I finally had an opportunity to produce a layout for the new LCD monitor hanging in the hallway here. I've played around with Xibo for a while, and while not without its quirks, it is an excellent program for creating and managing digital signage. It includes the ability to embed just about any kind of media that you can use on the Internet, and it includes the facility to embed PowerPoint files as well. All in all, I'm very much impressed with this program and what it can do. Another huge advantage is that it is free. Have a look at http://xibo.org.uk/ for more information.
The hardware and software that we had available for this project was a Dell Optiplex 790 with Windows 7, a VGA to Cat 5 to VGA connection, and an older Samsung 47 inch monitor.
The only issues that I ran into was having to apply a registry fix to allow PowerPoint to load in Xibo without opening the PowerPoint application, and the setup itself. I would recommend a passing understanding of XAMPP, PHPMyAdmin, and web servers and permissions in order to be able to install and implement anything more complex than a single display. If you are only installing a single display (which is my situation), then the installation instructions for the server and for the client will get you through the process. Of course my experience is based upon a Windows 7 install. If you are facile with Linux then the instructions above will certainly be different.
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