FAQ

Find helpful information about Yodeck and answers to frequently asked questions.

General Questions

Yodeck can display videos, images, documents, online web pages and apps. Or you can combine these media files to create Playlists or Screen Layouts.

You can upload whatever media files you want to Yodeck, and use them. We also support YouTube videos, Live Streaming Videos (YouTube, Ustream, and custom streams) and PowerPoint files (converted to videos, while keeping all animations). All Document types are supported and shown as slides, including PDF, PowerPoint, Word and Excel files. Our App collection, including Scrolling Text (ticker), Rich Text and RSS Feed, is now available to use and we are working on adding more.

Because it will let you down and make your job so much harder. Really.

Most TVs with a USB port allow you to load some media files on a USB drive and then you select to play them back sequentially.  That’s it.

If the TV turns off, you will have to restart the playback. Some TVs show annoying progress indicators on screen. Others, stop when the full list of media is completed. Generally, it is a nice free way to do stuff, but it isn’t suitable for businesses and organizations.

Yodeck automates the process of playback. It can turn the TV on and off, change the channel to the proper HDMI input and make sure everything goes smoothly without glitches even after a power failure. And, of course, you can continuously update the content over the Internet without using USB sticks or DVD discs, and do so to 1 or 10,000 screens. Also, Yodeck provides a scheduling feature. You can setup your monitors to show different things at different hours of the day, or even power off your monitor to save electricity.

And all of that without even touching upon how Yodeck can composite screens with multiple content, using YouTube videos, PPTs, live streaming videos, etc.

You need Internet access and a Yodeck-supported playback device.

Yodeck is an online service, so you need an Internet connection for signing in and managing your monitors and content. A Yodeck-supported playback device is required for each monitor (either a Raspberry Pi you build yourself, or our very own preconfigured complete Yodeck Player kit). Internet connectivity is also required for installed Yodeck Players, either wireless (WiFi), wired (LAN) or mobile (using a 3G/4G/LTE USB dongle).

Absolutely not! Yodeck was designed from scratch so that anyone can use it.

Forget about mumbo-jumbo tech-stuff. The service is really easy to use and our Yodeck Players are really plug-and-play. Really. And you can get them for free with our Annual Plan.

You can have however many monitors you need.

Yodeck uses scalable technologies that can support tens of thousands of monitors under a single Yodeck account. We provide mass management of multiple monitors, along with tag-based searches, thus making Yodeck an easy solution for handling thousands of units.

Hardware (Players and Monitors)

Yodeck supports the Raspberry Pi and our very own Yodeck Player (based on the Raspberry Pi).

The Raspberry Pi is a very low-cost but quite capable mini-computer which you can buy yourself from vendors worldwide, no matter where you are located. In the past, we did support using regular PCs, but we have dropped support as nobody was actually using Yodeck on a PC.

We have our very own Yodeck Player, based on the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. You can get all the 1GB Raspberry Pi 4 Players you need for free with our Annual Plan. Or you can opt for a 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 Player and only pay $20 if you get any of our Annual Plans. Yodeck Players you get from us are shipped ready-to-use, with everything pre-configured. See the Yodeck Player section below for details.

Yodeck was built for the Raspberry Pi 3 and has been enhanced to run perfectly on the Raspberry Pi 4. Yodeck also works fine on Pi 2. Even Pi 1 or Pi Zero (and Pi Zero W) will work for simple cases.

The experience has been optimized for the Raspberry Pi 4, and our own Yodeck Players are based on the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. We now ship the newest Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.

Yodeck has been tested to work on:

  • (Aug 2019) Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4 cores, 1GB/2GB/4GB RAM) – The best possible experience for 1080p and 4K content.
  • Raspberry Pi 3 Model B and B+ (4 cores, 1GB RAM) – Will provide you with an amazing experience on 1080p.
  • Raspberry Pi 2 Model B (4 cores, 1GB RAM) – Will provide you with a great experience.
  • Raspberry Pi Model B, Rev 2 (1 core, 512MB RAM) – Significantly slower, can handle most cases but changes take longer.
  • Raspberry Pi Zero (1 core, 512MB RAM) – Significantly slower, can handle most cases but changes take longer. Needs an Ethernet or WiFi adapter.
  • Raspberry Pi Zero W (1 core, 512MB RAM) – Significantly slower, can handle most cases but changes take longer. Has a WiFi adapter. Supported using a special image.
  • Raspberry Pi Model B (1 core, 256MB RAM) – Dramatically slower, can handle a single playlist only, may wear out the SD card due to swapping under load.
  • NEC Vxx4 and Pxx5 series displays, with Raspberry Pi 3 Compute Module – NEC Edition

We also support all Raspberry Pi Compute Modules according to their respective generation as above. We do not support Raspberry Pi models with less than 1GB RAM for new production-grade installations. See more Yodeck compatibility information for different Raspberry Pi versions.

