[Michlib-l] Answers to TV display query

[bellairelibrary at torchlake.com]

These are the responses I got for this question:
Question:

We want to install a screen/TV which would display upcoming events, 
library services etc. to hang on a wall here at the library. Would 
anyone be able to share ANY info you have about what kind of equipment 
we need, how you use your display etc. We would want to be able to 
update the info being displayed digitally without having to dedicate a 
laptop or computer to the device. Any help and advice would be greatly 
appreciated!

Responses:

We use a regular smart TV and use Google pictures for our slideshow. My 
Assistant Director Nick (N.turnbull at bridgeportlibrary.org) would be 
willing to help you set it up if you wanted help. You can also email him 
for any info. We have 2 smart TVs set up with our slideshows going.

We have 2 TV screens in our library for this purpose. They are mounted 
on the wall (one at our side entrance and the other in our seating 
area). We create slides for library events and services and put them on 
a flash drive that utilizes the USB port in the TV and then can select 
Run Slideshow from the TVs menu options and it cycles through the slides 
on a loop all day. It has worked very well for us

We have a large tv in our lobby that works with a thumb drive. I just 
update the thumb drive every month with slideshow files for each week in 
MP4 format, plug it in, choose USB, and select which file to play.

We have 2 of them One in the kid's room and one at the Circ. desk. We 
just use a USB stick and run a slideshow. It works fantastic!

We use YoDeck and a Raspberry Pi device (with a TV).

https://www.yodeck.com/

We've been pretty happy with it. It looks like the have a free trial.

We have a TV up, but we use a computer to open a Google docs slideshow 
in Chrome, then cast to the TV.  The computer can still be used, all we 
have to do is make sure not to close or navigate away from that 
page/tab.  We have a smart TV and the computer both logged on to a 
secure WiFi access point, so no one else can cast to the TV.  It took a 
little work to set up, but now it's all pretty easy.

We have an LG TV mounted on the wall.  We run a slideshow video from a 
USB flashdrive on it.  I create the slideshow in Canva and update it 
every week.  It is very easy to do.  Basically, my steps are: download 
slideshow as an MP4, turn off TV, unplug flashdrive, plug the flashdrive 
into my computer, move the slideshow onto the flashdrive, eject it from 
the computer, plug it back into the TV, turn the TV back on, select the 
photo setting, and open the file.

I'm planning to use the TV to livestream the eclipses in our lobby as 
well, but we haven't done this yet.

We just plug in a USB and set the images to slideshow!

We have three TVs that we use to display info about upcoming events.  
They are Vizio, and were inexpensive.  We put the info onto a flash 
drive and put it into the TV.  We did have to turn off the TVs internet 
capabilities because the students coming in after school were closing 
out of the slide show and watching TV.  Also, the model of TV we have 
can only read jpegs.  Other than that, we haven't had any problems and 
we've had these running for about 8 years.

This is the TV I purchased for my library.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZLTMWWH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 From my understanding, we use Google Chromebit that is attached to a 
folder that our Community Resource Manager updates on our share drive. 
The Chromebit is connected to the tv and connects to our WiFi network 
which grants access to that network folder that has slides in there.  
These slides are updated for new events. The chromebit is controlled by 
our G-Suite account that keeps track of the devices and material that is 
projected on all 19 TVs in our libraries.

We do the same. WiFi Chromebits running a Chrome app that points to a 
Google Slideshow. We currently have three monitors running three 
different slideshows that update when the Google Slides files are 
updated.

We're budgeting to move to YoDeck early next year to give us more 
scheduling flexibility. With our current setup, slideshows can only be 
changed in real time.

We use a very simple approach and put images on a SD card and the TV 
runs a continuous slide show. We updated it once a week or two depending 
on upcoming events.

We used to create a slideshow of our programs using JPEG picture files, 
but we wanted something that would also include room reservations, and 
update automatically without having to spend time updating content on 
the display. Our calendar / room reservation system is Libcal, which 
supports RSS.

The low-cost solution for us was 
https://www.digitalsignage.com/_html/signageplayer.html. I used the free 
version, but you can pay for it and get support from the company.

The custom presentation has two scrolling feeds side by side, displaying 
one RSS feed for our events, and another for room reservations. The 
Digital Signage Player client runs on a Windows mini-PC through a TV. 
The PC is on our DeepFreeze console, so management of the signage PC is 
also automated. The RSS feed in the signage player is set to refresh 
every five minutes, so if something changes in Libcal, the digital 
signage is automatically updated quickly.

We haven't yet, my IT guy is thinking about one of two things. Either
a USB stick with the pictures, or using an amazon.com account to
upload the photos to and create a screen saver.

-- 
Cindi L. Place, MLIS
Director, Bellaire Public Library
bellairelibrary at torchlake.com
231-533-8814
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