Intel NUC / Mini PC Setup

Download the DisplayCache installer for Intel NUC and x86_64 mini PCs. This is a bootable disk image that installs the complete DisplayCache operating system onto the NUC's internal drive in about 3–5 minutes.

File size is approximately 1.6 GB compressed (expands to 12 GB when written). You will need a 16 GB or larger USB drive to write the installer.

Write the downloaded .img.gz file to a USB drive. Choose the instructions for your operating system below.

diskutil list

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskN
gunzip -c displaycache-x86_64-latest.img.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m status=progress

diskutil eject /dev/diskN

lsblk

gunzip -c displaycache-x86_64-latest.img.gz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

sync
sudo eject /dev/sdX

Before installing, you may need to adjust a few BIOS settings. These are important for a reliable signage setup.

1. Enter BIOS. Power on the NUC and press F2 immediately (or DEL on other brands) to enter the BIOS setup utility.
2. Boot order. Navigate to the Boot section and set your USB drive as the first boot device. This ensures the NUC boots from the USB installer.
3. Secure Boot. If the installer fails to boot, disable Secure Boot. This is usually found under Security or Boot settings. Most NUCs work fine with Secure Boot enabled, but some configurations require it to be off.
4. Auto Power On (important for signage). Find the power recovery setting and set it to "After Power Failure: Power On" (or equivalent). This ensures the NUC automatically starts up after a power outage — critical for unattended signage.

   This setting varies by manufacturer. On Intel NUCs, look for Power → After Power Failure. On other brands, it may be called "AC Power Recovery", "Restore on AC Power Loss", or "After Power Loss". See the BIOS Tips section below for brand-specific locations.

5. Save and exit. Press F10 to save your changes and exit the BIOS.

1. Insert the USB drive into the NUC.
2. Boot from USB. Power on the NUC. If you set the boot order in Step 3, it will boot from USB automatically. Otherwise press F10 (Intel NUC) or F12 (most other brands) during startup to open the one-time boot menu and select the USB drive.
3. GRUB menu appears for 8 seconds with two entries:
   • DisplayCache GNU/Linux — default. Installs onto the internal disk if it's empty, or skips if DisplayCache is already installed. This is the entry you want for a first install.
   • DisplayCache — Force Reinstall (wipes internal disk) — recovery option. Wipes the internal disk and reinstalls from scratch. Only pick this when you want to start over.
   The default boots automatically after 8 seconds if you don't press anything.
4. Installation runs automatically with a branded progress screen showing the current step (detecting hardware → preparing disk → partitioning → copying ~12 GB of system files → installing bootloader → finalizing). The full install takes about 1–2 minutes. Do not power off or remove the USB during this time.
5. "Installation Complete" screen appears. The NUC will power itself off after 60 seconds (or press and hold the power button to shut down immediately).
6. Remove the USB drive, then press the power button to turn the NUC back on. It boots from the internal drive this time and the pairing code appears in about 90 seconds.

Recovery: If a NUC ever gets into a bad state (failed update, corrupted disk, won't boot), pop the same USB back in and pick Force Reinstall from the GRUB menu. It wipes and reinstalls without needing SSH or any terminal commands.

Note: The default install only touches the internal drive if no DisplayCache install is already there. The Force Reinstall option always wipes — back up anything you need to keep before using it.

Once installed, the NUC needs a network connection to register with the backend and fetch its pairing code. You have two choices:

Staying on ethernet (simplest)

Leave the cable plugged in. The NUC picks up DHCP automatically and the pairing code appears within a minute. Skip to Step 6.

Switching to WiFi

WiFi is configured after install via an on-device hotspot. Two ways to trigger setup mode:

1. Unplug the ethernet cable and wait about 60 seconds. The NUC detects it has no network and starts the setup hotspot automatically.
2. Or with a USB keyboard attached, press Ctrl+W on the NUC. This forces setup mode immediately without disconnecting ethernet.

Either way, a hotspot named DisplayCache-Setup appears. Connect to it from your phone or laptop — a setup page opens automatically (or visit http://10.42.0.1 if it doesn't). Enter your WiFi network name and password. Once the NUC connects to your WiFi, the hotspot shuts down and the pairing code appears.

If you're switching from ethernet to WiFi: also unplug the ethernet cable so the NUC commits to the WiFi connection instead of preferring the wired link.

Once the NUC boots and connects to the network, a 6-character pairing code appears on screen.

1. Open admin.displaycache.com in your browser and sign in.
2. Go to Devices in the sidebar.
3. Click + Pair Device (or Add Device).
4. Enter the 6-character code shown on the display and click Pair.
5. Give the device a friendly name (e.g., "Sanctuary Main Screen") and assign it to a location.

Now that the device is paired, tell it what to display.

