When it comes to digital signage questions and trip-ups, we’ve seen it all. So the first article in our 5-part series is a roundup of hardware experience. Now, you can find the right player faster.
Digital signage media players are built to do one thing really well: play digital signage content, out of the box, all the time.
Why does that matter?
Purpose-built, commercial-grade digital signage hardware offers more reliability, better performance, richer features, tamper resistance, and significantly better support. But first, let’s review the most popular hardware alternatives.
Leading hardware alternatives
Android-based computers
Android computers were designed primarily for mobile applications, not for 24/7 continued use with one app (kiosk). As a result, reliability suffers as the device gets “distracted” with software updates or runs out of RAM (memory) and your digital signage app crashes.
KEY ISSUES: ANDROID
While Android computers are generally very economical, they tend to be almost universally “buggy.” Minor glitches may go unnoticed when used as intended, but when asking these devices to perform day in and day out with a single purpose, sooner than later you will find them falling off-task.
Streaming devices
What about Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku boxes or “sticks”? These were primarily designed for watching movies or shows and might seem like a better fit for more continuous use, but they have their own issues.
KEY ISSUES: STREAMING DEVICES
Often, digital signage apps need to be “sideloaded” on these types of devices because the app is not available in the device’s app store.
Expect a lack of reliability over time as these devices insist on receiving software updates to enhance their core purpose of consuming content from their related streaming services.
Over time, the app needs to be manually updated. This takes time and may change performance. Or your app on these devices may be periodically interrupted or may suddenly disappear entirely.
Even though some consumer devices are purpose-built for streaming, they were not designed to operate continuously and may fail prematurely due to overheating or other reasons.
What about low-cost options you may already have?
USB thumb drives are the lowest setup cost for digital signage. Just load some pics onto a thumb drive and use the TV’s slideshow function to rotate through them. This sounds great until you’ve tried this method over time.
KEY ISSUES: LOW-COST OPTIONS
It doesn’t work automatically. Every time you power on the TV you need to use the TV’s remote to open the slideshow app and start it playing again. Unless the screen is attended to by someone who knows how to perform this process, many of your viewers may see a black screen rather than important content.
Updates are difficult. Any time you wish to update the content that is playing you will need to load new media and physically go to each screen location to swap out the thumb drives. This usually results in stale content running on the screen and a lot of wasted time.
Less compelling content. The rudimentary nature of thumb drives mean your on-screen messaging won’t be very compelling. You won’t have access to incorporate more advanced, web-driven content that makes sign experiences more effective (mixed media content, scrolling text, live video streams, social feeds, etc.).
No scheduling. You can’t schedule your content with a thumb drive. For example, if you have a promo that should be displayed only on Fridays, you need to manually swap out the thumb drive that morning.
They are “dumb” devices. Thumb drives can become corrupted and stop working, You have to check them continually. Smart hardware keeps you informed remotely so you know whether your display is working, along with a lot more user-friendly features.
DVD players have many of the same issues as a USB stick with the added problems of dealing with a bulky DVD player, getting it updated, and to reliably loop your content over time.
Advantages of purpose-built digital signage media players
Better performance Because these computers come optimized with a lean operating system and only the necessary software needed to run your signage they will run faster and smoother when compared to a repurposed consumer device.
More reliable Media players built for kiosk use are generally more reliable because they don’t suffer from the distractions and weight of the “bloatware” of unrelated programs running on the computer.
More features Computers engineered for digital signage support more features, either due to their physical construction (multiple video ports, serial ports, etc) or because their higher performance supports the use of more advanced features, or both.
More tamper proof Kiosk computers are designed to stay on task 24/7. This usually includes mechanisms to prevent tampering by the passerby so that the screen is not hijacked with unintended content. You would need to connect a keyboard and enter special keystrokes to exit out of the program.
Backend support tools Digital signage players will often have an accompanying support layer of software so that the vendor can support you remotely.
Take things to the next level: Commercial-grade media players are built to last
Commercial hardware is designed for real commercial environments, able to withstand installation in dusty, hot or cold locations. These devices are typically fanless and sealed from the outer environment. They often will also feature extra large heat sinks to dissipate excess heat easier.
Commercial-grade media players have a longer service and support life. Manufacturers typically keep their models in production for many years, which makes it much easier to expand your digital signage network to more and more screens as you can keep using the same devices rather than having to cobble things together with different models for different screens.
Operating systems designed for commercial hardware offer longer support timeframes. While consumer devices may stop getting OS updates after a couple years, commercial-grade devices will usually be supported for 5+ years.
Commercial devices often can be supported remotely. You and/or your digital signage service provider can remotely manage the device for any troubleshooting or device-level adjustments that need to be made over time. This saves time by not having to be onsite with the device.
We hope you’ve seen that purpose-built hardware gives you the best chance at consistent success with your digital signage, with a powerful safety net of support.
Summary of hardware reviewed
HARDWARE TECHNOLOGY
ISSUES OR ADVANTAGES
Android-based computers
Buggy performance leading to downtime
Streaming sticks like Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, etc
Surprise updates can delete your signs
Thumb drives played as TV-slideshows
High-touch to keep running. Limited options lead to less compelling content
DVD players
Unreliable over time and even more difficult to update regularly with new content than the above options
Purpose-built, commercial players
Better performance & security, more features & reliability, backend support tools
