Digital signage hardware
The player is the device that plays your content on the display. Many professional displays already have one built in. Otherwise you connect a small media player over HDMI. Here are the options and when to choose each one.
No payment details needed. You can start the trial on the display you already have.
That is the first question, because it decides whether you need to buy anything extra. Look at the brand and type of display you have or plan to buy.
Professional displays from Samsung, LG and Philips, and Android TVs such as Sony’s, have an operating system built in. You install the Lumicast player on the display itself. No extra box, no extra cables and no extra power socket.
Does your display lack suitable software, or do you need more processing power? Connect a separate player to the HDMI port, such as a Raspberry Pi, a Fire TV Stick or a mini PC. That way Lumicast works on almost any display.
All these devices run the same Lumicast player. You manage them in the same workspace, and you can mix them across locations.
Samsung signage displays from 2017 onwards running Tizen. During the first setup you choose Lumicast as the app the display opens.
You set up Lumicast in the display’s own setup wizard, with no extra hardware. If the display hangs, you restart it remotely from Lumicast.
Professional LG displays with webOS 4 or later. You install the app from the service menu.
The app loads the player from our servers, so new versions arrive by themselves without reinstalling anything.
Philips signage displays with Android 5 or later.
One USB stick puts the app and all its settings on the display. The same stick sets up the next display.
Displays, TVs and boxes with Android 5 or later, such as Sony professional displays. Install the Lumicast Signage Player from Google Play.
Set it up as a dedicated signage display and Lumicast starts by itself, installs updates without prompts and can’t be closed by accident. That uses the APK file.
A Raspberry Pi with Lumicast OS, ready to use. A one-off €150 excl. VAT.
Nothing to install: plug it in, set up Wi-Fi from your phone and pair it. We keep the operating system and the player up to date.
A Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi 5 running Lumicast OS, our operating system for the Pi.
Lumicast OS is free, with the same updates and automatic recovery as the Pixie. You only pay for the Pi, a power supply and a microSD card.
Install the Lumicast app from the Fire TV Appstore and set it to start with the device.
Small enough to sit behind any display with HDMI, including an ordinary TV.
64-bit Windows 10 or later, on x64 or ARM64, such as an Intel NUC.
The installer turns on autostart and the player updates itself. A fast PC also handles 4K video and heavy dashboards.
macOS 13 Ventura or later, on Intel or Apple Silicon, such as a Mac mini.
A Mac mini is small and quiet, with enough power for 4K video and heavy dashboards. The player updates itself.
64-bit Linux on x64 or ARM64, as an AppImage, such as Ubuntu on a mini PC.
No licence costs for the operating system, and it fits your own Linux management. The player updates itself; you keep the system itself up to date.
An ordinary Samsung smart TV works too, through its built-in browser. Whether the TV starts up again by itself after a power cut depends on the model. How to set up a smart TV
The player doesn’t need to be more powerful than your content. Look at what goes on the display first, then choose the hardware.
Announcements, schedules, menus, apps and video up to HD quality run well on the display’s own software and on a Raspberry Pi. For most digital signage that is enough.
For 4K video, dashboards with lots of animation or large displays with a lot of motion, choose a mini PC with more than 4 GB of RAM, a graphics chip and more than 8 GB of storage.
You can open Lumicast in any browser to try it out. For a display that runs every day, install the player for your device. It does a few things a browser can’t.
If the power goes off overnight, the player starts when the device boots and carries on where it left off.
For each display you see whether it is online and which version it runs. On supported devices you restart the player from Lumicast, without going to the location.
Stored content keeps playing if the connection drops. Changes come in as soon as the display is back online.
Pairing works the same on every device. After that you manage the display remotely.
Follow the guide for your device. The Pixie and Lumicast OS come with the player already on them.
The display shows a five-character code. Add a display in Lumicast and type in that code.
Put a page or playlist on the display. You publish changes from your browser.
If the player is built into your display, you buy nothing extra. A Pixie costs a one-off €150 excl. VAT. You buy your own Raspberry Pi, Fire TV Stick or mini PC yourself. Lumicast OS and the player apps are free.
The software costs from €17 per display per month, billed annually.
See the plans →In the Netherlands we work with a nationwide network of resellers. They supply displays and players, and install and support them on site.
Ask about a reseller →Yes. On a Samsung smart TV you can use the built-in browser. On other TVs you connect a separate player over HDMI, such as a Pixie or a Fire TV Stick. A professional display is built to stay on all day; a TV for the home often isn’t.
If it runs Android 5 or later, 64-bit Windows 10 or later, macOS 13 or later, or 64-bit Linux, you can install the Lumicast player on it. If it only plays another supplier’s software, ask us and we’ll look at it with you.
Yes, every display has its own player, built in or separate. You manage them all from the same workspace, even when they are at different locations.
Content stored locally can keep playing. New content and data only come in once the connection is back. Web pages, streams and other parts that need the internet can’t keep working fully offline.
You can try Lumicast free for 14 days, without payment details. After that you choose a plan per display. Without a plan your workspace stays available, but the displays stop playing.
Install the player, pair your display and see how your content looks. Only then do you need to decide whether you need other hardware.
Try free for 14 daysNo payment details needed.
