Frequently Asked Questions

Screenza is a digital signage platform built specifically for restaurants. It lets you create stunning AI-generated menu boards, promotional banners, videos, and image slideshows, then deploy them to any screen in your restaurant — all from a single web-based dashboard.

Whether you have one location or fifty, Screenza handles everything: menu management, AI image and video generation, playlist scheduling, daypart automation, and real-time screen monitoring.

Getting started takes about 15 minutes:

1. Sign up for a free account at app.screenza.tv
2. Create a location for your restaurant
3. Add a screen — either a browser screen (just a URL) or pair a physical device
4. Build your menu by entering items manually or importing from a photo/PDF
5. Generate a menu board using AI and a reference design
6. Create a playlist, add your board to it, and assign it to your screen

That’s it — your menu board is live.

Yes. Screenza offers a free tier that includes 1 screen along with monthly image credits, menu parses, and storage. AI video generation and your-own-video uploads are available on paid plans only. The free plan displays a small Screenza watermark on your screens. Upgrade to any paid plan to remove it and unlock more resources.

See the pricing page for the full plan comparison and exact resource limits per tier.

Great — you’re almost there. Here’s what to do next:

1. Create a location in your dashboard (Locations → + New Location)
2. Register your screens — for each physical screen, either create a Browser Screen (gives you a URL to open in Chrome) or use Pair Device if you have the Screenza Player app installed
3. Add your menu — type it in or upload a photo/PDF for automatic OCR import
4. Generate a menu board — go to Images → Menu Board, pick a reference design, select your items, and hit Generate
5. Create a playlist and add your generated board to it
6. Assign the playlist to your screen(s)

Your screens will pick up the content automatically within 30 seconds. For a visual walkthrough, check our Getting Started Guide.

About 15 minutes from sign-up to a live display. That includes creating your account, setting up a location, adding your menu, generating an AI menu board, and assigning it to a screen. If you import your menu via photo/PDF, the OCR extraction takes just seconds.

No. Any device that can open a web browser works as a Screenza display — Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or ChromeOS. Just open the screen URL and the player automatically launches in fullscreen. Chrome also supports kiosk mode for a completely locked-down display experience.

This means virtually any computer, stick, box, or tablet can become a digital menu board without installing anything. If you prefer a dedicated setup, just download the Screenza Player app for Android or Windows, install it on your device, run it, and grant permissions if prompted — that’s it. Your device instantly becomes a Screenza player that locks to kiosk mode and auto-starts on every boot.

Screenza works with a wide range of hardware. Here are the most common options:

• Android HDMI sticks — Inexpensive plug-and-play sticks that go directly into your TV’s HDMI port and turn it into a smart Android device. They’re cheap, compact, low-power, and ideal for menu boards. A great budget option is this Android HDMI stick on Amazon.
• Android TV sticks/boxes — Chromecast with Google TV, Fire TV Stick, Xiaomi Mi Stick, or any Android 7+ device
• Windows mini-PCs — Intel NUC, Beelink, MeLE, or similar compact PCs running Windows 10/11
• Tablets — Android tablets mounted near the counter work great for smaller displays
• Smart TVs — Any Smart TV with a built-in browser (best with an external device for reliability)

Minimum specs: 2 GB RAM, Wi-Fi or Ethernet, HDMI output (for external devices), and a display resolution of 720p or higher (1080p recommended).

Android HDMI sticks (like this one on Amazon) are one of the cheapest and easiest ways to turn any TV into a Screenza menu board — just plug the stick into your TV’s HDMI port, connect it to power and Wi-Fi, and you’re ready to install the Screenza Player.

You have two simple options to install the app:

1. Install from APKPure (recommended) — Most of these Android HDMI sticks come with the APKPure app store preinstalled. Open APKPure, search for “Screenza Player”, and tap Install. The app will download and install automatically — no extra setup required.
2. Download directly from screenza.tv — Open the built-in web browser on your stick and navigate to https://screenza.tv/player.html. Tap the Download APK button to get the official Screenza Player installer, then open the downloaded APK to install it. (You may need to enable Install from Unknown Sources in your device settings the first time.)

Once installed, launch the Screenza Player — it enters kiosk mode automatically and shows a pairing code. Enter that code in your dashboard under Screens → Pair Device, and your menu boards start appearing on the TV right away. Every time the stick boots up, the player will start automatically.

The Screenza Player runs in kiosk mode, which intentionally locks the device to the player so customers and staff can’t accidentally exit it. To access settings on a paired Android device (HDMI stick, TV box, or tablet), use the hidden settings shortcut:

1. On your remote (or connected keyboard / mouse), press the Back button several times in quick succession — usually 5–7 presses in a row.
2. The Screenza Settings panel will open on top of the player.

