'Hands-Off' operation of a media box?

[Jorabi]

I need to set up a TV (monitor) in a Deli to display their daily specials. They have NO technical knowledge, not even email!

Each morning they call me with their specials and I post them to Facebook. To avoid needing someone there to write the same exact thing on a board (and because mornings are always crazy), I suggested we do it electronically.

I envision pasting the specials to a web page and having a box on a large-screen monitor that always shows the same page. I can make the page auto-refresh. I can NOT have a computer there.

My concern is that I will not be able to get a box to auto-start a browser on power-on, full-screen, to a particular page. This sort of info is hard to come by without buying one.

Any ideas? There are vertical-market solutions for restaurants, but I am trying too get this done on a shoestring. Those solutions cost a fortune and have monthly fees!


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[yoda313]

If I'm not mistaken video cards on computers can be set to be displayed in a vertical position. You could use any type of pc with a video card that has this capability and hook it up to a tv in the vertical position.

Then you just do it as a pc with the tv and do whatever you want with it.

Maybe even just a powerpoint type deal perhaps. Or no ms office there is openoffice of course.


It could be the oldest pc you have just so long as it turns on. Also as long as they have space and a power plug for it.

Edit - sorry - didn't see the no computer requiement.

What about an android box like an ouya? They are pretty complex (but you could leave it on all the time once its set up the way you want - or connect it to a ups power supply in case of a power outage to keep the settings active) and they are really really tiny. There are knockoffs too. Though don't know about rotating the display. I'm sure there are options since its android however.

Edit - now that I think about it more if they have any kind of a tablet you could do that with a chromecast hooked up to the tv.

[aedipuss]

yoda he said he can't have a computer there to run it.

[yoda313]

yoda he said he can't have a computer there to run it.

Read my edits

Chromecast opens a few options.

[Jorabi]

Thanks Yoda, you gave me some options to think about. I had previously looked at Chromecast as a solution but I dismissed it because I would not have a source device. I was not thinking tablet, and I have one that I don't use! It's a Cisco Android tablet that they quickly removed from the market and I obtained one still in the box.

[yoda313]

I have one that I don't use!

That's even better then

Good luck.