Yodeck software supports any type of monitor or TV, of any resolution.

The service was designed based on the primary resolution of 1920×1080 (dubbed “Full HD” or “1080p” in the TV industry). With the Raspberry Pi 4, Yodeck also supports 4K resolution. The content is automatically adapted for any resolution and any monitor or TV, even non-widescreen monitors.

Yodeck supports multiple ratios and orientations, making it possible to customize and optimize your content by ratio and orientation (portrait or landscape). For resolutions supported by our Yodeck Player, check out the hardware specs of the Yodeck Player.

Yodeck Player

The Yodeck Player is our own plug-and-play Player, based on the popular Raspberry Pi 4 B computer.

Yodeck needs a device that will handle playback of your media on your monitor or TV. To make things easier for you, we created our own consumer device.

With the Yodeck Player you get:

  • A Raspberry Pi 4 (Model B) mini computer (you can choose either the 1GB or 4GB version), including a metallic case that works as a heatsink to keep your Raspberry Pi 4 cool, and a mains power supply.
  • A 3ft-long (1m) Micro HDMI to Standard HDMI cable, for connecting the Yodeck Player to your TV/monitor.
  • A 16GB SD-card, preloaded with Yodeck software and preconfigured to be plug-and-play.

Sounds complicated? It is not. As soon as you plug your Player into your monitor or TV and then connect it to your broadband router, it will start playback from your account. Immediately.

Sign in to the Yodeck service and from the top-right menu select “Get Yodeck Player”.

Any Yodeck Player you order will be preconfigured with your account details so that you can simply plug it in and start “yodecking”!

Remember: With our Annual Plan, you get a 1GB Raspberry Pi 4 Yodeck Player for free! And the 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 Yodeck Player only costs $20 with an annual Plan!

If you need any advanced configuration, you can provide it through the ordering process. For example, you can supply your WiFi network name and key and the Yodeck Player will come ready to connect to your WiFi network!

Yes! Yodeck ships worldwide. Our Yodeck Players ship from our warehouses in the US or the EU, depending on your location, so that you receive them as quickly as possible.

No. But why not?

You have the option of buying a Raspberry Pi yourself, with a case, power adapter, HDMI cable and an SD card. Then you download our Raspberry Pi image, write it to the SD card and assemble everything together. But why would you?

The Yodeck Player is probably cheaper than assembling a Raspberry Pi player yourself. And for our Annual Plan, we provide you with all the 1GB Raspberry Pi 4 Players you need for FREE!

There is a limited worldwide warranty of 1 year on the Yodeck Player.

But first, you should follow the Yodeck Player troubleshooting guide. It might save you precious time and money.

If your Yodeck Player is eligible for replacement, you can ship the faulty Yodeck Player back to us and we will send you the replacement unit within 2-3 days of receipt. Shipping costs for returning Yodeck Players are covered by you, whereas we will cover for the shipping costs of the replacement unit.

In order for you not to incur unnecessary shipping costs, make sure you go through the troubleshooting guide. You might get yourself a local part replacement which might be cheaper than shipping it back to us.

Yodeck Player Specs

The latest version of the Raspberry Pi, featuring a 4 × Cortex-A72, 1.5 GHz CPU.

  • Broadcom BCM2711 SoC, with ARM v8 64-bit quad-core processor with 4 x Cortex-A72 cores running @ 1.5GHz and a Broadcom VideoCore VI GPU
  • GPU provides OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics, H.265 (4kp60 decode) and H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode), supported resolution up to 4K@60Hz
  • Up to 4GB LPDDR4- 3200 SDRAM
  • 4K video and stereo audio output
  • MicroSD card slot
  • Ports:
    • BLE Gigabit Ethernet
    • 2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported)*
    • 2-lane MIPI DSI display port
    • 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port
    • 2 USB 3.0 ports; 2 USB 2.0 ports
    • 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
    • Composite video (PAL/NTSC) output
    • 15-way MPI CSI-2 connector for Raspberry Pi HD video camera*
    • 15-way Display Serial Interface connector*
    • 40-pin header for GPIO and serial buses*
  • Required power supply: 5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A*), 5V DC via GPIO header (minimum 3A*) A good quality 2.5A power supply can be used if downstream USB peripherals consume less than 500mA in total
  • Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled (requires separate PoE HAT)
  • Dimensions: 88 x 58 x 19.5mm

* These ports are not yet usable through the Yodeck software, but some will soon be supported! Check out our roadmap!