From the Settings panel you can:

• Connect to or switch Wi-Fi networks — useful when moving the device, changing routers, or entering a new Wi-Fi password
• Open Android device settings — for things like display, language, time zone, or system updates
• Grant required permissions — storage, install from unknown sources, device admin, and any other permission the player needs to run reliably in kiosk mode
• View pairing info or re-pair the device — if you need to move the device to a different screen or location

When you’re done, simply exit the settings and the Screenza Player returns to kiosk mode automatically — your menu board picks up right where it left off.

There are two ways:

1. Browser Screen — In your dashboard, go to Screens → + Browser Screen. You’ll get a unique URL. Open that URL in any browser on any OS (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, ChromeOS) and the player automatically enters fullscreen. This is the fastest way to get started and requires zero software installation.
2. Device Pairing — Install the Screenza Player app on your Android device or Windows PC. The app displays a pairing code. Enter that code in your dashboard under Screens → Pair Device, and the screen connects automatically.

Yes — any TV with an HDMI port works. Plug in any small device (Android TV stick, mini-PC, old laptop, Chromebox — anything with a browser), open the Screenza display URL and the player goes fullscreen automatically. Your TV is now a digital menu board. No special hardware or commercial-grade displays required.

Yes. The Screenza player caches your content locally using service workers and IndexedDB. If your internet connection drops, your menu boards and promotional images continue displaying without interruption. Once connectivity returns, the player automatically syncs any updates.

Both landscape and portrait. When you create or edit a screen in your dashboard, you can set the orientation. The player automatically adjusts the content layout to match.

It’s simple:

1. Go to Images → Menu Board in your dashboard
2. Select your menu and choose which items to feature
3. Pick a reference design from our gallery (or upload your own — even a photo of a board you like)
4. Click Generate

Screenza’s AI creates a professional menu board image that matches the style of your reference design with your actual menu items, prices, and descriptions. The result is ready to use in seconds. Check out real examples to see what’s possible.

Yes. Upload a photo or PDF of your current menu, and Screenza’s OCR (optical character recognition) automatically extracts item names, descriptions, prices, and categories. Review and confirm the results, then your menu is ready to use for board generation.

Each plan includes a monthly menu parse quota. Check the pricing page for the exact limits per tier.

Screenza has two separate credit pools. Each AI image generation (menu boards, food photos, or ad banners) uses one image credit, and each AI video generation uses one video credit. Both refresh monthly based on your plan and number of screens.

Credits stack per screen, so adding more screens gives you proportionally more each month. Paid plans include video credits; the free plan includes image credits only. See the pricing page for exact allocations per plan.

Absolutely. Upload any JPG, PNG, or WebP image to your library, then add it to your playlists just like an AI-generated board. Many customers use a mix of AI-generated menu boards and their own professional photography or promotional graphics. On paid plans you can upload your own video clips too.

Playlists are ordered collections of content that cycle on your screens. You can add menu boards, promotional images, and ad banners to a playlist, set a display duration for each item, and then assign the playlist to one or more screens.

For example, you might create a “Lunch Menu” playlist with your lunch menu board and two daily specials, each showing for 15 seconds before cycling to the next.

Yes — use Dayparts. Create time windows for each part of your day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night) per location, assign different menus to each daypart, and Screenza automatically switches the active content at the right time.

Dayparts support custom days of the week and even overnight windows, so you have full control over what shows and when.

Screenza templates come with a rich set of widgets you can mix and match in any layout:

• Menu — Structured menu items with category targeting per zone
• Featured Items — Highlighted dishes with photos and descriptions
• Promo Images — Promotional image slideshow
• Image — Display any custom image
• Clock — Live time display with timezone support and 12h/24h format
• Weather — Live forecast with temperature, conditions, wind, humidity, and multi-day outlook
• Alerts — NWS weather alerts and AMBER alerts with optional fullscreen overlay
• Ticker — Scrolling text announcements
• QR Code — Scannable QR codes (link to your online menu, reviews, Wi-Fi, etc.)
• Countdown — Countdown timer to a specific date and time
• Search — Interactive menu search for customer-facing screens
• Custom HTML — Embed any HTTPS content including YouTube videos, Vimeo, live streams, or custom web content
• Header / Footer / Divider — Layout and branding elements

All widgets update in real time on the display. You can combine them freely — for example, a menu on the left, a promo slideshow on the right, with a weather widget and clock in the header.

Yes. The Custom HTML widget lets you embed YouTube videos, YouTube live streams, Vimeo videos, or any HTTPS iframe content directly on your screen — alongside your menu boards, ad banners, and other widgets.

Just add a Custom HTML widget to your template and paste a YouTube or Vimeo embed URL. The video plays right on your display. This is great for:

• Showing live sports or news alongside your menu
• Playing promotional videos about your restaurant
• Displaying social media feeds or review highlights
• Streaming live kitchen cam footage

The Custom HTML widget supports any secure (HTTPS) iframe content, so the possibilities extend well beyond video.

Want to play your own video files instead? You can generate AI videos or upload your own clips and add them directly to a playlist — see the video questions below.

