# Digital Signage on a Mac, iPad or iPhone | Digital Board

> Run a sign on a Mac mini or iMac with the native macOS player, or on an iPad or iPhone with the Digital Board app, and keep it up unattended.

Source: https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/guides/mac-ipad-digital-signage

## Digital signage on a Mac, iPad or iPhone

A Mac mini behind a TV, or an iPad on a wall mount, makes a good sign. Digital Board has a native player for macOS and an app for iPad and iPhone. Both are new: treat them as beta, and try one screen before you roll out a fleet.

### Which one?

- **A Mac** (Mac mini, iMac, MacBook, macOS 12 or later) runs the **native player**, the same engine as the Raspberry Pi and Windows players. It plays from its own offline cache, does zones, transitions, video walls, LAN triggers and the remote terminal.

- **An iPad or iPhone** (iPadOS / iOS 16 or later) runs the **Digital Board app**, which shows the [web player](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/player) full screen with the screen kept awake. It needs the network to start: iOS does not let an app's web view keep an offline media cache for a server it does not know in advance.

- **Apple TV** cannot run a player — tvOS has no web view. [Why, and what to use instead.](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/guides/apple-tv-digital-signage.html)

### Set up a Mac

- Download `ScreenTinker-.dmg` from your instance's [downloads page](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/download/), open it and drag Digital Board to Applications.

- The first launch: Control-click the app and choose **Open**, unless your administrator distributed a notarized build.

- Start it at login, pointed at your server. In Terminal:

```
/Applications/ScreenTinker.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenTinker --install-autostart --server https://your-server
```

It restarts the player if it ever crashes; *Exit player* on the on-screen menu leaves it stopped until the next login.

- Allow **Local Network** access when macOS asks, if your server or trigger senders are on the LAN.

### Set up an iPad or iPhone

- Install the Digital Board app your organisation distributes (TestFlight or your device-management system).

- Open it, type your server address and tap **Connect**. Pick an orientation lock if the device is mounted.

- For a screen the public can touch, lock the device into the app: **Guided Access** (Settings → Accessibility) on one device, or **Single App Mode** from device management for a fleet.

To get back to the setup screen, hold three fingers on the screen for three seconds.

### Pairing

Both show a six-digit code. In the dashboard, choose **Add Display**, type the code, and name the screen. The pairing survives restarts and app updates.

### Keeping it up unattended

- **A Mac** keeps its displays awake while the player runs. Turn on **automatic login** for the player account and **Start up automatically after a power failure** (System Settings → Energy), so a power cut ends with the sign back up.

- **An iPad** stays awake while the app is open. Keep it on power, and use Single App Mode so the app comes back after a restart — without device management, an iPad that restarts waits at the lock screen.

### What the dashboard can and cannot do

Playlists, schedules, layouts, widgets, proof-of-play, mute and the live view work on both. A Mac also takes screen on/off, volume, the remote terminal and LAN triggers; an iPad or iPhone does not — iOS gives an app no control over the panel or the media volume. Neither can be rebooted or updated from the dashboard: a Mac is updated from the .dmg or by device management, and the app updates through Apple. The dashboard only shows the buttons a screen can honour.

### Related guides

- [Download a player for any platform](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/download/)

- [Apple TV](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/guides/apple-tv-digital-signage.html)

- [Windows](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/guides/windows-digital-signage.html)

- [Certified hardware](https://gonenli.pusula.cloud/certified-hardware)