Installing Digital Signage

A quick tutorial on the installation of digital signage and what’s available in the market to extend your signage solution. Why pay those other Digital Signage companies thousands of dollars when you can do it all yourself. With our solution you can use any monitor and any personal computer. The following is a quick review of just how easy it is to get up and running with a complete digital signage solution. Best of all, you will spend a fraction of the price and get an immediate return on your investment.

1. First decide where you want your signage monitor to be installed. There are a variety of wall mounts available. Pick a wall mount that will match the size of your monitor. You should know that some wall mounts are what’s called flat mounts. Flat mounts sit flush on the wall. Tilting mounts usually sit a few inches from the wall but allow you to tilt the monitor downwards or upwards. Pick the wall mount that is correct for your installed environment.

2. The wall mount should be installed against supporting studs so it can support the weight. Consider installing multiple flat panels next to each other. This will give a broader display area and it is visually more impressive.Multiple Digital Signage monitors are often used in retail stores to deliver a unique visual effect to the shopper.
Monitors should be installed in even numbers vertically or horizontally. These monitors are powered by multiple computers and multiple video cards. We will cover this aspect of the installation in the next step.

3. If you do decide to install multiple flat panel monitors next to each other you will need the appropriate hardware to drive the displays. Installing a separate personal computer per monitor is overkill. Instead, most video cards today already support two monitors. Also you can use external monitor expanders such as the Matrox dual head and triple head devices.Matrox TripleHead2Go is an external multi-display upgrade for notebooks and desktop computers. Ideal for digital signage requiring extensive desktop space for a totally immersive experience. This small box lets you run different  screen areas on each display or view one large area across three monitors.  It is available in digital or analog editions.
The beauty of the Matrox solution is that it is external so you do not need to open the computer to install anything. Simply connect the external wires to the Matrox box and to your monitors and enjoy a seamless expanded view.There are also hardware peripherals for extending the distance of a monitor from a PC as well as devices which split the output of a single video output into multiple monitors.

4. Cables and wires are never attractive. When you plan your signage monitor installation you should take into consideration cables and power sources.
Cables should be hidden inside drop ceiling or inside a wall. You should also remember that you will need a power source to run your digital signage monitor and PC. Remember that the computer running your signage solution requires a dedicated internet connection.

5. Often the computer running the digital signage will be located a good distance from the signage monitor. You may also want to duplicate the video output signal so you can have a single computer run multiple monitors throughout the business. For this you can get video repeaters and video splitters.Video Repeaters: These devices actually receive, decode and retransmit the digital signal. In doing so they help minimize signal jitter and other degenerative effects, a great solution in long cables runs.
Video Splitters: simultaneously broadcast video across multiple displays. The video splitter is an ideal solution for simultaneous broadcasting environments such as Digital Signage.

6. Configuring and administrating the digital signage is done through our SignageStudio Web Application. The SignageStudio uses Adobe’s flash player 10 or greater. You can also run the SignageStudio as an installed desktop application. Click here to install the desktop version. We highly recommend that you watch our free online tutorials before you begin to use the system.

7. Once done configuring your Signage presentation including uploading images and videos you are ready to test it. Signage presentation can be played using one of our two players, SignagePlayer Desktop version or SignagePlayer Web version. The following sections will review each player so you can decide which player to use,

8. SignagePlayer Web version  uses Flash Player 10 and is available for anyone online to use. In the SignageStudio go to Campaigns and click on the “Get HTML URL” icon. This will generate a url link that you can copy. You may use this link in a web site to allow web visitors direct access so they can watch your Digital Signage presentation.

9. SignagePlayer Desktop version  is powered by Adobe’s Integrated Runtime. The Digital Signage SignagePlayer Desktop version  is designed for long duration playback and should be installed on a dedicated computer in your business. The SignagePlayer Desktop version  supports multiple operating systems and can be installed here. 

The SignagePlayer Desktop version  is controlled remotely using the SignageStudio. When you run the SignagePlayer Desktop version for the first time you will be asked to login. Use the same user and password  that you use to login to the SignageStudio. Next, select from the drop down the name of the branch you wish to connect to. Finish by giving any descriptive name to the SignagePlayer Desktop version . Any time you modify your signage presentation, each SignagePlayer Desktop version  will be notified and begin downloading its relevant content from our servers.

10. Testing is key in any good narrowcasting solution. Once you complete your hardware and software setup you should validate and test the final result. Make sure that the Signage monitor can easily be viewed during the day and during the night. Check that each SignagePlayer Desktop version  is configured to connect to the correct campaign. Get feedback from others and make any necessary changes. Digital Signage is a sure way to get your message across. If you have questions or need assistant be sure to contact us as we thank you for your interest in Media Signage.

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