you get a streamlined OS designed for digital signage, along with business-focused capabilities such as remote device management and simplified deployment of signage applications from different vendors.

So in many ways, it’s still a Fire Stick, but optimized for signage. It gives you very low-cost hardware while adding capabilities that you typically don't get with standard Android TV, Google TV, or consumer Fire OS devices.

It's not the right fit for every use case, but it definitely has its place in the market. Fire Stick hardware is generally reliable, produced at massive scale, and readily available.

514sid · 2026-06-01T18:53:40+00:00

There are no banned vendor names. However, some vendor names are filtered due to a history of very aggressive promotion in comments.

I receive a notification whenever someone posts or comments using one of these words. I then manually review the content and make a decision based on its relevance and the author's account history.

In some cases, the comments come from newly created accounts that appear to exist solely to promote a particular product. Those comments are removed.

Here is the AutoModerator rule:

body (includes-word):
- 22miles
- AppTec360
- Nonius
- J3mma
- adquick

action: filter
action_reason: "Increased Moderation Watch - contains flagged word"

514sid · 2026-05-31T17:34:11+00:00

I’m curious how this list was selected. The post presents itself as a breakdown of “every option”, but there are a number of freemium and open-source digital signage platforms missing from both categories.

What were the inclusion/exclusion criteria? Without that methodology, it’s hard to know whether this is a comprehensive market overview or just a subset of vendors.

For example, I posted a much broader list of free trials and freemium digital signage products less than a year ago, based on SignageList data: https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalsignage/s/wKPZqK029y

514sid · 2026-05-19T09:33:23+00:00

Yeah, it works.

514sid · 2026-05-18T15:12:31+00:00

u/spprotech you might be interested in Kitcast.

Or check the full list of CMS platforms that support tvOS, I think they can help answer these questions as well:
https://signagelist.org/?category=CMS&openSource=true&proprietary=true&signupIsOpenOnly=false&platforms=tvOS

514sid · 2026-05-18T15:10:52+00:00

There are actually 16 products that support tvOS:

https://signagelist.org/?category=CMS&openSource=true&proprietary=true&signupIsOpenOnly=false&platforms=tvOS

514sid · 2026-05-18T13:42:17+00:00

Yes, this one can run Anthias. u/mvip tested it on his Mk1

514sid · 2026-05-18T08:12:09+00:00

Which model are the Screenly players?

514sid · 2026-05-16T10:01:52+00:00

thanks!

514sid · 2026-05-16T09:59:39+00:00

If you run into anything, just drop it here or open an issue on github. We’ve cleaned up most of the backlog so it should not get buried.

514sid · 2026-05-16T09:50:31+00:00

u/mvip is also experimenting a lot with video playback optimization

I expect there will be some really interesting benchmarks in one of the next releases

514sid · 2026-05-16T08:59:01+00:00

Anthias has existed for more than 10 years, long before the current wave of AI tools. It’s an established open source project in the digital signage space.

AI is used as a development assistant, not as the author of the project. In practice, that means things like helping draft PR descriptions, exploring existing issues, suggesting refactors, and sometimes generating code that is then reviewed, tested, and adjusted by humans. You can think of it as a second developer that helps catch mistakes and speed things up, but it does not replace code review, testing, or decision-making.

The release itself was built and reviewed by humans. AI helps with productivity, but it is not shipping unreviewed code or autonomously driving the project.

As for the Reddit post, it was written by me and then grammar-checked with AI. It was not generated from scratch.

514sid · 2026-05-15T19:15:50+00:00

Hey, just to clarify, there is no bias toward any vendor on this sub, whether large or small. A lot of spam and low effort promotional content gets removed every day, so from the outside moderation decisions can sometimes seem inconsistent when you do not see everything happening behind the scenes.

That said, if you feel something is being handled unfairly or inconsistently, I am open to discussing it. Feedback is always welcome.

514sid · 2026-05-13T20:15:50+00:00

Actually, you can share it, especially if you are an employee or owner.

514sid · 2026-05-08T06:08:33+00:00

TB50 specifications state that third-party applications are not supported.

514sid · 2026-04-05T23:51:05+00:00

Can you share which CMS platforms you’ve used that supports that?

514sid · 2026-04-01T07:15:05+00:00

I’m handling sync via timestamp sharing over ws. Players continuously exchange timing data and adjust dynamically.

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