Show HN: Signage Sync (signagesync.app)

Gonna check this out tomorrow. I've actually tried to build something like this (incidentally with the Flutter tech stack too), so I'll get back to you on this with some feedback.

I'm not a customer for this, but my first question is: given people are already able to do what you promise (that is, digital screens exist), what is wrong with the solutions they are using?

Feels completely broken here. The screen looks like spooling an empty VHS tape, i.e. horizontal lines and dots, flickering and moving up and down. Sony Bravia 4K UR2, Android 10.

First bit of feedback, WhatsApp is for my friends and family, not for work. That this is the primary way to reach out suggests this is a hobby project, and I wouldn't get in touch for a business thing on my personal WhatsApp.

Next up, the AI generated images aren't a great look, just get some actual screenshots of what I can expect when using it.

No pricing information is a bit suspicious.

That said, the idea sounds great, we used to have a little web app that did this at my old workplace, but it was something we had to build and host, and if we could have avoided it we would have.

It would help to have more info on what you need to run this. The page mentions "without the need for any new hardware", but doesn't say what existing types of hardware it is compatible with. The apps available for download gives a hint, but are the apps for displaying the content, or for controlling the content?

For example, I recently setup a dashboard using a Raspberry Pi running Chromium - would this work for my use case?

And does the control work over the local network, or does it require an internet connection?

It would be helpful to specify how yours compares to other, more established solutions in the same niche. Something like https://www.telemetrytv.com

It would be useful to have some examples on the web page, as I'm not inclined to immediately download an app.

Have a look at Info-Beamer as well: https://github.com/info-beamer

I worked at a company that did interactive retail signage and wrote the platform to remotely deploy software to the screens. Can confirm it was a giant pain in the ass. A couple random thoughts:

1) Internet access was extremely unreliable on site, as was our ability to get useful assistance from retail staff. Queueing inbound and outbound signals was key, as was locally storing any content.

2) Our primary customer was non-technical marketing/creative folks. They bought us because it allowed them to deploy novel signage formats without knowing how to code. (In case that’s a useful pain point to pursue.)

Hope that’s helpful!