How to Stream Live TV Channels on Digital Signage Screens

Introduction

Digital Signage has transformed how businesses communicate with audiences, from retail outlets, airports, corporate lobbies, and restaurants. The ability to broadcast live TV channels on your screens in real time is one of the strongest features of a modern digital signage CMS.

Whether you want to show a live news channel, a sports event, or any other IPTV channel on signage screen setup, this tutorial will make you follow the exact procedure in a step-by-step manner using the Wilyer Digital Signage Platform.

By the end of this guide, you will not only understand how to configure a live TV stream on any of your digital signage screens, but also how to configure your playlist, make a live stream widget, and publish it to your desired screen.

What You Need Before You Start

Some of the things you must have before getting into the step-by-step digital signage setup of live channels include:

• An active Wilyer Digital Signage Account

• A digital signage screen connected to your CMS. 

• A valid Stream URL(HLS/m3u8 format is recommended)

• Constant internet connectivity on the display and the server.

Step-By-Step: How to Broadcast Live TV to a Screen

Step 1: Go to the Wilyer Dashboard

Start by logging in to your Wilyer Digital Signage account. After being logged in, you will be taken to the core dashboard. Which is your main control center where all your digital signage screens, playlists, and all your various widgets can be managed in a single dashboard?

Step 2: Navigate to the Playlist Section

Click the playlist section on the left-side navigation menu on the dashboard. Here, you store all your content, manage it, and schedule it to be displayed on the digital signage screens you have connected.

Step 3: Create Your New Playlist

Go to the playlist section, and then press the “+ Create Playlist” button. A playlist is a container of content containing your widgets, pictures, videos, and live streams. You can have it on a single or several signs.

Step 4: Fill in Your Credentials and press the “Create Playlist” Button

Name Your New Playlist in a meaningful and descriptive manner, and complete any necessary fields. After filling everything properly, click the “Create Playlist” button to save the playlist. Live stream contents can now be accessed through your playlist.

Step 5: Your Playlist section has been created 

A success message will be displayed on the screen, indicating that your new playlist has been created successfully. You can now see it in your playlist library, where it is already configured and ready to begin adding live stream widgets and other content.

Step 6: Navigate to the Widget section 

Go to the Widget section in the main menu. The elements of your digital signage content are widgets. Wilyer offers an extensive selection of types of widgets, such as clocks, weather, RSS feeds, web pages, and live stream widgets.

Step 7: Navigate to the Live Stream

On the Widget section, identify and press the Live stream widget. This widget is specifically designed to connect to an IPTV or HLS Stream URL, so that you can stream any live television channel to your digital signage screen.

Step 8: Click the “Create” Button to create a new widget

To start configuring your live stream widget, you can start by clicking the “Create New Widget” Button. A configuration form will be open, prompting you to enter the Widget name and the live stream URL that you want to display on your signage screen.

Step 9: Add Your Widget Name and Stream URL

Label your widget with a name that would be easily identified later. Then, enter your live stream URL in either HLS format into the Stream URL field. The URL in the direct channel to the live channel that you wish to show. 

Sample Stream URL: aajtaklive-amd.akamaized.net/hls/live/2014416/aajtak/aajtaklive/live_720p/chunks.m3u8 

Step 10: Click on the Save Button

Once you have entered your widget name and the appropriate Stream URL, you should get the “Save” button that you use to save your live stream configuration as a widget. Before saving the URL, double-check and make sure that it is valid and operational to play it without any interruption on your screen.

Step 11: Widget is created successfully

Your live stream widget will be created, and a success notification will be sent. It is now stored in your widget library and can be fully accessed to be added to any playlist. The widget can be used in other playlists and screens at any time. 

Step 12: Drag and Drop the Live Stream Widget

Go back to your playlist editor, and drag the newly created Live stream widget from the widget library into your playlist. Adding it to the playlist will add it as a Live stream as an active content item that will run on your signage screen.

Step 13: Click on Full Screen

To make the live stream occupy the full screen of your computer monitor, select the Full screen option in the playlist editor. This eliminates the blank borders or margins and provides your audience with a clean, immersive full-screen live broadcast experience.

Step 14: Click the “Next” Button at the Top of the Right side

After setting up your playlist layout and setting your live stream widget in full screen, you should also press the Next button in the upper-right corner of the editor. This takes you to the screen targeting and publishing step.

Step 15: Target Your Screen and Click the “Publish” Button

Choose the particular digital signage screen or screens where you desire the live television channel to be placed. Once you have selected the target screen, you can click the Publish button, and the playlist of the live stream is pushed to the display device chosen.

Step 16: Click the “Continue” to Publish 

An information box will pop up confirming the information you have published. Check the details to ensure that nothing went wrong. Then, proceed to Publish to put the final touches on making your live stream content and your chosen digital signage screen.

Step 17: Your Live Stream Playlist Has been Published Successfully

You will be presented with a final success message that indicates that your live stream playlist has been successfully published. The digital signage screen will now automatically kick off, showing the live TV channel in real-time, reaching your audience instantly without any delay.

Final Step: Live Stream Playing on Your Digital Signage Screen

This is the final result of your setup. The digital signage screen is now broadcasting your IPTV channel live as it was configured. The live broadcast streaming is available in real time, and it can be seen right on your display screen without extra hardware.

Why Stream Live TV on Digital Signage

There are several effective advantages of having live television channels displayed on digital signage screens:

• Keep your audience engaged: Live news, sports, and entertainment are much more interesting than static images.

• Real-time Updates: Live stream ensures your content is always relevant 

• Professional Appearance: Live Stream on screens will enhance the appearance of any waiting area, lobby, or public area.

• Versatile Use cases: Restaurants, gyms, airports, hospitals, offices - live TV can be placed anywhere.

Conclusion

It is not as difficult as it appears to stream a live TV channel on your digital signage screen. Using the Wilyer Digital Signage CMS, the whole procedure of creating a list of plays to a live IPTV stream takes a few minutes.

Through this step-by-step live channel digital signage tutorial, you can now stream any live television on any of your networked screens. It may be a news broadcast, a sports event, or a traditional IPTV feed, but now your signage displays are all capable of live material.