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Digital Signage FAQs

Digital signage only works if the screen, the player and the content system keep running unattended for years. These FAQs cover signage screens and brightness, media players, OPS and SDM slot-in computers, content management, video walls, kiosks, DOOH advertising, menu boards and wayfinding.

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Topics 12
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · FUNDAMENTALS

What Is Digital Signage?

Digital signage is the use of networked electronic screens, such as LCD, LED or projection displays, to show content that is scheduled and updated remotely rather than printed. A typical system has three parts: the display, a media player that stores and plays the content, and content management software that decides what plays where and when.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · DISPLAYS

What Screens Are Used for Digital Signage?

Most digital signage uses commercial LCD displays rated for long or 24/7 operation. Windows and outdoor sites use high-brightness or sunlight-readable LCDs, very large and outdoor formats often use direct-view LED, interactive signs use touchscreens, and special jobs use stretched, open frame or video wall panels. Consumer TVs work for light use but are not designed for it.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · STANDARDS

What Is OPS (Open Pluggable Specification)?

The Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) is a standard for a slide-in computer module that plugs into a slot in the back of a commercial or interactive display. One 80-pin JAE connector carries power from the display and video, audio, USB and control signals back to it, so the screen gains a full PC with no separate box or cables.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · SOFTWARE

What Is a Digital Signage CMS?

A digital signage CMS (content management system) is the software used to upload, arrange, schedule and publish content to a network of screens. Operators build playlists and layouts in a web dashboard, choose which screens or groups show them and when, and the CMS sends the content to a player at each screen and reports back what played.

6 MIN
CONNECTORS · VIDEO

What Is HDMI CEC?

HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is a control channel built into HDMI that lets connected devices send each other commands over the HDMI cable. It turns a TV on when a player starts, switches inputs and passes remote-control buttons along. TV makers give it their own names, such as Anynet+, SimpLink and Bravia Sync.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · ADVERTISING

What Is Programmatic DOOH?

Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) is the automated buying and selling of digital out-of-home advertising through software. An advertiser’s demand-side platform buys plays on public screens, a supply-side platform passes the deal to the media owner’s ad server, and the screen’s player shows the advert and reports that it played. Rules on time, place, weather or audience trigger each buy.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · AV CONNECTIVITY

What Is HDBaseT?

HDBaseT is a standard for sending uncompressed HDMI video and audio, plus Ethernet, USB, control signals and power, over one category cable up to 100 m. A transmitter at the source and a receiver at the display do the conversion, so a player or PC can sit in a secure cabinet far from the screen.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · ADVERTISING

What Is DOOH?

DOOH, short for digital out-of-home, is advertising shown on digital screens in public places such as roadsides, stations, airports, shopping centres and shops. Unlike printed posters, the ads arrive over a network, so they can rotate, change by time of day and be bought by schedule or programmatically. The screens and players behind it are digital signage.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · NAVIGATION

What Is Digital Wayfinding?

Digital wayfinding uses screens, touchscreen kiosks and phone links to help people find their way around a building or site. Interactive maps, directories and live updates replace or add to printed signs, so routes change as rooms, gates or platforms change. Hospitals, airports, stations, campuses, offices and shopping centres are the main users.

6 MIN
SELF-SERVICE · KIOSKS

What Is an Interactive Kiosk?

An interactive kiosk is a self-service terminal that combines a touchscreen, a computer and peripherals such as a card reader, printer or scanner in a secure enclosure. It lets people order, pay, check in, buy tickets or find information without staff, and is found in shops, restaurants, hospitals, hotels, stations and airports.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · DISPLAYS

What Is a Video Wall?

A video wall is a group of displays mounted edge to edge in a grid so they work as one large screen. It can stretch a single image across every panel or show several sources in separate zones. Video walls are built from narrow-bezel LCD panels, direct-view LED cabinets or, in older control rooms, rear-projection cubes.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · VIDEO PROCESSING

What Is a Video Wall Controller?

A video wall controller, also called a video wall processor, is the hardware or software that takes video sources and splits, scales and places them across the displays of a video wall. It lets one image fill the whole wall or several sources share it in windows, and stores the layouts so operators can switch between them.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · PLAYERS

What Is a Digital Signage Media Player?

A digital signage media player is a small computer that stores signage content and plays it on one or more screens. It runs the player app for a content management system, downloads new content and schedules over the network, plays from local storage if the connection drops and reports back that the screen is working.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · APPLICATIONS

What Industries Use Digital Signage?

Retail, restaurants and quick-service food, transport, healthcare, education, corporate offices, hotels and venues, banking and manufacturing all use digital signage. Retail and hospitality use it to sell, transport and healthcare to inform and direct people, and offices, schools and factories to share live information with staff, students and shift teams.

8 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · PLAYERS

Can You Use a Raspberry Pi for Digital Signage?

Yes. A Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 running Raspberry Pi OS and a signage player app, or a browser in kiosk mode, makes a capable low-power digital signage player that drives up to two 4K screens. It suits pilots, small networks and indoor screens. For large fleets, hot enclosures and unattended 24/7 sites, an industrial player is usually more reliable.

6 MIN
DIGITAL SIGNAGE · HOSPITALITY

How Do Digital Menu Boards Work?

A digital menu board is a screen showing a restaurant’s menu, driven by a small media player behind or beside it. Staff edit items and prices in content management software. The player downloads and caches the content and plays it on a schedule, so menus change by time of day and keep playing if the internet drops.

6 MIN
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CategoryDigital Signage PlayersFanless media players that drive one screen or several, from single HDMI to quad 4K outputs.View products CategoryOPS ComputersOPS slot-in computers that plug straight into the back of a compatible signage display.View products CategorySmart Display ModulesIntel Smart Display Modules for SDM-ready screens, with no cables between player and panel.View products CategoryStretched DisplaysStretched bar-type displays for shelf edges, transport information and narrow spaces.View products