[tvOS] – Exhibit app demystified

jobscommasteve
New Contributor III

Hi all,

 

It took a week or two, but I've finally figured this app out.

I was inspired by this old thread, and kept hitting a brick wall when it came to using my own photos.

So the TLDR, I:

  • Can confirm that the app reads both PNG and JPG/JPEG files
  • Can confirm that the 
  • Set up a basic HTTPS server in IIS on a Win11 virtual machine that is always online
    • Worked with my NetAdmin to get a fully signed SSL certificate – this is required as all testing prior to this point resulted in failure. A self-signed cert WILL NOT work (confirmed).
    • Set the MIME type for .csv to text/plain.
      • Unsure if this is actually necessary, but the demo .csv opens in a browser like any other text file does – mine kept downloading by default at first. Opens like the demo file after changing the MIME type. The point of my troubleshooting was to try and mimic the demo configuration as closely as possible to avoid inconsistencies.
  • Added my Playlist.csv and photos to the site's wwwroot.
  • Double checked the XML/JSON config in Jamf.
  • Force-quit the app on the Apple TV to force it to reload on open, and it worked.
    • Works perfectly in Single App Mode once configured.

Whenever making changes to the photos and/or the .csv, you can force a reload with the app open by pressing the Menu button on the remote. Otherwise, depending on your Apple TV deployment configuration, you may need to restart the device through your Jamf console.

 

I hope my efforts in figuring this out helps someone! The app is free, and it works GREAT.

Documentation is kind of lackluster and the #exhibit Slack channel is as active as molecular motion at absolute zero, but it leaves room for discovery like this! 

4 REPLIES 4

jobscommasteve
New Contributor III

Meant to use this title: [tvOS] – Exhibit app demystified

Hey @jobscommasteve, I went ahead and changed the title for you for easier searching 😀

 

You rock, thanks!

jobscommasteve
New Contributor III

Can also confirm the app does not play well with photos with spaces or symbols in the filename. Had one with a " (2)" and the app would crash on launch. Renamed to take the space and parentheses out, and it worked. I now have a slideshow of 39 photos. This is great.