Newscast

The Tech Doctor Newscast is a Raspberry Pi-based Digital Signage system designed to plug into a TV and broadcast a Google Slide deck to your audience.

Follow the instructions on this page to configure your Raspberry Pi, plug it into your TV’s HDMI port and a power source, and let the slides roll on.

The Tech Doctor Network Newscast
Newscast at Upper Yarra Secondary College – There are 7 different screens around the school with different displays for different audiences. Yr 7, Yr 8, Yr 9, Yr 10 & Snr School, as well as Careers & Library.
Lilydale Bowling Club Sponsors

To make your own Newscast you will need:

Item	AU Link	US Link
Raspberry Pi (3B+ or Zero W)	Core Electronics	Amazon
TV with HDMI input	FB Marketplace	FB Marketplace
Micro SD Card (8Gb Minimum)	Core Electronics	Amazon
HDMI Cable or Mini HDMI Cable	Core (std) Core (mini)	Amazon (std) Amazon (mini)
Power supply for the Pi	Core Electronics	Amazon
Mini Keyboard/Trackpad	Ebay	Amazon

sudo apt-get install xdotool unclutter

nano /home/pi/kiosk.sh

#!/bin/bash
xset s noblank
xset s off
xset -dpms
unclutter -idle 0.5 -root &
sed -i 's/"exited_cleanly":false/"exited_cleanly":true/' /home/pi/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences
sed -i 's/"exit_type":"Crashed"/"exit_type":"Normal"/' /home/pi/.config/chromium/Default/Preferences

/usr/bin/chromium-browser --noerrdialogs --disable-infobars --kiosk https://techdoctor.com.au/newscast_demo &

while true; do
   sleep 900
   xdotool keydown ctrl+r; xdotool keyup ctrl+r;
done

echo $DISPLAY

sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/kiosk.service

[Unit]
Description=Chromium Kiosk
Wants=graphical.target
After=graphical.target

[Service]
Environment=DISPLAY=:0.0
Environment=XAUTHORITY=/home/pi/.Xauthority
Type=simple
ExecStart=/bin/bash /home/pi/kiosk.sh
Restart=on-abort
User=pi
Group=pi

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical.target

sudo systemctl enable kiosk.service
sudo systemctl start kiosk.service
sudo systemctl status kiosk.service

sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart

add 
/home/pi/kiosk.sh
at the end

If your network uses a proxy server, you will need to edit the /etc/environment by typing:

sudo nano /etc/environment

and add the following text, customised to your network:

export http_proxy="http://username:password@proxyaddress:proxyport"
export https_proxy="http://username:password@proxyaddress:proxyport"
export no_proxy="localhost, 127.0.0.1"

If you would like a pre-built image you can put on your Raspberry Pi, you can get one from here: Newscast Image Purchase

You will need Win32 Disk Imager to write it to your SD Card

If this project was useful for you, please consider making a Donation to keeping the Channel running. Thank You!