Screenbird

Screenbird

Control your Screenbird digital signage screens from Companion: switch all screens to a scene with one button, push content to a single screen or sub-screen, and see on the button what is live.

Requires Companion 4.3 or newer.

Setup

1. In Screenbird, turn on Scenes in Settings > Advanced and create your scenes. Only needed for the scene buttons; screens work without it.
2. Go to Settings > Connections > API tokens and create a token with access Control screens and scenes.
3. In Companion, add the Screenbird connection and paste the token.
4. Open the presets: there is a button for every scene in your team.

The token works in the team that was active when you created it. To control screens of another team, create a token while that team is active. Use one token per Companion connection.

The computer running Companion needs outgoing HTTPS and secure WebSocket (WSS) access on port 443 to api.screenbird.app. Leave the API address as it is, unless Screenbird support gives you another one. Only https:// addresses work, so the token never travels unencrypted.

Actions

• Scene: go: show the scene on all its screens. If the scene changed since it went live, pressing it again puts the changes live.
• Scene: stop: stop this scene; its screens return to their own content.
• Scene: next: go to the scene after the one that was activated last, in the order of the Scenes page.
• Stop all: stop all scenes and pushed content. Screen mirroring keeps running.
• Screen: push content: show content on one screen or sub-screen, for a number of minutes or until stopped. Pick the content from the list: files, designs, apps, split screens and playlists of the team, newest first.
• Screen: stop: stop pushed content or a scene on one screen or sub-screen.

When an action fails (for example because the token has no permission for it), Companion shows it in the connection log.

Feedbacks

• Scene is live, Scene is partly live, Scene changed since it went live
• Screen shows: a scene, pushed content, screen mirroring or normal content
• Screen is online

Button colors of the presets

• Scene buttons use the color of the scene in Screenbird:
  • dark: the scene is off
  • full color: the scene is live on all its screens
  • half bright: the scene is partly live (some of its screens show something else)
  • amber with "(changed)": the scene was edited after it went live; press it again to put the changes live
• Stop per scene: dark, with the scene name in a light version of its color.
• Stop per screen: dark red while a scene or pushed content shows on that screen.
• STOP ALL is dark red, NEXT shows the name of the scene that comes next.

Variables

Use them in button text as $(screenbird:last_scene) (with the name of your connection if you renamed it):

• last_scene: the scene activated last
• next_scene: the scene that Scene: next starts
• live_scenes: the scenes that are live
• screens_online, screens_total: screens online and in total

Button states update right away through a live connection; the module does not poll. The list of content to push refreshes when you add a push action and after changes on your screens.

Troubleshooting

• Authentication failure: the token is invalid or was revoked. Create a new token in Screenbird and paste it in the connection settings.
• Insufficient permissions: the token has no access to screens, or the person who created it lost access. Create a token with access Control screens and scenes.
• Connection failure that mentions the API address: something answers that is not Screenbird, for example a Wi-Fi login page or a wrong address. Check the network and the API address.
• Live updates unavailable: a firewall or proxy blocks WebSocket traffic to api.screenbird.app. Buttons still work, but their colors only update after a press. Allow WSS on port 443 to that address.
• No active subscription: the Screenbird account is inactive. The module checks again every 5 minutes.
• Bad configuration: the token or the API address is missing or has the wrong format. Paste the token again; only https:// addresses ending in /v1 are accepted.

With Scenes turned off in Screenbird, the module works with screens only.

More help: screenbird.app.