What is digital signage?
Digital signage is information on displays, chosen for the people who see it in that place. You decide centrally what appears on each display in your organisation: timetable changes at school, company news in the staff room or a menu at the counter.
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What does digital signage mean?
Television and radio broadcast the same programme to everyone who tunes in. Digital signage is made for a smaller, known group: pupils in the hall, people waiting at reception, colleagues in the canteen. So what a display shows depends on where it hangs and what time it is.
In the Netherlands and Belgium it’s usually called narrowcasting: narrow, as opposed to broadcasting to everyone. Both terms describe the same thing.
| Broadcasting | Digital signage | |
|---|---|---|
| Who watches | Everyone who tunes in | The people in a particular place |
| What they see | The same programme for everyone | Information for that place and that moment |
| Who decides what plays | The broadcaster | Your organisation |
What makes up a digital signage system?
Every display needs three parts. The display and the player are on site. You use the software in your browser, wherever you are.
A display
A professional display or a TV. You can often use the displays you already have.
See supported platforms →A player
The device that plays your content. Many professional displays from Samsung, LG and Philips have it built in. Otherwise you connect a separate player over HDMI, such as a Raspberry Pi or a Fire TV Stick.
Which player do you need? →Software
This is where you create content, plan what appears where and manage your displays remotely. With Lumicast you do it in your browser, for one display or for displays across several locations.
How Lumicast works →
How does digital signage work?
You create content in the software and choose which displays show it and when. The player on site plays it. With Lumicast, it works like this:
Create what you want to show
Use your own images and videos, start with a template or design a page. Lumi, our AI designer, can help.
Choose where and when
Put content in a playlist and choose which displays show it. Schedule messages ahead of time and set an end date when they should disappear.
Connect your display and publish
Install the player on a supported device and enter its pairing code in Lumicast. Publish your content when it’s ready. Then manage the display remotely.
Where is digital signage used?
Wherever people look or wait in one spot: a school corridor, the canteen, a shop or a waiting room. See examples by type of organisation.
Offices
Company news, team figures and visitor information.
Schools
Timetables, announcements and upcoming activities.
Shops
Promotions and products on the shop floor.
Healthcare
Information for visitors, patients and staff.
Don’t see your type of organisation? Clubs, associations and other organisations can use Lumicast too. Tell us what you want to show.
Pros and cons of digital signage
Digital signage only helps when what’s on the display is right. Here’s what it gives you, and what to keep in mind.
Pros
- Always up to date
A change is on the display as soon as you publish. No more printing and replacing posters.
- Right for the place and the time
Show the breakfast menu in the morning and lunch from noon. You schedule content by date, time and day of the week.
- Information that updates itself
Apps bring in timetable changes from Zermelo, figures from Power BI, the weather and the news. Nobody has to lift a finger.
- Every location from one place
You manage the displays at all your locations in your browser. With Team, colleagues get their own workspace for each location or team.
Cons
- Ongoing costs
You pay for the software per display per month, plus a one-off cost for displays and any players. Using the displays you already have, or displays with a built-in player, keeps that one-off cost down.
- Someone has to keep it up to date
A display with out-of-date information works against you. Give messages an end date so they disappear on their own, and let apps update the information that changes often.
- No new content without internet
New content and data only arrive while the display is online. If the connection drops, saved content can keep playing locally.
- A home TV isn’t built to run all day
If a display stays on for long hours, choose a professional display. Many professional displays from Samsung, LG and Philips have the player built in.
What does digital signage cost?
You pay for the software per display per month, plus a one-off cost for the display and any player. What you already have, you don’t need to buy again.
| Software | Solo: €17 per display per month. Team, for working with colleagues and integrations such as Zermelo and Power BI: €20. That’s billed yearly; monthly it’s €21 and €25. |
|---|---|
| Player | Built into your display: no extra cost. A Pixie is a one-off €150. If you use your own Raspberry Pi, Fire TV Stick or mini PC, you buy it yourself. Lumicast OS and the player apps are free. |
| Display | Using the displays you already have costs nothing extra. You can buy a new display yourself or through a reseller. |
| Installation | Mount and pair the displays yourself, or have a reseller do it. In the Netherlands we work with a nationwide network of resellers for installation and support. |
All prices exclude VAT.
Worked example
€51 a month
Three professional displays with a built-in player, on Solo billed yearly: 3 × €17. The player costs nothing extra. The displays are a one-off purchase, if you don’t have them yet.
More about a specific setup.
Timetable changes from Zermelo
Automatically show cancelled lessons and room changes on your school’s displays.
Digital signage with a Raspberry Pi
Use a Raspberry Pi as a player with Lumicast OS, our operating system for the Pi.
Which digital signage player do you need?
Built into your display or a separate player over HDMI: compare the options.
Figures from Power BI
Put figures from your Power BI model on your displays, in a design of your own.
A display in the waiting room
What to show, which TV to use and how to show something else outside opening hours.
A digital menu board
Your menu on a display: templates, menus that change with the time of day, and prices you update yourself.
A shop window display
Which display is bright enough for the window, what to put on it and how promotions start and stop on their own.
Meeting room displays
Show at the door whether a meeting room is free, straight from its calendar.
Digital wayfinding
A directory on every floor, arrows that are right wherever they hang and temporary routes for an event.
Frequently asked questions.
Is digital signage the same as narrowcasting?
Both terms are used for showing information on displays. In the Netherlands it’s often called narrowcasting; internationally, digital signage is more common. In Lumicast they mean the same thing: creating, scheduling and managing content for your displays.
Can I show several things on one display?
Yes. For example, put a schedule, the time and an announcement on the same page. You can also play pages, images and videos in sequence. Apps bring in calendars, weather information and data from other systems.
Do I have to use AI to create a page?
No. You can design pages yourself, adapt templates and use your own images or videos. Lumi is optional: it stays off until an owner turns it on in the organisation settings.
What happens if the internet connection drops?
Saved content can continue playing locally. New content and changes arrive once the connection returns. Apps that fetch data, such as schedules or dashboards, need internet access to update that information. Some apps require a connection to work.
Can colleagues manage their own displays?
Yes. With Team, you can give colleagues access and use workspaces for different locations or teams. Roles and permissions determine who can edit content and who can publish it.
Can I use digital signage for free?
Not permanently, but you can try Lumicast free for 14 days on the Team plan, without payment details. Lumicast OS and the player apps are free. To keep your displays playing after that, choose a plan per display. If you don’t, the displays stop playing; your workspace and content remain available.
Try it on your own display.
Create a page, connect a display and see how it looks in your space. Prefer to explore the options together first? Request a demo.
Try the Team plan for 14 days. No payment details needed.