Q: What is digital signage and how is it used in stores, restaurants, hospitality or public?

Digital Signage is the general description for the use of Digital screens Floor-standing displays Video walls Kiosk systems Tablets Projectors Outdoor / public advertising poles / over street boards Outdoor / Indoor S-XXL LED walls Fridges / freezers or product presenters on shelves or integrated into the furniture up to Flying Drones with LED banners used to display different product or service related content such as Promotions Menus Brand messages Interactive content – touch solutions Wayfinding Or general information In retail and hospitality, it replaces static posters with dynamic, centrally managed content that can be updated instantly across one or many locations.

Q: Which businesses benefit most from digital signage?

Powerful Digital Signage is ideal for: Retail stores & chains Restaurants, cafés & quick-service concepts Supermarkets & convenience stores Pharmacies & healthcare locations Banking Gas stations Public transportation Corporate offices & reception areas It scales from a single screen to hundreds / thousands of locations without changing the system.

Q: Is digital signage only for advertising?

No . While advertising is a major use case, digital signage is also used for: Digital menus & pricing Product information & brand storytelling Internal communication & announcements Customer guidance & wayfinding Partner or supplier promotions

Q: Do I need special or expensive screens?

Not really . WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 works out of the box with: Commercial displays (different brands) Consumer TVs (various brands) Tablets Touch kiosks Floorstanding displays LED Controllers (NovaStar ® ) So, even existing screens / display hardware can be easily reused or choose cost-efficient devices. Of course the devices to be used should not be too old and have HDMI input connection to attach a compatible player. Full HD resolution is recommended up to 55″ of screen size for best cost-efficiency, but as well 4K is supported with different hardware players.

Q: Reliability, Security & Offline Operation

With WPITCOM Signage Solutions, Yes , the local devices continue playing content offline. Standard playlists and included content are cached locally Playback continues without interruption *) Playout reports are synchronized once the connection is restored (Retail Media) This is critical for stores and restaurants – and completely solved. *) If using website, streaming content, the internet connection is essential and must be available – of course.

Q: Do screens need daily maintenance?

No. The WPITCOM Signage solution is really absolutly plug-and-play : Automatic startup Automatic shutdown Screen operation control *) Automatic reconnection Automatic selef cleaning (storage) Minimal local intervention Different network types, Ethernet, WIFI/WLAN, Mobile Data Central monitoring optional This significantly reduces operational effort . *) For supported display types, with correct configuration (Linux: Different options depending on player type and connected display type: HDMI-CEC, RS232, DPMS, IP) | Android: (with supported players) HDMI-CEC and DPMS

Q: Does the system support multiple languages & user time zones?

Yes . Content, interfaces, and campaigns can be managed in: English German Spanish and additional languages (on demand) Perfect for international operations.

Q: What is the main business benefit?

Customers typically gain: Higher customer attention Faster content updates Stronger brand presence New revenue streams Lower operational effort / cost

Question 1

What is digital signage and how is it used in stores, restaurants, hospitality or public?

Accepted Answer

Digital Signage is the general description for the use of

Digital screens
Floor-standing displays
Video walls
Kiosk systems
Tablets
Projectors
Outdoor / public advertising poles / over street boards
Outdoor / Indoor S-XXL LED walls
Fridges / freezers or product presenters on shelves or integrated into the furniture
up to Flying Drones with LED banners

used to display different product or service related content such as

Promotions
Menus
Brand messages
Interactive content – touch solutions
Wayfinding
Or general information

In retail and hospitality, it replaces static posters with dynamic, centrally managed content that can be updated instantly across one or many locations.

Question 2

Which businesses benefit most from digital signage?

Accepted Answer

Powerful Digital Signage is ideal for:

Retail stores & chains
Restaurants, cafés & quick-service concepts
Supermarkets & convenience stores
Pharmacies & healthcare locations
Banking
Gas stations
Public transportation
Corporate offices & reception areas

It scales from a single screen to hundreds / thousands of locations without changing the system.

Question 3

Is digital signage only for advertising?

