Budget-Friendly Cloud-Managed Digital Signage for Existing TVs

Posted by _paull@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 17 comments

We are looking for a simple and budget-friendly digital signage solution for 6 existing TVs located in different areas.

The TVs are older models without smart features, so they will only be used as displays via HDMI (no apps installed directly on the TVs).

What we’re looking for:

Cloud-managed digital signage platform
Ability to manage multiple screens remotely
Simple setup and low maintenance
Works with external media players or TV sticks
Budget-friendly (preferably minimal hardware and subscription cost)

What we have tried:

Google TV Chromecast with Fusion Signage, but the Enterprise Wifi network is blocking connectivity.

It works on a hotspot, but we are interested in simpler or more reliable alternatives.

Questions:

What digital signage platforms would you recommend for this setup?
What media player devices work well with older TVs (e.g., Android boxes, Raspberry Pi, etc.)?
Any plug-and-play solutions that are easy to deploy across multiple screens and work on an Enterprise Wi-Fi network?

Appreciate any recommendations or experiences with similar deployments.

[-]

pdp10@reddit

Those all support wired Ethernet with the right USB to Ethernet adapter. Is that an option?

RCTID1975@reddit

We just wrapped up a very similar project

Our short list ended up being Optisigns and Yodeck.

Ultimately, went with Optisigns due to specific integrations, but both solutions are solid

We have been using Screenly.io with raspberri pi's 3's I think. They are getting a bit slow to pull in live web content but displaying images they are ok. At the start of the year we had an offer to sign for yearly renewal instead of month to month and they gave new players but I don't know if they have been put into use yet. For a long time IT was managing the content. Management of content got shoveled off to other departments now, IT just pays the bill and keeps them online.

paynereagan@reddit

I use Skoop for digital signage. Super easy to deploy as a cloud-based or plug-and-play solution - plus they have a great support team

Hxrn@reddit

Been using Yodeck for years and works great. Some could say it could be a bit pricey if you start adding the TV's up over time but with it being hassle free and super convenient it is well worth it and checks all your boxes

da64u@reddit

Yodeck

lhauckphx@reddit

Check out yodeck. Raspberry pi (among others) based, first one is free. Good online management and player.

bUSHwACKEr85@reddit

We use Yodeck over 3 countries, Easy to setup and easy to update too.

Endo399@reddit

I did this a decade ago with a linux virtual server running concerto and a bunch of raspberry pi's running chromium in kiosk mode showing a website generated by the concerto server

That seems too complicated. We need a simple solution.

SevaraB@reddit

That is literally as simple as it gets. I will never understand people’s willingness to pay for something that works exactly like what could be stood up in 15 minutes with free software on cheap SBCs like Raspberry Pi.

parthgupta_5@reddit

Android TV boxes usually work pretty well for this if the platform supports them.

MrYiff@reddit

We use Screencloud devices, seems to work well, we also trialled yodeck which was also good (but I think a bit more expensive).

Winter_Engineer2163@reddit

We did something similar with older TVs using small HDMI players.

A pretty common budget setup is a Raspberry Pi with Yodeck. The Pi just connects over HDMI and Yodeck gives you cloud management, scheduling, and remote updates. Setup is simple and it's relatively cheap, especially for a small number of screens.

Another option I’ve seen used is Android TV boxes with ScreenCloud or Xibo if you want a bit more flexibility.

If Chromecast is being blocked by enterprise Wi-Fi, it’s often because of multicast / mDNS restrictions. Dedicated signage players usually behave more like normal clients, so they tend to work better on corporate networks.

For reliability, I’d avoid consumer casting devices and go with a small dedicated player per screen. Once deployed they usually run for months without touching them.