Many digital signage software solutions are cloud-based, i.e. they require (permanent) access to the Internet. Getting connected anytime, anywhere is not a problem in most cases, but there are certainly situations where there is either no network coverage at all, where this would be very expensive or slow, or where connecting to the internet is not allowed for security reasons.
The FrontFace digital signage software offers several options for updating and operating content. So-called publishing methods include using the local network, cloud storage services, FrontFace Publishing Cloud, or web servers to play out content. However, FrontFace can also be operated in a completely offline mode. Either the “all-in-one” installation, where FrontFace Player and FrontFace Assistant (CMS) are installed on the same PC, or offline publishing via USB stick is possible.
The disadvantage of the “all-in-one” setup is that the player must be closed to edit or update content. However, the entire workflow can be mapped on a single PC.
With offline publishing via a USB stick, the content can be conveniently compiled on any PC using the FrontFace Assistant, and then be published to a USB stick. This is then inserted into the player during operation (no need to quit or restart the FrontFace Player app!) to update the content.
With FrontFace, the entire content is usually published directly and completely to the player so that it can run stand-alone and display the content even without an internet connection. Live content such as weather, news, RSS feeds or websites are of course excluded here. By using FrontFace, it is possible to operate a digital signage system that can also run fully offline without any problems, which is often not possible otherwise!