Displaying live data on an office TV sounds like it should be straightforward, but most teams end up in a maze of browser profiles, screensaver settings, and HDMI cables. This guide cuts through that and gets you from zero to a live dashboard in under 20 minutes.

What you’ll need

  • A TV or monitor — most Smart TVs made after 2018 already have a built-in browser; a separate display device is only needed for older screens
  • A dotBlast account (free tier covers one dashboard)
  • A Wi-Fi or wired network connection

Step 1: Create your dashboard in dotBlast

Log in to dotblast.app and create a new dashboard. dotBlast uses a grid-based layout, so drag in the widgets you need:

  • Clock — shows local time with timezone support
  • iframe — embed any web page, metrics URL, or internal tool
  • Calendar — pull in a Google Calendar or any iCal feed

Arrange and resize widgets by dragging their edges. The layout snaps to a 12-column grid, so everything aligns cleanly.

Tip: Set the dashboard theme to match your brand. Go to dashboard settings → Theme and pick from built-in presets or create a custom color scheme.

Step 2: Set up the display device

Smart TV (recommended): Most TVs made after 2018 have a built-in browser — Samsung, LG, Sony, and most Android TV sets all ship with one. Open the browser app from the TV’s home screen; no extra hardware needed.

External device: If your TV is older or its built-in browser is limited, plug in a Fire Stick, Android TV box, or Raspberry Pi via HDMI. For a Raspberry Pi, launch Chromium in kiosk mode once linked:

chromium-browser --kiosk --disable-infobars --noerrdialogs \
  --disable-session-crashed-bubble https://dotblast.app/view/YOUR_DASHBOARD_ID

Where to get YOUR_DASHBOARD_ID: You’ll get the full view URL in Step 3 — either method leaves the TV browser on https://dotblast.app/view/<dashboard-id>. Return here and paste that URL into the kiosk command. You can also click View on the dashboard page in dotBlast and copy the URL from the new tab.

Step 3: Get the dashboard onto the screen

There are two ways to load your dashboard on the TV.

Option A — Quick Link (easiest)

dotBlast can generate a short, human-readable link that is far easier to type on a TV remote than a full URL:

  1. In dotBlast, open the dashboard and click Share → Quick Link
  2. A short link like dotblast.app/go/abc12 appears — valid for up to 60 minutes
  3. On the TV browser, navigate to that short link
  4. dotBlast auto-registers the device and loads the dashboard immediately

Quick Links are the recommended path for first-time setup; you only need to type a handful of characters with the remote.

Option B — PIN linking

If the TV will be a permanent linked device, use the PIN flow instead:

  1. Open dotblast.app in the TV browser — you’ll see a 6-digit PIN on screen
  2. In your dotBlast account, go to Devices → Link device
  3. Enter the PIN shown on the TV
  4. Choose which dashboard to display
  5. The TV updates immediately — no refresh needed

Once linked via either method, the device shows the dashboard full-screen. Updates made in dotBlast appear in real time via WebSocket.

Step 4: Prevent the screen from sleeping

Display devices will sleep by default. Configure the OS to stay awake:

Fire Stick / Android TV: Settings → Display → Sleep → Never

Raspberry Pi: Edit /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf and set:

xserver-command=X -s 0 -dpms

Windows (Mini PC): Settings → System → Power & sleep → Screen: Never

Step 5: Mount and configure

Position the TV and route cables. For a clean install:

  • Use a cable management channel behind the TV
  • Consider a wall-mount bracket with integrated cable routing
  • Label the HDMI input so anyone can troubleshoot it

Keeping it running

Once set up, the system runs unattended. dotBlast’s Wake Lock API support keeps the display active even when the browser would normally dim. If the connection drops, the dashboard reconnects automatically.

For multi-screen setups, repeat Steps 3–5 for each TV. Each device gets its own PIN and can show a different dashboard — useful if you want one screen for engineering metrics and another for company-wide KPIs.

Next steps: Once your TV is live, explore dotBlast templates for pre-built dashboard layouts for common use cases like CI/CD status boards, sales pipelines, and team standups.