Frequently asked questions

Digital signage is a screen — usually a TV or monitor — connected to a small computer or media player that displays scheduled content instead of a live broadcast: images, video, text, menus, wayfinding, live data, or a mix of all of them.

A laptop needs someone at the screen to change what's showing. Digital signage software like CastWize lets you update, schedule, and manage content remotely from anywhere, across as many screens as you have, without touching the physical device.

A screen (any TV or monitor with an HDMI input) plus a small device to run the player app — a media player box, mini PC, or even a Raspberry Pi. You don't need a smart TV; the player app does the work.

CastWize's player runs as a dedicated app on Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, or Raspberry Pi devices connected to your screen, rather than inside a smart TV's own app store, so behavior stays consistent across every screen regardless of TV brand.

Any screen with an HDMI input works — from a small monitor behind a reception desk to a large commercial display or video wall. CastWize's multi-zone layouts support both single screens and multi-screen video walls.

Yes — video is one of the core content types alongside images, text, webpages, live streams, and interactive widgets.

A video wall is several screens arranged together (e.g. a 2x2 grid) showing one combined layout. CastWize supports multi-zone layouts and video walls natively, so content can span or be split across multiple screens.

Yes — CastWize's canvas supports live webpages and widgets as content objects alongside images and video, so a zone can show anything a browser can render.

Yes — CastWize supports scheduling by day, time, and date, plus ad-cycle rotation, so a screen can show breakfast content in the morning and dinner content at night automatically.

It doesn't have to be. CastWize charges one flat rate — $5 per screen per month — with no tiers, feature gates, or setup fees, and your first screen is free for 30 days.

CastWize is a digital signage content management system: pair a screen, build content on a canvas, and schedule it to play — one flat plan at $5 per screen.

Install the CastWize Player app on your device (Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, or Raspberry Pi), launch it to get a pairing code, then enter that code in CastWize Studio under Screens → Add Screen.

Yes — your first screen is free for 30 days, with no credit card required to start.

No. You can sign up and pair your first screen with no credit card. You only need to add a payment method if you want that screen to keep working past its 30-day free period, or if you add more screens.

Most people are pairing and building their first content within a few minutes — install the player app, enter the pairing code shown on screen, then build a canvas and schedule it in Studio.

Yes — the entire feature set is available from day one on your first screen's free 30-day trial, so you can build real content and see exactly how it works before paying for anything.

Images, video, text, webpages, live streams, and widgets — all placed on the same canvas.

Yes — CastWize's canvas is multi-object, so a single slide can combine images, video, text, webpages, live streams, and widgets together, not just one at a time.

The canvas is where you build what a screen (or a zone of a screen) shows — you place and arrange content objects on it, then assign it to play on a schedule.

Yes — CastWize supports multi-zone layouts, so one physical screen can be split into zones (e.g. a main video area and a scrolling ticker) that each run their own content independently.

Yes — schedules can be set by day-of-week, time-of-day, and specific dates, so you can automate exactly when different content plays.

An ad cycle is a rotation of multiple pieces of content that play one after another on a loop, useful for cycling through promotions or announcements without manual scheduling for each one.

Yes — date-based scheduling lets you set content to play only within a specific date range, then automatically revert afterward.

Android, Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon), Linux (x86_64 desktop/kiosk), and Raspberry Pi (4/5, 64-bit OS) are all available now. iOS/iPadOS support is coming soon.

Not yet — iOS/iPadOS support is on the roadmap. Every other major platform (Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi) is available today.

Yes — CastWize has a native player build for Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB+) or Pi 5 running 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS.

No — CastWize doesn't sell hardware. Install the free player app on a device you already have or can buy generically: an Android media player, a Windows PC, a Mac, a Linux box, or a Raspberry Pi.

Yes — the Windows player installs on any Windows PC or signage box, and the Android player runs on Android media players and smart displays you may already own.

There's no fixed cap — add as many screens as you need. Your first screen is free for 30 days; every additional screen is $5/month.

Yes — clients, tags and groups let you organize screens by business, location or brand. Running screens for other businesses? Give each one its own client: its own screens, media and playlists, all on one account and one bill.

Yes — Studio supports remote screenshot, reboot, and refresh for any connected screen, without needing physical access to the device.

CastWize supports alerts via email, Slack, and webhook, so you can be notified automatically if something needs attention.

Yes — every account action is recorded in a full audit log.

One flat plan: $5 per screen per month. No tiers, no feature gates — every customer gets the full feature set from day one.

Yes — sign up and pair your first screen with no review, no waitlist, and no credit card required. It stays free for 30 days.

Add a payment method any time before the 30 days are up to keep your first screen active afterward. If you don't, it stops serving content once the trial ends.

You're charged a prorated amount for the rest of the billing cycle, handled automatically by our payment processor, Paddle.

You get a prorated credit for the remainder of the billing cycle, applied automatically to your next invoice.

Credit and debit cards, processed securely by Paddle.

Yes — there's no contract. Screens beyond your first deactivate at the end of the current billing period.

We never see your card number. Card details are handled entirely by Paddle, our PCI-compliant payment processor — CastWize only stores a reference token, never the card itself.

Passwords are hashed with bcrypt — CastWize never stores your password in plain text — and every account action is recorded in a full audit log.

Yes — two-factor authentication (TOTP) is available on every account.

Yes — Google Sign-In is supported as an alternative to a password.

API keys are stored as one-way hashes — the full key is shown to you only once, at creation, and never retrievable again after that.

Yes — sessions are managed per device, with a "sign out everywhere" option if you ever need it.

Yes — a public API lets you view your screens, manage playlists, and assign content to a screen's zone programmatically.

List every screen on your team, list or create playlists, and assign a playlist to a screen's zone — the same action Studio's assignment dropdown performs, callable from your own code.

Create one in CastWize Studio under Settings → API Keys. The key is shown to you once at creation, so save it immediately.

Yes — the public API is built for exactly this, whether that's a custom CMS, an internal tool, or a point-of-sale system triggering content changes automatically.

Hospitals & clinics, restaurants, car dealerships, retail stores, corporate offices, gyms & fitness studios, hotels & hospitality, and schools & campuses all use CastWize today.

Yes — digital menu boards, daily specials, and order-ready boards are a common CastWize use case for restaurants.

Yes — inventory showcases, financing promotions, and service-bay updates are all built on CastWize's canvas and scheduling.

Yes — wayfinding, waiting-room information, and health & safety messaging are common uses in hospitals and clinics.

All supported: in-store promotions and window displays for retail; internal announcements and lobby dashboards for offices; class schedules for gyms; lobby wayfinding and welcome messages for hotels; and campus announcements for schools.

Email [email protected] directly — a real person answers. Setup guides for every supported platform are also on the Support page.

The Support page has a step-by-step download and setup guide for each supported platform — Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and Raspberry Pi.