How It Works

MenuPair is a small stick that plugs into the HDMI port of any TV and plays your menu. You manage the menu from your phone or a web browser. Here is what happens from the box to the screen, and what the stick does day to day.

1. Plug in

Connect the stick to a free HDMI port on the TV and to the wall with the included power adapter. Use the adapter rather than the TV's USB port: most TV USB ports cannot supply enough power and the stick will restart under load. Switch the TV to that HDMI input. The TV shows a QR code.

2. Get the app

Scan the QR code with your phone. It takes you to the MenuPair app on the App Store or Google Play. Create an account or sign in.

3. Pair over Bluetooth

The app looks for nearby sticks that are waiting to be set up and lists them. Tap yours. The TV and the app both show the same 6-digit code; confirm it matches. This is how the stick knows it is talking to your phone and not someone else's.

4. Pick your Wi-Fi

Choose your venue's Wi-Fi network in the app and type its password once. The password goes to the stick over the encrypted Bluetooth link and is stored only on the stick. The stick joins the network, checks in with MenuPair and appears in your account as a new screen. If the password is wrong you see it in the app right away and can try again.

5. Add your menu

Type items and prices, or upload what you already have: images, a PDF (each page becomes a slide) or short video clips. Set how long each slide stays up. Tap publish.

What happens when you publish

MenuPair's servers render your slides, transitions and clips into a single smooth video at 4K and 1080p. The stick checks in every minute, downloads the new version in the background and switches to it without a flicker. From tap to TV usually takes one to three minutes.

Day to day

  • Offline: the stick keeps the current menu on its own storage and loops it with no network. It picks up edits when the connection returns.
  • Power cuts: the stick boots straight back into your menu when power returns.
  • Scheduling: set breakfast, lunch, dinner or happy hour menus and the server switches them at the right time.
  • Several screens: one stick per TV. Setting up a second stick is faster because the app can reuse the same Wi-Fi.
  • Changing Wi-Fi: if the network changes, the TV shows the setup screen again and you re-pair from the app in a minute.
  • Updates: the stick updates its own software quietly. There is nothing to install or maintain.

Network requirements

Any 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz Wi-Fi network with a WPA2 or WPA3 password, including guest networks. The stick makes outbound HTTPS connections only, so firewalls and client isolation do not get in the way. Networks that require a sign-in web page or a username and password (captive portals, WPA2-Enterprise) are not supported.

Get MenuPair, $99 one-time → Step-by-step screenshots are in the Setup guide.