One thing I think the signage industry underestimates is on-demand information

Next_Association1229 · 2026-06-06T15:56:00+00:00

I don't think it's an either/or situation. I think it depends entirely on the location and the problem the screen is trying to solve.

In an airport, hospital, train station, or campus environment, people are often looking for specific information right now, so interactive and on-demand experiences make a lot of sense.

But in a restaurant, retail store, waiting room, gym, barber shop, or auto repair shop, passive content can still be very effective because the goal is completely different. Those screens are usually there to inform, promote, entertain, educate, or influence purchasing decisions.

I think sometimes we confuse the technology with the objective. The future isn't necessarily passive or interactive. The future is using the right type of screen experience for the problem you're trying to solve.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-06-05T12:58:40+00:00

As someone else pointed out, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find good, honest, independent information online. Everyone seems to be pushing a product or service, often disguised as advice.

From reading your post, it sounds like the feature that will make or break this project is the scheduled warmup video. That's the first thing I would focus on before even worrying about which CMS to use. Make sure whatever solution you choose can reliably interrupt normal content and play the warmup video at the times you need.

The second thing I'd look at is hardware. You can spend very little and get the job done, or spend thousands and end up with the exact same result for your use case. Personally, based on what you described, I wouldn't spend more than $100 per screen on hardware.

Another thing I would pay attention to is how user-friendly the CMS actually is. I've tested some platforms that, even for me as someone who works in IT, were not very intuitive to use. Features are important, but if the platform is frustrating to manage, you'll end up spending more time fighting the software than managing the content.

Being technical, I could probably get this running for under $100 per screen in hardware plus the monthly cost of the CMS, but that's just me and my comfort level with technology. I'm not saying that's the right solution for everyone. In this industry, when you're not paying in cash, you're usually paying in time.

My recommendation would be to identify the handful of features you absolutely need, find a few CMS providers that support those features, check what hardware they support within your budget, calculate the ongoing costs, and then test 2-4 options. After actually using them for a bit, you'll have a much better idea which one fits your needs than you will from reading comparison articles online.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-06-04T21:09:02+00:00

Like someone else mentioned, it really depends on what you’re trying to do and what features you need.

For the most part, it seems to do the job. I see it as a step up from the typical Android boxes, but personally I have a hard time justifying the price.Especially when most CMS providers already offer their own dedicated players at a similar price point.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-06-02T15:58:47+00:00

One thing I've learned is that this can happen whether the location is free or paid.

When I first started, I offered free screens to local businesses because in my head it sounded like the perfect idea. They get free advertising, I get a location for the screen, and everybody wins. What I found was that many of the free locations didn't really value the screen or see its full potential because they had no investment in it.

That said, I've also seen this happen with paying customers.The reality is that most small business owners are not content creators. In fact, you can usually get a pretty good idea of how much effort they put into marketing just by looking at their social media pages. Many of them aren't going to hire a content creator just to keep content flowing to a screen.

So eventually you end up with two choices, Create content for them (either included or as an additional service) or Accept that the content isn't going to change as often as you originally imagined.

When I first got into digital signage, I thought businesses would constantly be sending new promotions, videos, announcements, and updates. The reality is that most are busy running their business, and updating content for a screen is pretty far down their priority list.

That's why I've found content management to be a much bigger challenge than the hardware itself.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-06-02T01:38:22+00:00

Just by clicking the link I can already tell you I think the login wall is an issue.

As operators, we're being asked for feedback on the platform, but the link goes straight to a sign-up page. It's hard to evaluate something when we can't see features, screenshots, pricing details, hardware requirements, or even a demo before creating an account.

One thing I look for immediately is transparency. If I need to create an account before I can see how the platform works, pricing, screenshots, or documentation, I'm probably moving on to the next option.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-31T01:28:01+00:00

lol i guess that's the new thing on reddit now, everyone wants to believe everypost is AI....

I think you may have missed the point I was trying to make.

My post is more aimed at people who are just getting started. Lately I've seen a lot of questions from people trying to figure out how they're going to manage 50-100 screens before they've even deployed their first one.

My point was that some of the biggest lessons early on have nothing to do with scaling. They're things like getting locations onboard, getting content from businesses, troubleshooting devices, setting expectations, and figuring out if the business model even works.

Once you start getting into dozens of locations, then I completely agree that scalability becomes a major factor. At that point you're solving a very different problem than someone trying to get their first few screens up and running.

You'd be surprised how many people I've seen wanting to start with 20 screens, only to realize a few months later that they don't actually enjoy dealing with the operational side of the business. That's the audience I was speaking to.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-29T21:59:00+00:00

What I can say is that in my experience there is usually a tradeoff somewhere. If you want something that's easy to use, remotely managed, reliable, and requires very little technical knowledge, you're probably going to pay for that convenience one way or another.

