The Digital Signage Player for Raspberry Pi 1 makes it possible to display channels from the Joomla extension Digital Signage 3.2.0 or newer on older and resource-constrained devices.

The player was developed specifically for the Raspberry Pi 1 and comparable ARMv6 systems where modern browsers such as Firefox or Chromium cannot be used reliably, or cannot be used at all. Instead of relying on a full web browser, the player renders content through a lightweight runtime environment optimized for this class of hardware.

This makes older Raspberry Pi devices suitable for continued use in information displays, internal signage systems, presentation screens, digital notice boards, reception areas, or other lightweight Digital Signage installations.

The standard browser-based Digital Signage player provided by Joomla remains unchanged and can still be used on newer and more powerful devices.

Requirements

The following components are required:

• Raspberry Pi 1 Model A, A+, B, or B+

• alternatively, a newer Raspberry Pi model

• Raspberry Pi OS Lite 32-bit

• a working network connection

• a Joomla 5 installation with Digital Signage 3.2.0 or newer

• at least one published Digital Signage channel

• a published monitor assigned to the relevant channel

For the most reliable setup, a fresh installation of Raspberry Pi OS Lite 32-bit is recommended.

The included installer automatically sets up the runtime environment required by the player. This includes:

• X.Org

• a minimal Openbox session

• Python

• Tk

• Pillow

• VLC

• automatic startup

• offline cache

• monitor supervision

A full web browser such as Firefox or Chromium is not installed and is not required for normal operation.

Preparing Joomla

Before configuring the Raspberry Pi, the Digital Signage setup must first be prepared in Joomla.

Install Digital Signage 3.2.0 or newer, or update an existing installation accordingly.

Then publish the desired channel in the Joomla backend.

After that, create a new monitor under Monitors and assign it to the appropriate channel.

When the monitor is saved, Digital Signage automatically generates a device key. This key is used to identify and authenticate the player.

In the monitor list, open “Configuration for Raspberry Pi 1”.

The following information is required for installation:

• Server address

• Channel token

• Device key

Keep these values available for the installation process on the Raspberry Pi.

Installation

Transfer the ZIP archive to the Raspberry Pi and extract it completely.

Then execute the installer from the extracted directory with root privileges:

sudo ./install.sh

This installation method starts an interactive setup and asks for the required connection details.

Unattended Installation

The installation can also be performed completely without prompts by passing the required values directly:

sudo ./install.sh \
  --server https://example.com \
  --channel CHANNEL_TOKEN \
  --monitor DEVICE_KEY

Replace the example values with the information from the monitor configuration created in Joomla.

Allowing HTTP

For security reasons, unencrypted HTTP connections are blocked by default.

HTTP should only be enabled inside a trusted and isolated internal network.

To allow it explicitly, run:

sudo ./install.sh --allow-http

For publicly accessible systems or any network that cannot be considered fully trusted, HTTPS should be used instead.

Automatic Startup

After a successful installation, the Digital Signage player starts immediately.

A system service is also installed so that the player starts automatically after every system boot.

Normally, no manual start is required after restarting the Raspberry Pi.

Operation and Administration

Several command-line tools are available for managing the player.

Check Player Status

To check whether the Digital Signage service is currently running, use:

sudo systemctl status digitalsignage-pi1

Restart the Player

To restart the service, for example after configuration changes or during troubleshooting, use:

sudo systemctl restart digitalsignage-pi1

Run a Health Check

The installation includes a dedicated health-check script:

sudo /usr/local/lib/digitalsignage-pi1/healthcheck.sh

This can be used to verify the local installation and assist with troubleshooting.

Reconfigure the Player

The configuration utility can be started again at any time:

sudo /usr/local/lib/digitalsignage-pi1/configure.sh

This allows the existing player and connection settings to be modified.

Logs and Troubleshooting

For diagnostics, both the systemd journal and a dedicated player log file are available.

systemd Log

To display the latest 100 log entries for the Digital Signage service, run:

sudo journalctl -u digitalsignage-pi1 -n 100

Player Log

The player also writes its own log file.

The latest 100 entries can be displayed with:

sudo tail -n 100 /var/log/digitalsignage-pi1/player.log

These logs are especially useful if the player does not start, cannot connect to the Joomla server, or does not display content as expected.

