Deploy with Kandji

Kandji can install Billboard on every managed Apple TV and point each one at the right gallery automatically, so no one has to type a code on the TV. This works through Managed App Configuration: Kandji delivers a set of key/value settings that Billboard reads on launch.

Before you start: your Apple TVs must be supervised and enrolled in Kandji, and Billboard Screen must be assigned to them through Apple Business Manager / Volume Purchasing — see Apple Business Manager & School Manager. 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. In Kandji, add Billboard Screen as an App Store app to the Blueprint (or Library) that your Apple TVs belong to, drawing it from your Apple Business Manager (VPP) content.
2. Assign it to install automatically on the Apple TVs in scope.

2. Configure the app

On the app's item, open its Managed App Config and paste an XML 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>
</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>.
• Optionally add a deviceName string to label each screen, so the AirPlay card and your dashboard identify it correctly. If Kandji offers a device-name variable, use it here so each Apple TV inserts its own name; otherwise a fixed name works for a single screen.

That's all most rollouts need. Everything about how the screen looks is set in your Billboard dashboard, not here (see below). Add one app config per gallery when different rooms need different content.

3. Deploy

Save the item. Kandji 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 Kandji 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 Kandji.
• Kandji'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 App Config is just those one or two keys. There's no need to list panel or clock settings here.

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 Kandji 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 and Intune.

Troubleshooting

• The TV still shows the welcome screen. The app didn't receive dataURL. Confirm the Managed App Config is saved on the app item, the device is in scope, and the value is valid XML. Re-push the app config from Kandji.
• 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 and we'll help you get your screens live.