A lot of digital signage leaves the setup to the business. Somebody unpacks the box, installs the software, works through a setup wizard, types in the Wi-Fi password and picks a layout, usually while also trying to run the shop.
A Screens to Signs player is set up the other way round. Everything that would normally happen on site has already been done before it ships.
The short answer
A Screens to Signs digital signage player arrives already set up and tested, with your layout and your content loaded. On a wired internet connection, plugging in the power and the screen is the whole installation. If it has to go on wireless, the person you name as your contact gets a one-time PIN on the day to join it to your network, and that is the last thing anyone on site has to do. There is no software for you to install and no setup wizard. Everything after that is handled remotely.
Before it ships
The work happens before the box leaves. Your layout and your content are loaded onto the player: your logo, your products, your specials, your video, the weather for your town. Then the player is tested.
That is why the order of things on the How it works page is call, talk it through, quote, build, plug in. The building is done here, not in your shop.
Screens to Signs is built and run by JM Marketing in Malvern, Arkansas. Jeff McDaniel built the system himself: the dashboard, the player software and the installer. So when something about the setup needs to fit your business, the person you are talking to is the one who can change it.
On the day: a wired connection
A wired connection is the best way to run a screen, and it makes installation about as short as it can be. The player goes on the network cable, the screen goes on the player, the power goes in. That is the job.
There is nothing to log into at the screen and nothing to choose. The player already knows what it is supposed to show.
On the day: wireless
Some screens have to go where there is no cable. In that case the player joins your wireless network, and this is the one step that needs somebody on site.
Here is how it works. You name a contact for the installation. On the day, that person is given a one-time PIN, and they use it to join the player to the business’s wireless network. The PIN is for that one job.
What this means in practice: Screens to Signs does not need your network password. Nobody outside your business has to be told it, written down on a quote form or kept on file. Your contact puts the player on your network, and that is the last thing anyone on site has to do.
After it is plugged in, everything is remote
Once a player is on the internet, the rest is looked after from the office. These are the things that happen without anyone visiting:
- Each screen reports in. If one stops reporting, Jeff gets an alert.
- Players update themselves. Nobody has to sit at the screen to apply updates.
- Dropped wireless is handled on the player. A watchdog on each player reconnects dropped wireless on its own, and reboots the machine as a last resort.
- The screen can be seen and fixed from the office. There is a live view of any screen. From there a screenshot can be taken, the display restarted, the machine rebooted, its network changed, or the machine itself reached, without anybody driving to the site.
- Changes reach the screen over the internet. A new special, a new video, a new schedule. You can make changes yourself from your own computer or phone, or call and have them made for you. Prices and specials can also come live from a spreadsheet you edit yourself.
- One message can go to every screen. A message raised from the dashboard is on every screen in about five seconds.
Locked down at the screen
A player sits in a public place: behind a counter, in a waiting room, under a TV in a lobby. The obvious worry is somebody plugging in a keyboard and poking around.
Screens to Signs players are locked down. A keyboard touched at the machine raises an alert, and a technician needs a PIN at the screen to get in.
What you need where the screen goes
Three things:
- Power.
- An internet connection at the spot where the screen will be. Wired is best; wireless works.
- A screen. If you already have TVs you would like to use, say so on the quote form and we will talk about using them. If you need screens, they can be supplied as part of your quote.
The player itself arrives ready. Each screen has its own player.
Plan on the internet connection. It is how your content and changes reach the screen, how live weather and warnings get there, and how each screen reports in. If there is no internet where you want a screen, say so when you ask for a quote and it can be talked through.
Anywhere in the United States
Because the setup is done before the player ships and everything after is done remotely, it works the same way wherever the business is. JM Marketing is based in Malvern, Arkansas, has long worked with businesses across Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas, and serves customers anywhere in the continental United States.
Talk it through
If you are thinking about a screen and want to know how installation would go in your building, call Jeff on 662-422-1809 or use the quote form. The form asks about your internet connection, so the wired or wireless question is settled before anything ships. More answers are on the Questions page.