1. Add the device to a group (optional). Device groups let you target content to multiple screens at once.
2. Assign a playlist directly, or create a schedule that switches playlists at different times of day.
3. Save. The NUC downloads the assigned content immediately and begins playback within a minute or two.

From this point on, any changes you make in the web admin are pushed to the NUC automatically. You can disconnect the keyboard — the NUC runs headless from here.

Pulse-Eight USB-CEC Adapter (~$50)

Intel NUCs don’t ship with HDMI-CEC support — they’re general-purpose PCs, not consumer media devices. The Pulse-Eight USB-CEC Adapter plugs into one of the NUC’s HDMI ports (in-line between the NUC and the TV) plus a USB port and gives the agent control over the TV.

• Enables: CEC power schedule (TV on at 9 AM, off at 9 PM), volume routing from a paired USB remote to the TV, Active Source claim on wake.
• Where to buy: pulse-eight.com or Amazon.
• Detection: The DisplayCache agent auto-detects the adapter on boot — no driver install, no manual config.

The biggest quality-of-life upgrade for unattended church and school deployments. Skip it only if you plan to leave the TV on 24/7.

Wireless USB Remote (~$9) — for classrooms

For Sunday school classrooms, special-needs classrooms, and any other room where a volunteer or teacher walks in and needs to navigate the playlist by hand, you need a physical remote. We've standardized on the Seleven 2.4GHz Wireless Remote: D-pad with OK, back, menu, home, and volume keys.

The remote is designed to pair with the Pulse-Eight above. Arrow keys + OK + back navigate the on-screen Kiosk-mode menu. The volume keys (Up / Down / Mute) are intercepted by the agent and forwarded over HDMI-CEC to the TV through the Pulse-Eight adapter, so one remote controls both the menu and the TV's audio. Without the Pulse-Eight, the volume keys do nothing.

• Recommended: Seleven 2.4GHz Wireless Remote on Amazon.
• Setup: plug the included USB dongle into the NUC. The agent's USB-HID remote bridge picks it up automatically — no driver, no per-device key mapping, no app config.
• Best with: a Pulse-Eight USB-CEC adapter (so volume reaches the TV). Plain navigation works fine without one.

$9, AAA batteries, ~30 ft range. Skip it on NUCs that only run Slideshow mode — no one ever touches a remote there.

HDMI Ghost Display Emulator (~$10)

For NUCs whose TV is powered off most of the day (overnight, weekends, summer break), the HDMI signal physically drops when the TV goes to standby. The NUC sees “no display attached,” the Wayland compositor stops drawing, and when the TV comes back on the slideshow may not return until the NUC reboots.

A 1920×1080 HDMI Ghost Display Emulator plugs into a second HDMI port on the NUC (most NUCs have two) and emulates a connected display 24/7. The NUC always thinks a screen is attached, the compositor never sleeps, and the slideshow resumes the instant the TV powers back on.

• Recommended: Fueran 1920×1080 HDMI Headless Ghost Display Emulator on Amazon.
• Required for: NUCs with a scheduled TV power-off, and NUCs running fully headless for NDI source output.
• Setup: Plug in. No driver, no config. The agent doesn’t need to know about it.

Pick the right HDMI port

• Use HDMI 1 if at all possible. Many TVs only honor CEC on HDMI 1 and ignore commands on other ports.
• Avoid ports labeled “ARC” or “eARC” unless that’s the only CEC port. ARC expects an audio-system handshake the dongle doesn’t fully implement, which can prevent volume commands from being honored.
• If HDMI 1 is the ARC port and the only CEC port, plug in there but expect the agent’s volume forwarding to Feature-Abort. Power on/off should still work.

Enable CEC in the TV menu

CEC is called something different on every brand. Find the right name and turn it on:

• LG: SimpLink
• Samsung: Anynet+
• Sony: BRAVIA Sync / Control for HDMI
• Panasonic: Viera Link
• Sharp: Aquos Link
• Hisense: HDMI-CEC / Anyview
• Vizio: Settings → System → CEC → Enabled
• Roku TVs (Westinghouse, TCL, Hisense Roku, etc.): Settings → System → Control other devices (CEC) → 1-touch play: ON and System standby: ON. Both default to off; without 1-touch play, only power-off works.

Disable eco / fast-start tradeoffs

• Quick Start / Fast TV Start / Instant On — enable this. Many TVs disable the CEC chip in standby to save power. Without Quick Start, the TV cannot be woken by CEC because the chip isn’t listening when the TV is off.
• Auto power-off / Sleep timer — disable on the TV side. The DisplayCache schedule should be the only thing powering the TV down.
• Eco mode — turn off if it has its own switch separate from Quick Start.

Different mini PC brands use different keys and BIOS layouts. Here is a quick reference.

These keys work for most models but can vary by specific model and BIOS version. If unsure, check the sticker on the bottom of the device or the manufacturer's documentation.