Restaurant Menu Boards
Scenario
A quick-service restaurant with 3–5 portrait menu boards above the counter. The menu changes between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, prices change a few times a year, and sold-out items must come off the board fast.
Recommended setup
| Recommendation | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Commercial displays in portrait (Samsung Tizen / LG webOS) or one Android player per screen; avoid consumer TVs that auto-sleep |
| Groups | One group per location, e.g. Downtown; screen names by position: Menu-1, Menu-2… |
| Layout | Portrait 1080×1920; main menu image + small promo zone with a looping food video |
| Schedule | Dayparted: Breakfast 06:00–10:59, Lunch 11:00–16:59, Dinner 17:00–close |
| Plan | Starter for single-zone menus; Pro if you use multi-zone layouts |
Set it up
Pair and orient the screens
Pair each display, then set Orientation → Portrait under Screens → screen → Display. See Pair your first screen.
Design one image per board per daypart
Export menus as PNG at exactly 1080×1920. Name files by board and daypart, e.g. menu-1_breakfast.png, and upload them to a Menus folder in the Media library.
Create a playlist per board and daypart
For a single static menu, the playlist has one item with any duration — it simply stays on screen. Add a short promo video to the promo zone if you’re using a layout.
Schedule the dayparts
Create a schedule for each daypart targeting the right screen, with days of week and time range set. See Dayparting. Set the lunch menu as the screen’s fallback playlist so the board is never blank.
Handle sold-out items
Keep a “sold out” version of each menu image. Swap it in the playlist and click Publish — online screens update within seconds.
Tips
- Check the clock. Daypart switches rely on the device time; make sure NTP (UDP 123) is allowed on the restaurant network.
- Turn off TV power saving and set the display to power on with the restaurant’s opening hours.
- Price changes across many stores: edit the shared image once in the Media library — every playlist using it updates on publish.
Many regions require calorie or allergen information on menus. Keep it in the menu artwork itself rather than a separate rotating slide, so it’s always visible.