Digital signage is a TV or screen that shows slides, video or announcements you change from a computer or phone, so nobody reprints anything. A working setup has three parts, a display, a player and software.
Somebody told you the lobby needs screens, and now you’re the one who has to make it happen. You probably have a few other jobs already. It’s very doable once you know what you’re actually setting up.
It’s a screen that shows what you’d otherwise tape to a wall, and you can change it without a printer. AVIXA, the audiovisual industry association, notes that unlike static printed signs, digital signage allows content to be updated quickly, scheduled at specific times, and tailored to particular audiences or environments. If you’ve ever reprinted a price sheet because one line was wrong, you already see why people switch.
You don’t need a special kind of TV to start. Any display with an HDMI port can work.
A system has a display, a player and software. Wikipedia’s overview of digital signage splits it the same way, into hardware and software, and it describes the player as specialized hardware that manages the storage, processing, and transmission of multimedia content to the displays.
Think of the bulletin board by your break room. The display is the board itself. The software is where you decide what goes up and when it comes down. The player pins it up every morning without being asked. In an office, that means the TV on the wall, a small box or stick plugged into its HDMI port, and a dashboard in your browser where you build slides and set when they run.
| Part | What it does | What to ask before you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Display | Shows the content to people in the room | Does it have an HDMI port, and is it mounted where people will actually look? |
| Player | Stores your content and plays it, even when the connection is poor | Who sets it up, who updates it, and what happens after a power cut? |
| Software | Lets you build, schedule and change content from a browser | Can the person who runs it do it without help from IT? |
The player is the part people overlook, and it decides whether the whole thing feels dependable. Our guide to digital signage players for small teams goes through what to look for. Rachel Madsen, marketing manager at Pybus Public Market in Wenatchee, Washington, explained why a consumer stick didn’t last for them: “one of the things I did not like about the Firesticks that we were using is they were clunky. They stopped working.” You can read the rest in the Pybus Public Market story.
The software is the part you’ll touch most. Gartner’s digital signage category names one mandatory feature, which is creating and controlling multimedia content for electronic displays. Templates, weather feeds and emergency alerts are extras you may or may not need.
One more choice comes up early. Systems can be networked or standalone, and standalone ones run without any network connection. Most small teams choose networked, because you can change a message from your desk instead of walking over with a USB stick.
Pretty much anywhere people wait, walk through or gather. Wikipedia’s list runs from transportation hubs and hotels to schools, healthcare facilities and public spaces. For a small team, the useful question is what a TV in your building would say.
A few places to picture it:
Every one of them is the same small set of messages you’d otherwise tape to a wall.
It looks like a few short sessions, not a project. Most of the work is deciding what to say.
Day 2 depends on who sets up the player. If the vendor has already configured it, you plug it in, connect it to Wi-Fi and enter a registration code. If you buy a bare box, add time for installing an app, signing in and fixing the display settings. Plan, too, for what happens when it doesn’t restart after a power flicker. Ask which one you’re getting before you order. The how it works page shows the steps for a player that ships ready.
| Day | What you do | What you should have at the end |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick the one TV people look at most, and check that it has an HDMI port and a power outlet nearby | One chosen location |
| 2 | Plug in the player, connect it to Wi-Fi and register it | A device that shows up in your dashboard |
| 3 | Write down the five things you tape to walls today | A short list of real messages |
| 4 | Build two or three slides from a template, with large, plain text | A first playlist |
| 5 | Preview the playlist, then check it on the actual TV from the back of the room | A playlist you’ve seen the way a visitor sees it |
| 6 to 7 | Set end dates on anything time-limited, and show one other person how to change a slide | A routine, not a one-person secret |
A slide that reads fine on your laptop can look different from across a room. Because TVs vary, we won’t give you a text size. Make the text larger than feels natural, then walk to the back and see whether you can read it.
Give one person responsibility for keeping the screens current, and name a backup. When nobody owns it, the same slide runs for months.
The job is small. Once a week, check that nothing is out of date. Once a month, look at the schedule and retire what’s finished. If a message has a date on it, set the end date when you create it.
It also helps to pick a system you can run away from your desk, because a change that needs someone on site tends to wait.
If IT vets the system and then hands it off, the handoff goes better with a short note. Write down who logs in, who approves new content, and who calls the vendor if the player stops responding. Half a page is enough.
That depends on the player, so ask before you buy. A good player stores your playlist and keeps playing it without a connection. Live content such as a streaming video or a web feed needs the internet, but a slide that says “Closed Monday for the holiday” doesn’t once it’s on the player.
Power is a separate question. Ask whether the player restarts on its own after an outage. If it doesn’t, someone has to walk over and press a button, and the blank TV sits there until they do.
You can test both before anyone is watching. Unplug the router for 10 minutes and see what keeps running. Then switch the player’s power off and on and see whether it comes back without you.
Call whoever you’ve agreed will fix it, and agree on that before the first problem. There are really three candidates: your IT person, the vendor who sold you the player and software, or you.
Before you buy, ask the vendor who answers the phone, what the support hours are, and whether you reach a person or a ticket queue. Ask what happens if the player has to be replaced. Put the answers, and a phone number, on the same half page as your handoff note.
If the answer to “who updates it, and who fixes it?” is “you” every time, that’s still a fair choice for some teams. Just go in knowing it.
Most people buy displays before deciding what they’ll say. They get the largest TV they can afford and then find they have two announcements. Start with the messages, then pick a size to fit them.
A stick designed for streaming movies can run out of memory and need a reboot, and then someone has to notice the TV is dark. Why that happens is covered in why hardware meant for digital signage matters.
Crowded slides lose the room, because a visitor who has to stop and read for 10 seconds won’t. Say one thing per slide.
A slide for last month’s event looks worse than a blank TV, because it tells people nobody is paying attention. Set an end date the day you create it.
In a clinic, private details can end up on a public TV by accident. Keep patient names and health details off the waiting room TV, and show only what you’d be comfortable having anyone read. This article is general information, not legal advice. Check HIPAA questions with your compliance officer.
Common examples include a lobby directory, a class schedule at a gym, a waiting room TV, a shop-floor safety board and a campus welcome screen. Each replaces something that used to be printed and taped up, and each can change in minutes instead of days.
Yes, free apps exist, and some are fine for one TV and a few slides. The trade-offs usually show up later, when you need to know who restarts the device, how you schedule content, and who you call. Ask those three questions before you rely on one.
A digital display board is another name for a screen used as a sign. It shows text, images or video that you can change without reprinting anything. The board is only the display, so it still needs a player and software to know what to show.
SmartSign2Go sells cloud signage software and players that ship already set up. Plans start at $19 per screen per month, and players start at $149. You can see the full lineup on the shop page.
SmartSign2Go sells a player that ships already set up plus a per-screen software plan. The Essentials plan starts at $19 per screen per month, and the Advantage plan adds video, audio and scheduling. You can look at the shop and the pricing page, and a person in Wenatchee, Washington answers the phone at (844) 888-7446. If you’d like a walk-through with your own TV in mind, book a demo.
