Digital signage hardware that works — from a company that sells none.
The player is a web application, so the hardware question is smaller than vendors make it sound. Buy locally, keep the warranty close, and spend the money on the display rather than on the player.
Four ways to run a screen
Android TV box or stick
The usual choice. Install the SignageStack APK, plug it into HDMI, and leave it. Look for 2 GB of RAM or more, Android 8 or newer, wired ethernet if you can get it, and a device that boots straight back up after a power cut.
Recommended for most screensAn Android display or tablet
A panel that runs Android itself takes the APK directly — no box, no second power supply, no cable behind the screen to pull out by accident. The same goes for a tablet used as a small counter display.
Fewest moving partsA Windows or Mac computer
A Windows PC runs the SignageStack app: full-screen, started with Windows, back on its own after a crash. A Mac runs the web player in a full-screen browser. Either way it puts a computer you already own to use, including one already under the counter.
Free if you already have oneA browser, on anything
The player is a web page. Open the URL, go full-screen, and the screen is paired. The fastest way to see the product working before any hardware arrives.
Best way to start the trialWhat to look for
Worth paying for
- Automatic power-on after a power cut
- Wired ethernet, or at least 5 GHz Wi-Fi
- A commercial display rated for long daily hours
- A mount you can reach without closing the shop
- A second HDMI cable in the drawer — it is the part that fails
Not worth paying for
- A “signage-branded” box at three times the price of the same chipset
- 4K on a screen nobody stands closer than four metres to
- A player bundled with software you are not going to use
- Anything that needs a vendor engineer to re-image it
- A per-device licence on top of the software you already pay for
How big the screen has to be
The rule of thumb that survives contact with a real room: the furthest reader should be no more than six screen heights away for large text, and no more than four for a menu they have to read line by line. Measure from where people actually stand, not from the middle of the room.
| Reading distance | Screen size | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 2 – 3 m | 32" – 43" | Counter, queue line, a menu read up close |
| 3 – 4 m | 43" – 55" | Café, waiting room, reception |
| 4 – 5 m | 55" – 65" | Shop floor, lobby, corridor |
| 5 m and beyond | 75" and up | Atrium, warehouse, a wall of screens |
A shop window is the exception: sunlight beats size. A bright commercial panel at 43" reads better behind glass than a dim consumer TV at 65".
The parts around the screen
Three quarters of the problems on a signage network are power, network or mounting. None of them are software.
Power
A screen that does not come back by itself after a power cut will need a person with a remote control. Check for auto power-on in the display settings, and prefer a media player that starts on power rather than on a button.
Network
Wired ethernet is worth the cable run. If it has to be Wi-Fi, put the access point in sight of the screen and use 5 GHz. Bandwidth is modest — the player downloads media once and caches it, rather than streaming it on every loop.
Mounting
Portrait or landscape is a decision for the day of the install, not for later: the mount, the cable length and the layout all follow from it. Leave the player reachable, and leave one HDMI length of slack.
Heat and hours
A consumer TV is built for a few hours a day. A commercial panel is rated for twelve to twenty-four and has a fan path that expects to be boxed in. If the screen runs all day in a warm room, this is the line item worth the money.
Questions about hardware
Yes, and for a trial you should. Any TV with an HDMI input works with an Android box or a computer. The limits of a consumer TV show up later: daily operating hours, brightness behind glass, and whether it powers itself back on after a cut.
Almost never. At four metres a person cannot resolve 4K on a 55" panel, and 4K video costs more to store, more to download and more to decode. Full HD is the right answer for most rooms; spend the difference on brightness.
If it runs Android and can install an APK, yes. If it runs a manufacturer system that only allows apps from its own store, plan on a small Android box — it costs less than the time spent fighting the TV.
An Android box that does the job is the price of a mid-range phone accessory, not of a computer. A commercial display costs more than a consumer TV of the same size and lasts the difference. We do not sell either, so this number is not ours to inflate.
If you want a recommendation for a specific room, send us a photo and the viewing distance — we would rather you bought the right thing once.
From the blog
- Digital signage player: the five kinds and the specs that matterWhat a digital signage player does, the five kinds (box, stick, computer, built-in, browser), the specs that matter and what to avoid buying.
- Android TV box for digital signage: what to buy and what to skipWhat an Android TV box for digital signage needs, what to skip, kiosk mode and Device Owner in plain words, and how to test one before buying twenty.
- Digital signage display vs TV: when a consumer TV is enoughWhat a commercial display does that a consumer TV does not: hours, brightness, warranty, power and portrait. And when the TV you have is fine.
Thirty minutes, no slides.
We pair a screen live, build a playlist with your content, and show you the report at the end. If it is not a fit you will know inside ten minutes and we will say so.