.Updated  December 2022

Short CURA Demo Video :(2 min)

Summary:

1. Displays – What display(s) are you going to view your image/art or videos.
2. Compatible Wi-Fi enabled streaming platform or device.
3. Registering and setting up your display using the TV app QR code, creating your CURA account .(3 mins) (Jump to details) (Android video) (Apple TV video)
4. Setting up your CURA account at https://curapp.io . Using your phone or a PC -by default this will be CURA Home Plus with its own image store. (1-2 minutes) (Jump to details) (Phone video)
5. Optionally Linking a Google Photos account to access core or shared albums or your favorites from your phone. (You must do this if you just have the CURA Home version. Home+ or Professional). (5-10 minutes)(Jump to details) (Phone video)
6. Uploading or syncing media (images or videos) into a “collection” that you will use on your displays. (2-3 minutes) (Jump to details) (Phone video)
7. Assigning it a collection of images to display.(3 mins)  (Jump to details) (Android video) (Apple TV video)
8. Enjoy, have new conversations, and have fun with CURA.(a lifetime)

More help videos can be found here

The Steps

1. Displays – To start with use your TV with a spare HDMI port (most will have a spare one) or one that has Apple TV or embedded Android TV. You could also use a spare computer monitor with a HDMI port. It’s recommended that you start here but CURA really comes to be fun when you have multiple displays in multiple locations. Initially try and plan for 2 displays preferably one that could be oriented in a portrait (vertical) mode would make images of both orientations look great – After you get going you can use many more display types. Check out our Compatible and Recommend Displays list.

2. Wi-fi Display/TV Streaming device – If you happen to have a TV or device that already has Apple TV or supports Android TV then you are all set for now. If not the recommended and least expensive way to connect to CURA is via a compatible Android TV/Streaming Device  where the CURA Android TV/Display app can be installed – Check here for a full list of those. They start at $10 US or about €30 in Europe, so it’s quite affordable. Alternatively, you can also hook up a Google Photos compatible display Google Photo Setup Guide (but you will not have full capability).

Now you have your display(s), your Wi-Fi Display devices(s), You are now ready to connect it all up and start seeing  images on your display(s).

• • • Plug in your Android Streaming or Apple TV device to a spare HDMI port and switch on the device and display or just startup you Android or Apple TV.
    • Go through the setup process for your device, connecting to your Wi-Fi, creating and adding any required default applications etc. – (e.g. For TIVO you will be asked to register for a TIVO account etc.), they will also likely do a system update that can take 5 mins or so. 
    • Add the Companion CURA TV application from the Google Play or Apple TV App store by searching for “Cura” the blue Cura app will appear, select it, install and open it.

    • If you are using Android TV device the first screen that the CURA application will be ask you to set CURA as your default screensaver(press “SET UP SCREENSAVER”), set the time to 5 min (the minimum) and energy save switch off to “Never”. This allows CURA to automatically start up without ANY intervention when the displays are powered off/on. i.e. art/images will appear after 5 min after power on. This is quite useful and is the recommended configuration

    • If you are using Apple TV or Chromecast Google TV, where there is not an option to set CURA as the screensaver you will have to start and leave the CURA app. running and use the CURA On/Off features.

    • The CURA app will present a screen with a QR Code displayed. Use your phone camera to scan the QR code, you will be taken to a registration screen, and asked to login or create a new account using any working email address and then asked to approve the registration. If you are not using the QR code you may either go to https://curapp.io/device. or to https://curapp.io and press the “register new CURA display” button on the rooms page and enter the presented code that looks like “xxxx-yyyy”. Note that this code expires after 10 minutes, and new QR and code is presented. (You may have to press the back button)

    • About 30 seconds after you approve the registration, your display should show the CURA startup welcome images. Your new display will also now appear as “unassigned” under rooms in the CURA app. You can click on it to set it up. You may, rename it, change duration time, set its orientation, upload an image directly to it, assign it to a room, or scroll down and remove the default start up collection and assign it a collection of your own. etc.

    • Create a new collection and upload a couple of images to it as you first test collection, or wait until you have complete steps 5 or 6 below.
    • Under the display or the room that the display is in go to “Collections” and select one or more collections with images in it (with some in the correct orientation as by default filter by orientation is on) 

4. Setting up a CURA cloud account. – Your CURA account that you set up when setting up your first display is at at https://curapp.io .You will be prompted to download and enable CURA as an application on your device, or add https://curapp.io to your browser bookmarks or a home screen application on your phone. (You will be prompted to do this the first time you login.) Save your login information and password using your browser or keychain password saver, for later quick access.

5. Google account–Optional with Home + or Professional. -You can skip to 5. If you do not want to use Google Photos and have Plus or Professional . It is however recommended. ITS FREE if you don’t have one. At this time, on the base CURA Home version, we are leveraging Google photos as your image store so you will need a Google registered account of some sort. This could an old or new Gmail account or just register your current email at Google photos and create an account with it Its free for the 1^st 15GB of storage. You will also need a Google account to enable and register your Android TV device and download the CURA TV app. from the Play Store. So, you can use this account for this purpose as well (it does not have to be the same one).

1. 1. • Once signed in, go to Media -> Media Sources, and connect to the Google photos account from above to CURA, once authenticated, with the requested permissions, make sure you check the box requesting upload permissions:
      • Once linked you will be presented with a list of your Google Photos albums that you have created or created as auto-updating albums or have been shared to you. Your will also the option to sync your photos marked as Google Favorites (that can be linked to your Liked Apple iCloud images. Guide Can be found here ). NOTE: Currently you must have images in an album or marked as favorites if you wish to use these images with CURA.
      • Link and Sync: you can select and link albums from your Google Photos account that have images in them and click on Save and Sync at the top right of the page, If Link is checked it will auto create a collection in CURA and keep the linked collection updated with any changes. Thumbnails will appear under media and in the collections. Note that depending on how many images you are linking it may take a few minutes.

A neat trick is that you can share multiple albums from multiple Google photos accounts with the account you will use with CURA (4 above) and those images will be available in CURA for display too. Additionally, if you are an iPhone or Android user, you can sync your phone photos with this Google Photos account, use the Sync Favorites feature to automatically steam any images that you fav, on to a CURA display. (Select the Google favorites box on the Media source page and it will create a collection called Google Favorites)

6. Uploading or adding your images to a collection. – If you are not using a collection linked to Google Photos you can simply use the CURA uploader.  You can upload photos from the CURA app on your phone, iPad or desktop. Use the Uploader under Media , select and add a few images from your phone gallery or desktop file system, using the Send button to add these images to a New or existing collection, press SET and then Upload. Thumbnails of your images will appear under media and in the collection that you created. (Note you can also set Media Properties, such as titles, keywords, or safety ratings as you upload your images if you wish to)

7. Assign collections to your display(s)/Rooms  

• Under the display or the room that the display is in go to “Collections” and select one or more collections with images in it (with some in the correct orientation as by default filter by orientation is on) .

8. Enjoy your Images or videos – Images will start appearing on your screen.

• Use the TV remote left or right < or > arrow to override the duration set under your display duration to skip though your collection, press the up ^ arrow to get details on the image you are viewing and make adjustment to it brightness, like or hide the image. Pressing the enter button will either pause or play the image.
• To exit CURA TV , press the back button twice. Note that  on Android TV “CURA” will automatically start up in 5 mins if there is no other visual activity on the device.
• If you wish to play music while you are displaying your images, start up your music service and music, press the home button and start up CURA or wait 5 mins.

Please let us know we can help you, and how helpful this guide or the process is, all feedback is welcome.