Screenly Releases V2 Of Raspberry Pi-Focused Digital Signage Platform

February 28, 2018 by Dave Haynes

UK-based Screenly, possibly/probably the most active developer of digital signage solutions that run on Raspberry Pis, has released the 2nd generation of its software platform – matter of factly called Screenly 2.

The touted highlights:

• Full hardware accelerated playback for all supported asset types;
• Gapless playback for images, videos, and web-pages;
• Official support for NEC P and V series monitors through the built-in Raspberry Pi SoC;
• Hardened security provided by Canonical through Ubuntu Core.

V2 is the result of over two years of R&D efforts, which included a total rewrite aimed at optimizing what the little $35 Raspberry Pi mini-PCs can do. 

“Screenly 2 runs on Linux and supports full HD playback of images, videos, and web pages. While the previous releases pushed the boundaries of the Raspberry Pi platform at the time, the new release goes even further by offering smooth, gapless transitions between all supported asset types,” says Viktor Petersson, CEO and co-founder of Screenly, Inc

The new Screenly, Petersson notes, is the first commercial digital signage platform to adopt Ubuntu Core, the IoT-centric version of the popular variant of Linux.

The PR material makes numerous references to System on Chip, a nod to the maturing and increasingly accepted smart display market, and to the work Screenly has done with NEC to get its player running on the display company’s monitors have snap-in module slots for Raspberry Pi mini-PC boards.

Screenly 2 is available today both as a disk image and as a hardware kit from distributors. The company will have a slot in NEC’s booth at DSE in a few weeks.

Nerd-level detail on what v2 offers …

Petersson talked about Raspberry Pi on this 16:9 Podcast from June 2016: