Setup, hardware and industry playbooks

1. 5-minute quickstart

Skalder requires no proprietary software license on the display. Any TV, mini-PC, Raspberry Pi, or commercial signage display with a modern browser can run as a dedicated signage player.

2. How screens, playlists, and slides work together

Skalder is built around three building blocks that make it effortless to reuse content across 1 or 50 screens:

3. Zones and screen formats (16:9 landscape and 9:16 portrait)

Instead of a complex freeform canvas where text easily becomes unreadable from a distance, Skalder uses guided zone layouts. Each zone runs its own independent loop of slides:

What hardware do you need?

The Skalder player runs directly in the browser (HTML5 and WebSockets) and caches content locally so your screen keeps playing even if the internet drops temporarily. Here are the recommended setups:

Samsung Smart Signage (SSSP / Tizen)

Commercial Samsung displays (QMR, QBR, QHR, QMB, and QMC series with Tizen 4.0+) include a built-in URL Launcher that boots Skalder automatically when powered on — no external box needed.

1. Press Home on the Samsung remote and select URL Launcher Settings (or Change URL).
2. Select Install Web App and enter the player URL: https://skalder.no/player
3. Set Auto Play / Play via URL to On under System → General → Play via so the display launches Skalder on boot.
4. Disable Auto Power Off and Eco Sensor under System → Power Control.
5. Pair the display using the 6-digit code in Skalder Studio. The device token is stored permanently in Tizen's localStorage.

LG webOS Signage

LG webOS commercial displays (UL3J, UH5F, UM5N, etc.) support booting directly into a web URL:

1. Hold down Settings (gear icon) on the remote until the quick menu appears, type 0 0 0 0 (or 8 0 8 0) + OK to open SI Server Setting.
2. Enable Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) and enter the player URL: https://skalder.no/player
3. Set Application Launch Mode to Remote and Application Type to URL.
4. Reboot the display and pair it in Skalder Studio.

Android TV, Google TV, Philips and Sony

On displays running Android TV or Google TV (including Philips B-Line/D-Line, Sony Bravia Professional, and Chromecast with Google TV), use a kiosk browser that auto-starts after power loss:

1. Open Google Play Store on the TV and install Fully Kiosk Browser (or TV Bro).
2. Set the Start URL to the player URL: https://skalder.no/player
3. In Fully Kiosk: Enable Launch on Boot, Keep Screen On, and Fullscreen Mode.
4. Disable screensavers and HDMI-CEC sleep under the TV's Settings → Device Preferences → Screen saver.

Raspberry Pi 4 / 5 (24/7 unattended kiosk)

For standard consumer TVs, a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 (2 GB RAM) inside a fanless aluminum case (e.g. Flirc Case) with a SanDisk Max Endurance microSD card is the most bulletproof setup.

1. Flash Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit)

Use Raspberry Pi Imager, choose Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit), and press Ctrl+Shift+X to set username kiosk, timezone Europe/Oslo, and enable SSH.

2. Install kiosk packages and autostart

Connect via SSH (ssh kiosk@skalder-kiosk.local) and run the following commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y --no-install-recommends xserver-xorg x11-xserver-utils xinit openbox chromium-browser unclutter fonts-noto-color-emoji
sudo raspi-config nonint do_boot_behaviour B2

Create /home/kiosk/.config/openbox/autostart to disable screen blanking and launch Skalder in fullscreen:

xset s off
xset s noblank
xset -dpms
unclutter -idle 0.5 -root &

sed -i 's/"exited_cleanly":false/"exited_cleanly":true/' ~/.config/chromium/'Local State' 2>/dev/null
sed -i 's/"exited_cleanly":false/"exited_cleanly":true/; s/"exit_type":"[^"]\+"/"exit_type":"Normal"/' ~/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences 2>/dev/null

chromium-browser \
  --kiosk \
  --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-infobars \
  --disable-session-crashed-bubble \
  --autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required \
  --check-for-update-interval=31536000 \
  "https://skalder.no/player" &

Add X11 autostart at the bottom of ~/.bash_profile:

if [ -z "$DISPLAY" ] && [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
  startx -- -nocursor
fi

3. Optional: Mobile Wi-Fi captive portal and nightly reboot

If you ship pre-configured Raspberry Pi players to customers, install Comitup so the unit automatically broadcasts a Skalder-Setup-XXXX Wi-Fi hotspot when no known network is found, plus a 04:00 nightly reboot:

echo "0 4 * * * root /sbin/shutdown -r now" | sudo tee /etc/cron.d/skalder-nightly-reboot

Windows and macOS (Chrome / Edge kiosk)

Using an Intel NUC, Lenovo Tiny, or Mac mini connected to the TV? Launch Chrome or Microsoft Edge with the --kiosk flag to hide toolbars and allow unmuted video autoplay:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe" --kiosk "https://skalder.no/player" --edge-kiosk-type=fullscreen --no-first-run --autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required

/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --kiosk --app="https://skalder.no/player" --noerrdialogs --disable-infobars --autoplay-policy=no-user-gesture-required

iPad and tablets outside meeting rooms

An iPad or Android tablet mounted outside a meeting room or at reception can be locked to Skalder without extra apps:

1. Open the player URL in Safari on the iPad. (https://skalder.no/player)
2. Tap the Share icon and choose Add to Home Screen (removes the address bar and runs in fullscreen PWA mode).
3. Enable Guided Access under Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access and triple-click the Home/Top button inside Skalder to lock the tablet.

All built-in slide types

Skalder comes pre-integrated with Nordic and international live data sources — no external API keys required:

Playlist scheduling and priority

Every screen has a Default playlist that plays normally. You can also attach Scheduled playlists to any screen or screen group:

• Days of week and time window: Show e.g. the Canteen Lunch Menu only Monday–Friday from 10:30 to 13:00.
• Date range: Pre-schedule seasonal campaigns or safety weeks to start and stop automatically on specific dates.
• Priority (1–100): When two scheduled playlists overlap in time, the playlist with the highest priority wins.

Announcements and emergency alert API (webhook)

Under Communication → Announcements, publish messages with Info, Warning, or Critical (emergency) severity. Critical alerts immediately override all screens (or selected screen groups) in fullscreen via WebSockets.

You can also connect fire alarm systems, access control, or building automation directly to your organization's emergency webhook (find your token under Organization → Settings):

curl -X POST "https://skalder.no/api/webhooks/emergency/YOUR-WEBHOOK-TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "action": "trigger",
    "title": "FIRE ALARM ACTIVATED",
    "message": "Please evacuate calmly via the nearest emergency exit.",
    "duration_minutes": 60
  }'

How to set up Skalder for your industry

Not sure how to divide your screen? Here are proven recipes that work great in practice: