NextKon Screen – digital name signs on the lectern, the panel table and the door
Design logo and names separately, right in your browser – or upload finished signs. Connect screens with a code and drag the names onto lectern and moderator screens: one click and everything is in place. Built by event technicians for conferences. This guide explains it step by step.
1. Getting started and free trial
- Create a free account at nextkon.de/en/konto and confirm it.
- In “My NextKon”, open the NextKon Screen tile – the admin opens without a second password (address:
screen.nextkon.de/verwaltung). - On first opening you automatically get a free trial: 2 screens, 14 days, with an example event. Trial signs show “Testzugang” (trial) in the bottom right corner.
2. Event and rooms
Tab “Events”: title and – if you have several halls – the rooms (e.g. “Hall 1, Hall 2, Foyer”). Exactly one event is active at a time; when you switch, all screens first show EMPTY (your logo or your EMPTY image). Prepare the next conference calmly and switch over in the morning.
3. Upload signs or type names
Tab “Signs” – two ways that you can freely combine:
| Way | How it works |
|---|---|
| Upload finished signs | Your designer has already made the signs? Drag all images (PNG, JPG or WebP) into the upload area at once. The name comes
from the file name. There is one image per person for the lectern (portrait) and the table strip (landscape) – the prefix Pult_ or Mod_
assigns it, otherwise the aspect ratio does: Pult_Albrecht.png and Mod_Albrecht.png end up on the same sign. An image
LEER.png is shown by the screens during breaks. |
| Type names | Enter a name and a second line (role, organisation) – or paste a list from Excel (per line: name; line 2; room). The sign is created from your design (section 4) and adapts to every screen. |
Which screen: each sign is for the lectern, for moderation (ProArt) or both. For uploaded images this follows automatically (portrait = lectern, landscape = moderation, both images = both); for typed names you choose (default: both). So each screen only offers matching signs. Landscape screens (e.g. at the door) accept all.
Sorting into rooms: choose the room per sign – or tick several and move them at once. Signs without a room apply everywhere. Typo? Change the name and save – screens show the new spelling immediately.
4. Design
Tab “Design”: background, text and accent colour, font, alignment, accent bar and your logo (best as PNG with a transparent background). The preview shows the sign on a lectern (portrait), a table strip (1920 × 550) and in landscape.
Adjust layout: below, move the logo, accent bar and text directly with the mouse or your finger and resize them at the corner – separately for lectern, landscape and ProArt. “Save layout” – and all screens of that shape show it immediately. “Back to automatic” restores the standard layout. The name always fits itself to the text box.
5. Connecting screens
- Tab “Screens”: create a screen (e.g. “Lectern Hall 1”), choose the room and the format: lectern (16:9 portrait, 1080 × 1920), landscape screen (16:9, 1920 × 1080) or ASUS ProArt for moderators/chairs (1920 × 550). The free trial already includes “Lectern” and “Moderation”. Once a screen is connected, it detects its resolution and adapts the format by itself.
- On the screen, open
screen.nextkon.de/tvin the browser – a code appears. - Enter the code under “Pair” and choose the screen – done. Alternatively open the screen’s fixed link in a kiosk browser.
| Device | Note |
|---|---|
| Smart TV | open the built-in browser and enter the address. |
| Fire TV Stick | Silk browser, full screen. On request we deliver sticks ready to use. |
| Raspberry Pi / mini PC | browser in kiosk mode with the fixed link – starts by itself after switching on. |
| Laptop | browser in full screen (F11). |
“Identify” shows the screen’s name on the screen for 20 seconds – handy during set-up. If a device only outputs landscape (e.g. Fire TV on a lectern display mounted in portrait), the player rotates the sign by 90° – you set the direction per screen.
6. Switching: control, room tablet, Stream Deck
- Control view (button “Open control view” in the admin): your room as a diagram – chair/moderation on the left, lectern on the right, with the actual sign on each screen. Below are all names, labelled LECTERN, MODERATION or both: press and hold, then drag onto a screen (or tap, then tap the screen). Only screens the sign fits light up. The ✎ next to names and screens changes the spelling and line 2 instantly on all screens. “Swap” exchanges the two moderation signs.
- Control (tab in the admin): a preview per screen and buttons for the matching names, EMPTY and black. Green = online.
- Room tablet: tab “Links” → one link per room without login for staff in the hall – the same control view, just for that room’s screens and names.
- Companion / Stream Deck: module “Generic HTTP”, action GET. All URLs per screen and name are in the “Links” tab.
7. If the internet fails – ProPlayer Backup (Pro)
With Screen Annual Pro you get a ProPlayer Backup on free loan for the entire term of your contract: our standard ProPlayer with a built-in backup function – screen player and backup box in one, for the whole network at your venue.
Should the internet ever fail, your screens, the room tablet and the Stream Deck simply keep switching via the ProPlayer Backup – as long as the in-house network is running. Your audience won’t notice a thing. Once the connection is back, it syncs automatically.
- One ProPlayer Backup covers all screens and rooms in the same network – and shows a sign itself, for example on the lectern.
- We deliver it fully set up and tested; you just connect it to the network and a screen.
- Screens and tablet then use the ProPlayer’s address – with the same links (admin, tab “Links” → “ProPlayer Backup”).
8. Agreement and data protection
The signs show names of people. Please conclude the data processing agreement once (tab “Agreement”, text: screen.nextkon.de/en/avv). Servers in Frankfurt am Main, no cookies, no third-party services; screens only show names, never the list. Delete events after use – the names are then gone immediately.
9. Booking packages
Event pass or annual plan directly in your account under “Book a package” – paid via PayPal, activated immediately. For the event pass you choose the first day (set-up day); it is valid for four days. Prices: nextkon.de/en/preise. We are happy to offer screens, Fire TV sticks, digital lecterns and on-site support.
10. FAQ
Do I need special hardware?
No – any screen with an up-to-date browser will do. For lecterns we recommend portrait displays, for the panel table strips (e.g. 1920 × 550).
How quickly does a change appear?
Within one to two seconds.
Can several people switch at the same time?
Yes – control, room tablets and Stream Deck at the same time; the last command always applies.
Where is the data stored?
On Amazon Web Services servers in Frankfurt am Main; backups in Germany.
Who helps me?
Write to support@nextkon.de – we usually reply within a few minutes. In person: TS Veranstaltungstechnik, +49 7161 30 47 49 0 (English or German).