Power & Automation

A fully unattended Dreambooth booth needs four pieces: a smart plug for AC scheduling, a voltage stabilizer, a Windows power-plan script that prevents sleep, and the app's built-in screen saver. Optionally add a smart CCTV for remote monitoring. Dreambooth ships the screen saver in the app; the rest is one-time hardware + Windows configuration covered below.

The Full Picture

Power. A smart plug schedules AC on/off for the booth.
Protection. A stabilizer / surge protector sits between the wall and the printer.
Windows behavior. A bundled PowerShell script in the app's Settings disables sleep, prevents screen-off on AC, and prepares the PC for unattended operation.
Auto-launch. Windows Task Scheduler launches the Photobooth App at login.
Idle attract loop. The app's built-in screen saver plays a video to draw walk-ups when nobody's interacting.
Optional monitoring. A smart CCTV gives you remote eyes on the booth.

Smart Plug — Scheduled On/Off

A smart plug is a Wi-Fi-controlled wall plug that turns AC on/off on a schedule (or via app/voice). For a Dreambooth booth, schedule it like this:

08:00 — Smart plug turns on. PC powers on automatically (BIOS setting: Restore on AC Power Loss → Power On). Photobooth App auto-launches.
22:00 — Smart plug turns off. PC sees power loss and shuts down.

Stabilizer / Surge Protector

Dye-sublimation printers draw heavy current during the heating cycle and are sensitive to voltage fluctuations. Always plug the printer through a stabilizer (AVR) or quality surge protector, especially in regions with unstable mains.

Use a stabilizer rated for at least 2× the printer's peak draw
Plug the PC through the stabilizer too — protects the booth as a whole
Replace stabilizers every few years; they age

Windows Setup — In-App Script

Dreambooth ships a Windows Power Saving script you can download from the app:

Open the Photobooth App and click the Settings gear.
Find the Windows Power Saving section.
Click Download Power Plan Script. A .ps1 file lands in your Downloads folder.
Right-click the file → Run with PowerShell. Approve the elevation prompt.

The script:

Disables screen-off and sleep when on AC power
Sets a 30-minute screen-off timeout when on battery (laptop fallback)
Configures Windows to keep the display awake during long capture sessions

You only need to run this once per PC.

Auto-Launch on Boot

To launch the Photobooth App every time Windows starts:

Open Task Scheduler (Win + R → taskschd.msc).
Click Create Basic Task. Name it Dreambooth Auto-Launch.
Trigger: When I log on.
Action: Start a program, browse to Dreambooth.exe.
Finish. On the next reboot, the app launches automatically.

Combine with auto-login (netplwiz → uncheck "Users must enter a user name and password") so the PC boots straight into the running app.

Idle Attract Loop — Screen Saver

When nobody's interacting with the booth, Dreambooth's built-in screen saver plays a full-screen looping video to draw walk-up customers. Wakes on any input (touch, click, key, mouse).

Configure in Settings → Screen Saver:

Enable Screen Saver — on/off
Idle Timeout — seconds before the video starts (default 60)
Custom Video URL — set per project in the dashboard

The screen saver also coordinates with the camera: when idle, the camera can auto-eject to save bulb / shutter wear, then reconnects on wake.

Optional — Smart CCTV

For unattended kiosks, a smart CCTV with phone alerts gives you remote eyes:

Confirm the booth is online and busy
Spot vandalism, malfunctions, or media jams
Verify your operator showed up

Any Wi-Fi camera with a phone app works. Place it behind or above the booth so it sees the screen and the area in front of it.

Quick Checklist

Smart plug scheduled (with shutdown task 5 min before plug-off)
Printer through a stabilizer / surge protector
BIOS set to Restore on AC Power Loss → Power On
Windows Power Saving script run once
Auto-login enabled
Task Scheduler launches Dreambooth at login
Screen saver enabled with attractor video
(Optional) Smart CCTV pointed at the booth