Yes — on paid plans. Generate short, looping food and promotional videos with AI, just like AI images. Each generation uses video credits (a separate pool from image credits), and you can pick a quality tier.

Generated videos land in your library ready to drop into any playlist. The free plan does not include video credits — upgrade to Starter, Growth, or Multi-location to unlock AI video.

Yes, on any paid plan. Upload your own MP4 video clips to your library and add them to playlists alongside AI-generated boards, images, and videos. Uploaded videos count toward your storage quota.

Uploading your own videos is not available on the free plan.

Absolutely. Screens play AI-generated and uploaded videos right inside your playlists, looping and rotating with your menu boards and promotional images.

Like images, videos are cached locally on the player, so they keep playing smoothly even if the internet connection drops.

You pay a flat monthly rate per active screen. Resources like image credits, video credits, storage, and menu parses stack per screen, so adding more screens gives you proportionally more resources.

For example, if your plan includes N credits per screen and you have 5 screens, you get 5×N credits total that month. See the pricing page for current rates and plan details.

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time from your dashboard under Billing. Changes take effect on your next billing cycle. If you upgrade mid-cycle, you’ll get immediate access to the higher plan’s resources.

Yes. Volume discounts are applied automatically based on your total screen count — the more screens you have, the bigger the discount. Discounts apply to all screens on your account and are calculated at billing time.

See the pricing page for the exact discount tiers.

You won’t lose access to your existing content or displays. AI image or video generation will pause until those credits refresh at the start of your next billing month. If you need more sooner, you can upgrade to a higher plan for an immediate boost, or add a credit pack.

Yes. Annual billing saves you roughly 14% compared to monthly pricing. You can switch between monthly and annual billing at any time from your dashboard. The annual discount is reflected on our pricing page when you toggle to yearly billing.

Edit your menu in the dashboard, regenerate the menu board image with the updated items, and swap the new image into your playlist. Your screen picks up the change automatically — typically within 30 seconds. No need to visit the physical screen or restart anything.

Yes. Create separate locations for each branch, each with its own screens, menus, daypart schedules, and playlists. You manage everything from a single dashboard. The Multi-Location plan is designed specifically for restaurant chains and multi-unit operators.

Yes. Invite team members with role-based access:

• Owner — Full access including billing and team management
• Admin — Full operational access
• Staff — Can manage menus, images, playlists, and screens but cannot access billing or team settings

Each team member gets their own login with optional two-factor authentication.

The Screens page in your dashboard shows real-time status for every screen: online, stale (no heartbeat in a few minutes), or offline. Screens send heartbeat signals regularly, so you always know which displays are active and which need attention.

Chrome is recommended for the best experience — it supports kiosk mode (launch with --kiosk flag) for a completely locked-down fullscreen display. Any Chromium-based browser (Edge, Brave, Opera) also works well.

Since the player runs in a standard browser, it works on virtually any operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and ChromeOS. The display URL auto-enters fullscreen when opened, so you don’t need any special setup. The key technical requirements are support for service workers and IndexedDB, which are needed for offline caching.

Yes. All connections use HTTPS encryption. User authentication is handled with secure JWT tokens, and you can enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for an extra layer of protection. Display screens use unique per-screen auth tokens, and all image assets are served through time-limited signed URLs.

Each browser screen gets a unique URL that looks like app.screenza.tv/display/abc123?t=token. Open it in any browser and the player automatically enters fullscreen and starts polling for content updates every ~30 seconds.

Because it’s just a URL, it runs on any operating system with a browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, ChromeOS. This makes it the most versatile way to deploy digital signage without installing platform-specific software. When you change a playlist or swap an image in your dashboard, the screen reflects it almost immediately.

Screenza currently manages menus independently from POS systems. Direct POS integration is on the roadmap. In the meantime, you can quickly import your POS menu by taking a photo or exporting a PDF and using Screenza’s OCR import to extract items automatically.

This usually means the screen doesn’t have content assigned yet. Check the following:

1. Make sure a playlist is assigned to the screen (Screens page → click the screen → check playlist assignment)
2. Verify the playlist has at least one image or menu board in it
3. Check the screen’s status in the dashboard — it should show “online”
4. If using dayparts, confirm the current time falls within an active daypart window

Try these steps:

1. Check internet connectivity on the display device (try loading any website)
2. Verify the display URL or pairing code is correct — copy it fresh from your dashboard
3. Use Chrome or a Chromium-based browser (other browsers may lack required features)
4. Clear the browser cache and reload the display URL
5. For the native player app, try restarting the app or re-pairing the device

If the issue persists, contact our support team for help.

AI generation quality depends on a few factors. Here’s how to get better results:

• Try a different reference design — some styles work better with certain types of menus
• Use fewer menu items — boards with 4–8 featured items tend to look best; too many items can make the layout crowded
• Choose a higher resolution — 4K produces sharper, more detailed results
• Regenerate — AI output varies each time, so generating again often produces a better result

Remember, you can always upload your own professionally designed images as an alternative.