Setup guide
How It Works
Reboot Signage turns the old PCs you already own into a digital signage system. One retired PC becomes the server that stores your content and schedules; every other one becomes a player behind a screen. You buy the software once, run it on your own hardware, and nothing ends up in a landfill.
Why recycled PCs
- They’re already paid for. Retired office PCs from a Windows upgrade cycle are plenty for full-HD signage; the software is the only purchase.
- They’re built for this. Business desktops and “tiny” PCs are designed to run all day, mount behind a TV, and have the HDMI or DisplayPort outputs a screen needs.
- No subscription. Everything runs on your hardware, on your network, under a one-time license. Your screens don’t depend on anyone else’s server.
- Less e-waste. Every player is one less PC sent to the recycler.
The parts
| Part | What it is | Where it runs | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server | Web admin, content library, schedules, player list | One PC in your network room, or a small cloud server you rent | Linux, a fixed address, HTTPS |
| Player | Full-screen kiosk that shows one screen’s playlist | An old PC (or mini PC) behind each TV | Linux, HDMI, network access to the server |
| Admin browser | Where you design screens and campaigns | Any laptop, tablet or phone | A browser and your login |
| Outside feeds | News and weather tickers, license activation | The internet | Outbound internet from the server |
The one rule that makes it work anywhere: players call home
Players never wait to be contacted. Each player opens an outbound HTTPS connection to the server’s address, asks “what should I be showing?”, downloads anything new, and stores it on its own disk. Three things follow from that rule:
- No ports open on the players. A player behind any router, VLAN or NAT works as long as it can reach the server’s address on port 443.
- Screens keep playing when the network drops. The player runs from its local copy and catches up when the server is reachable again.
- The only hard question is the server’s address. One network: a local name is enough. Several networks or several properties: the server needs one name every player can reach, which is where a domain comes in.
A note on wording: some people call this box the “domain controller.” In IT that term means a Windows Active
Directory server, so this guide calls it the signage server. The players look for the signage server by its
name, e.g. signage.yourdomain.com.
Three ways to run it
| Single network | Large property, many networks | Multiple properties | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical customer | A bar, a gym, one office | A resort, campus or club on 100+ acres | A chain or a management company |
| Screens | 1–20 | 10–100 | Any |
| Server lives | Closet on the same LAN | Main network room | Head-office room or a small cloud VM |
| Server address | Local name or IP | Subdomain of your domain | Subdomain of your domain |
| Domain needed | No | Yes | Yes |
| HTTPS certificate | Self-signed or none on a closed LAN | Free, Let’s Encrypt | Free, Let’s Encrypt |
| Guide | 1 · Single Network | 2 · Large Property (Glen Eden) | 3 · Multiple Properties |
Then every setup uses the same build steps: 4 · Domain & Remote Access, 5 · Build the Server, 6 · Build the Players, 7 · Security Checklist, and 8 · Troubleshooting when something misbehaves.
About this guide
The network, DNS, Linux and security steps here are standard and work today. Commands that install Reboot Signage itself are marked (installer TBD) and become final with the 1.0 release.