Digital Signage with PowerBi Interactivity

[LivOn123]

Hi, 

I’m currently looking for a digital signage platform that can display interactive Power BI reports on touchscreen TVs. Ideally, users should be able to interact directly with the visuals—for example, selecting bars on a bar chart or engaging with other report elements.

We’re using OptiSigns at the moment, but we’re interested in exploring alternative platforms that can support this type of interactivity, along with standard digital signage features like slides.

If anyone has recommendations or experience with platforms that offer this functionality, I’d appreciate your insights.

Thanks!

(++ Additionally, due to security reasons this must be an app or downlodable software as we do not want to plug laptops into the TV's to display this content)

[Billerg]

Hello @LivOn123 

I just joined the forum looking for content similiar to yourself.

We use NowSignage - https://www.nowsignage.com/2024/07/microsoft-power-bi-signage

Works brilliantly and was one of the first CMS to have a direct API integration with BI.

As it host's live data, its fully interactive if you are using a touch screen to display the CMS.

[LivOn123]

Hi @Billerg!

Thank you for your response! 

Do you find NowSignage easy to use? Does it support large PowerBi reports? Is there any loading delay? Do you use any specific hardware to run it? 

Additionally, do you know if it runs powerpoints or images additionally to PowerBI? or if it's just PowerBI reports? 

Thank you!!! 

[CPCARDOSO · Accepted solution]

Hi, @LivOn123 ... thanks for explaining the additional details—that really helps.

Given your requirements:

• You want an app running directly on the TVs for security reasons (no laptops plugged in).
• The app should load automatically each morning without manual browser setup.
• It needs to support full Power BI interactivity (clicking visuals, slicers, drill-through).
• And also handle standard signage features like slides.

Here’s what I’d recommend:

Why OptiSigns falls short

OptiSigns is great for auto-loading content, but as you’ve seen, it doesn’t support interactive Power BI reports—it only displays static dashboards or refreshes them periodically.

Best Approach for Your Scenario

The most reliable way to achieve this is to use Power BI Embedded inside a custom kiosk-style app that runs on your signage player (Windows or Android). This gives you:

• Full interactivity with Power BI visuals.
• Automatic loading when the TV turns on (just like OptiSigns).
• No need to manually open browsers every day.
• Compliance with your security requirements.

You’d essentially install an app on each TV or signage device that:

• Hosts the embedded Power BI report.
• Cycles through slides or other content as needed.

Alternatives to Explore

If building a custom app isn’t ideal, you can look at platforms like:

• NoviSign or ScreenCloud: They support embedding web apps and can auto-load content. Interactivity depends on touchscreen compatibility and how they handle authentication.
• TelemetryTV: Similar concept—worth checking if they allow interactive sessions.

Security Note

Avoid “Publish to Web” for sensitive data—it’s public. Instead, use Power BI Embedded or secure Power BI Service authentication within the app.

[v-hjannapu]

Hello @LivOn123,

I would also take a moment to thank @anilelmastasi  , for actively participating in the community forum and for the solutions you’ve been sharing in the community forum. Your contributions make a real difference.
 

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.

Regards,
Community Support Team.

[v-hjannapu]

Hi @LivOn123,
I hope the above details help you fix the issue. If you still have any questions or need more help, feel free to reach out. We are always here to support you.


Regards,
Community Support Team.

[LivOn123]

Hi, 

Apologies, I should have specified that we want an app to be able to do this through due to security issues. 

Ideally we want to have an app running on our TV's that has the capability to allow us to use the features interactively of PowerBi as well as running slides of info. 

I am unsure of if PowerBi Embedded Report would give us this result. 

[anilelmastasi]

Hi @LivOn123 ,

If you are able to open a browser on that TV, maybe you can use this method. It will require account from your company, and if you have secuirty issues you can add RLS and Securtiy Group so anybody can not open the report.

Here is how you can do it:

First click these:

Secondly copy the first bar's link:

With this link and your organizational account, you can open reports. But there is a problem with that. Navigation bar and filter pane are usable in this link. If you add this to end of your link there is a pure report screen! 

&filterPaneEnabled=false&navContentPaneEnabled=false

Like your copied link&filterPaneEnabled=false&navContentPaneEnabled=false

Maybe you can try this 🙂 

[LivOn123]

Hi,

That souds like a relly good idea. The only issue is that each day we turn off our TV's and then turn them on every morning and doing it that way would mean we would have to go into the browser and load this on every TV every day. 

Using optisigns at the moment means we can turn on a TV and it will auto-load our content, the only issue we are having is there is no interactivity through optisigns. 

Thank you so much for your suggestion though!

[anilelmastasi]

Hi,

If you get this link and add to your bookmark, whenever you refresh you can see the report with interactivity 🙂  You are welcome.

If this solved your issue, please mark it as the accepted solution. ✅

[LivOn123]

Hi, 

Thanks but that would still require everyday to go onto the web browser of the TV and then go into my bookmarks so this isn't really a solution for me. 

My whole post was aimed at getting ideas from multiple people/companies using similar software/apps. 

[anilelmastasi]

You can check embedsignage.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/saas-apps/embed-signage-tutorial

[anilelmastasi]

Hello @LivOn123 ,

I do not have information about OptiSigns but have you tried Power BI Embedded Report option yet?