Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about setting up and using Pixette.
General #
What is Pixette?
An app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple TV and Android TV that turns your photos and videos into a random slideshow. It connects natively to Synology Photos and Immich, over WebDAV or SMB to any other NAS (QNAP, Nextcloud, TrueNAS), or plays photos stored on a phone or tablet.
Is Pixette free?
Yes. The free tier indexes up to 500 photos, shuffles them, plays video and keeps the screen on. Premium lifts the 500 limit and adds the frame features (face detection, Ken Burns, overlays, EXIF filters, scheduled sleep) for less than $8/year.
Which devices are supported?
iPhones and iPads on iOS 15 or later, Android phones and tablets on Android 7.0 or later, Apple TV on tvOS 15 or later, Android TV and Google TV, all-in-one Android displays, Apple Vision Pro, and Apple Silicon Macs. Old tablets repurposed as photo frames and TVs are what it's built for.
How does Pixette compare with other slideshow apps?
Fotoo, nFolio, FrameSway and Photos Frame are the main alternatives, and all four are Android-only. Pixette is the only one that also runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision Pro and Apple Silicon Macs, and the only one with native Immich support. Each of the others wins somewhere: Fotoo reads Google Photos and Dropbox, nFolio runs on Amazon Fire TV, FrameSway writes star ratings back to Synology Photos. There's a full side-by-side comparison on the site.
Does Pixette work on Apple TV and Android TV?
Yes. Install it from the App Store on Apple TV (tvOS 15 or later) or from Google Play on Android TV and Google TV. Set the TV up from your phone: the TV shows a QR code, Pixette on the phone scans it and sends your server and settings, encrypted, over your home network. No typing with the remote.
Can Pixette be my TV's screen saver?
On Android TV, Google TV, and Android tablets and phones, yes: pick Pixette as the system screen saver. Google TV needs a one-time command from a computer. Apple TV doesn't allow screen savers from other apps, so there Pixette stays open as a full-screen frame and follows your sleep schedule.
Does Pixette work on an Android monitor or signage display?
Yes. All-in-one Android displays, the touch panels sold by iiyama, ProDVX, Elo, Philips and ViewSonic, are ordinary Android devices in a monitor housing, so they run Pixette like any tablet. Mains or PoE powered, rated for 24/7, and available past 32 inches. Install from Google Play, or sideload the APK if the panel has no Play Store. Samsung and LG signage screens are the exception: they run Tizen and webOS.
Setup & Connection #
How do I connect to my NAS?
On a Synology NAS (DSM 7.0 or later), pick 'Synology Photos' in Pixette and sign in with your DSM account. Nothing else to set up. On any other NAS, enable the WebDAV server, create a user with read-only access to your photo folders, then enter the URL, username and password. Step-by-step guides for each system are in Getting Started.
What's the difference between Synology Photos and WebDAV?
Synology Photos talks straight to the Photos app on your NAS: no WebDAV server to install, no dedicated user, just your DSM login, and you can browse by folder or album including the shared space. It needs DSM 7.0 or later and an account without two-factor authentication. WebDAV is universal, so it's the choice for non-Synology devices or when you need 2FA.
What is WebDAV?
A protocol that lets apps read files from a server over your local network. Most NAS devices support it and it takes a few clicks to enable.
Can I connect Pixette to Immich?
Yes. Choose 'Immich' in the app, enter your server URL and sign in with your Immich email and password. Play the whole library or pick specific albums. A data-saver option streams smaller previews to save bandwidth.
Which NAS brands are supported?
Synology Photos and Immich natively, plus anything that speaks WebDAV: QNAP, TrueNAS, Nextcloud, ownCloud, Seafile, Unraid and Western Digital among them. See the setup guides for step-by-step instructions.
Can I use photos stored on my device?
Yes, on phones and tablets. Pick an album on iOS or a folder on Android. No NAS and no network needed for local photos. A TV has no photo library of its own, so Apple TV and Android TV play from a NAS or Immich.
Features #
How does the randomisation work?
A mathematical shuffle (Feistel network) maps every photo to exactly one position, so your whole collection plays once, in scrambled order, with no duplicates and no gaps and no big list held in memory. The order is refreshed when the app restarts, when a shuffle-sensitive setting changes, or after reindexing. Tap Info during the slideshow to see where you are.