We provide a 16GB SD Card (Class 10), around 12GB of which is usable for media storage space (more than 10 hours of video files in Full HD and more than 4 hours of videos files in 4K). You can use up to 32GB, of which around 24GB is usable media storage space, suitable for heavy video use (up to 24 hours of video files).

All SD Cards come with software pre-installed and pre-configured with your Yodeck account.

We include the Official Raspberry Pi power supply, with plugs suitable for worldwide use.

We include a 3ft (1m) micro-HDMI to HDMI cable (male-to-male), tested for 4K 60 Hz resolution.

Features

  • Media, which is content that you create or upload to Yodeck, which then get displayed, like image files, video files, documents or web sites.
  • Playlists, which are a collection of media that gets displayed one after the other, with a duration that you specify (to create an image slideshow or video playlist)
  • Apps, which are drop-in, small integrations displaying useful info, like RSS feeds, Tickers, Rich Text, Analog/Digital Clocks etc.
  • Screen Layouts, which are a composition of playlists, media and apps, placed on a virtual monitor, e.g. a full-screen image slideshow with a video playing on one corner.

After you create your screen layouts or playlists, or upload your media files, you just assign default content to each of your monitors.

Beyond the default content assigned to each Player, you can also assign a single Schedule.

The Schedule determines the exact time different screen layouts, playlists or media files get displayed. So, for example, you can setup a different playlist for different hours or days, or schedule to display a specific screen layout during a given time-frame. It is very easy, but very powerful.

By using a Schedule, you can also set the hours that you want to power-off your monitors in order to cut your electric bill.

In the event of an Internet outage, Yodeck-enabled screens will continue to work fine, for up to a full month.

Content displayed on your monitors is downloaded and played locally. But you won’t be able to change what gets displayed until Internet access is back. Of course, content that loads from the Internet, like Web Pages and Live Streaming Videos (except simple YouTube videos, which are downloaded locally), is not available when your devices go offline.

Yes. Yodeck fully supports monitors mounted vertically.

You can design many layouts for your screens, for different resolutions, orientations and ratios. So, you can have a Screen Layout in 2 formats, one 16:9 horizontal and one 16:9 vertical. When you assign this Screen Layout for playback, each Player selects the appropriate format depending on its ratio and its configured orientation.

Advanced Features (tech-stuff)

Yes.

You can set HTTP Proxy and Username/Password through the configuration file. You can edit this configuration file through your PC and an SD card reader.

For our Yodeck Players, all Network Settings can be configured during ordering, so it works great as soon as you plug it in!

Yes.

You can set the WiFi network name and key through the configuration file and Yodeck will try to connect. All of the settings are configurable through the online Yodeck Portal. You also can edit this configuration file through your PC and an SD card reader.

For our Yodeck Players, all settings can be configured during ordering, so it works great as soon as you plug it in!

Yes, by using a USB dongle.

You just need to connect a 3G/4G/LTE USB dongle to the Player. All settings, like APN, Username, Password, PIN, etc, are configurable through the online Yodeck Portal. You also can edit this configuration through your PC and an SD card reader directly on the SD card.

For our Yodeck Players, all settings can be configured during ordering, so it works great as soon as you plug it in!

Yes.

You can set the static network information through the configuration file. All of the settings are configurable through the online Yodeck Portal. You can edit this configuration file through your PC and an SD card reader.

For our Yodeck Players, all Network Settings can be configured during ordering, so it works great as soon as you plug it in!

Very. We designed Yodeck from the ground up with security in mind.

The Yodeck service uses bank-grade security encryption, while Yodeck software is always firewalled, even within your network. Nobody will ever be able to mess with your monitors. You can also fully customize the security features provided.

Very. Nothing can ever affect your screens.

Even in the remote case that our servers go down, your monitors will continue to work for up to 1 month with the schedule or content you have already provided.

Note though that Yodeck is not a file storage service. You should always keep copies of the content you create outside of Yodeck. Always.

Any types of images that can be displayed in a modern browser can by displayed by Yodeck.

