Frequently Asked Questions

What is CityAD Pro?

CityAD Pro is a system that allows you to manage multimedia content on TVs or screens from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

To use CityAD Pro all you need is a playback device and a free account on our website.

You can use a Raspberry Pi or any Windows, Mac or Linux computer as a media player. Or, for an even simpler solution, you can purchase our CityAD Pro Player which includes everything you need to connect to any screen and get started right away.

From there, you’ll be able to control and manage the content to be played on your screens through our App using your favorite browser. It’s that easy!

To activate a screen, you’ll need either a CityAD Pro Player or to install our software on a Raspberry Pi or any computer with Windows, Mac or Linux.

Once connected to your TV or screen, you’ll receive a unique code for each screen. Simply enter that code in our App to activate your screen.

We offer free lifetime management for one screen. However, if you need to manage multiple screens, increase your storage, or play advanced content like websites or streaming media, you’ll need to choose one of our premium plans.

You can find all available plans in the Pricing section.

In addition, we offer the CityAD Pro Player at a very competitive price—allowing you to turn any TV or screen into a powerful media player.

You can view the full technical specifications of our device in the Device section.

Raspberry Pi Installation

Requirements

To install the CityAD Pro player application on a Raspberry Pi, you will need:

  • Raspberry Pi board model 2B, 3B, 3B+, or 4B
  • MicroSD card of at least 8 GB
  • Micro USB power supply
  • HDMI cable

and the Etcher SD flasher application already installed.

Procedure

  • Select the image file you downloaded. You don't need to unzip the downloaded file because Etcher flasher supports compressed image files.

  • Insert the SD card into your computer’s card reader and select the appropriate card in Etcher

  • Write the image file to the SD card by clicking the button Flash!

  • After successfully writing the image file, insert the microSD card into the Raspberry Pi, connect the HDMI cable to your screen, and power on the Raspberry Pi.
  • After an initial system self-configuration process, the CityAD Pro player will display the startup screen

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

MS Windows Installation

Procedure

To install the CityAD Pro player application on your Windows computer, follow these steps:

If you see a Windows Defender SmartScreen window like this, select More info and press the Run anyway button to continue with the installation process

  • Wait until the installation is complete
  • Once the installation is complete, you will see a desktop shortcut to run CityAD Pro Player
  • To run the CityAD Pro Player application, simply double-click the desktop shortcut and the player will start in full-screen mode

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

Linux Installation

Procedure

To install the CityAD Pro player application on your Linux computer, follow these steps:

  • Download the 64 bits or the 32 bits depending on your Linux version
  • Copy the downloaded AppImage file to your preferred folder (for example /home/su-usuario/cityadpro)
  • Make the AppImage AppImage file executable

For the 64-bit version, run from the command line

$ chmod +x player-x86_64.AppImage

For the 32-bit version, run from the command line

$ chmod +x player-i386.AppImage

  • To run the CityAD Pro player application, simply double-click the AppImage file or run it from the command line and the player will start in full-screen mode

For the 64-bit version, run from the command line

$ ./player-x86_64.AppImage

For the 32-bit version, run from the command line

$ ./player-i386.AppImage

 

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

Raspberry Pi Configuration

Network Configuration

Before you can use your CityAD Pro player based on Raspberry Pi, you must connect it to your network. This can be done via a wired or Wi-Fi connection.

Wired Connection

  • To connect your player to a wired network, simply plug one end of an Ethernet cable into the player’s Ethernet port and the other end into your network switch/router.
  • If your DHCP server/router is properly configured, the player will obtain an IP address and connect successfully to your network.
  • The player’s main screen will indicate that the connection to the server is active, so you can move on to the Getting Started section to add the new device to your list of managed players.

Please note that by default, the player is configured to operate in hotspot mode using its internal Wi-Fi adapter. After properly setting up the network connection, it is recommended to disable this function, as it could pose a security risk to your network. To disable hotspot mode, follow the instructions in Disable Hotspot

Wi-Fi Connection

You can connect your player to your Wi-Fi access point either via the web interface using another Wi-Fi device, or by directly connecting a USB mouse and keyboard to the player to modify its settings. Both methods follow the same procedure.

Configure Using a Mouse and Keyboard

  • Connect a USB mouse and keyboard to any of the player’s USB ports.
  • If the player displays the main screen, simply click the green Configure Wifi buttonIf the main screen is not shown, press Ctrl + W on your keyboard, and when the main screen appears, click the green Configure Wifi button.
  • The player will display the Wi-Fi configuration screen. Continue to the Configure Wi-Fi Connection.

