Apple TV digital signage for bars and restaurants.
Turn an Apple TV into a signage player for your bar or restaurant. Free to start, with unlimited screens and no per-screen fee on any standard plan.
Updated September 28, 2026
Better Signage turns an Apple TV into a digital signage player. You upload images and videos in a web dashboard, put them in a playlist, and send it to the Apple TVs you pick. Each one downloads the files and plays them from its own storage. It’s free to start, with unlimited screens and no per-screen fee.
What is Apple TV digital signage?
It’s an Apple TV behind a display, running a signage app instead of streaming apps. The Better Signage app loops your drink specials, menus, events, and sponsor promos on that screen, and you manage what plays from your phone, tablet, or computer.
Plug the Apple TV into a TV over HDMI, or run it through your existing HDMI setup like any other source. Videos play silently.
What do I need to run signage on an Apple TV?
- An Apple TV on tvOS 26.5 or later that the Better Signage App Store listing lets you install on.
- A display connected over HDMI, power, and the Apple TV remote for setup.
- Internet for signup, pairing, downloading media, and sending new playlists.
- A current web browser and a free Better Signage account.
It has to be real Apple TV hardware. The Apple TV app built into a smart TV, an AirPlay receiver, a Fire TV, and Android players can’t run it. We don’t publish a device-by-device list, so check the App Store listing on your own Apple TV before buying hardware for a rollout.
How does it work?
- Pair. Open Better Signage on the Apple TV and type the code it shows into the dashboard’s Pair TV step. Give the screen a name you’ll recognize.
- Upload. Add JPEG or PNG images and videos. Videos are converted to H.264 MP4 on our servers and checked before they’re ready to use.
- Build a playlist. Put your media in order and set how many seconds each item stays up. The playlist repeats from the top.
- Pick your screens and play. Select the Apple TVs you want to update and choose Play. Each one downloads and checks the files, then plays them from its own local storage.
Editing a playlist doesn’t change what’s on screen until you send it again with Play. A short clip can fill a longer slot too: set a six-second video to 60 seconds and the player loops it for that minute.
What happens if the internet drops?
Content that’s already downloaded can keep playing through a temporary outage, as long as the files are still on the Apple TV. Pairing, new uploads, and new playlists need the connection back.
Local playback isn’t a permanent offline mode or a backup of your media, so keep your original files somewhere safe.
What doesn’t it do?
Better Signage plays your images and videos in a loop. It doesn’t currently:
- Route live TV, or switch an HDMI matrix, receiver, or TV input for you.
- Play sound. Video audio is muted.
- Rotate screens, lay out zones, add a separate logo overlay, embed websites, or play live streams.
Build any logos and text into your artwork before you upload it, and design for a 16:9 landscape screen so nothing important gets cropped.
How much does Apple TV digital signage cost?
Free is $0/month with 50 MB of media storage and unlimited screens. There’s no trial clock. If you need more room, paid plans run from $4.99/month for 250 MB to $49.99/month for 10 GB, and every one of them still includes unlimited screens.
You pay for storage, not screens, so adding another TV doesn’t add to your bill. You do supply the Apple TV and display for each screen. Paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.