Hardware

The hardware that controls your SmarterSign digital signage is a simple ecosystem comprised of two primary components: Player Devices and Displays. These two components work together to present your digital signage content.

SmarterSign Player

SmarterSign Player is a computer that controls the playback of content on your digital signs. This is typically a small external device running SmarterSign Player software, but sometimes it is a computer built directly into the display. We call these devices SmarterSign Player (computer and software to control your playback).

Some imortant things about your SmarterSign Player(s)

• SmarterSign Player software runs on this device
• Connects to your display(s) or is built in to your display
• Downloads and stores content published from SmarterSign Manager
• Plays back content based on the schedule you decide
• Reports status and in some cases playback logs to SmarterSign Manager

Player Types

SmarterSign supports several types of player hardware:

Displays

These are the visual platform that will show your content. Typically these are LCD or LED displays but the SmarterSign system can also use other display devices such as projectors. When choosing your display you will want to consider the usage and environment that the display will be running in.

Hardware Connectivity

Connecting your Player to your Display(s) is typically a very straight forward connection. Most digital signage connectivity consists of an HDMI cable going from your player device to your display.

In certain situations this configuration needs to be augmented to meet the needs of the environment. An example of this would be HDMI extenders. This type of configuration would be used when the displays are too far away from the Player computer to use and HDMI cable. In these cases you may use an extender that sends the video signal on a CAT-6 cable and decodes the signal using special hardware at the display location.

Network Connectivity

Connection to the Internet is required for the SmarterSign system. This connectivity is how the SmarterSign Manager application communicates with the SmarterSign Player. Typical connection is either through a hard-wire (ethernet) or WiFi. In some situations, such as a digital billboard, a cellular internet connection may be used.