Configure Using the Web Interface

CityAD Pro players based on Raspberry Pi are, by default, set to run in hotspot mode using their internal Wi-Fi adapter. To configure the player’s Wi-Fi connection, you’ll need any device with Wi-Fi capability and a web browser. Any desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone can be used for this purpose.

  • The player’s hotspot mode generates a default Wi-Fi network. To connect with your preferred device, simply search for a Wi-Fi network named raspi-webgui and connect using the password ChangeMe.
  • Once your device is successfully connected to the Wi-Fi network raspi-webgui, open your preferred web browser and enter 192.168.50.1 in the address bar.
  • The browser will prompt you for a username and password. The default username is admin and the password is secret. At CityAD Pro, we recommend changing the default username and password to prevent unauthorized users from accessing or modifying your settingsTo change them, simply go to the Authentication option in the web interface and fill out the appropriate fields.
  • Once you enter the correct username and password, the browser will display the player’s Wi-Fi configuration web interface. Continue to the Configure Wi-Fi Connection.

Configure Wi-Fi Connection

  • After accessing the Wi-Fi configuration screen/web interface, you’ll see that the player is not connected to any Wi-Fi network.

  • Using the left-hand panel, select the Configure Wifi clientoption. This screen will display the available Wi-Fi networks detected by the player.

  • Find your preferred Wi-Fi network, enter the Wi-Fi password, and click the blue button Add.
  • The screen will show that the player has successfully connected to your selected Wi-Fi network.

  • Your player is now connected to your preferred network. If you’ve been configuring the Wi-Fi connection using a mouse and keyboard, simply click the green Back button located at the top of the player’s screen to return to the main screen.
  • The player’s main screen will indicate that the connection to the server is active, so you can move on to the Getting Started section to add the new device to your list of managed players.

Please note that by default, the player is configured to operate in hotspot mode using its internal Wi-Fi adapter. After properly setting up the network connection, it is recommended to disable this function, as it could pose a security risk to your network. To disable hotspot mode, follow the instructions in Disable Hotspot

Disable Hotspot

After successfully connecting your new player to a wired or Wi-Fi network, you should disable the player’s hotspot mode, as it may pose a security risk to your network.

  • If you are configuring your CityAD Pro player using a USB mouse and keyboard, refer to the Configure Using a Mouse and Keyboard section to learn how to access the Wi-Fi configuration screen.
  • If you are configuring your CityAD Pro player using the web interface, refer to the Configure Using the Web Interface section to learn how to access the Wi-Fi configuration screen.
  • Access the Wi-Fi configuration screen/web interface again using your preferred browser or by connecting a USB mouse and keyboard to the player.
  • Using the left-hand panel, select the Configure hotspot.

  • In the Advanceddisable the WiFi client AP mode, click the Save settings button, and finally click the Stop hotspot button.
  • After completing this process, the hotspot mode will stop functioning, and the raspi-webgui Wi-Fi network will disappear.
  • If you haven’t added your new device to your list of managed players, go to the Getting Started.

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com

Getting Started

Getting Started

After installing the CityAD Pro Player application, there is a minimal setup process you must follow before you can start configuring your ad scheduling.

If you are using a Raspberry Pi-based player, follow the Raspberry Pi setup instructions to connect the player to your network before proceeding with this configuration.

  • After installing and launching the CityAD Pro Player application, the player will display the main screen. You must create a new player in the web app control panel using the Player ID code shown on the main screen of your new player.
  • Using your preferred web browser, open your web app control panel CityAD Pro control panel by logging in with your username/email and password.

If you don’t yet have a CityAD Pro account, simply sign up for free on our website CityAD Pro

  • Once in your control panel, use the left-hand navigation panel to select the Players option and click the New Player button. The player configuration form will appear.
  • Enter a name for the new player, the Player ID shown on the player’s main screen, and a location. You can also select the group the player will belong to, if you’ve already created one.
  • Before creating the new player, you must assign a license. Click the License tab and select a valid license to assign to this new player.

If no licenses are available, you must first subscribe to one of the available plans on the website CityAD Pro. All CityAD Pro users have a free lifetime license for their first player.

  • Click Apply and the new player will be added to your account and appear in your list of players. After this step, the player will show that a new license has been assigned and, if a group has also been assigned, it will begin playing its assigned ad schedule.
  • At this point, your player is ready to display your ad schedule. You now need to upload/create the content to be displayed and configure your groups and your video and audio playlists.

If you have any trouble following these setup steps, please feel free to ask our support team at support@cityadpro.com