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Add or Set Up a Screen as a Free Test or Preview Screen
Add or Set Up a Screen as a Free Test or Preview Screen

This article will walk you through the process of adding a screen as a test or preview screen in ScreenCloud, allowing you to test your content without the purchase of a screen license.

Updated over a month ago

Please note that some of the button names, locations, and feature designs may have been adjusted since the making of this video. Please read the guide below to see the current look of the ScreenCloud Studio interface.

When pairing a new screen, you have the option to create the screen as a preview screen. A Preview screen can be used for previewing and testing content, free of charge, before being pushed live in your organization. You can follow our instructions below on how to set up a free test/preview screen using your laptop or you can follow the same steps for using the pairing code with a supported device connected to a screen.

1. Situations and use cases for recommended testing

There are a handful of situations in which testing the ScreenCloud platform is recommended. ScreenCloud provides user-friendly solutions to manage your digital signage displays and content, though there are certain use cases where we suggest testing in advance to ensure you have the best experience possible. For example:

  • Mounting televisions or displays: this is a common setup for many organizations to mount and display screens in high areas across offices or locations, though, can be tricky to perform preliminary testing if you're new to using ScreenCloud. For example, if a defective or unsupported device is purchased and you begin experiencing problems immediately with ScreenCloud, but a ladder or lift is required to reach the screen/device this causes an inconvenience to troubleshoot.

  • Using a private or enterprise WiFi/hardwired ethernet connection: many businesses and organizations will have secure, private networks for all devices used at their locations. More restrictive networks can cause issues with services or apps working properly with ScreenCloud if a company network firewall is blocking specific domains. Additionally, there are situations where an ethernet cable could be faulty or incompatible with a device which can cause issues with the service running as expected. We recommend testing ScreenCloud, in this case, to assess if the service runs as expected or requires additional troubleshooting with your IT or network administrator. You can learn more about ScreenCloud's domains and servers to whitelist by clicking here.

  • Attempting to use a hotspot for an internet connection to your screens: hotspot connections are a great convenience for wanting to display digital signage on the go. For example, food trucks, traveling retail vendors, or those wanting to use digital signage for marketing campaigns at conferences or expositions can opt to use their smartphones or other devices as an internet hotspot. However, hotspot connections can provide inconsistent network connections for ScreenCloud and other services. To learn more about using hotspot or alternative connection methods with ScreenCloud please click here.

  • Using devices or hardware that isn't officially supported by ScreenCloud: devices that aren't officially supported, tested, or recommended by ScreenCloud could have performance issues. This can cause inconveniences if devices have been mounted or set up where it's difficult for employees to access for troubleshooting, in addition, support may be limited on being able to help with devices that are not officially supported from our website. Though ScreenCloud can run across a handful of popular operating systems and platforms, all of our most updated supported hardware can be reviewed at https://screencloud.com/hardware. To review all of the minimum requirements for hardware and operating systems that can run the ScreenCloud app, please click here.

  • General digital signage testing (i.e. websites, systems, etc.): we generally recommend testing your content overall. This includes, but isn't limited to, organization websites, systems you're trying to integrate, or any general content/apps you're looking to use with ScreenCloud's service. For example, there are cases where company or organization websites have restrictions set up from the site administrator to block it from being displayed on third-party services (i.e. such as ScreenCloud). These types of issues can be supported with a level of troubleshooting, though this is why testing is recommended to ensure that these challenges can be addressed and sorted while trialing ScreenCloud.

2. How to set up a test or preview screen for free

We recommend visiting https://screencloud.com/download to download the macOS or Windows player to your computer. Once downloaded on your device, open the player and visit https://studio.screencloud.com/screens to add your test/preview screen.

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When adding the screen, select the start screen in Preview Mode and you are good to go. Preview mode allows you to experiment with your screens for free. You can then publish your screen to make it live at any time. You can now use a test screen for free to experiment with and preview your digital signage content.

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How can I activate a screen if I no longer want to test or preview it?

You can activate screens at any time to remove the watermarks by selecting the "Activate" option for any screen in Preview Mode. Please note, that when you Activate a screen you will begin incurring charges to your ScreenCloud account after the fourteen-day free trial period.

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