Does Pixette work offline?
Yes. When the NAS connection drops, Pixette plays from its local cache and retries the connection about once a minute.
Can I filter pictures by EXIF metadata?
Yes, in beta. Pixette downloads each file's header in advance to build a local EXIF database, then filters slideshows by camera model, date, lens and other metadata.
When is re-indexing required?
Whenever you add or remove files in your NAS folder. Turn on 'Automatic reindex' to have it run daily at a time you choose.
Can Pixette sleep automatically when the room is empty?
Yes, on phones and tablets. Motion-aware sleep uses the front camera as a presence sensor: the slideshow plays while there's movement and dims to black after a period of stillness you set, then wakes when someone moves nearby. Everything is processed on-device, with camera frames reduced to a coarse light-and-dark grid and never saved, uploaded or shared. A fixed sleep and wake schedule is also available, on its own or alongside.
Can I show the weather on my slideshow?
Yes. Pixette can overlay the current conditions and a four-day forecast. Add temperature and weather to any custom overlay with simple variables.
Can Pixette show two photos at once?
Yes. Pair Photos puts two portrait photos side by side on a landscape screen, or two landscape photos one above the other on a portrait screen, so a wide display isn't wasted on a single tall photo between black bars.
Troubleshooting #
Why does the app sometimes crash on older devices?
Usually limited RAM, limited storage, or a picture or video format the old hardware can't decode. Pixette resizes images to keep memory use down, but very old devices can still struggle with large collections.
Why does Pixette create a local cache?
Three reasons: resized copies protect older devices from memory crashes, pre-downloading the next images keeps navigation smooth, and the cache keeps the slideshow running when the NAS connection drops.
I can't connect to my NAS. What should I check?
That the URL is exactly right (it's case-sensitive), that the same WebDAV connection works from a computer, that your device IP isn't blocked in your NAS security settings, and that your password is letters and numbers only while you're testing.
Date & Time Formats #
Pixette lets you customize the text overlay on your slideshow. Use these variables in Settings → Overlay to display the current time, photo metadata, or folder names.
Current Time: $(pattern) #
Displays the current device time. You can use any ICU DateFormat pattern inside $(…).
| Variable | Example |
|---|---|
| $(HH:mm) | 14:30 |
| $(h:mm a) | 2:30 PM |
| $(HH:mm:ss) | 14:30:45 |
| $(EEEE) | Monday |
| $(EEE) | Mon |
| $(MMM d) | Apr 30 |
| $(MMMM d, yyyy) | April 30, 2020 |
| $(dd/MM/yyyy) | 30/04/2020 |
Photo Info (EXIF Metadata) #
Displays data from the photo's EXIF metadata. Requires EXIF indexing to be enabled.
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| $date | Photo date | 15 January 2024 |
| $dateShort | Photo date (short) | 15 Jan |
| $dateclean | Photo date + strips dates from folder names | 15 January 2024 |
| $time | Photo time | 14:30 |
| $city | City (from GPS) | Paris |
| $region | Region | Ile-de-France |
| $country | Country | France |
| $keywords | Keywords / tags | landscape, sunset |
| $camera | Camera make | Apple |
| $cameraModel | Camera model | iPhone 14 Pro |
File Path #
Extract parts of the photo's folder path. Example path: Photos/2024/Vacation/IMG_1234.jpg
| Variable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| $first | First folder | Photos |
| $first(2) | First N folders | Photos/2024 |
| $first(-2) | Skip first N folders | Vacation |
| $last | Last folder | Vacation |
| $last(2) | Last N folders | 2024/Vacation |
| $last(-2) | Skip last N folders | Photos |
| $full | Full folder path | Photos/2024/Vacation |
| $file | Filename | IMG_1234.jpg |
Formatting #
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| $n | Line break (new line) |
Default overlay format
Clock: $(HH:mm) —
Title: $first - $dateclean $n $city, $country
Good to know
$(…) shows the current time, while $date and $time show when the photo was taken.
Variables that can't be resolved are silently removed. All date/time formatting respects your device's locale.