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Setting up the big screen

For whoever is looking after the TV or projector at the venue. It takes about five minutes.

What you need

• A laptop connected to the TV or projector (an HDMI cable is easiest), or a smart TV with a web browser
• Wi-Fi or a phone hotspot for that laptop or TV
• The laptop's charger, plugged in

Steps

1. Connect the laptop to the TV and check you can see the laptop's screen on the TV.
2. Open Chrome, Edge or Safari and type in the address from the event's admin page (Screen tab, "Open the screen").
3. Click anywhere on the page to make it full screen. The mouse pointer hides itself after a few seconds.
4. Turn off the laptop's sleep and screen saver for the evening, and close the lid only if the laptop stays awake with it closed.
5. Turn the laptop's sound down: the screen doesn't need it.
6. Test it: scan the QR code on the screen with your phone and send a photo. It should appear within a few seconds.

If something goes wrong

• "Reconnecting…" at the top: the Wi-Fi has dropped. The slideshow keeps going with the photos it already has, and new ones appear once it's back.
• The screen went black: the laptop has gone to sleep. Wake it, then click the page to go full screen again.
• Wrong thing on the screen: the organiser can change it from their phone, on the admin page's Screen tab.
• Still stuck: refresh the page (F5, or Cmd+R on a Mac). Nothing is lost.

More options, including smart TVs, Fire Sticks and projectors, are in the big screen guide at snazooka.com/guides/big-screen-setup.

Tip: set it up an hour before guests arrive. Until the first photo comes in, the screen shows a welcome card with the QR code, so it's fine to leave it running.