Digital signage: definition, how it works and how to set it up

Digital signage means using screens to show content (images, videos, practical information or live data) that is managed remotely from software. Unlike a paper poster, the content changes with the time of day, the location or the news, without anyone having to go on site.

You will also hear it called digital displays, dynamic signage or electronic signage: the terms describe the same thing. Digital signage differs from a TV simply left on in a loop through two capabilities: scheduling, which decides which content plays when, and remote management, which lets you update dozens of screens from a single computer, or from a phone. When screens are installed in public spaces and sell airtime to advertisers, the industry calls it DOOH (digital out-of-home): that is a separate business, run by advertising networks. This guide covers digital signage used by a company, a shop or a public body for its own messages.

A digital signage system always rests on three elements: a screen that shows the content, a player that plays it, and software that organizes it. Depending on the hardware you choose, two of these elements can live in the same device, but the three roles remain distinct.

• The screen. It is the visible part and, most of the time, the most expensive part of the project. It can be a consumer TV, a professional display designed to run for long hours, a high-brightness window display, or a video wall made of several panels. The right choice depends on the location (indoors, shop window, outdoors), the number of hours it stays on each day and the viewing distance.
• The player. This is the device that downloads the content and displays it. It is built into most professional displays, which run their own operating system: Android, LG webOS or Samsung Tizen — at Smart-Signage, these last two are driven by a downloadable native app (IPK and .wgt), reserved for the Enterprise plan. Otherwise, you connect an Android box, a mini PC or a Raspberry Pi over HDMI. A plain web browser running full screen can also do the job.
• The software. Often called a CMS (content management system), it is used to create or import content, organize it into playlists, schedule it by time and day, and send it to the screens. Today it is almost always hosted online (SaaS): you log in from a web browser, with nothing to install.

Digital signage always follows the same path. A user prepares content in the software: they upload a poster, a video or a PDF, design a visual in an editor, or add a widget that updates itself, such as the weather, the time or the availability of a meeting room. They put this content into a playlist, which sets the order and duration of each item, then assign the playlist to one or more screens, with a schedule if the content should change with the time of day.

Each screen's player regularly checks in with the software, downloads whatever has changed and keeps it in memory. Thanks to this local cache, a screen that loses its connection keeps playing the last schedule it received. The software also reports the status of each screen (online, offline, content currently playing), so you can spot a failure without traveling. On a platform like Smart-Signage, a change published from the office or from a phone reaches the screens within seconds.

Two characteristics set digital signage screens apart far more than size or brand: brightness, measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m², also called nits), and the number of hours per day the screen is designed and warranted to run.

Market orders of magnitude, which vary between models. Check the screen's datasheet before buying.

The 16/7 or 24/7 rating states the use a professional display is designed for: sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, or continuous operation. A shop open from 9 am to 7 pm runs its screen ten hours a day, already beyond the home use covered by a TV's warranty. A gym open from 6 am to 11 pm goes past sixteen hours: it needs a 24/7 display. The real opening hours, not the budget, should drive this choice.

The shop window is the most underestimated case: a consumer TV behind sun-exposed glass becomes unreadable at the very hours when passers-by are most numerous. Hence the threshold of 1,500 cd/m², or even 2,500 for a window facing full sun.

A digital signage player comes in three forms, and the right choice depends mostly on the screen already in place. Recent professional displays include a SoC (system on chip), in other words a small built-in computer with its own operating system: you simply install the player app on it, with no extra box or cable. It is the cleanest and most reliable option for a fleet of screens.

When the screen has no usable operating system, for example an older TV or a monitor, you add an external player connected over HDMI: an Android box, a mini PC running Windows or Linux, or a Raspberry Pi. A third route is a web browser running full screen, which plays the Smart-Signage web player on any recent device, so you can test without buying anything. The compatibility page details the supported systems: Android, Windows, LG webOS and web browsers, on every plan.

Every digital signage program can send an image to a screen. What sets them apart is what happens day to day, when a promotion has to change at 11 am, fifteen screens in five cities need managing, or you need to understand why a screen has gone black.

The features that really matter, in order of importance:

• scheduling by time, day and date, so the right content plays at the right moment without anyone stepping in;
• offline playback, so a network outage does not turn into a black screen;
• remote monitoring, to know which screens are online and what they are showing;
• content that updates itself: weather, time, meeting-room schedules, prices, web pages;
• a built-in design tool, so you do not depend on a graphic designer for every change;
• user permissions, as soon as several people or several sites publish;
• the emergency alert, which puts a message on the entire fleet in one action.

