Category: Tutorials

Digital signage software is available for various operating systems. Broadly speaking, there are two types of systems used for digital signage: PC-based and SOC (System on a Chip). While PC-based systems use classic PC hardware, usually based on x86 or x64 processors, SOC hardware has the entire system on a chip and is usually integrated directly into the screen. However, there are also external SOC media players and sticks that connect to the display via HDMI or Display Port like PCs.

Accordingly, PC operating systems are used on PC hardware: In addition to Windows as the top dog, Linux in its many forms also plays a role in some cases.

SOCs, on the other hand, have a variety of proprietary operating systems that are usually closely tied to the hardware and come directly from the hardware manufacturer. On the other hand, there are also many SOCs that are based on Android or Android TV. The reason for this is that Android is a very common and robust operating system, which is also available free of charge (as it is open source), making it an interesting option for many hardware manufacturers.

In summary, both Windows and Android have a leading role to play in the digital signage sector. This raises the question:

Which operating system is better suited for digital signage?

First of all: There is no clear answer to this question! As is often the case, it depends on individual circumstances.

Windows

The advantage of Windows-based systems is clearly the variety of hardware and the ability to easily replace individual components if needed. In addition, managing Windows-based devices is much easier if you already manage Windows workstation PCs. The update security argument is also compelling in the case of Windows, as updates are available for many years. However, when it comes to hardware performance, Windows systems offer more choice and modularity. A Windows-based player system can be configured to meet both performance requirements and budget. Mini-PC systems or Slide-In PCs (OPS), which can be integrated either behind or directly into the display, are particularly popular for digital signage appliances. The disadvantage is that in most cases the operating system (Windows) has to be purchased separately, which means additional costs. Some systems, especially those based on Windows IoT Enterprise, come with the Windows operating system pre-installed.

Android

On the other hand, there are player systems based on Android or Android TV. Their main advantage is the price. In the case of Android TV, the necessary hardware is already integrated into the display and does not need to be purchased separately. External set-top boxes are also available for very little money and are priced well below the cheapest PC systems. The performance of these devices, which are specifically designed for multimedia applications, is usually very impressive. However, one disadvantage should not be overlooked: update security! Since security and feature updates are not released centrally by Google, but by the respective device manufacturers, it is often the case, especially with Android boxes from the Far East, that updates are no longer offered after a very short time.

Decide for what?

So the choice depends on the purpose of the digital signage application and the available budget. For tight budgets, isolated solutions or smaller applications (e.g. a digital menu or a simple reception screen), Android is definitely worth more than a look! But when it comes to more professional applications with demanding requirements and where sustainability, maintainability and flexibility are paramount, there is usually no way around Windows.

But no matter which platform you choose, the FrontFace digital signage software is available for both Windows and Android. Functionally there are some differences (the most important being that the Android version of FrontFace does not support interactive applications), but with FrontFace you get an extremely powerful yet easy to use digital signage software that can even be used to manage mixed systems that use both Android and Windows players.

If you work a lot with Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and eventually, even use SharePoint as your intranet platform, there is often an inevitable need to integrate such files also in digital signage playlists or on interactive kiosk terminals.

When working with FrontFace, there are different ways how such an integration can be done:

1.) Integration as PDF, Print2Screen or Video

In this case, the Office files are converted into another format or exported with the respective desktop applications so that they can be displayed directly in FrontFace. As an alternative to exporting PDF documents, the Print2Screen function by FrontFace can also be used. This often gives better results in regards to display quality. In the case of PowerPoint presentations, you can either create page-by-page exports as PDF or Print2Screen, or export as video. This has the advantage that all animations and cross-fading effects from PowerPoint are fully retained. You should make sure that you always create an MP4 file and not use the old WMV format, since WMV files are significantly larger and often of poorer quality.

2.) Integration Using the Native Desktop Apps

FrontFace also enables the direct integration of EXE files in playlists and touch menus via the media object “External Application”. This way, the Office applications can be directly integrated and the file to be opened can be set in command line. A list of the available command line parameters of the Office applications can be found at Microsoft. The command line parameters allow, e.g. a PowerPoint presentation to be started directly.

However, this type of integration has some disadvantages: First of all, the Office applications must be installed on the player PC and an Office license must be available. Furthermore, security concerns can also play a role, since users with access to the system could change the files and at the same time gain access to the file system of the player PC, for example in the “Open File” dialog. Furthermore, you should also keep in mind that FrontFace starts and exits an external application here, over which there is otherwise no further control. Therefore, a direct integration of native desktop apps is only a sensible choice in a few cases.

3.) Integration via Office 365 / SharePoint as Web Page

If the Office files to be displayed are hosted on Office 365 (OneDrive or SharePoint), there is another, very elegant way for integration: As a web page in FrontFace. To do this, the file (Word, Excel or PowerPoint) must first be stored in a SharePoint document library or on OneDrive. A sharing link can then be created using the “Share” function. It is important that the “Allow editing” option is deactivated here (if desired) and otherwise the “Anyone” and “No password” sharing options are selected.

If you now open the link created in this way in a browser, the file appears in the respective online version of the Office application:

Often, however, only the display of the file contents itself is desired and therefore the display with the menu ribbon of the Office application is not what you want. Do adjust this, an additional parameter has to be appended to the URL which is:

&action=embedview

This ensures that only the document is displayed and nothing else. There are a few other parameters that can be used for certain Office applications:

Which of the methods presented here for integrating Office documents in FrontFace playlists and touch menus you use ultimately depends on the particular use case and the basic conditions.

How about making the home page of your touch menu livelier and more interesting? By displaying a scrolling news ticker tape with news headlines (RSS feed) or with your own news (custom text), you can do this easily with FrontFace. Just open the settings dialog of your touch menu:

Then click on the selection arrow below “Menu Layout” on the right…

…and select the “Main Menu with Ticker” layout. This layout already contains an additional container above the lower toolbar, which is pre-assigned with a news ticker.

After you have selected that layout, you can open the ticker settings dialog by clicking on the container with the ticker.

Many options for individually adjusting the ticker are available here. In addition to the displayed content (RSS feed or free text), you can also customize the visual design, such as colors, font and the scrolling speed.

You can either enter the messages line by line as custom text or enter the path/URL of an RSS feed or a plain text file either on a web server (via HTTP) or on a file server (UNC file path). If you provide an RSS or plain text file as a source, you can also set the “feed update interval” in minutes. After the specified time, the feed is retrieved again. In the meantime, a cached version is being used.

The appearance of the ticker can be tailored to your needs in terms of scrolling speed, colors, fonts, etc. You can also specify a title (prefix) that remains static in front of the scrolling text. For languages like Hebrew or Arabic, you can also change the scrolling direction of the ticker.

Finally, use the preview button of the FrontFace Assistant to check the results: