Using a computer as a screen

1. On the computer connected to the screen, open play.dislab.app in Chrome, Edge or Safari. It shows a 6-character code. (On a Mac or iPad, add it as an app first: see below.)
2. Pair it as you would a TV: Add screen, type the code, and Dislab says Browser found. Press Continue and choose what it plays.

   

3. Double-click the picture (or press F) for full screen. Press I for the screen’s status, and Esc to close it.
4. Turn off the computer’s sleep and screensaver, and set its display never to turn off.

It plays the same playlists, signs and widgets as a TV, keeps to schedules and opening hours, and keeps playing from what it has downloaded if the internet drops. It counts as a screen on your plan like any other.

What a browser can’t do as well as a stick:

• It only plays while the browser is open. After a power cut or restart it doesn’t open by itself unless you set the computer up to (below).
• Full screen needs a double-click, or Chrome started in kiosk mode.
• The computer’s own sleep and screensaver must be off, or the screen goes dark.
• A browser can clear the files it has stored (when the disk is nearly full, or if someone clears browsing data). It then downloads them again, which needs internet.
• Chrome, Edge, and Safari 16.4 or later. Not Firefox.
• Only one tab plays: open play.dislab.app in a second tab and the first says it’s playing in another tab.
• No screenshots (On the TV now), no TV on/off or restart from the console, and Turn the TV off after hours shows black instead.

On a Mac or iPad, add it as an app. Safari deletes what a website has stored after 7 days without anyone using it, which would unpair the screen. Added as an app it keeps everything, opens full screen and has no browser bars. On a Mac: open play.dislab.app in Safari, then File, Add to Dock, and open it from the Dock. On an iPad: Share, then Add to Home Screen, and open it from there; to keep the iPad on Dislab, turn on Guided Access (Settings, Accessibility) and set Auto-Lock to Never.

To run it all day on Windows: start Chrome in kiosk mode, which opens full screen with nothing else on it, every time the computer starts.

1. Right-click the desktop, choose New › Shortcut, and type "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --kiosk https://play.dislab.app.
2. Press Windows+R, type shell:startup and move the shortcut into the folder that opens.
3. Settings › System › Power: set the screen and sleep to Never.
4. Restart the computer to check it opens by itself. To leave kiosk mode, press Alt+F4.

On a Chromebook, a managed device can run play.dislab.app as a kiosk app.