Supported Content

The Raspberry Pi 1 player supports several media and content types directly.

Images

The following image formats are supported:

• JPEG

• PNG

• WebP

• GIF

• BMP

Videos

Videos are played using VLC.

For Raspberry Pi 1 hardware, the following format is recommended because of the limited processing power:

• Container: MP4

• Video codec: H.264

• Audio codec: AAC

This combination generally provides the best compatibility on older Raspberry Pi hardware.

RSS and Atom Feeds

RSS and Atom feeds can be displayed as native cards.

Images included in feeds are cached locally. This improves efficiency and can also make previously retrieved content available during offline operation.

Template Studio Cards

Static content from the Template Studio can also be displayed.

Supported elements include in particular:

• text

• colors

• static design elements

HTML Content

Simple HTML text can be processed by the player.

Because the Raspberry Pi 1 player deliberately does not use a full browser engine, HTML content is rendered as sanitized plain text.

Limitations for Websites and Browser-Dependent Content

The Raspberry Pi 1 player intentionally operates without a full browser.

For this reason, browser-dependent external websites and uploaded websites that require a browser engine cannot be rendered directly on Raspberry Pi 1 hardware.

Instead of showing an empty or broken screen, the player displays a clear information card explaining that the content cannot be played on this device.

On newer and more powerful systems, the standard browser-based Joomla Digital Signage player remains available and unchanged.

Offline Operation

A key feature of the player is its local caching mechanism.

The most recently retrieved valid playlist is stored here:

/var/lib/digitalsignage-pi1/cache/manifest.json

Required media files are also cached locally.

If the network connection is interrupted or the Joomla server is temporarily unavailable, the player can continue to display the most recently stored valid playlist.

This allows the Digital Signage screen to remain operational during temporary network or server outages.

As soon as the connection is restored, the player automatically reconnects and updates its content.

Display and Cache Configuration

The central player configuration file is located at:

/etc/digitalsignage-pi1/player.json

Several important player settings can be adjusted there.

width and height

The options

width
height

define the player rendering resolution.

Using the value

0

causes the player to automatically use the detected HDMI resolution.

This allows the player to adapt to the connected display.

max_asset_mb

The option

max_asset_mb

defines the maximum allowed size of a single media asset.

This can help prevent unusually large files from consuming excessive storage or system resources.

max_cache_mb

The option

max_cache_mb

defines the maximum size of the local player cache.

This allows administrators to control how much disk space may be used for locally stored Digital Signage content.

mute

The option

mute

can be used to globally mute all videos.

This is especially useful for information screens where video content should always be played without audio.

show_status

The option

show_status

can display a small connection status indicator.

This allows the screen to show whether the player is currently operating in online or offline mode.

ssl_verify

The option

ssl_verify

controls TLS certificate verification.

For security reasons, this setting should normally remain enabled.

Protecting the Configuration File

The configuration file

/etc/digitalsignage-pi1/player.json

contains connection information and credentials required for communication with Digital Signage.

For this reason, access is restricted so that the file can only be read by root and the player service.

This helps prevent other local users from unnecessarily accessing sensitive configuration data.

Uninstallation

To remove the Digital Signage player from the Raspberry Pi, run the included uninstall script from the installation directory:

sudo ./uninstall.sh

The service and the player application itself are removed.

However, existing configuration files, cache data, and log files are intentionally preserved.

This makes it easier to restore the previous setup or reinstall the player without losing existing settings and diagnostic information.

Summary

The Digital Signage Player extends Digital Signage 3.2.0+ for Joomla 5 with a playback solution specifically designed for older Raspberry Pi systems.

By avoiding Firefox, Chromium, and other full web browsers, the player is particularly suitable for the Raspberry Pi 1 and ARMv6 hardware with limited system resources.

Despite its lightweight architecture, the player provides the essential functions required for a practical Digital Signage environment, including image playback, video playback, RSS and Atom feeds, Template Studio content, simple text rendering, automatic startup, local caching, offline playback, logging, and system monitoring.

This makes it possible to continue using older Raspberry Pi devices as standalone Digital Signage players while managing their content centrally through the Joomla extension.