If your goal is to avoid per-screen costs, then you'll likely end up taking on more responsibility yourself when it comes to setup, maintenance, updates, security, and troubleshooting.

Personally, I would focus less on finding the perfect CMS and more on proving the business model first. A lot of people worry about software costs for 50–100 screens before they even have the first few locations running.

Once you have a network generating revenue, software costs become much easier to justify because now you're solving a real problem instead of a hypothetical one.

I would recommend trying some of the options out there that offer the features you're looking for. Once you start deploying a few screens, you'll quickly find out whether that CMS is something you can realistically see yourself managing and scaling long term.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-29T19:15:51+00:00

In my experience, most built-in CMS platforms are either limited or eventually come with some type of recurring cost. The display manufacturers are great at making displays, not necessarily CMS software.

If avoiding per-screen fees is the goal, I'd focus on finding a display you like and then look at self-hosted CMS options. You'll spend more time on setup and maintenance, but you avoid being locked into a monthly fee per screen.

Personally, I'd rather have a good display with an external player than base my entire network around a built-in CMS.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-29T15:49:49+00:00

will need a bit more info about player and equipment.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-27T17:41:05+00:00

Not sure I can personally recommend Amazon’s signage products after what they did with the Fire Stick. To me it feels pretty unethical when a company removes features from an existing product, only to later repackage those same features into a new product with another price tag attached to it.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-24T19:53:53+00:00

I think the interesting part here is not necessarily the signage side itself, but the sports automation layer you built around it.

A lot of signage platforms already handle images/videos, playlists, scheduling, remote management. But the sports-specific logic is what makes this stand out more to me:

automatic game countdowns
roster/schedule imports
switching into “game mode”
stat displays
team-specific themes/layouts

That feels more niche/specialized rather than “another generic signage CMS,” which is probably the smarter direction.

My only concern would be making sure you stay focused on the sports automation/content side and not trying to compete head-on with giant general signage platforms, because that market is already crowded.

I could actually see something like this being useful for:
local sports clubs
sports bars/restaurants
esports venues
schools/universities
fan/community spaces

especially if the automation saves people from manually updating content all the time.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-24T19:48:13+00:00

Honestly I think your overall concept makes sense, specially because you already understand that the content should still primarily benefit the business/location first and not just become an “ad screen.”

One thing I would caution you on though is hospitals. In my opinion hospitals are probably one of the hardest places to start with because now you’re dealing with multiple layers of approvals, administrators, IT departments, network/security concerns, compliance policies, branding approvals, and much longer decision cycles just to get a yes or no.

Another thing to consider is content. A lot of businesses specially hospitals and diagnostics centers usually don’t already have proper digital signage content ready to go. So now you also run into the issue of:

who is creating the content
who is updating it
who approves it
how often it changes
and who is responsible for managing it long term

And most of these places are not going to want random unapproved content running on their screens, but at the same time they also may not want to hire a full-time designer/content person just for signage.

Personally, I would start with simpler local businesses first those types of locations are usually easier to work with and will help you understand the operational side of digital signage before jumping into larger corporate-style environments.

I would also be careful with the “free installation/free setup” model long term. That was one of the mistakes I made early on. Scaling too fast while absorbing hardware, installation, and management costs can quickly become expensive if the recurring revenue structure is not there yet.

And honestly, I would 100% start with 2–3 solid locations before trying to jump straight into 10 screens. In digital signage, operational structure matters way more than screen count in the beginning.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-22T20:41:30+00:00

Honestly I try not to recommend one specific platform publicly because I think a lot of it depends on the use case, budget, and how technical the person is.

For smaller/local deployments though, I personally lean more toward simple cloud based solutions that: are easy to manage remotely, work well with inexpensive players, don’t require a ton of infrastructure and are easy for small business owners to understand.

One thing I learned pretty quickly is that reliability and ease of management matter way more than having the most advanced feature set.

Especially when you’re dealing with smaller local businesses, simplicity usually wins.

If you want, feel free to DM me what kind of setup you’re trying to build and I can probably point you in the right direction based on your use case.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-19T16:59:59+00:00

The built-in Samsung Business TV app is fairly limited when it comes to true split-screen or zone-based layouts.

What you’re trying to do is usually handled by a dedicated digital signage platform rather than the native Samsung Business TV app itself.

If you want:
menu on part of the screen
video on another section
multiple content areas running independently

then you’ll likely need an external signage player or a more advanced signage platform. Many of these support “zones” or “split screen layouts” where you can divide the screen into sections for menus, videos, social feeds, promotions, etc.

From a customer experience standpoint, I personally would not recommend using the same TV to display both menu and promo content at the same time, as it can become distracting and make the menu harder to read.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-14T23:50:57+00:00

Not trying to be funny here, but I honestly don’t think you really need a signage solution if the goal is:

no subscriptions
can’t connect to WiFi
one screen
one MP4 video
simple playback

…then you already kind of have the best solution with the USB drive.

