How To Easily Setup An Announcement TV

With TVs being inexpensive, many businesses are opting to use them to scroll announcements. Bulletin boards are a thing of the past. Printed flyers are becoming obsolete.

Setting a TV up to scroll announcements is easier than you would think. Most companies are not big enough to have a tech department and are trying to save money by having someone on staff set up the system. And if you are under the age of 35 then “tech consultant” is typically added to your job description.

Last year our church installed 5 flat screen TVs that scrolled announcements in strategic locations around our building. This was a major jump from the bulletin and bulletin-board driven culture that we had.

After a ton of conversations and Googling, we found a simple way to install the TVs so that we can utilize them for scrolling announcements.

What you will need

Wifi (not a guest account)
Flat screen HD TV
Wall Mount for the TV
Apple TV
A 4 Foot HDMI cable
Command Velcro Strips
Flickr Account

Here is how to set up an announcement TV

Pick a High-Traffic Area
- If you are going to spend money on a new announcement system, make sure it is located in a high traffic area. For a church this would be your welcome center, front entrance, nursery, kids ministry area, and student ministry area.
Ensure Your Wifi Connection Is Strong
- Once you have picked your area, make sure that you have a strong enough wifi connection for that area. If your internet connection is weak you will need to run an additional hotspot to get a strong connection where you want to mount the TV. No internet = no announcements.
Secure the TV Mount To The Wall
- When you are ready to mount your TV first figure out the height of your screen. Too high and it will be hard to read by people as they pass. Too low and you will constantly be clearing finger prints off of the screen.
- Once you secure the wall mount I suggest installing a receptacle directly behind the TV so power cables will be hidden from view. The area will look better and people will not accidentally unplug the cords.
- If this can’t be done, then there are some cable hiders online.
- Reminder: The power cord to the Apple TV isn’t long, so make sure the receptacle is close enough to plug it in.
Attach Apple TV
- Once you take the Apple TV out of the box use some Command velcro strips to stick the Apple TV to the back of the TV.
- Use wire ties to tie up the power and HDMI cables to keep them from hanging down.
Setup Apple TV
- Use the remote to set up your Apple TV. Tutorial here.
- Set your Apple TV up using a secured wifi network. If your Apple TV is on a guest account, anyone can access the Apple TV.
Setup Flickr Account
- Flickr is an online photo album that will enable your team to upload and manage pictures and photo albums.
- Your announcements will simply be slides (JPEG) that you can create in your favorite design program and upload into Flickr.
- My suggestions is that you create an album for each TV so you are able to control which pictures show for different demographics (i.e. kids area, welcome center, front entrance).
Connect Apple TV to Flickr Account
- Now that you have Apple TV setup and a Flickr account, you will need to open the Flickr App on the Apple TV.
- The screen will display a set code that you will need to type into your Flickr account.
- Simply go to the link (www.flickr.com/appletv) and input the code.
Run Slideshow From An Album
- Congrats, you are connected!
- Using the Apple TV remote, click “albums” and then “start slideshow”
- The slideshow will give you the option to pick a variety of transitions. Remember, less is better. A simple fade to the next slide is sufficient.