Accepted Answer

No. While advertising is a major use case, digital signage is also used for:

Digital menus & pricing
Product information & brand storytelling
Internal communication & announcements
Customer guidance & wayfinding
Partner or supplier promotions

Question 4

Do I need special or expensive screens?

Accepted Answer

Not really. WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 works out of the box with:

Commercial displays (different brands)
Consumer TVs (various brands)
Tablets
Touch kiosks
Floorstanding displays
LED Controllers (NovaStar^®)

So, even existing screens / display hardware can be easily reused or choose cost-efficient devices.
Of course the devices to be used should not be too old and have HDMI input connection to attach a compatible player.
Full HD resolution is recommended up to 55″ of screen size for best cost-efficiency, but as well 4K is supported with different hardware players.

Question 5

What are the main typical challenges in &#8220;digital signage&#8221;?

Accepted Answer

Well – the main typical challenges are normally

The selection of the right display or device
Solved: WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 can use a variety of professional or customer electronic (CE) screens or TV systems, that’s makes it even possible to start small and get to the next level step by step.
The correct positioning of the display to gain best attention in the customer journey
Tutorial: Correct and secure positioning is crucial of operation success, based on experience and neuro marketing, please feel free to contact us for recommendations.
To select the correct Content-Management-System
Solved: WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 is a user-centric ease to manage and operate cloud solution focussing to provide powerful functions with ease of use
To have durable devices that do not need much maintenance
Solved: WPITCOM hardware player are designed for durability – as mainly read-only & self cleaning systems, we focus on maintenace reduction and reduction in cost of oiperations – based on lot of years of field experience – in retail.
To know if something is not working accordingly – before store management or customers call
Solved: WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 has an optional built-in proactive health monitoring of the local players – you get informed if necessary to check the local device – probably before someone calls in.
To provide precise & emotional sales driving content
Hint: WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 supports various video & image formats, and even HTML5 contents – unlimited creativity – in the AI age. By using our WPITMEDIACLOUD Platform a variety of conent like original brand images, backgrounds, stoppers and so on can be integrated on the fly.
Knowing real energy cost & opertaion cost
Solved: If players or screens are not switched of during off-duty times, energy cost often adds up, that might not be a big issue for only one installation, but talking about 100’s or even 1.000’s of players & screens, that not rarely is a major topic in the budget – so, energy efficency is an important decision factor as well, besides maintenance frequency, in digital signage installations – nearly always.

And … Efficiency is the name of game – this often makes the real difference:

WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 and WPITCOM Signage Suite 3 include out of the box function to set operation times centrally and then automatically to turn off supported hardware players during off-duty time (S5 level), turn the screens to standby and turn everything on just in time – so that energy consumption is kept at the necessary level only – avoid wasting budget and profit.

Question 6

Why is WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 beating USB stick usage?

Accepted Answer

Some people still use USB sticks to promote content on their local screens.

That’s might work for very small installations – but as a matter of facts is not cost-efficient because:

USB Stick must be bought
Media must be copied on each one
must be sent, brought or somehow transfered to the location(s)
often major time lack betweeen campaign decision and market presence
if presented to long, customer recognition declines quickly
if not manually inserted in time, often false promotion communication

All these tasks involve cost of hardware, production, logistics and control – to ensure the content is really displayed. If added up, the disadvantages are quite obvios right away.

The way to indepence

At the other hand side, when using WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 transmits the content in seconds to the location – the time to market is significantly reduced.
As errors, happen, corrections can be sent quickly.
On the fly responses to competitors campaings are easy – due to speed.
No USB cost & logistics cost for sending sticks any more.
Much faster processes and content strategy to support your marketing department.
Often:Reduced process & maintenance cost

Flexibility & speed & reliability – right away – that’s WPITCOM Signage Manager 3

Question 7

Reliability, Security &#038; Offline Operation

Accepted Answer

With WPITCOM Signage Solutions, Yes, the local devices continue playing content offline.

Standard playlists and included content are cached locally
Playback continues without interruption^*)
Playout reports are synchronized once the connection is restored (Retail Media)

This is critical for stores and restaurants – and completely solved.

^*)If using website, streaming content, the internet connection is essential and must be available – of course.

