What Are the Types of Digital Signage?: A Definitive Guide

02 Jul.,2024

 

What Are the Types of Digital Signage?: A Definitive Guide

In the world of digital signage, choosing the right solution for your business is crucial. As you explore options, you&#;ll encounter three main types of vendors: the big-name Premium brands, the budget-friendly options, and the Balanced brands aiming for the best value.

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Sawink.

Digital signage, as defined by AIScreen Specialists, is a dynamic display technology used in over 1,000 locations globally, enhancing communication with a 75% increase in audience engagement through real-time, cloud-based content updates.

Did you know that businesses using digital signage often see a significant boost in customer engagement and brand awareness? Almost about 38%. It&#;s a powerful tool, but finding the right provider is key to success.

In this article, we&#;ll dive into the three types of digital signage vendors, and understand their pros and cons. Specifically, we&#;ll focus on the Balanced brands, like AIScreen, that strike a balance between reasonable pricing and essential features.

What is Digital Signage Display?

Digital signage means using special screens (like LED, LCD, or OLED) to show all kinds of things: words, pictures, videos, interactive stuff, and even live streams. It&#;s like a high-tech billboard you see in busy places like Times Square or inside places like stores, restaurants, offices, hospitals, and schools.

The cool thing about these screens is that they are super flexible. They make it easy to change what&#;s on them without needing to print anything.

So, you can quickly show the latest and most important information to people. It&#;s a smart and efficient way to communicate with a lot of people in different spaces.

The Four Significant Types of Digital Signage

Digital signage comes in various types, each serving a different purpose. Here are four examples:

  • Dynamic digital signage
  • Automated digital signage
  • Advertising digital signage
  • Interactive digital signage

Dynamic Digital Displays Signage

Dynamic digital signage means showing pictures and videos on screens inside or outside using technologies like LCD and LED. The stuff you see on the screen follows a schedule, like what to show and for how long, based on what&#;s best for the audience and goals.

People often use this in places like stores, healthcare spots (like clinics and hospitals), and fast food places. Big brands like McDonald&#;s and Tim Hortons use it for their menus to show what they offer.

Automated Digital Signage

Automated digital signage might not be super well-known, but it&#;s been around for more than 15 years in things like showing houses for sale or rent.

You&#;ve probably seen it in places like bus or train stations where screens tell you when the next ones are coming.

Advertising Digital Signage

Advertising digital signs are those big, attention-grabbing screens you often see in busy cities near highways. They use LED displays to show eye-catching ads.

You might find these displays in subways, at bus stops, or in urban spots like Morris columns. To make these ads shine, they use special bright LCD screens and fancy software.

This software helps manage clients, contracts, and billing, and it also creates detailed reports on how the ads are doing.

Interactive Digital Signage

Interactive digital signage have had different names over the years. In the early s, people called them &#;interactive terminals,&#; and, later on, &#;interactive kiosks.&#;

Even though these have been around for more than 20 years, the growing interest in interactive projects has led to a newer name &#; &#;smart kiosk.&#;

Smart Kiosks for Buildings

Our client, Industrielle Alliance, picked ITESMEDIA to create the first smart kiosk project in Montreal. We used our display tool called ITESLIVE, which works well with different systems.

This project got noticed globally and got us nominated for the Digital Signage Awards in the Workplace Environment category. It&#;s all about making communication better and helping people move around in office spaces.

Smart Kiosks For Hotels And Convention Centers

In the past few years, ITESMEDIA has worked on different projects to create smart kiosks for hotels and convention centers.

Clients wanted a digital display system that could show a calendar of events on screens near conference rooms. These screens help inform guests about events and promotions at the hotel and convention center.

What Is A Digital Signage System?

A digital signage system is like a team working together to show information on screens. It&#;s not just the screens; there&#;s special technology behind the scenes making it all happen. So, when we talk about digital signage, we mean the whole setup.

This system is a bunch of screens connected to a computer program (software) that helps create, organize, and show pictures, videos, or messages. People use these systems in public places or businesses to share info or advertise things.

