Help

Help & FAQ

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Questions

Do I need additional hardware to run TVMenus?#
Not when your television already has compatible Google TV built in. Install TVMenus directly from Google Play. No additional hardware or separate player box required. Google TV is available in select models from brands including TCL, Hisense, and Sony; confirm the exact model, not just the brand. If Google TV is not built in, connect a compatible Google TV streamer to an HDMI port. See the Google Store or Amazon. That fallback does add a streaming device. Manage either setup from any web browser.
What TVs are supported?#
TVMenus installs directly on a compatible Google TV. To check, look for Google TV in the television settings and Google Play on its home screen. Select TCL, Hisense, and Sony models ship with Google TV, but a brand name alone does not guarantee the operating system or app compatibility. If your TV does not have Google TV built in, add a compatible streamer (Google Store · Amazon) to an HDMI port.
How do I get my menu onto a screen?#
Upload it. TVMenus plays an image or a video file on your TVs, whatever your menu already looks like as artwork. Upload the file, pick which screens show it, and the TVs pick it up within seconds. No designing inside our editor, no rebuilding your menu item by item.
What files can I upload?#
Images (JPG, PNG, WebP) and video (MP4). Design them at 1920×1080 landscape for a normal TV. The same file your designer or printer already made will usually work as-is. Images can be up to 15 MB each and videos up to 200 MB, which is a few minutes of 1080p. Every image upload opens a crop window before it saves. A TV screen is 16:9, so anything that isn't already those proportions has to be trimmed somewhere. The crop window lets you drag and zoom to pick where, instead of the TV stretching it or cutting off the edge you cared about. A file that's already 1920×1080 needs one click to confirm.
Are you affiliated with Google, or with the TV brands you link to?#
No. TVMenus is an independent product from Cook Coding, LLC. We point you at Google TV hardware because that's what the player app runs on, we don't sell hardware, and we earn nothing from the links on this page. Buy wherever you like. Google TV, Android TV, and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC. TCL, Hisense, Sony, onn., Walmart, and Amazon are trademarks of their respective owners. TVMenus is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them. We name them only to tell you what hardware the app runs on. The full wording is in Terms §16.
How much can I upload?#
On a paid plan your storage grows with your screens: 1 GB to start, plus 2 GB for every screen you add. That's roughly ten full-length videos or hundreds of menu images per TV, far more than a real menu board needs. The Free plan gets 100 MB. It's sized for what one screen actually holds, because the Free plan is images only, with no video, and a menu image is a couple of megabytes. That's dozens of boards on one screen. If you ever fill it, delete uploads you're no longer using.
How do I change what's on a screen?#
Upload the new file and assign it. Every TV showing that screen swaps over within seconds, from wherever you are. Prices, specials, a holiday notice: if you can export a new image, you can change the screen.
How do I pair a TV?#
Install the TVMenus app on the TV. It shows an 8-character code. Enter that code in the dashboard at /welcome (first-time setup) or /devices (later).
How do I run more than one screen?#
Pair each TV separately. Each one gets its own code. Every screen can show its own file, so a counter board, a drink board, and a promo screen can all be different, and you change any of them from the same dashboard.
My screen went black. Now what?#
Check the power first. A TV on a switched outlet, a power strip somebody turned off at close, or a cable a delivery knocked loose looks exactly like a software fault and is the most common cause by a distance. If it has power, wake the TV and give it 30 seconds. It reconnects on its own. If it's still black, force-quit and reopen the TVMenus app on the TV. If that doesn't do it, contact us and include the device ID from your dashboard. A dropped internet connection is not the cause. The screen keeps playing through an outage. See what happens if the internet goes down.
What happens if the internet goes down?#
The screen keeps playing. Each TV holds its own copy of the file it was given, so an outage doesn't blank your menu board. Lunch service carries on and nobody in the queue can tell. What you lose is the ability to change it. A new upload can't reach a screen that's offline, so it waits. When the connection comes back the TV checks for anything it missed and catches up on its own. You don't have to touch it, and you don't have to re-upload.
How do I reset my password?#
Go to /forgot-password and enter your email. We'll send a reset link that expires after one hour. You can also sign in via magic-link from the login page, with no password needed.
How many screens can I have on one account?#
No hard cap. You're billed $9 per screen per month ($7/screen once you run 5 or more, every feature included). Unpair a TV anytime to stop billing on it.
What counts as an "active screen"?#
A TV that's paired and pulling content. Unpaired or disabled screens don't count for the month.
Is there a free tier?#
Yes. The Free plan runs one screen forever at $0, images only, and the screen carries a TVMenus watermark. The watermark is two things, and it's worth knowing exactly what they look like before you put one in front of customers. A small "Menus by TVMenus · tvmenus.com" badge sits in the bottom-right corner the whole time. On top of that, once a minute a footer bar slides up across the bottom of the screen for about eight seconds with the same wording, then slides away. Both sit over the picture rather than shrinking it, so keep the bottom strip of your artwork clear of anything you need read at all times. New accounts start with a 14-day free trial of the full product, and a trial screen looks almost nothing like this. See how the trial works. Paid screens carry neither the badge nor the footer.
How does the free trial work?#
Sign up at /signup. No credit card. You get full access for 14 days, including video, which the Free plan doesn't have. A trial screen is deliberately close to a paid one, because you can't judge a menu board you can't actually look at. There's no always-on badge during the trial. All you get is a small footer note for 15 seconds every 5 minutes, about a twentieth of the time, against the Free plan's permanent corner badge and its footer every minute. Subscribing removes even that. At Day 14 the trial ends. Upgrade to keep every screen live, or continue on the Free plan (one screen, images only, and the branding described above).
How do I cancel?#
Cancel from the dashboard billing page anytime. The current billing period stays active, renewals stop. To pause for off-season, unpair the TVs. They're not billed while unpaired. See Terms for the full cancellation and refund policy.
Is my data private?#
Yes. Screens and uploads are tenant-scoped, so only users in your Company can see them. We don't sell data and don't share it with third parties beyond the infrastructure providers needed to run the product (database, email, hosting). See /privacy for details.
Can I get a copy of my data?#
Yes. It's your content, and the Terms don't claim otherwise. Ask at /contact and we'll send your screens, uploads, and device list. There's no self-serve export button in the dashboard, so the request reaches a person rather than a download link.

Check your TV before you buy anything

If compatible Google TV is already built in, install TVMenus directly with no additional hardware. Google TV comes in select models from TCL, Hisense, Sony, and other brands. Confirm the exact model has Google Play. If it does not, use a compatible streamer below with an HDMI TV.

  • Google Store

    Google TV Streamer (4K)

    A Google TV streaming option for an HDMI television that does not have compatible Google TV built in.

    View on Google Store →

  • Amazon

    Google TV Streamer (4K)

    The same Google TV streamer through another retailer. Confirm the seller and model before ordering.

    View on Amazon →

  • Walmart

    onn. 4K Pro Google TV Streaming Device

    Another Google TV streaming option for an HDMI screen. Confirm Google Play app availability and the model specifications before buying.

    View on Walmart →

  • Amazon

    TV with Google TV built in

    Buying a TV? Select TCL, Hisense, and Sony models include Google TV. Confirm the exact model, then install TVMenus directly and skip the separate streamer.

    View on Amazon →

Buy wherever you like. Google TV is a trademark of Google LLC; other product names are trademarks of their respective owners. TVMenus is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them (Terms §16).