Question 8

Do screens need daily maintenance?

Accepted Answer

No. The WPITCOM Signage solution is really absolutly plug-and-play:

Automatic startup
Automatic shutdown
Screen operation control^*)
Automatic reconnection
Automatic selef cleaning (storage)
Minimal local intervention
Different network types, Ethernet, WIFI/WLAN, Mobile Data
Central monitoring optional

This significantly reduces operational effort.

^*)For supported display types, with correct configuration (Linux: Different options depending on player type and connected display type: HDMI-CEC, RS232, DPMS, IP) | Android: (with supported players) HDMI-CEC and DPMS

Question 9

Does the system support multiple languages &#038; user time zones?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Content, interfaces, and campaigns can be managed in:

English
German
Spanish
and additional languages (on demand)

Perfect for international operations.

Question 10

What is the main business benefit?

Accepted Answer

Customers typically gain:

Higher customer attention
Faster content updates
Stronger brand presence
New revenue streams
Lower operational effort / cost

Question 11

What hardware do I need for digital signage?

Accepted Answer

To simply start with WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 – you typically need:

A digital screen or display device like (see: Recommended devices)
- A screen (professional or CE) or recent TV system (HDMI in) or
- A floor standing display (HDMI in) or
- A tablet (normally Android 10+) or ^*)
- A projector with (HDMI in) or
- A LED display / wall (with compatible LED controller)
A media player compatible with our solution (only if not built in the device – Android 10+) ^*)
An internet connection
Access to the WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 Cloud

WPITCOM Signage Suite 3 is the local software player, controlling the entire device and the screen(s), standard Linux or Android devices become professional signage players.

*) Due to the enormous amount of diffferent devices and implementations compatibility should be tested when using internal players (mainly Android^™ systems – some integrated devices may not allow certain device control functions or screen rotation, especially when using Smart-TV systems from different manufacturers.

Please do not hesitate to let us know, if we can be helpful with device details – prior of purchasing a specific device.

Question 12

Can the system run on Linux and Android devices?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The local software player WPITCOM Signage Suite 3 is designed for Linux and Android, giving you:

Maximum hardware flexibility
Long device lifecycles
Vendor independence
High performance and stability

Sometimes it’s useful to compare the hardware players before deciding, as some Android^™-Operating system driven devices support more functionality, like turning of the device or setting an attached screen into standby mode, which is often a very appreciated feature. If in doubt, feel free to contact us for our recommendation for your specific needs – happy to help with best information available.

By the way – WPITCOM Signage Suite 3 is a native Android^™ Application and can be installed in less than 5 min, easily, quickly and safely.

Question 13

How does WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 work?

Accepted Answer

WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 is a powerful cloud-based CMS, that can be learned pretty quick.
It allows to you to easily – just log into the platform and:

Directly securely upload and manage media centrally
Interactively create playlists and schedules
Assign playlists / content to one or many screens (in groups)
Control locations, devices, and screen groups
Set and control the operation times of local devices accross time zones an turn off devices and screens
Optional: Monitor operation of your devices – and get informed pro-actively about potentual problems
Optional: Create, distribute, check your own paid retail media paid campaings without any DSP for your band partners – directly
and MUCH more …

All changes are distributed automatically to connected devices.

WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 can be operated in two different ways:
For SMB: WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 SaaS / OnDemand on VPS Shared
Own Server: WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 is installed at customer site. Just contact us for details and requirements

Question 14

Can more than one display operated per hardware player?

Accepted Answer

Generally, Yes, the local media player software WPITCOM Signage Suite 3 can support up to 4 displays current^*), but depends on

The number of HDMI outputs of the local hardware player device
The power of the GPU and the memory of the local hardware player
The required resolution o each connected display

Sometimes the question is asked in relation with video walls – but that is different, as the majority of “normal” video walls are driven over 1 display connector and the professional screens are splitting the signal accross the video wall matrix – there are of course exceptions, but these are rather special.

The question often arise when talking about menu boards, sandwich installation (front- and back side), window displays and some other advertising visions.