Think of it like this:

  1. The hardware
  2. The software or Content Management System (CMS)
  3. The content

1. Digital Signage Hardware

Digital signage hardware is like the equipment for a digital sign show. Here&#;s what it includes:

  1. Display Screen: This is the TV or monitor that shows the information, just like your smartphone or television. People like to use really good screens that last a long time and show things in high quality.
  2. Signage Player: Think of this like the director. It connects to the screen and plays the content. Sometimes, it&#;s built into smart TVs. It uses special software to get the pictures and videos from a central system and then shows them on the screen in different ways.
  3. Mounting Hardware: These are like the tools to set up the show. Brackets and cables help put the screens on walls or hang them from ceilings securely.

2. Digital Signage Software

Digital signage software is like the brain that makes everything work smoothly. Let&#;s break down its important parts:

  1. Content Management System (CMS): This is like a control panel that makes it easy for people to decide what shows up on the screen.
  2. Cloud for Content Management: Think of this like putting your digital sign software on the internet. It can either be in your own office (on-premise) or up in the cloud. If it&#;s in the cloud, it means you can control everything from anywhere in the world.

3. Digital Signage Content

Digital signage content is simply what you see on the screen; it could be an ad video or even live news.

These electronic signs can show a bunch of different things like pictures, social media posts, text messages, YouTube videos, info from websites, live traffic updates, sales reports, and news feeds.

Today, there are cool tools like AIScreen that make it easy to put all sorts of content on screens. They have apps that bring in live stuff like news, real-time weather, the current time, and countdowns.

It&#;s like a menu of things you can show on your screen to keep things interesting.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website commercial digital signage displays.

How Does A Digital Signage System Work?

Here&#;s how a digital signage system works:

User Actions:

  1. Login: The user goes into the control panel called CMS.
  2. Pairing: They connect the screens to the CMS so they can control what shows up on them.
  3. Content Upload: The user puts up pictures, videos, or other info on the screens using local storage or special apps. The software might even have tools and templates to make this easy.
  4. Layout Design: The user arranges how everything should look on the screen.
  5. Publishing: They choose the screen and make the content go live.

System Operations:

  • Receiving Instructions: The user&#;s commands go to a central server (which could be on the cloud or in their office).
  • Content Retrieval: The player, the thing connected to the screen, downloads the content from the server.
  • Content Rendering: The player&#;s software makes sure everything looks right and shows it on the screen.

What Are The Different Types of Digital Signage?

Here are different types of digital signages based on what they&#;re used for:

DOOH Advertising Displays:

These are like high-tech billboards you see outside. They come in different sizes and are placed strategically in outdoor spots for lots of people to see. Think of a big digital billboard on a highway or a smaller screen at a bus stop showing ads.

Digital Standees:

These are like stand-alone TV screens you find in busy places like hotel lobbies or hospital entrances. They do different jobs, like showing posters, making announcements, welcoming visitors, or helping with interactive info.

For example, one in a hotel might show the day&#;s events, and one in a hospital could guide visitors or provide check-in info.

Digital Menu Boards:

These are digital screens used by restaurants and cafes to show their menu. Unlike regular menus, these can be changed in real-time. So, if a café runs out of something, they can update the menu instantly. It&#;s like editing a document on a computer.

Video Walls:

These are big displays made up of many smaller screens put together. They create huge, high-quality pictures and are often used to show things on a grand scale. Imagine a museum using a video wall to display interactive, high-resolution exhibits of historical artifacts and timelines.

Interactive Displays:

These are screens where people can touch or interact with them. You see these as self-service kiosks or digital info booths. They&#;re used in different places, like for ordering at a restaurant, checking in at the airport, or exploring digital resources in a museum.

Electronic Shelf Labels:

These are digital signages attached to product shelves, providing information like prices and discounts. Electronic shelf labels are thin screens that can display more details like expiry dates and ingredients for food or cosmetic products.

Immersive Displays:

Larger than standard digital signages, these displays are designed in various shapes to enhance the viewing experience. They may feature 3D content, simulations, and virtual reality, providing a lifelike visual encounter.

The digital signage market has evolved significantly, offering a wide range of screens to meet diverse needs and preferences.

Commercial-Grade LED Screens:

These screens are made of tiny lights called pixels. LED displays are super bright, making them great for outdoor signs. The pixels are connected to LED lights that work together to create the display.

Commercial-Grade LCD Screens:

LCD screens are efficient displays that use less power than LEDs. However, they aren&#;t as flexible, so you can&#;t bend them around curved surfaces like you can with LED screens.

