If you've been tracking your club's results in a spreadsheet, the biggest quality-of-life upgrade PingPongArena gives you as a table tennis club standings spreadsheet alternative is a live, always-up-to-date standings display you can put on a TV, a tablet, or just leave open on your own laptop.
This guide walks through every display mode this app to track table tennis club ranking offers, what plan each one needs, and how to set each one up. There's no single screen in the app literally called an "arena screen" or similar — the app has three distinct display options, described plainly below.
The three display modes at a glance
The host's own tabs inside the app — Games, History, Players, Stats, Settings — are working views for the organiser running the event. They are not meant to be put on a spectator screen. Keep those separate in your head from the two public display modes below.
| Mode | What it shows | Plan needed | Needs sign-in on that device? |
|---|---|---|---|
| View mode | Every match's current score, plus standings, all on one screen | Free | Yes — your own signed-in device |
| Viewer link | Same live overview as view mode | Club plan or the €12 event pass | No — account-less, read-only |
| Single-match scoreboard | One match only, shown large | Same as above (whichever link/device you use to open it) | Depends on how you open it |
Mode 1: View mode — the free option, on your own device
View mode is available on the Free plan. It's meant for a device you personally control and are signed into — for example, a laptop plugged into a TV over HDMI at the venue.
Because view mode runs on a device you're signed into, it's the free option — but it also means that device is "spoken for" as your display: you can't easily use it to also referee a match at the same time, and if you sign out or close the tab, the display stops.
- Sign in to PingPongArena on the device you'll use for the display (e.g. the laptop you're plugging into the TV).
- Open your event as normal.
- Add ?view=true to the end of the event's URL in your browser's address bar, and load that page.
- The page switches to a multi-match overview: every match in progress shows its current score, alongside standings context, updating live — changes appear on screen in well under a second after a point is scored elsewhere.
Mode 2: Viewer link — a read-only link for any screen, no sign-in
The viewer link solves the "I don't want to dedicate my own laptop" problem. It's a read-only, account-less link: anyone who opens it — a TV browser, a spectator's phone, a tablet at the door — sees the same live overview as view mode, without ever signing in.
Generating a viewer link requires the Club plan (€19/month or €190/year), or the €12 single-event pass if you just need it for one event. Because the viewer link is account-less, you can hand the QR code to anyone and they can follow along on their own phone too, without needing an account.
- Open your event as the host (signed in).
- Open the Share dialog from the host UI.
- Generate the viewer link. You'll get a QR code and a copyable URL.
- Open that link on whatever device will act as the display — a TV's built-in browser, a spare tablet, a laptop that isn't signed into PingPongArena at all. No login is needed on that device.
Mode 3: Single-match scoreboard — one table, one screen
For clubs that want a screen at each table rather than one shared TV, the single-match scoreboard shows just one match, large — for example a tablet placed at a table in landscape orientation, giving a "TV per table" or courtside look.
Use this when you have several tables running at once and want each one to carry its own score rather than everyone looking at a shared TV across the room.
- Open the match you want to display — either through your own signed-in view (Free) or through a scorer/viewer link for that table (Club plan or event pass), depending on how you're running the table.
- Set the device to landscape orientation and place it at the table.
- The screen shows only that match's current score, large enough to read from a few metres away.
Which mode should your club use?
None of these three modes require anything beyond what's described above — there is no separate "TV mode" setting or dedicated hardware product involved; it's all the same live data shown three different ways.
- Running a small club night solo, on a budget: view mode on your own laptop is free and works fine if you're comfortable dedicating that device to the display for the evening.
- Want a shared TV or spectator screens without tying up your own laptop: viewer link, which needs Club or the €12 event pass.
- Running several tables and want a screen at each one: single-match scoreboard on a tablet per table.
Common questions
Do I need a paid plan to show live standings on a TV?
Not necessarily. View mode on your own signed-in device is free. You only need the Club plan or the €12 event pass for the account-less viewer link or a scorer/viewer link per table.
What's the difference between view mode and the viewer link?
View mode runs on a device you're personally signed into. The viewer link is a read-only, account-less link that anyone can open on any device without signing in — it needs Club or the event pass.
Can spectators follow the standings on their own phones?
Yes, if you're using the viewer link — hand out the QR code and anyone can follow along live on their own phone without an account.
Is there a dedicated "TV mode" setting?
No. There is no feature literally named that — the three display modes described here (view mode, viewer link, single-match scoreboard) are all the same live data shown three different ways.