Custom AUTOMATIC tv screensaver
August 1, 2022 7:29 AM Subscribe
We're building an office with a number of conference room TVs, and we'd like the TVs to automatically show a custom photo (or even better, a rotating screensaver) when they go to sleep.
The trick is that we can't expect the people using the rooms to go back into an app (or even choose a particular input) when they're done with the room, so it has to be the TV's automatic screensaver mode. Suggestions for TV models or third-party solutions much appreciated!
We've looked at Pixo or Screenly, but both would require the room's user to go back into that app when they're done with the TV, which they won't reliably do. The Samsung Frame does seem to offer this feature, but it's really expensive and more features/quality than we need. Thanks!
We've looked at Pixo or Screenly, but both would require the room's user to go back into that app when they're done with the TV, which they won't reliably do. The Samsung Frame does seem to offer this feature, but it's really expensive and more features/quality than we need. Thanks!
Googling the title of your post came up with a bunch of suggestions for custom screensavers, assuming you're using a Roku or Android TV or Fire TV device. Are you trying to get it to work in your existing TVs, or are you planning on buying TVs and you want to make sure they have this trick?
(If you're planning on buying a TV, I'd put a couple images on a thumb drive and go test-drive some TV at a Best Buy or something.... You might have better luck at a smaller store, if they get twitchy about you plugging stuff into their display models.)
posted by adekllny at 9:57 AM on August 1, 2022
(If you're planning on buying a TV, I'd put a couple images on a thumb drive and go test-drive some TV at a Best Buy or something.... You might have better luck at a smaller store, if they get twitchy about you plugging stuff into their display models.)
posted by adekllny at 9:57 AM on August 1, 2022
Apple TV boxes have screensavers and there's a way to enable kiosk mode so there would only be one app available to the user and otherwise the screensaver would fire up.
posted by emelenjr at 10:07 AM on August 1, 2022
posted by emelenjr at 10:07 AM on August 1, 2022
Response by poster: adekllny — ideally we'd love it to work on existing TVs (mostly Samsung, which don't seem to offer this feature at all), but worst-case we'd like to at least buy future TVs that can do it.
posted by alycoop at 10:53 AM on August 1, 2022
posted by alycoop at 10:53 AM on August 1, 2022
Google Chromecast can do this via Google home.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:33 AM on August 1, 2022
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:33 AM on August 1, 2022
we can't expect the people using the rooms to go back into an app (or even choose a particular input)
This requirement would disqualify most streaming boxes like stand-alone Roku boxes and the like as if you need to switch to, say, a PC input and the TV doesn't automatically switch back to the streaming box input, you'll be back where you started.
Conceivably there could be some hardware that goes between your TV and the video inputs you want to have available in the conference room that can do this, but I don't know of one off-hand, and I suspect they won't be as cheap as you're hoping.
posted by Aleyn at 12:34 PM on August 1, 2022
This requirement would disqualify most streaming boxes like stand-alone Roku boxes and the like as if you need to switch to, say, a PC input and the TV doesn't automatically switch back to the streaming box input, you'll be back where you started.
Conceivably there could be some hardware that goes between your TV and the video inputs you want to have available in the conference room that can do this, but I don't know of one off-hand, and I suspect they won't be as cheap as you're hoping.
posted by Aleyn at 12:34 PM on August 1, 2022
FWIW this is something that is pretty easy to do with some sort of mini computer (and ideally monitor, not tv) set up.
posted by oceano at 12:38 PM on August 1, 2022
posted by oceano at 12:38 PM on August 1, 2022
probably won't help with the cost part but look into commercial displays? for example, this is Samsung's lineup. they have more configurability for stuff like that (and management stuff too, etc.) but they will cost you more than a consumer-grade TV.
posted by mrg at 2:58 PM on August 1, 2022
posted by mrg at 2:58 PM on August 1, 2022
There may be another possibility. What if... there's a hidden IR blaster that would simply switch the TV to a different channel if there are are no more activity in a room? (Connect it to the room's occupied sensor)
Don't know of any existing setup that can do that as I don't work in that arena, but it seems possible. The IR blaster can be left on the conference table as a part of conference equipment, or mounted to the ceiling aimed at the TV. How to control it would be more of a "smarthome" sort of controller macro. Adding a motion detector to a room is trivial nowadays. The question is how to link such.
I was thinking a Wyze hub along with a Wyze motion sensor for the room, then somehow you have to use event trigger to trigger an IR blaster sending IR remote signal to the TV.
posted by kschang at 1:02 AM on August 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Don't know of any existing setup that can do that as I don't work in that arena, but it seems possible. The IR blaster can be left on the conference table as a part of conference equipment, or mounted to the ceiling aimed at the TV. How to control it would be more of a "smarthome" sort of controller macro. Adding a motion detector to a room is trivial nowadays. The question is how to link such.
I was thinking a Wyze hub along with a Wyze motion sensor for the room, then somehow you have to use event trigger to trigger an IR blaster sending IR remote signal to the TV.
posted by kschang at 1:02 AM on August 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Follow-up: Maybe this IR blaster that can be controlled through the phone via WiFi, and can be linked via IFTTT to something else. So hypothetically... You may be able to connect Wyze Hub and Wyze Room Sensor to IR Blaster event.
posted by kschang at 1:19 AM on August 2, 2022
posted by kschang at 1:19 AM on August 2, 2022
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posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 9:10 AM on August 1, 2022 [1 favorite]