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Control: the live remote

Last updated 2026-10-22

The Control page is a remote for your TVs. You see what each screen is showing right now, and you can move the slides, blank the screen, play something on the spot, or put up a message.

Who can use it

• Owners, admins, editors and operators see Control in the menu, when your church has Kids, Slides or Signage switched on.
• Operators can run things but cannot edit them. They cannot change playlists, decks, schedules or screen settings.
• If you are limited to certain sites, you only see the screens at those sites.

The screen cards

Each paired TV is a card with a green dot when it is online (it has checked in within the last 90 seconds), its location, its module, and a chip saying Playing, Blank, Message, Idle or Offline. Below that you see what is on screen, such as the deck or playlist name, the current slide, "slide 4 of 12", and a thin progress bar. The page refreshes every 3 seconds while it is open and shows Live at the top. It pauses when the browser tab is in the background.

The remote

Click a card to open its remote. On a phone it fills the screen.

• Previous and Next are the big buttons.
• Blank screen turns the picture off without stopping playback. Press it again to bring the picture back.
• Stop stops playback and also ends any Play now. You are asked to confirm.
• Jump to slide lists every slide in order, with the current one highlighted. Tap one to go straight there.
• Sent from here lists the last few commands with a tick or a cross, so you can see if one was refused.

On a computer you can use the keyboard: Right arrow or Space for next, Left arrow for previous, B for blank and Esc to close.

Play now

Choose a Slides deck or a Kids playlist from your library, choose how long (30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours, or until you stop it), and press Play now. It replaces the schedule on that screen until you press Stop or the time runs out, after which the schedule carries on as normal. Decks need the Slides module and playlists the Kids module.

Send a message

Type up to 200 characters, choose how long it shows (10 seconds to 2 minutes) and a colour, and press Send message. The TV shows it full screen over whatever is playing, then goes back. Clear message removes it early.

Send to several screens

Press Send to several screens, tick the cards you want (or Select online), then use Previous, Next, Blank on, Blank off, Stop or Message. If a screen refuses, it is listed by name with the reason; the others still get the command.

Troubleshooting

• A TV shows Offline. It has not checked in for 90 seconds. Check that it is powered on, the app is open and the Wi-Fi works. See Troubleshooting.
• Commands do nothing. Check the card for the app version warning: the TV needs 1.5.0 or newer. If the TV was offline, commands older than about a minute are dropped, so send it again once the dot is green.
• It takes a second or two. That is normal. The TV checks for commands every second or so, and the card refreshes a moment after you send.
• "Too many commands, wait a moment". You sent a lot in a few seconds. Wait a few seconds and try again.
• The slide list is empty. The TV only reports its slides while it is playing a deck or playlist, and only on 1.5.0 or newer.
• You do not see Control. Ask an owner to check your role (operator or above) and that your church has Kids, Slides or Signage on.