Smart-Signage brings these features together in an online platform, with a Studio that lays out posters from a simple description, video walls, room-booking tablets and a screen remote control. Playback goes up to 4K on every plan. The feature list describes them one by one.

In retail, digital signage replaces promotional posters and draws the eye in the shop window: a promotion changes within seconds across an entire chain, and each store can adjust what concerns it locally. In restaurants, it works as a menu board: the menu switches automatically between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a sold-out dish disappears from the screen in one click.

In healthcare, waiting-room screens show prevention advice and practical information, and shorten the perceived waiting time. In companies, digital signage carries internal communication in the lobby and common areas, shows meeting-room availability and relays production indicators on the shop floor. In schools, town halls and public bodies, it shows timetables, opening hours and news, and must be able to push an alert to every screen at once.

Each industry has its own constraints: brightness in a shop window, long opening hours in a gym, confidentiality in a medical practice, multiple sites in a branch network. The pages below detail content, screens and setup for each one.

Digital signage, industry by industry:

• RestaurantsDigital signage for restaurants, brasseries and fast-food
• Corporate & officesDigital signage for offices: reception hall and open-space
• Bakery & pastry shopDigital signage for bakeries and pastry shops
• Gyms & fitness clubsDigital signage for gyms and fitness clubs
• Hotels & seminarsDigital signage for hotels, lobbies and seminar rooms
• Real estate agenciesDigital storefront for real estate agencies
• Dealerships & workshopsDigital signage for car dealerships and workshops
• Retail & supermarketsDigital signage for shops and supermarkets
• Pharmacies & waiting roomsDigital signage for pharmacies and waiting rooms
• Schools, universities & training centresDigital signage for schools, universities and training centres
• Hairdressers & beauty salonsDigital signage for hair salons and beauty institutes
• Campsites & outdoor hospitalityDigital signage for campsites and outdoor hospitality
• Town halls & local governmentDigital signage for town halls and local authorities
• Industry & workshopsDigital signage in industry: workshops and production lines
• Banking & insuranceDigital signage for bank branches and insurance agencies
• Medical practices & health centresDigital signage for medical practices and health centres

A successful digital signage project starts with the content and the location, not with buying the screen. The steps below apply to a single screen as well as to a network; only their duration changes.

1. Define the goal and the audience: selling from the shop window, informing a waiting room, communicating internally. It determines the content, the location and the viewing time available.
2. Choose the location: height, viewing distance, daylight, access to a power outlet and to the network (Wi-Fi or cable).
3. Choose the screen based on the location and the opening hours: consumer TV, 16/7 or 24/7 professional display, high-brightness window display.
4. Choose the player: built into the screen, external box or web browser, after checking compatibility.
5. Prepare the content and the schedule: a few visuals readable in three seconds, organized into playlists and placed on a schedule.
6. Install, pair and monitor: the player shows a code, you enter it in the platform, then check remotely that each screen shows what was planned.

To test before investing, a free account and a TV you already have are enough: you validate the content and the location with one screen, then buy equipment knowing what you need.

The cost of digital signage breaks down into four items: the screen, its mount and installation, the player if it is not built in, and the software. The first three are one-off expenses that vary widely with the location: a high-brightness window display costs significantly more than an indoor screen. The software is most often a monthly or yearly subscription per screen.

With Smart-Signage, the software is free for up to 3 screens, then billed at €9 excl. VAT per screen per month (or €99 excl. VAT per year), with no commitment. Our digital signage cost guide explains what makes each item vary and what to plan for in three typical cases, from a shop window to a ten-store network. Plan details are on the pricing page, and the terms of the free account on the free digital signage software page.

• Player: a device or app that downloads content and displays it on the screen. It can be built into the screen or connected over HDMI.
• Playlist: an ordered sequence of content (images, videos, widgets) with a display duration for each item, played in a loop.
• Schedule: the programming that decides which playlist plays when, by time, day of the week or date. Also called dayparting.
• CMS: content management software, used to create, schedule and send content to the screens.
• SoC (system on chip): a computer built into a professional display, which lets you install the player without an external box.
• cd/m² (nits): the unit of screen brightness. Around 300 to 500 indoors, from 1,500 in a shop window.
• 16/7 and 24/7: the daily running time a professional display is designed for, sixteen hours or continuous, seven days a week.
• DOOH (digital out-of-home): advertising digital signage in public spaces, sold to advertisers.
• Pairing: linking a screen to an account by entering, in the platform, the code shown by the player.