Cinema SignFree cinema signage for Android TV

Understand the player and the screen

Cinema Sign runs on an Android TV player connected to a television or commercial display. It can show still or Motion Posters, trailers, session times, adverts or a web page. You manage it through a web browser on your phone or computer. The television shows the result; the browser is your control panel.

Each Android player has its own settings. Giving one player a name such as Foyer portrait screen and another Box office session board makes it much easier to change the correct screen.

Player

The Android box running Cinema Sign. It stores downloaded still posters, Motion Posters, trailers and advert media.

Display

The television or sign connected to the player. It may be mounted horizontally or vertically.

Administration page

The local website you open to control that player. It is separate from your cinema's public website.

Programme

Your films and their dated session times. These can be entered manually or imported from a ticketing system.

Four things a film needs before it appears

  1. A film record. The title must exist in Films or Films and Media.
  2. Suitable media. A poster screen needs a downloaded poster. A trailer screen needs a playable video file.
  3. Permission to play. The film must be enabled, and the intended media type must not be disabled.
  4. A matching playlist rule. For example, Scheduled sessions uses films with qualifying sessions, while Coming Soon uses films you have marked Coming Soon.

Adding a title alone does not guarantee that it will appear. A download, a session or a Coming Soon selection may still be needed. This manual checks each of these steps separately.

The Status page identifies the player you are controlling
The Status page identifies the player you are controllingActual administration page served by the Shield, using the Example Cinema demonstration programme.Select image to enlarge

How to use this manual

Read Set up your first screen for a new installation. Use Daily checks for normal opening duties. For an existing problem, go to Troubleshooting. The contents search finds chapters containing a word such as “poster”, “storage” or “logs”.

Menu paths look like Settings → Presentation. Select Settings in the browser's side menu, then select Presentation. Buttons and field names are shown in bold. The pictures are real captures, with demonstration settings and session times; they are visual guides, not a programme to copy.

You are ready whenYou know which Android player belongs to each physical screen, and you can recognise its name on the Status page.

What is new in 4.1?

Advertise Only turns the player into a campaign screen without film/session menus. Motion Poster adds silent animated artwork, detail layouts and still fallback. Presentation now offers Best Fit, Fill and Stretch to Fit; Playlist has Content Frequency. Provider setup adds EBooking-Gateway, Veezi region selection, optional d-cine matching for missing posters/trailers and Media API sign-in. Provider Data Log, Screen Information and a timezone warning help diagnose the installation. Fresh URL advert copies load behind the visible content, including a single-URL programme.

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Cinema Sign 4.1Written by James Gardiner · Free digital signage for cinemas · Reviewed 31 October 2026
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Developed by James Gardiner