FTSign 📺

Local-network HTML digital signage. Control a fleet of TVs from a single admin UI.

Architecture

Controller (Node.js)  ←→  Players (Electron / Pi / Android)
       ↕                          ↕
  Admin Web UI              Fullscreen WebView
       ↕
  Cast Devices (Chromecast / Cast-enabled TVs)

Quick Start

1. Install dependencies

npm install

2. Start the Controller

npm run dev:controller
# → http://localhost:3000

3. Start a Player (on any machine on the same network)

npm run dev:player
# Electron app opens, discovers the controller via mDNS, registers itself

4. Assign a sign

Open http://localhost:3000, go to Assign, pick a screen and sign → Push.

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Chromecast / Cast Support

FTSign discovers Cast-enabled devices (Chromecasts, Android TVs, smart TVs) on your LAN automatically.

MVP (works now)

• The controller discovers Cast devices via mDNS (_googlecast._tcp)
• You can cast signs to any discovered device from the Cast tab in the admin UI
• Signs are loaded as URLs (controller serves the HTML)

Custom Receiver (for full HTML support)

The Default Media Receiver has limited HTML support. For full arbitrary HTML:

1. Register a developer account at https://cast.google.com/publish ($5 one-time)
2. Register a Custom Receiver pointing to:

   http://<your-controller-ip>:3000/cast-receiver.html
   

3. Note your App ID and set it:

   export FTSIGN_CAST_APP_ID=<your-app-id>

Apple TV

Apple TV doesn't support Cast. Options:

• AirPlay mirroring from a Mac/iOS device (not push-based)
• Build a tvOS app (future roadmap)

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Player Types

Platform	How to run
Any Mac/PC	npm run dev:player
Raspberry Pi	Install Electron, same command
Android TV	Coming soon (WebView + WS client)
Chromecast	Built-in via Cast tab

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Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
FTSIGN_PORT	3000	Controller HTTP/WS port
FTSIGN_DB	ftsign.db	SQLite database path
FTSIGN_CAST_APP_ID	CC1AD845	Cast receiver App ID
FTSIGN_CONTROLLER	ws://localhost:3000/ws	Player fallback (if mDNS fails)

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WebSocket Protocol

All messages are JSON with envelope:

{ "type": "...", "device_id": "...", "timestamp": "...", "payload": {} }

Message types: REGISTER, REGISTER_OK, LOAD_SIGN, ACK, ERROR, HEARTBEAT, PING, PONG

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Roadmap

• Playlists + scheduling
• Asset upload (images/fonts)
• Android TV player app
• Role-based auth (RBAC)
• Bundle packaging + offline cache
• Emergency broadcast
• tvOS / AirPlay integration
• Multi-controller scaling (Redis pubsub)