Network requirements

The domains and ports to allow through a school or corporate firewall so Billboard can load content on your Apple TVs.

Last updated 5 July 2026

On most school or office networks Billboard just works, no special setup. But if your network filters outbound traffic, a handful of domains have to be reachable. A blocked domain is far and away the most common reason a screen connects but never shows anything.

What the Apple TVs need

It's all outbound HTTPS (TCP 443). The app never makes an inbound connection, so nothing has to be opened to the Apple TV. Allow these on whichever network the Apple TVs run on:

DomainWhy it's needed
getbillboard.appFetches each gallery's manifest, its content list and display settings.
*.getbillboard.appDownloads your images and video, which are served from content.getbillboard.app. The wildcard also covers any future subdomains.

Add both entries. A wildcard like *.getbillboard.app matches sub-domains only, not the bare getbillboard.app. Allow the apex domain and the wildcard, or the manifest won't load.

Billboard is HTTPS-only. If your network runs an SSL-inspecting proxy, make sure getbillboard.app and *.getbillboard.app are trusted and passed straight through, not intercepted with a self-signed certificate. Intercept them and the Apple TV just refuses the connection.

Also allow Apple's own services

Each Apple TV also needs Apple's standard domains so it can install and update the app, keep time and run tvOS normally. Apple publishes the full list: Use Apple products on enterprise networks. The short version is the App Store and *.apple.com, plus *.mzstatic.com for App Store content. Deploying with an MDM? Allow your MDM's endpoints and Apple's device-management ones too.

AirPlay on the local network

AirPlay is a local-network thing. A presenter's device talks to the Apple TV directly, not over the internet. So the two have to be able to see each other: Bonjour / mDNS allowed, and AirPlay's ports open between the client and TV networks. This bites hardest where guest and staff Wi-Fi sit on separate VLANs. Apple lists the exact ports in Use Apple products on enterprise networks.

For the dashboard (admin browser)

If staff manage galleries from a locked-down network, their browser also needs:

DomainWhy it's needed
getbillboard.app, *.getbillboard.appThe dashboard, and media previews.
*.supabase.coSigning in and the account database.
*.r2.cloudflarestorage.comUploading images and video (uploads go straight to storage).
js.stripe.com, api.stripe.com, checkout.stripe.comBilling and checkout.

The Apple TVs never touch Supabase, Stripe or the upload endpoint. Those are only ever used by the dashboard in a browser.

Bandwidth and caching

  • Manifests are tiny and cached at the edge for about a minute, so screens checking in add almost nothing to your traffic.
  • Images and video download once, then play from the device, so day-to-day bandwidth is low. Large videos cost more on first load. For a big rollout, stagger setup or keep the clips a sensible size.

Quick checks

  • Screen connects but shows nothing, or a blank slideshow. Most likely the content.getbillboard.app sub-domain is blocked, so media can't download. Check your *.getbillboard.app rule, allow it and reload.
  • Screen never leaves the welcome screen after entering a code. getbillboard.app is unreachable, so the manifest can't load. Check the apex domain and any HTTPS inspection.
  • Works on guest Wi-Fi but not the main network. A filter or proxy on the main network is blocking one of the domains above.

More symptoms and fixes: Troubleshooting.

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