Digital signage player app for Windows PCs.
The SignageStack app turns a PC behind a screen into a signage player that runs full-screen, starts with Windows, restarts itself if it ever crashes or freezes, and installs its own updates. Pair it with a six-character code and it plays whatever you publish.
Version 0.2.0 · Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit
What the app does that a browser tab cannot
The app is a thin native shell around the same web player every SignageStack screen runs. Everything it adds is for a PC behind a screen that nobody is going to sit at.
Full-screen, and it stays there
The player takes the whole screen, stays above other windows and keeps out of the taskbar. Alt+F4 does not close it, so a stray keyboard cannot leave the screen dark.
Starts with Windows
It opens when Windows signs in, and only one copy ever runs. A small supervisor that Windows itself keeps running brings the player back if it ever disappears.
Restarts a frozen player
The page reports a heartbeat to the supervisor. If the player crashes, or keeps running but stops responding, the supervisor closes it and starts it again.
Installs its own updates
It checks the release channel, verifies the signature of the new build and installs it for the account it runs as, with no administrator prompt. If the new version does not start healthy, it goes back to the one before.
Keeps Windows out of the way
Windows draws some notices above every app. For the account it runs as, the app turns off toast notifications, battery warnings and the full-screen pages Windows shows after an update. Uninstalling hands them back.
Keeps playing offline
Playlists, media and working hours are stored on the PC. A dropped connection delays changes; it does not blank the screen. Apps that need the internet — a web page, a YouTube video — step aside until it returns.
From a PC under the counter to a playing screen
Run the installer
Download it on the PC and run it. It installs for the signed-in account and needs no administrator rights. On Windows 10 it fetches Microsoft's WebView2 runtime if the PC does not have it yet. If Windows SmartScreen stops it, choose More info and then Run anyway: the installer does not carry a Microsoft code-signing certificate yet.
Open it
The player starts full-screen and shows a six-character pairing code. From then on it starts by itself whenever Windows signs in.
Pair it
In the dashboard, open Screens, choose Add screen and give it a name. On its Device tab, type the code and choose Pair device, then give the screen something to play.
What the PC needs
Most office PCs and mini PCs clear this easily. What matters more on a screen is what the PC does after a power cut, and that is a setting rather than a spec.
- Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit
- Microsoft WebView2 — part of Windows 11, fetched by the installer on Windows 10
- An HDMI or DisplayPort connection to the screen
- Wired ethernet if you can run the cable, 5 GHz Wi-Fi if you cannot
- Outbound HTTPS to the internet; no open ports, no VPN
- A Windows account that signs in by itself
Settings for a PC nobody sits at
The app starts when Windows signs in. These settings make sure Windows gets that far on its own after a restart or a power cut.
Sign in automatically
Run netplwiz and untick “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer”. On Windows 11 the box only appears once you turn off the option to allow only Windows Hello sign-in, under Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options.
Never sleep
In Settings → System → Power (Power & sleep on Windows 10), set the screen and sleep to Never when plugged in. The player keeps the display awake while it plays, but a PC that falls asleep first never gets that far.
Power on after a power cut
In the PC's BIOS or UEFI setup, turn on the option for AC power loss — it is called “Restore on AC power loss”, “AC power recovery” or something close. With automatic sign-in, power coming back is all the screen needs.
A PC of its own
The app takes the whole screen and quiets notifications for the account it runs as. Install it on a PC whose only job is the screen, or tell whoever else uses it first.
Windows questions
Yes. Open player.signagestack.com in Edge or Chrome on the PC, pair it and press F11 for full screen. The app adds what a browser cannot do on its own — starting with Windows, restarting itself, keeping Windows quiet — and moving to it later means pairing the screen once more, with the code the app shows.
No. It installs and updates itself for the account it runs as, so an update never stops at a Windows security prompt on a PC nobody is sitting at.
Yes. The installer is one file, the same on every PC, and it runs silently with /S. Each PC then shows its own pairing code, so a rollout is: install everywhere, then type each screen's code into the dashboard.
Not while the app runs: it takes the whole screen and stays on top. For a PC that is also somebody's desk, run the web player in a browser window on a second display instead.
The screen keeps playing. The playlist, its media and its working hours live on the PC, so an outage delays changes rather than blanking the screen. Apps that need a live connection step aside until it returns, and the screen catches up on its own.
Other ways to run a screen
- AndroidOne APK for TV boxes, sticks, displays and tablets — kiosk mode, autostart and updates it installs itself.
- MacA Mac mini or iMac as a signage player, with the four macOS settings that keep it running unattended.
- BrowserNothing to install: open the web player in any current browser, pair it, and it plays — offline too.
- What hardware to buyWhat to look for in a box or a display, and what is not worth paying for.
From the blog
- How to set up a Windows PC for digital signage that runs by itselfSet up a Windows PC to run a signage screen alone: its own account, automatic sign-in, no sleep, power-on after a cut, silent installs and updates.
- Digital signage player: the five kinds and the specs that matterWhat a digital signage player does, the five kinds (box, stick, computer, built-in, browser), the specs that matter and what to avoid buying.
- Digital signage display vs TV: when a consumer TV is enoughWhat a commercial display does that a consumer TV does not: hours, brightness, warranty, power and portrait. And when the TV you have is fine.
Three steps between a blank TV and a live one.
No server to run, no licence per seat, nothing to install on your network. A display, a power socket and an internet connection.