Digital signage software, players,
and display screen comparisons

Digital signage software, players and display screen comparisons

PADS software   Samsung MagicInfo Sony digital signage board

Digital signage is software that lets you run advertisements, product information and public announcement messages across display screens such as plasma screens and large widescreen LCD monitors.

In simplistic terms, you produce your message using PowerPoint on your PC and then display this on a large screen. That is basic digital signage. A school, for example, could welcome visitors by displaying a welcoming message on a large display screen in the reception area.    A smaller 17-inch LCD monitor on a hotel conference suite reception desk could display details of which companies are using the facilities that day.

You can use digital signage software to push your message to display screens for point of sale, point of information, office applications, such as, advertising, promotion, new products, directions, flight information, news and weather, timetables, local information, employee bulletins, welcome messages, room information.

A simple digital signage solution is to use a Samsung 40-inch LCD screen with built-in MagicInfo software. You install the software on your PC, produce your message in PowerPoint, and then use the scheduler in the software to display your message at various times, using the network, onto whichever LCD screens you choose. As many schools and businesses use PowerPoint, this may be all you need.

The picture above, top left, shows five Samsung screens controlled by a PC, all receiving the same information. The picture top second left shows three of the screens receiving a movie scheduled to start at a specific time, and top right, in situ in a reception area.

NEC commercial plasma screens have a ticker text feature so that you can display words across the bottom or top of the plasma screen, a bit like watching the football results on TV.

There is professional specialist digital signage software available which has all the bells-and-whistles for companies who want more than the basics.   You would then create your message using the the software which is then run on a dedicated player or server that sends the message to a plasma screen or large LCD monitor.   Other solutions are PADS software with or without a PC player, DigiSHOW with digital signage software built-in or Chy TV which is designed to be displayed on a TV.

The picture above, bottom row centre, shows 8 Samsung widescreen LCD monitors mounted in a video wall, and 4 back-to-back suspended screens. Bottom row right, shows DigiSHOW multi-format player and beneath it, the Chy TV video graphics system.

Wedgwood, an accredited ISO9001 company, helps you source digital signage software and the display screens from a range of brand manufacturers, to best suit your individual needs. Wedgwood does not specifically recommend any one product; this information is simply to try and show you what is available, and is in no way a comprehensive review of all the digital signage packages on the market. For a full list of all AV products please click here.   Digital signage menu page

Samsung MagicInfo digital signage

Screenshot of MagicInfo user friendly interface
1. Select your content 2. Select screens 3. Set time

Samsung make widescreen LCD monitors, some of which include MagicInfo, which is their in-built digital signage. MagicNet X (LAN) has three stages:

Choose your content
Select screens you want to send content to, A, B, C etc., (as shown above left)
Set start time when you want content to be displayed (as shown above right)

MagicInfo X has the capability to connect more than one server PC to your MagicInfo X system. When there is more than one server, the display can be directed to download its content from a specific server and receive a schedule from that server PC.

Samsung MagicInfo Pro digital signage

Digital signage can be used for advertising, branding or avoiding public confusion by providing up-to-date information, such as flight info, local info, news, weather and terminal map, as shown in the picture above.

Samsung MagicInfo Pro is a web supported server with remote management. What this means is that you can utilize the WAN (wide area network) connection to control a multitude of displays in many locations across the Internet.

Let’s image you have your corporate headquarters in the UK, and your organization has now opened a chain of retail outlets across the USA. You want to control what content is seen in-store, without having to get on a plane to see individual store managers to delegate controlling on-screen displays. From one PC you can control content, so when store A and B opens at 9.00 western USA time, customers see specific content, which is shown in store C at 09.00 eastern USA time.

Alternatively, you may wish to display traffic and weather information in store A, whilst store B shows suggested menu servings, and store C shows highlights from a sporting event.

As you open more stores, you simply need to purchase additional Samsung displays with MagicInfo X and ensure you have the required minimum system recommendations as per the manufacturer’s specification sheet.

Samsung LCD monitors with and without MagicInfo

SONY digital signage

Sony digital signage board

Sony have made digital signage easy for you; all you need is a Sony LCD or plasma public display, choosing a screen size 32, 40, 42 or 50-inch. Then slot in a Sony digital signage board, such as BKM-FW50, into the back of the display and you can create your own presentation stored on CompactFlash media.

If you want to get your message across with an entry level simple system, the digital signage board shows still images or video clips. However, you if want to show your message on several Sony screens you will need a digital signage board in each screen.

You create content on your PC, transfer to your CompactFlash memory card and place into the slot, to display content on the screen. No network infrastructure is required. Any PC on the network can display its desktop content on the display (not suitable for fast moving images), as shown in the picture above. With VNC Freeware no additional software is required.

Display settings such as brightness, power on/off, can be adjusted remotely. Content formats are movie MPEG2, picture JPEG (PowerPoint slides are saved as JPEG), audio MP3. The play list allows you to play content in whichever order you prefer.

You can only use the Sony digital signage board, on Sony plasma or LCD monitors only. One board per screen required.

Sony also offer Ziris digital signage software, both entry level and professional versions, namely:

Entry level versions comprise:

Sony digital signage board

Ziris Create Lite is easy to use software to create single layer presentations for the digital signage board or Ziris View play-out device

Ziris View Lite can be installed on Windows PC or Apple Mac and emulates a network player, playing scheduled content onto the local display screen as per the given schedule, provided by Ziris Create or Ziris Create Lite. Up to four layers of video and graphics can be played simulateneously within Ziris View Lite.

Ziris Manage Lite is real-time monitoring software that gives you control of your entire Ziris Lite digital signage system from one computer.

The professional versions comprise:

Ziris Create which is authoring and scheduling software that allows businesses to centrally prepare, schedule and distribute advanced media presentations to a range of play-out devices.

Ziris Manage which is device management and authoring software that keeps a close eye on your digital signage network monitoring and controlling play-out devices and public displays

Ziris View SD – Ziris View 500 application software can be installed on either a Windows PC or Apple Mac and emulates a network player, playing scheduled content onto the local display as per the given schedule, provided by Ziris Create. Up to ten layers of video, graphics, HTML pages, text, Flash, and RSS feeds (news feeds for which you must have permission from the source to use them), can be displayed simultaneously within Ziris View 500.

Sony plasma screens
Sony widescreen LCD monitors
LCD monitors
Digital signage players and boards

PADS stand alone digital software

PADs digital software, sold separately or pre-installed on a dedicated PC

PADS (public area display system) software has three elements: designer, manager and viewer. Designer, which is easy to use design and layout application, is Windows based, so the icons look familiar. You can select .PDFs, JPEGs, movie files or add text messages to compose your messages. You can even link databases. There are no licence issues on the designer part of the software, so several people could have designer on their PC to design messages, but you can only send the message to one display screen using the viewer part of the software, per licence. The other element of the software is manager, which lets you schedule and send presentations to multiple screens within a 24 hour period.

When we used PADS, we started with a blank page, dragged a text box on the page, right clicked to get into the text box properties and wrote a simple greeting message. We then selected the .PDF icon and brought in a .PDF, added a movie, and then clicked preview to see our message. We then did another message on page 2, and could have one page running for a certain time period, with the second page following at a given time. A 30 day free trial download is available for PADS.