These include JPEG, PNG and GIF (incl. animations). Images are resized upon display, so no preprocessing is performed. It is better not to use images of extremely high resolution, because this will slow down your Player. If you have images with a resolution significantly higher than 1920×1080, try resizing them before you upload them to Yodeck.

Yodeck supports a wide variety of video formats.

Videos that you upload on Yodeck are automatically converted to industry-standard formats (H.264 with AAC audio).

YouTube videos are supported out-of-the-box, so they just get downloaded in the best possible quality (up to 1080p right now). Yodeck also supports Live Streaming Videos (YouTube, UStream, or custom HLS or RTMP/RTSP streams). These will have to be delivered by the stream in H.264 format to make sure they will be played back on Yodeck Players. We also support multicast LAN video streams.

Yodeck also allows you to upload a PowerPoint file and get it converted to video on our servers, retaining all transitions and animations.

Finally, Yodeck offers the option to select if you want to “crop” (completely fill the region by cropping edges) or “fit” (black borders are added to compensate for the aspect ratio) content.

Yodeck supports a wide variety of video formats.

We support PDF, PowerPoint (PPT/PPTX), Word (DOC/DOCX), as well as Excel(XLS/XLSX) files.

These Documents are displayed as slideshows, one page at a time, and you can set individual display durations for each page through the Yodeck Portal.

Remember: Yodeck already allows you to upload a PowerPoint file in the “Videos” section and get it converted to video on our servers, retaining all transitions and animations.

You can display any number of image slideshows, webpages and apps at the same time, within reason of course.

If the apps require a lot of processing and the hardware is not up to it, you might notice some sluggish animations depending on the type and content of the webpages and apps.

Note that you can display only one video playlist at any given time. This is a restriction imposed by the hardware of the Raspberry Pi, which cannot playback more than one video simultaneously. In most cases, you should not need it. We are planning to provide an advanced option for removing this restriction soon.

Yodeck requires a substantial amount of bandwidth. Really.

Make sure you use the Yodeck service over a non-metered/unlimited Internet access. Same applies for the Yodeck players. Huge video files may be transferred through the Internet and constant communication of the players with the service may skyrocket your bill.

If you are on a metered/limited Internet connection (e.g. mobile carrier, or per-traffic / per-hour access), please contact us to ensure that you can use our service over those Internet connections.

Internet access is not smooth everywhere. And we want you to have the best experience possible.

We could stream content, but that would mean that your Internet connection must be stable. Same goes for your WiFi network. If anything between your monitor and our server is a bit slow, it would not work properly. That is why almost everything is downloaded locally on the SD card and played from there.

Currently, no. You can upgrade your SD card though.

As soon as you set content to display, that content should use at most 4GB of media. You can upgrade the SD card to a 32GB one and allow for 24 hours of high-resolution video.

Yodeck software supports any resolution, thus any monitor size.

From 640×480 VGA monitors, up to the latest 4K TVs, all monitors will work fine. It is best to choose a widescreen monitor with an aspect ratio of 16:9 (like “HD Ready”, “Full HD” or “4K” monitors and TVs).

The Yodeck Player (or the Raspberry Pi in general) should also work fine with 99% of all monitors and TVs out there, so there’s no need to worry much.

Yes.

We do have detailed instruction on creating a video-wall using Yodeck using 1 Yodeck Player for each screen, plus one “master” Player. You can create really inexpensive video-wall setups that can be matrix-like (2×2, 3×3) or can even be asymmetric, with any layout you can imagine.

Alternatively, you can use an HDMI video wall controller and use a single Yodeck player to drive a large video wall as a single screen.

Currently, we do not provide an app, but there is no need to.

Yodeck was built on a mobile-compatible platform, so it is quite easy to use it through a mobile web browser.

In the future, we will be providing a mobile application mainly for push notifications on the status of your monitors.

We use the HDMI standard called CEC. Almost all TVs support it.

The Yodeck Player (or Raspberry Pi in general) includes a CEC adapter on its HDMI monitor port. CEC is a standard communication protocol supported by most major TV manufacturers. It allows for a playback device (the Yodeck Player in this case) to power on, power off, and switch video inputs on a CEC-enabled TV. Check out the CEC compatibility chart.

If your monitor does not support CEC (e.g. you have a computer monitor), the Yodeck Player turns off the HDMI port to allow the monitor to power-down by itself. This function is supported by all current monitors, even TVs.

