Hi I’m Malachi, the newest member of the Allsee Marketing Team. Since joining Allsee back in January as a newcomer to the industry, I wanted to find out the type of questions our sales team were asked on a regular basis from partners, especially whose business isn’t primarily digital signage, as well as their customers. After discussions with each member of our sales team, I realised that most of the frequent questions they get are quite similar. As a result, I thought it would be beneficial to create a useful learning resource and provide responses to some of those recurring questions in this blog.

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Is digital signage complicated?

Before Allsee was established in 2007, it was way more complicated than it is now. In fact, many digital signage setups can still be quite complicated because they require different components from various suppliers. For instance, you may need a screen from one supplier, a media player from another, and software from yet another. In such cases, an integrator has to source all the necessary components and package them together, which can be very technically challenging without the support from a company that specialises in digital signage.

This can be quite inaccessible for most small businesses, as it can be complicated to understand without an industry specialist heavily involved at every stage. Allsee initially took the USB plug and play approach to make digital signage accessible to everybody. However, as the market demands began to mature and technology advanced with different content formats and media, we developed our content management system, My Signage Portal as a solution to simplify and meet the growing needs of the end user. These needs would include things like complex scheduling requirements, multiple media zones and user management.

Over the last decade, we’ve also focused on broadening our offering with a diverse portfolio of solutions that have given us opportunities to continuously work closely with resellers and integrators to supply end users across different industries. Whether you prefer to use our all-in-one solution or have a specific software in mind to manage your content, we will work with you to ensure you find a compatible option to meet your requirements.

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Why can’t I choose a normal TV?  

Because of their appearance, customers have previously tried to use consumer TVs as an alternative to digital signage displays, but rarely achieve long term success. Unlike everyday consumer TV’s, commercial grade digital screens should be designed for 24/7 usage. In comparison, a TV is only designed to stay on for around six to nine hours at a time, which means that if you used it in a commercial setting it would likely overheat and break over time.

Domestic TVs may come with a warranty, but this will not cover any kind of failure if it is being used in a commercial space. With digital signage screens, you don’t have to worry about the running time and reliability limitations since commercial displays are built with commercial grade panels and components, meaning they can be in constant use for up to 70,000 hours. Based on the type of commercial screen you use, you have the option of managing and updating content in three ways: via USB plug and play, via our cloud-based CMS software, or with a compatible third-party software. For example, displays like our Android Advertising Displays have a built-in Android media player as its main option for displaying your high-quality content.

To achieve this with a TV, you would not only need to purchase an external PC or media player, but you’d also have to figure out how and where you’re going to install it, which increases the risk of compromising the appearance of your digital signage solution in your chosen application.

Consumer displays will have an integrated TV tuner and more modern smart TV’s may have expanded features like Wi-Fi for streaming capabilities. Generally, our commercial displays have an integrated Android media player with bespoke digital signage software. From basic plug and play functionality to more sophisticated network features like multiple media zones everything you need is in one display and fully flexible.

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What is the best digital signage product or solution for business?

With a plethora of commercial display options flooding the market, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Where do you even begin? This will ultimately depend on the requirements of the end user. We can work with our partners to provide several options for different environments.

A rule of thumb for understanding a client’s vision is achieved by narrowing down the selection and considering some of the following points:

• What is the client trying to achieve with the screen? Do they need an interactive screen or synchronised screens?
• Will they require the screens for indoor, or outdoor use?
• How much available space will they have for a screen and what is their ideal size for the display?
• Do they require the content to be seen in portrait or landscape orientations?
• Will their screen require brackets for installation? Does the screen need to be wall mounted or ceiling mount?
• What is the content that’s going to be played?  Is the client going to be uploading images and videos? And how do they want to upload the content?
• What is their available budget? Do they want the premium or the cost-effective option?
• Will they require additional services? Such as content creation, content management or installation support.

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Our expert team will work with you to find the perfect solution for you or your client’s business, tailored to your unique needs. By speaking with us, you can feel confident that you will be guided to the most appropriate and effective solution, backed by the best possible technical support.

If you haven’t seen your question answered on this blog, you can submit your question to me (malachi.cummings-hall@allsee-tech.com) and I will follow up with our sales team. This blog will be a part of a series and your question might be featured in future FAQ blogs. You can also email and let me know if you’ve learnt something new. 😊