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Tilecast Docs
Tilecast Edge is in preview. Its software is complete, but it is not qualified on physical hardware yet. Use the stable Linux Player on production screens until a Tilecast release supports your hardware.

Tilecast Edge

The service-based Linux Player for Tilecast. Every Tilecast release includes it.
Check requirementsCompare with the AppImage Player

Tilecast Edge is the Linux Player. It replaces the Electron-based AppImage Player with a Linux system service and a WPE WebKit renderer. Each Tilecast release includes an Edge archive for x86_64 and one for aarch64.

Screens that already run the AppImage Player keep running it until you migrate them.

What Edge changes

Section titled “What Edge changes”

Tilecast Server and Studio work the same way for an Edge screen. The change is on the Linux computer:

Tilecast Server
      |
HTTPS / WebSocket
      |
  tilecastd  ---  local state, verified content cache, Linux hardware
      |
WPE WebKit renderer
      |
   display

tilecastd is an unprivileged service. It holds the server connection, the Player credential, local state, downloaded content, commands, settings, and hardware features. The WPE WebKit renderer draws the presentation and holds no secrets, so it can restart without losing the Player’s state. Edge and the AppImage Player share the same playback runtime, so content looks and times the same on both.

What Edge does

Section titled “What Edge does”

Content and schedules

Images, downloaded video, Layouts, native and remote web Widgets, Websites, YouTube, playlists, schedules, Quick Present, Takeover, synchronized Display Groups, and unrotated Span walls.

Offline playback

Plays prepared content through server and network outages, and after a restart before the server is reachable.

Studio tools

Pairing, Player commands, Player settings, Activity and proof of play, telemetry, live preview, and Watch live.

Linux hardware

HDMI-CEC and DDC/CI Display Control, Presentation Network, and the systemd-logind idle inhibitor.

Signed updates

Installs signed releases from Studio beside the current one, and returns to the previous release when a new one doesn’t prove healthy.

Plan your rollout

Section titled “Plan your rollout”

Linux computers, displays, and video files differ. Before you move many screens, run Edge on one screen of each hardware class and watch it for a few days. Check:

  • display output, rotation, and display ownership on that computer;
  • the video codecs and resolutions your content uses, and hardware decoding;
  • CEC on your TVs and DDC/CI on your monitors, if you use Display Control;
  • Presentation Network on your Wi-Fi hardware, if you use it;
  • a restart, a power cut, and an update with its rollback.

See Edge requirements and Edge compatibility for the details.

Not part of Edge 1

Section titled “Not part of Edge 1”
  • AirPlay receiver. Use the AppImage Player for AirPlay Present.
  • Peer-to-peer content delivery. Every Edge Player downloads from Tilecast Server. The earlier “Edge Fabric” design is not part of Edge 1.
  • Android-only features such as Managed Kiosk and Power Assist.

Choose a task

Section titled “Choose a task”
Install EdgeInstall a signed Edge release on a computer that has no Tilecast Player yet.
Migrate a Linux PlayerMove a screen from the AppImage Player to Edge, with automatic rollback.
Pair an Edge screenConnect a new Edge Player to your server and approve it in Studio.
Check compatibilityFind out whether a screen's content can play on Edge before you move it.
Update EdgeDeploy a signed release and see how confirmation and rollback work.
Monitor EdgeUse Fleet, Activity, telemetry, and live preview with Edge screens.
Troubleshoot EdgeCheck local status, logs, and common pairing, playback, and hardware problems.
Edge securityLearn how Edge protects the Player credential, content, and updates.
Edge requirementsCheck the Linux, display, and network requirements before you install Edge.
Offline playback and recoverySee what Edge keeps doing through outages, crashes, power loss, and interrupted updates.
Hardware and host integrationsSee how Edge uses HDMI-CEC, DDC/CI, and Presentation Network, and how it reports what each Player can do.
Edge capability matrixCompare Edge with the AppImage Player, feature by feature.

Existing AppImage screens

Section titled “Existing AppImage screens”

The AppImage Player keeps working, including Player updates from Studio. Updating Tilecast Server never moves a screen to Edge, and an AppImage Player never receives an Edge release. Moving a screen is a migration that you start on that computer, one screen at a time.