Documentscustom-hardware

piSignage Player2 Setup on Linux platforms (Tested for Debian/Ubuntu current versions)

Player2 is a new generation piSignage player based on new Raspberry Pi OS and also available for many more platforms based on Debian/Linux and as PWA/Android apps.

⚠️ Important:
Make sure video playback is supported in Chromium browser or VLC with hardware acceleration before choosing your Linux SBC.

B. Preparing the OS for piSignage installation

Installing Debian/Ubuntu and configure

  1. Download OS with desktop (64/32-bit) and prepare SD/USB using Imager software

  2. Configure the OS, mostly chose default Window manager

  3. Select user pi with password needed

  4. Configure Network as needed wifi/Ethernet

  5. Enable ssh server if you need terminal access

    sudo apt install openssh-server        # Install the SSH server
sudo systemctl enable ssh              # Enable SSH service at boot
sudo systemctl start ssh               # Start the SSH service (or use sudo systemctl restart ssh if needed)

  6. Upgrade the OS using

    sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y

  7. For Raspberry Pis, select the HDMI audio interface under raspi-config if needed

  8. On boot login and open terminal to add the user to sudo group
    su -
    usermod -aG sudo pi

  9. Reboot

  10. sudo visudo and add the following as last line
    <username, for e.g. pi> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL

  11. Check if chromium-browser or chromium exists

    which chromium-browser
which chromium
# If neither is present, install using the following steps:
sudo apt-get -y install chromium-browser
# If 'chromium-browser' package is not found:
sudo apt-get -y install chromium
cd /usr/bin
sudo ln -s chromium chromium-browser

  12. Check if there is a entry in /etc/hosts for hostname
    hostname
    cat hostname

    otherwise add the same
    127.0.0.1 <hostname>

Install piSignage software (for all platforms)

  1. Copy the piSignage software zip file to home directory /home/pi
    wget https://pisignage.com/releases/pi-image-p2-v20.zip

  2. Unzip, change permissions

    unzip -o pi-image-p2-v20.zip
cp player2/build-scripts/install-pisignage.sh .
chmod +x install-pisignage.sh
chmod +x -R player2/build-scripts
chmod +x -R player2/shell-scripts

  3. Install piSignage software
    ./install-pisignage.sh

  4. Notice the log for any Errors

  5. Update any packages if needed
    sudo apt update --fix-missing

Note:
After the installation, for issues like window is not full-screen or toolbars, popups appearing

  1. For Gnome, if the screen appears in "Overview" mode, you may have to switch to "Desktop" mode as per this article https://help.pisignage.com/hc/en-us/articles/56191130603673-Debian-Trixie-Post-Install-Setup-Guide

  2. Manually adjust desktop environment settings using the GUI (such as dconf-editor) or the gsettings command.

  3. Manually disable the following features as needed:

  • Screen Lock
  • Screen Saver
  • Power Management
  • Screen Dimming
  • Notifications
  • Taskbar appearance for applications like web browser, mpv, and vlc players

Upgrading software with new zip file for Manual upgrade, not needed for auto upgrade

  1. Copy the pi-image-p2-v14.zip to home directory /home/pi

  2. unzip -o pi-image-p2-v14.zip

  3. chmod +x -R player2/shell-scripts

Note:
If you need support for image generation for your hardware, please contact us (include your hardware type, OS details, and error log) at support@pisignage.com.