Apple TV as Content Stream

A perennial problem is schools today is how to generate and manage content for the television in the lobby. Over the years, I have tried several options and understand the issues: management from a distance, limiting access to only specific individuals, automating the stream so it runs with minimal intervention, and other problems.

Recently, I found an excellent television with HD capacity and an Apple TV in a school. (The Mac Mini that had been streaming to the Apple TV had failed, and the system was not being used. The Apple TV and television functioned perfectly, and there was no money to replace the Mac).

The principal hoped to stream news in the morning and at lunch... perhaps weather updates when bad weather threatened, maybe sports on occasion. We also wanted to feature video created by the students, art (especially from the digital photography class), and occasional slide shows with announcements and reminders.

Here is an overview of our solution:

1) The Apple TV connects to the administrative wifi (to limit potential hijacking for AirPlay) and the Apple TV is paired with one remote (the location is known by a few teachers and administrators). We also established AirPlay and other passwords to minimize the threat students can access it.

2) For news and similar content, we stream the content from the providers that partner with Apple TV. (Our opinion was that there was a collection that met our goals and that would provide diversity.)

3) For video and other content created by students, we upload content to YouTube.

4) For "PowerPoints," we either save the presentation in a video format and upload it, or save the presentation as a series of images and upload those as a video to YouTube, using the tools in YouTube.

5) Our YouTube content is managed through a playlist... once video is uploaded (using a GAFE account), the URL is sent to the person who manages the playlist. The Apple TV is then configured to play the videos.

So far, we have found this a good solution... our content is easy to manage... we can add content simply by adding to the playlist, then restarting the playlist on the Apple TV.