Deploy with Jamf School

With Jamf School you can install Billboard on every managed Apple TV across your school and point each one at the right gallery automatically, so no one has to type a code on the TV at the front of a hall or library. This works through Managed App Configuration: Jamf School delivers a set of key/value settings that Billboard reads on launch. (This is Jamf's education product — if you run Jamf Pro instead, use Deploy with Jamf Pro.)

Before you start: your Apple TVs must be supervised and enrolled in Jamf School, and Billboard Screen must be assigned to them through Apple School Manager (Volume Purchasing). The app's bundle identifier is app.BillboardScreen. If you'll lock screens with Single App Mode, first prepare each Apple TV's screen saver, sleep and update settings — see Prepare the Apple TV first.

1. Add the app

1. Add Billboard Screen to your apps in Apple School Manager, then let it sync into Jamf School. See Apple Business Manager & School Manager for the VPP steps.
2. In Jamf School, go to Apps and open Billboard Screen, then scope it to the Apple TVs (or a device group) you want and set it to install automatically.

2. Configure the app

On the Billboard Screen app record, open Managed Configuration. You can enter key/value pairs directly or upload a property list. At minimum, set the manifest URL for the gallery this group of screens should show.

<dict>
    <key>dataURL</key>
    <string>https://getbillboard.app/m/ABCD2345</string>
    <key>deviceName</key>
    <string>%DeviceName%</string>
</dict>

• Replace ABCD2345 with your gallery code (letters and numbers only, no dash), shown on the gallery's Connect tab. The full manifest URL is always https://getbillboard.app/m/<CODE>.
• %DeviceName% is a Jamf School variable that inserts each Apple TV's own name, so the AirPlay card and your dashboard label it correctly per screen — handy when you've one Apple TV per space. This one is optional.

That's all most rollouts need. Everything about how the screen looks is set in your Billboard dashboard, not here (see below). Scope one app record per gallery when different spaces need different content — a gallery for the library, another for the main hall, another for reception.

3. Deploy

Save the Managed Configuration. Jamf School installs Billboard on the scoped Apple TVs and delivers the configuration. On launch the app reads dataURL and goes straight to the slideshow, skipping the welcome screen entirely. Change the gallery code in Jamf School later and the screens follow on their next check-in.

Where settings actually live

It's worth being clear about this, because it saves a lot of duplicated work:

• The gallery's content and look — media, image timings, AirPlay panel text, Wi-Fi step, tint, opacity, clock, notices — are configured in your Billboard dashboard. They travel to every screen inside the gallery's manifest automatically. You do not re-enter any of this in Jamf School.
• Jamf School's job is simply to point each screen at the right gallery with dataURL (and, if you like, name it with deviceName).

So a normal Managed Configuration is just those one or two keys. There's no need to list panel or clock settings here. For a whole-school message across every screen at once — a snow day, an assembly, an evacuation — post an account-wide notice from the dashboard rather than touching Jamf School; see Broadcast a notice.

Advanced: overriding a setting per device or site

Managed configuration values take priority over the gallery's manifest. You only need this when some screens must differ in a way a single shared gallery can't express — the classic case is the same content gallery across several buildings that each have a different Wi-Fi network name. Set these per device group in Jamf School and they win over the dashboard:

For anything else — panel text, tint, opacity, clock, notices, video behaviour — set it once in the gallery instead. It's simpler and it applies everywhere that gallery is shown. The same keys work in any MDM, including Jamf Pro.

Troubleshooting

• The TV still shows the welcome screen. The app didn't receive dataURL. Confirm the Managed Configuration is saved on the app record, the device is in scope, and the value is valid. Re-push the app config from Jamf School.
• Wrong content on a screen. Check the gallery code in dataURL matches the gallery you intend, with no dash and no trailing spaces.
• Screens are slow to update. Lower dataCheckTimer, but remember a very short interval increases network traffic across a large fleet.

Still stuck? Email us at support@getbillboard.app.