In the future, we will provide support for using infrared LEDs to signal the monitor to turn on or off through IR. For large installations, we can support custom solutions, like the above, or use custom serial connections to monitors.

No, there is no limit whatsoever. You can upload as many videos and images as you want.

Just log in to your account and send us a message. We’ll help you out ASAP. Of course, paid users get priority over free users. But we usually provide a first response within 10 hours for all requests.

Pricing

Yodeck is absolutely free if you use only 1 screen.

If you will be using more than 1 Player, then you need to get a paid subscription.

Remember: We provide all the Yodeck Players you need for free with our Annual Plan. Just go ahead and upgrade.

No.

As you have probably noticed, you did not enter any billing details when signing up. So, we will not be charging you unless you provide us with your billing details when you purchase a subscription plan.

For Annual subscriptions, we also accept wire transfers.

We can provide you with an invoice that you can then pay through a wire transfer to our US bank account. Let us know if you need such an arrangement.

Unfortunately, we do not support Paypal.

It is a monitor that you can use.

Each monitor under your Yodeck account can either be “registered” or “unregistered”.

  • Registered monitors are monitors that have been paired with a Yodeck Player.
  • Unregistered monitors in your account do not have a real-world counterpart, and are waiting for a player (such as Yodeck Player) to register.

Both registered and unregistered monitors can be managed the same way under your Yodeck account, so you can configure settings, upload content, assign schedules, etc. But unregistered monitors cannot be actually used to display content, until they get registered by a player (such as Yodeck Player).

Yodeck is priced based on the maximum number of monitors you can have under your account.

You can freely set this limit, so it can be any number between 2 and 100. Yodeck will automatically select the most suitable plan for you, which is billed monthly.

For more than 100 monitors, you can contact our sales team for a quote based on your needs. We can support thousands of monitors without a glitch!

Remember: a singe-screen account is free!

Yes, you can! Just select the Annual Plan and we will provide the Yodeck Players you need for free!

You can create an account for free but you need a Player to see it working.

First of all, Yodeck is free to use when running a single screen. We recommend that you buy a single Yodeck Player and test out the real thing! If you do not like it, you can turn the Yodeck Player into a full-fledged Media Center with RaspBMC for free!

If you insist on a “no-cost” route, you can ask our Support Team to provide you with a demo, including a video capture of the output you create, so that you can be sure it does what you need it to do.

No, there is no limit whatsoever.

You can upload as much content as you want and make as many changes as you want. The only limit imposed is the number of registered monitors. As long as you subscribe for the number of registered monitors you want to operate, everything else is unlimited!

No. Online support service is included in your Plan.

Actually, even accounts on the Free Plan get support for free, we just respond to paid account requests first before handling requests from free accounts.

If you have a large project that requires on-site presence or deployment services, contact us. We have a Partner Network that might accommodate your requirements.

You can add as many monitors as you want and can use them as soon as they get connected.

New monitors will appear as unregistered in your account until the player gets connected for the first time and registers successfully. You can manage unregistered monitors just like registered ones, they just have not been paired with an actual player.

Your subscription includes a limit on registered monitors. If you have reached your limit of registered monitors, then you will not be able to register any new ones. In case you want to increase this limit, just update your subscription with the new number of monitors you want to operate.

You have to delete the registered monitors that you no longer require.

Players of deleted monitors will be de-registered and the monitors will constantly display a relevant message, waiting for registration.

Charges are fully automated, so you will be billed (or credited) the difference on your plan, so do not worry about losing service credit.

Automated emails will be sent to you. If no action is taken, your players will eventually stop playback.

We want to make sure that charge failures do not disrupt your deployment. Monitors are usually in set up in public spaces, so we want to be careful and discreet.

If a charge fails, an automated email will be sent to your designated email address notifying you of the problem and urging you to take action. We will keep sending these emails every day.

If the charge cannot be completed within 5 days, we will automatically display a flashing red image (without any text) for 2 minutes every 2 hours to alert you of the issue.

If the charge cannot be completed within 2 weeks, we will automatically downgrade your account to a free account. All registered monitors will be de-registered, only 1 monitor will be left as registered (the first one you created).

At any point, you can prevent this by logging in and updating your billing details.

First of all, we hope we can help you resolve any issues you have been having.

To cancel your subscription, you can go to the subscription panel and set the number of monitors to 1, deleting all other monitors from your Yodeck account. If you want us to completely remove your account and media, email us and we will do so.