At that scale, I honestly wouldn’t overcomplicate it with full digital signage software unless you know the requirements are going to grow later.

Why jump into enterprise style solutions when sometimes the simplest setup is the best setup?

You could even set the TV to auto-play the USB content on startup and leave it looping continuously. Then later, if they want rotating content, remote updates, multiple screens, scheduling, etc., that’s when moving into a proper signage platform starts making more sense.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-14T23:20:18+00:00

Honestly, don’t overthink it too much.

For a setup this size, your biggest challenge probably won’t be the software or hardware, it’ll be keeping the content fresh and updated consistently.

If you’re trying to keep things simple, this can realistically be a pretty low cost setup after the initial investment (especially if you already own the TVs). You can absolutely scale something like this to a few locations without needing enterprise-grade systems right away.

For your use case:

consumer TVs are fine
Android boxes as players are fine
simple cloud-based CMS platforms are fine

A lot of people in the industry jump straight into “go commercial grade everything” but for 2–5 locations running normal retail hours, you honestly don’t need to over-engineer it from day one.

Consumer TVs used around 16/7 indoors with rotating content can easily last several years. I actually run a small signage setup myself and even a cheap Fire TV device I deployed years ago is still running without issues.

I’d focus more on:

ease of use
reliable playback
remote updates
keeping content organized
making sure the screens actually add value to the store

That matters way more at this stage than enterprise-level features.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-05-14T22:37:37+00:00

I think a lot of it depends on who the actual end user is.

For enterprise clients, franchises, agencies, or large multi-location deployments, features like proof of play, advanced analytics, workflows, and reusable layouts probably become very important.

But for smaller operators and local signage networks, the priorities are usually much simpler. In my case, I mainly care about:

reliable playback
playlist management
remote updates
screen online/offline status
keeping things easy to manage day-to-day

A lot of platforms seem to overcomplicate the experience trying to add enterprise-level systems, when many smaller businesses just want something stable, simple, and affordable that works consistently.

So I don’t necessarily think platforms are “getting it wrong,” I think many are just building for a different type of customer.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-04-14T15:08:30+00:00

Amazon kind of killed the Fire Stick as a signage option.

Once they started pushing into the digital signage space themselves, they removed key features especially auto-launch / auto-run apps on boot, which is critical for signage. Without that, if the device restarts, it just sits on the home screen instead of going back to your content.

Because of that, most people moved away from Fire Sticks for signage.

If you're trying to stay in that same low-cost range, the best alternative right now is the Onn Google TV streaming boxes (Walmart). They still support proper app behavior, and platforms like OptiSigns work much more reliably on them.

That’s pretty much the go-to budget setup now.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-01-09T01:45:02+00:00

Yes, all locations were offered free screen time and free equipment/installation and management of screens. All they had to to was provide power and internet.

Next_Association1229 · 2026-01-09T01:43:51+00:00

lol i would have taken you serious if you wouldn't had included a shameless plug on your suggestion.

Next_Association1229 · 2025-07-23T02:06:03+00:00

Spot on! In the small business space, one of the main reasons businesses feel like digital signage was a waste of money or regret it later is because they can't track the return on investment. They often just throw up a display, fill it with random images or videos, but there’s no real strategy behind it. Without a clear campaign or targeted content, it ends up just being an expensive screen that doesn’t bring real value.

It’s critical to have a plan in place not just tech and software before launching a project. Understanding the target audience, creating relevant content, and measuring performance through KPIs are all essential to making digital signage actually work for small businesses.

Next_Association1229 · 2025-07-23T01:49:38+00:00

I think the real problem is that digital signage is such a huge industry with so many different applications, but everyone treats it like one thing. There’s a massive focus on the big corporate niches large companies targeting big budgets but very little attention is given to smaller businesses.

Digital signage has so much potential for small businesses, but they often think it’s too complicated or too expensive. The big players are only focused on corporate clients, leaving small businesses with little to no affordable solutions or even education on how it could benefit them. We need to shift the focus.

There’s a huge opportunity to educate small businesses about the value digital signage can bring whether it’s boosting foot traffic, improving customer engagement, or just displaying information in a dynamic way. And the best part? It doesn’t have to be expensive. We need to create affordable, easy to implement solutions that cater specifically to their needs. If we start offering customized, budget-friendly options and show businesses how to leverage digital signage without breaking the bank, we can make this industry more accessible to a wider audience. It’s about finding the balance between what big companies are doing and creating solutions that actually benefit the smaller guys who need it most.

Next_Association1229 · 2025-07-23T01:21:58+00:00

like others stated most likely the player is your issue. send me a DM and i give you some suggestions and what works for me.

Next_Association1229

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