Basically it also despends on the operating system of the device, whether it is Linux^® or Android^™. In contrast to Linux, Android is based on a one-screen-concept, mainly, even if the Android device has multiple HDMI interfaces, internally it is handled as one big screen only. Linux in contrast to that supports also the all-screens-separate as well as the one-screen-concept with certain settings, which can be set in WPITCOM Signage Suite 3.

Up to four separately driven screens with one hardware player

With the correct compatible hardware player, you can operate currently up to 4 screens on a single hardware player simultaneously, noticing that split screens in WPITCOM Signage Suite 3 for Android is also possible but needs to use the included “Split Screen App”.
Please ask for details.

Question 15

What content formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 supports:

Images (JPG, PNG, WebP, SVG)
Videos (MP4, WebM)^*)
HTML5 content
Web sites
WPITCOM included free HTML5 Content App’s
Animated layouts
Self created HTML5 content like games, registration forms, order applications …
Touch-enabled interactive content

You manage your campaign – we present it.

^*) Supported formats sometime depend on the GPU capabilities of the local hardware player. Please check before purchasing.

Question 16

Is the system secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. WPITCOM is designed with:

Secure cloud communication
Only device connects to server (device initiated)
Very strong message encryption with customizable key
Controlled device access
Role-based user management
Secure application updates
Specially hardened Linux^® / Android^™ player environments

Question 17

Advertising &#038; Monetization

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. Our retail media option provides:

Automatic playout tracking
Proof-of-play reports (also as Adobe PDF)
Campaign performance dashboards
Revenue overviews
Playout exports on locations / devices as CSV or Microsoft Excel format

This builds trust with advertising customers.

Question 18

Advertising &#038; Monetization with SSP&#8217;s?

Accepted Answer

Yes, WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 offers an optional sophisticated plugin^*) to

integrate a variable playlist part into a playlist
play paid SSP advertising scheduled by the supported SSP
stop / change / add the part at any to any playlist

Please ask us for details at any time.

Good to know:
Even all SSP provided media content is also directly cached on the local device / network to avoid intensive network traffic.

^*)
1. Available currently for Linux Devices only – Android in preparation
2. Please ask for supported SSP currently. Additional SSPs eventually on demand – on request.

Question 19

Can ads be shown only in specific stores or times?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Campaigns can be targeted by:

Location / Category
Screen type
Time of day
Date range
Group of screens

Question 20

Scalability &#038; Future-Readiness

Accepted Answer

Yes. WPITCOM is designed to grow with you and your demands:

Start with one screen
Expand to multiple locations
Add new features without replacing hardware
POC’s available: Yes^*)

^*) Please ask for details – some restrictions may apply for customer size and its territorial location.

Question 21

Is WPITCOM suitable for long-term use?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. The WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 platform is built for:

In the market since 2016
Long hardware lifecycles
Continuous feature expansion
Cloud-based updates
Integration of near-future AI-driven services

Question 22

Is digital signage expensive to operate?

Accepted Answer

Well, that depends largely on the chosen software and hardware solution.

But not with WPITCOM Signage Manager 3 – we constantly focus on:

Low total cost of ownership
Minimal on-site service
Efficient content workflows
Absolutely easy to use
Investment security through industry standards
Integrated security & malware scanning
Cost-effective monitoring option
In-house value creation through the in-house retail media option
Cost-efficient hardware through optimal performance utilization
Optimal energy management through sustainable operating time control
And much more…

We are happy to assist you at any time with additional information, proof-of-concept installations and presentations.

Question 23

How to start with WPITCOM Signage Manager 3

Accepted Answer

That’s really easy and risk-free

It only depends where you are located, in which country …

For Europe
Contect us by the contact form, call us on our US phone number, or just write us an email to sales@wpitcom.com and we will coordinate the direct communication with one of our European partners for hardware and integration.

For USA & Latin America
Our US office in Austin Texas is available weekdays from 8am – 6pm for calls for you.
Just give us a call, an email or use our contact form and we call you back.

We are multi-lingual
As we are orginated from Europe 10 years ago – we perfectly speak

English
German
and Spanish

Digital Signage Questions & Answers