How to put your menu on a TV
You need three things: a TV, the internet, and a board to show on it. The TV is probably the one you already have. The board is the part that used to need a designer. Here is how to do all of it yourself, in about ten minutes.
Fourteen days free, no card. Works on any TV with a web browser, or any TV with an HDMI socket and a streaming stick.
Step one: the board
Say what you want, and it is designed for you
You are the designer. You say what you want in your own words: the colours, your name across the top, what goes where. AI designs the finished board in about a minute. Not quite right? Say what to change and it is drawn again. There is no design software to learn, and nobody else trying to guess what is in your head.
Tell it in plain words, the way you would tell a sign writer: “Dark blue, our name big at the top, pizzas down the left, drinks on the right.” Or show it a photo of a board you like the look of. Then type your prices, or take a photo of the price list you have now. About a minute later the finished board is on your screen, with your name and every price on it. Check each price before you use it.
Step two: the TV
What kind of TV do you have?
A smart TV
Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense or any TV with apps on its home screen. It has a web browser built in, and that is all it needs. Nothing to plug in.
A Fire TV Stick or Android TV box
Plugged into the back of the TV. It has a browser too. The Fire TV Stick guide has every step.
An older TV that is not smart
Any TV with an HDMI socket works. Plug a Fire TV Stick into it, about the price of a takeaway for two from a supermarket or online, and it becomes a smart TV.
A laptop on an HDMI cable
A spare laptop plugged into the TV works as well. So does any laptop, tablet or phone, if you just want to see your board on a screen before touching the TV.
Step three: pair it
On a smart TV, in about two minutes
- Make your board firstSign up at counterboard.com, describe your board and put your prices in. It is free for fourteen days, with no card.
- Open the browser on the TVOn the TV remote press Home. Open the app called Internet, Web Browser or Browser.
- Type the addressIn the address bar type counterboard.com/tv and press OK.
- Look for six lettersThe TV shows six letters and numbers, something like HY9CJT. They join this TV to your board.
- Type them into your phoneIn Counterboard on your phone, open Your TVs and type the six letters in. Your board is on the TV a few seconds later.
On a Fire TV Stick or Android box
The same, in the stick’s browser. On a Fire TV Stick that is Silk: search for it on the stick and install it, it is free. On an Android box it is Chrome or Internet. Then type counterboard.com/tv and pair it with the six letters.
On a laptop
Plug the laptop into the TV with an HDMI cable and press Source or Input on the TV remote until you see the laptop. Open the web browser, go to counterboard.com/tv, and make the window full screen (on most Windows laptops, press F11). Set the laptop never to go to sleep, or the board goes with it.
Good to know
Before you walk away from it
What it costs
Priced by how many screens you put up
Fourteen days free, and no card to start. After that £14 a month for one screen, £22 for two, £32 for three or four, and £45 for five or more. No VAT charged. The price list on the front page shows it in dollars and euros too.
Every feature is included at every price. Each TV you put up gets a board drawn for it. Changing prices is free and unlimited. A new look, or adding and removing items, is one change a month, included. More boards or more changes can be bought one at a time inside Counterboard, with no change to your plan. No contract: cancel any time.
Questions
What people ask
Do I need to buy a special screen?
No. Any TV with a web browser works, and any TV with an HDMI socket can be given one with a Fire TV Stick. A TV made for shops is brighter and built to run all day, but you do not need one to start.
Do I need a computer?
No. You can do the whole thing from your phone: make the board, pair the TV and change prices.
How long does it take?
About a minute for the board to be drawn, and about two minutes to pair a smart TV. Setting a Fire TV Stick up so it comes back on by itself takes about ten minutes, once.
Can I have more than one screen?
Yes. Pair each TV the same way, with its own six letters. Each one can show the same board or a different one. The price goes up with the number of screens.
More guides
Other questions shop owners ask
Fire TV Stick menu board: how to set one upHow to change the prices on your TV menu from your phoneA price list on a TV for your salon, barber or nail barA digital menu board without a designer: what each way costs
Counterboard is for any business with prices on a wall, in any country. See how it works.