Deploy with Cisco Meraki

Cisco Meraki Systems Manager 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: Meraki delivers a set of key/value settings that Billboard reads on launch.

Before you start: your Apple TVs must be supervised and enrolled in Meraki Systems Manager, and Billboard Screen must be added to your app catalogue as a VPP app through 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 Meraki Systems Manager, go to your VPP apps and add Billboard Screen from your Apple Business Manager (VPP) content.
2. Scope the app to the Apple TVs (or a tag) you want, and set it to install automatically.

2. Configure the app

On the app's settings, open its Managed App Config. You can enter the values as key/value pairs or 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 key (String) to label each screen individually, so the AirPlay card and your dashboard name it correctly per screen. Set its value to Meraki's device-name variable so each Apple TV inserts its own name. 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 config per gallery when different rooms need different content.

3. Deploy

Save the app config. Meraki 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 Meraki 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 Meraki.
• Meraki'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 tag in Meraki 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, the device is in scope, and the value is valid XML. Re-push the app config from Meraki.
• 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.