License Required to share PowerBi to TV display

[Kerrymr]

Hi All,

I have created a report using PowerBi Pro.

I would like to display this report on a TV for the department to see.

I shared the report to the PC login name and gave the report read only access in powerbi service.

When I pull up the report it says I need a Pro license.

I'm ok with purchasing a PRO license to display the shared report from App.Powerbi.

When I approached IT regarding the purchase of the license, they stated that PowerBi is licensed per user.

I inquired about purchasing a license for that PC for the "display user" but they said it had to be a physical person.

Can anyone point me to Microsoft documentation regarding the license I need to display powerbi in this fashion?

I am certain we are not the first in the world with this problem but can't find any specific answers.

This was a similar question that was posted, but there wasn't a formal direction from Microsft.

https://community.powerbi.com/t5/Service/Power-BI-Dashboard-on-Display-screen/m-p/227194

Anyone have a document or response from Microsoft for the kind of license we need?

Thanks in advance,

Kerry

[bhalicki]

Sorry to also dig this one back up, but I would also like some clarity.

I have seen many examples where a display (TV screen) uses one account.  Technically though, if the report was published in this manner, the report would be consumed by anyone who looks at the screen.  Hoping Microsoft could provide some clarity.  I don't really want to go back to my client and tell them they need a premium license just for one TV screen.

[SteenSP]

Hi,

We have also looked into this and what we concluded was, that if the users can't interact with the report, it's ok that they can see it and that it's running under a "display" user. I haven't seen it in any document from Microsoft though, but it was what our License provider told us. In my opinion it also makes sense, because otherwise you wouldn't even be allowed to show a Power BI report at a meeting, conference or whatever unless all the participants have a PBI license. But I think MS could be a bit clearer on this because it's my impression that there are many companies that are doing this - or want to do:-).

/Steen  

[Kerrymr2]

Since this comes up from time to time I can just advise what has happened on our journey.

Our application was a manufacturing report for a kiosk where users could walk up and see the next job to be worked. Our intent was to publish the report to the PBI cloud. There was some interaction as the report was built tabbed so the users could click the tab for their department.

First, I contacted Microsoft support directly and inquired about a shared display.  They seemed to be ok with it, I received a response in writing but it has been some time now and potentially lost.

Then there was a discussion about the email and what constituted a shared display.  The conservative viewpoint was that a shared report consisted of a displayed report without a mouse or keyboard.  The users could only view the report and cannot interact.

There was also some discussion at this about how do we go and create an account in the cloud for a user that wasn't a real person.

We eventually landed on taking the report and publishing it to an internal server to resolve the named user issue.  We also procured PowerBi premium. 

It is difficult to keep the server at the same patch level as powerbi so that we can publish changes when they occur. It is also a pain to manage two published reports in two different areas there is a loss of "version control."

There is some discussion at least twice per year about why we are "making this so difficult" from the server patching team or the users.

It would be better if it were clarified more directly.

Regards,

Kerry

[v-lili6-msft]

hi, @Kerrymr 

First, if you want to share a private report to others, you and others both need the Pro license.
If you have purchased Premium and add your content to Premium, then when you share the content, the receiver could be free users.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-free-vs-pro
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-premium

Another way, you could publish report to web, then anyone could access it.

But When you use Publish to web, the report or visual you publish can be viewed by anyone on the Internet. There is no authentication used when viewing these reports. Only use Publish to web with reports and data that the anyone on the Internet (unauthenticated members of the public) should be able to see. This includes detail level data that is aggregated in your reports. Before publishing this report, ensure you have the right to share the data and visualizations publicly. Do not publish confidential or proprietary information. If in doubt, check your organization's policies before publishing.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-publish-to-web

Second, for purchasing a PRO license, Please refer to this document:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-admin-licensing-organization

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-admin-purchasing-power-bi-pro

Best Regards,

Lin

[Kerrymr]

Hi  v-lili6-msft,

We do not have a premium license.

We want to share the document with the PC that will display the report, then display it using APP.powerbi.com.

My IT group keeps telling me we can't because Microsoft only licenses people not machines.

The documents you provided state:

"After you purchase the licenses, you assign them to individual users" does it matter if that user is a real person?

Ideally, we would just purchase a pro license and  assign the license to the user "SomeSharedDisplay."

The user "SomeSharedDisplay" would then be logged in to App.powerbi.com and display the report.

Is there a formal document from Microsoft explaining the requirements for shared displays?

Kerry

[Anonymous]

I’m struggling with the same dilemma at my client. We want to display reports on a TV screens but according to policies, a user account should not exist if it’s not a real user.

Would really appreciate some input!

Best,

Linda

[SteenSP]

I know this is an old thread, but did you ever get an answer to this?

I'm having the same issue, where I'd like to display some Power BI dashboards in some production areas, but are struggling with the licensing issue.

Regards

Steen