Which player app do I need for my screen?

Every screen runs a player app that fetches your content and plays it. There is an app for Amazon Signage Stick, Fire TV, Android, Google TV, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Raspberry Pi, plus a web player that runs in any modern browser at player.screenbird.app. The pairing wizard in the dashboard points you to the one you need and how to install it: Screens > Pair screen > Install the app first.

Look up the installation steps in the dashboard

  1. Go to Screens in the sidebar.
  2. Click Pair screen.
  3. Choose Install the app first.
  4. Under What type of screen do you have?, pick your device.
  5. Follow the steps that appear. Full installation guide opens the full guide for that device on screenbird.app.
  6. Once a pairing code shows on your screen, click I can see a pairing code, pair now →.

Pairing itself is covered in Pair a screen.

The apps per device

  • Amazon Signage Stick: add the stick on signage.amazon.com and pick Screenbird as the CMS provider. Screenbird then opens by itself and shows a pairing code, so there is nothing to download.
  • Fire TV Stick: from the Amazon Appstore on the device. Works on a second-generation Fire TV Stick or newer and on the Fire TV Cube. For the best performance, go for a Fire TV Stick 4K or 4K Max.
  • Android: from the Google Play Store on the device. Needs Android 7.0 or higher, on a TV, a tablet, or another Android device.
  • Google TV: from the Google Play Store. Meant for the Google TV Streamer or a Chromecast with Google TV.
  • Windows: download the installer at screenbird.app/platforms/windows. Needs Windows 10 or Windows 11.
  • macOS: download the installer at screenbird.app/platforms/macos. Needs macOS 12 Monterey or newer.
  • Linux: download the file at screenbird.app/platforms/linux. Needs Ubuntu 20.04 or higher, Debian 11 or higher, or a comparable distribution.
  • Raspberry Pi: download the Raspberry Pi image at screenbird.app/platforms/raspberry-pi and flash it onto a microSD card, with Raspberry Pi Imager for instance. Needs a Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 5, and 4 GB of memory or more is recommended. For 4K content, go for a Pi 5.
  • Web browser: on the device, go to player.screenbird.app. A pairing code appears straight away. Works in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, with nothing to install.

Where the download files live

The installers live at media.screenbird.app/downloads and are reachable from the platform pages on screenbird.app. They are Screenbird-Setup.exe for Windows, Screenbird.dmg for macOS, Screenbird.AppImage for Linux, and screenbird-rpi-setup.sh for the Raspberry Pi. There is an installer there for Android, Google TV, and Fire TV as well, in case you would rather not get the app from the store.

New versions come from the same page. To let those downloads through a strict firewall, see Network requirements.

Samsung and LG

There is no released app for Samsung Tizen or LG webOS yet, and so no download either. To put a Samsung or LG screen to work today, you have two routes:

  • Open the web player at player.screenbird.app in the TV's own browser.
  • Hang a separate device off the HDMI input, such as an Amazon Signage Stick, a Fire TV Stick, or a Raspberry Pi.

What works without an internet connection

The screen downloads images and videos in advance and plays them back from the device itself. If the connection drops, that downloaded content keeps playing. Content that had not been downloaded yet cannot be shown; the player skips that item and moves on to the next one.

  • Content that only becomes valid later is downloaded ahead of time, so it starts at the right moment even without a connection. See Validity and display period.
  • Apps that pull in live data, such as weather, news, or a calendar, show no new data without a connection.
  • Offline indicator in the screen settings shows on the screen itself that the connection is gone.

Frequently asked questions

Do I install a separate app for each screen?

Yes, you install the player app once on every device. After that you pair the device to your account with its own pairing code. Every paired screen uses a license, see Manage your subscription.

Can I get started without installing anything?

Yes. Open player.screenbird.app in the device's browser, or choose No screen on hand yet? in the pairing wizard to open the web player in a new tab.

Does Screenbird work on an Apple TV?

No, there is no Apple TV app. Use one of the devices above.

How do I swap out the device behind an existing screen?

First unpair the existing screen with Unpair. Then install the app on the new device and pair again with Re-pair and the pairing code from the new device. That way all your settings and content stay in place. See Unpair a screen.

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