Android Digital Signage: What are the Best Players? (And How to Pick One)

 

What is Android digital signage?

Digital signage are screens that display any content (informative, interactive, textual, or audio-visual) primarily for business and mass communication. These screens operate with the help of media players, commonly called digital signage players.

The digital signage player imparts computational powers to a screen by connecting it to the internet. This means, now, a dumb screen like a television screen can let you:

  • browse the internet
  • stream online on-demand content
  • make online transactions

These player devices use different operating systems (OSs) the same way our mobile phones or computers use them. Android is one such OS; other examples can be Windows, Linux, Samsung Tizen, and Chrome OS.

So, a digital signage display using Android as its player operating system will be called an Android digital signage player.

Add to your reading list: A consumer’s guide to buying digital signage player

What are the types of Android digital signage?

Android digital signage players can come in different shapes and forms, such as:

Android Smart TVs: Android Smart TVs do not require any external media player to power them. These devices come with a built-in System on Chip (SOC) which acts as a highly-compressed circuit board containing the operating system.

Example: Sony X80K, Sony X90K, TCL Class 5-Series

Android TV Box: A TV box is an external box-shaped digital signage media player that is required when using any non-Smart screen. These boxes can be connected to the screen through HDMI ports. Once the box is connected, it allows it to connect to an internet source.

Examples: Xiaomi Mi Box S 4K HDR, NVIDIA Shield, Zidoo Z1000 Pro

Android HDMI Sticks: Another type of Android digital signage player is the portable stick that resembles a larger version of USB sticks. These are called HDMI sticks. These devices function the same way as the Android TV boxes- plug them into your displays, and you can operate your digital signage.

Example: Amazon Fire TV Stick

What makes Android a popular choice as a digital signage player?

Brands and businesses extensively use Android digital signage players to empower their screens. And there is a good reason for that. In fact, not just one, there are a bunch of good reasons for that, such as:

  • Worldwide popularity: The extensive use of android digital signage rides on in general favor of Android as a mobile operating system. People are already familiar with the android way of working; hence adoption is easy.
  • Low cost: The cost of a Fire TV Stick is somewhere around $50. That is relatively low compared to a mini pc that comes between $200-$700. The low cost of android digital signage players helps reduce the overall cost of digital signage ownership.
  • Wide availability: Android digital signage players are readily available in any country. These are sold both online and offline.
  • Ease of use: Android digital signage players are plug-and-play devices. That means there is very little technical know-how involved on the user’s part.
  • Flexibility in form factor: Android media players are available as both external media players and digital screens with built-in System on Chip (SOC). This allows the digital signage owners more choice in hardware.
  • Vast developer community: Android is a well-established and seasoned operating system. There is an ever-growing community of android developers; there are unlimited resources, forums, and discussions on android systems. All of this contributes to the ease of development and customer support.
  • Software compatibility: Hardware-software friction can lead to your digital signage becoming a useless investment. While many operating systems like Linux, LG WebOS, or macOS require caution on the user’s part to check software compatibility, almost all digital signage content management systems support Android as a media player.
  • Originally Published asAndroid Digital Signage: What are the Best Players? (And How to Pick One) on Pickcel Digital Signage Blog

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is FIDS and How Does it Work? (Plus, Some Airports' Innovative Use of FIDS)

 FIDS or Flight Information Display System is any screen within an airport premise that shows passengers information about their flights, such as live flight status, ETA, gate number, and more. Since its inception, FIDS has undergone many transformations striving to provide an upgraded, aesthetically-rich experience to passengers. But beyond that, the changes have led to airports sharing accurate information at the fastest possible time with maximum automation. Modern FID Systems use system integrations with digital signage solutions  that make it super-convenient for the staff to manage the airport screens remotely and play other content simultaneously. What information is conveyed through flight information display system? We may have an impression that FIDS is used only in airports. However, several luxury hotels and convention centers use FIDS owing to substantial business flyer footfall. Here are some of the different types of information that can be ...
Read more

What is the cost of digital signage ownership?

Image
  A. The cost of digital signage hardware The hardware cost of digital signs includes the investments in the digital screens, the digital signage player, and ancillary expenses like the cost of setup. The cost of screens The type of screen you choose largely depends on what you are using your electronic sign for. A simple LCD TV screen can suffice for showing image & video  content on a digital church sign , but the same will fail to support a 24/7-ON digital advertising billboard. Decision-making parameters for choosing the screen type: Working hours Interactivity Indoor or outdoor implementation Screen positioning (hanging, standing, mounted, or embedded) Specifications that affect the per-screen cost of digital signage are: Size Resolution Brightness Viewing angles Touch support Screen refresh rate Contrast ratio Energy consumption Durability Here is a comparison of some commercial displays in terms of display price and features: Sl. No.Display TypeDisplay ModelPriceFea...
Read more