Consumer-Grade Screens:

These are like the TVs we have at home. Even though Smart TVs can be turned into digital signages, it&#;s not the best idea for commercial use. They&#;re not built to be on all the time, so they might wear out quickly if used continuously for business purposes.

What Are The Must-Have Features of Digital Signage Software?

When looking at digital sign software, think about these important things:

  1. Features: Check out what the software can do. Does it have all the things you need, like showing videos or scheduling content?
  2. Hardware Compatibility: Make sure the software can work with different types of digital signage equipment. You want it to be flexible and work well with the screens you have.
  3. User Experience: See if the software is easy to use. Can you figure out how to do things without a lot of trouble? It should be simple and make sense so that anyone can use it easily.
  4. When picking digital sign software, look for these important things:
  5. Multimedia Support: Make sure the software can handle all kinds of content, like pictures, videos, social media feeds, and more, without slowing down.
  6. Network Monitoring: It should let you check how everything&#;s doing in real-time &#; like if the screens are connected, the devices are healthy, and the content is syncing correctly.
  7. Automatic Content Adjustment: The software should resize content to fit different screen sizes and shapes without you having to do it manually.
  8. Robust Security: It should have strong security measures, like encryption and user access controls, to keep your digital signs safe from cyber threats.
  9. Content Scheduling: You want to be able to set when your content shows up automatically.
  10. In-built Content Tools: Look for tools that help you make content easily, like a built-in app store or free media libraries.

Ready to talk about your Digital Signage Project?

+ ready-to-use templates

70+ built-in integration

Offline playback

Split screen to zones

We&#;ll give you a call back within 24h!

Free trial Book a demo

Where can you use digital signage software?

Digital sign software is used in various industries to enhance communication and engagement. Here are some places where you commonly see digital signage:

Retail Outlets:

Digital signs are used in stores to advertise products, showcase promotions, and create in-store experiences. Some brands even use advanced technology for virtual try-ons.

Airports & Transportation Hubs:

Screens at airports, railway stations, and bus stops display information about schedules, live traffic maps, and helpline numbers. After the pandemic, digital signs are also used for self-service kiosks and temperature screening.

Healthcare:

In hospitals, digital signage is used to improve the patient experience. It facilitates telemedicine and teleconsultation, making healthcare services more accessible.

Education:

Schools, colleges, and universities use digital screens for information dissemination. They make lectures more interactive, helping with better learning through visuals and audio.

Restaurants:

Restaurants, bars, and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) use digital signage for digital menu boards, displaying order status and providing general entertainment. It&#;s a modern way to present menu options and engage customers.

The Need For A Digital Signage Strategy

Before setting up a digital signage network, it&#;s crucial to have a strategy in place. Here are key factors to consider during implementation:

Business Type and Goals:

  • Identify the purpose of using digital signage: Marketing communication, information dissemination, or internal communication. Define your goals within these categories to guide your strategy and planning.

Audience:

  • Identify your target audience, which could be customers, employees, or the general public. Understand the demographic details of your audience to tailor your content strategy accordingly.

Investment & ROI:

  • Clearly outline both tangible and intangible benefits of your digital signage strategy. Translate these benefits into measurable outcomes, such as added revenue, cost savings, brand building, or awareness generation.

Technology:

  • Consider the display technology you need for your digital signage. Important considerations include display size, type (LCD or LED), luminosity, resolution, enclosure for weatherproofing, and warranty. Keep in mind that upfront hardware costs may be higher, but they contribute to the overall return on investment.

Why AIScreen Digital Signage?

When you&#;re looking for the right digital signage solution, you&#;ll come across three types of vendors:

Premium Brands:

  • These brands charge a lot because they&#;re well-known, but sometimes, the higher cost is more about the brand name than a significant difference in quality.

Budget Brands:

  • On the other side, you have the cheap options. They&#;re affordable, but they might be risky because they could be less experienced and have less developed software.

Balanced Brands:

  • These are the ones to keep an eye on. They offer a good balance &#; not too expensive, but with all the essential features. They aim to give you the best value without flashy claims.

AIScreen is recognized as a leading digital signage provider, offering innovative solutions for businesses. Consider their expertise and solutions as you embark on your digital signage journey. Contact us for more details.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit 75 inch smart board price.