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Android

Turn any Android phone, tablet or TV box into a digital signage player using the native Obscreen Player app.

About this platform

Android is the most popular operating system for digital signage. With Obscreen Player for Android, you can repurpose tablets, phones, TV boxes or commercial displays running Android 5.0+ into fully managed signage screens. The app runs in kiosk mode, starts automatically on boot, and connects to your Obscreen instance for remote content management.

Technical specifications

Operating SystemAndroid 5.0+
RAM1 GB minimum
ResolutionUp to 4K
Storage50 MB free space
NetworkWi-Fi or Ethernet
DevicesPhones, tablets, TV boxes

How to install

  1. Download the app from the Google Play Store on your Android device.
  2. Connect to your Studio: open the app and enter your Obscreen instance URL to pair the device.
  3. Assign content: from your Obscreen dashboard, assign a playlist or schedule to the newly registered screen.
  4. Enable kiosk mode: lock the device to Obscreen Player so it stays focused on your content, even after a reboot.

Platform features

  • Kiosk mode: lock the device to display only your signage content.
  • Auto-start on boot: the player launches automatically when the device powers on.
  • Screen rotation: portrait and landscape, including 90°, 180° and 270°.
  • Offline playback: content is cached locally; playback continues if the network is temporarily lost.

Host Identification Configuration

To help you identify and locate your device, you can set the following metadata in url's query parameters

Example:

https://<STUDIO_PLAYLIST_URL>/?hostname=My%20Device&icon=auto&longitude=48.8566&latitude=2.3522`

Screen Flags

These are information about the screen resolution and rotation.

bash
rotate=normal # normal, left, right, inverted
resolution=auto # 1920x1080, 1920x1080, 1920x1080, 1920x1080

Name & Icon

bash
hostname="My Device"
icon=auto # any font-awesome icon name (i.e. fa-desktop, fa-laptop, fa-tablet, fa-mobile, fa-tablet-alt, fa-mobile-alt)

Search for icons

You can browse the free icon catalog here.

Positioning

Choose one of the following options from more precise to less precise location:

1. Precise positioning

bash
longitude=
latitude=

2. Structured address-based positioning

bash
street=
city=
state=
country=
postal_code=

3. Query address-based positioning

bash
address_query= # (e.g. "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500")

See more about customizing the player's URL here.