This is my very first post and have been a Xibo user for 8 months now. As the title states, I am currently looking for the best setup in order to run my digital signages at the checkout stand in a grocery store.
Now for each checkout stand, there are two cashiers, so what needs to happen is that each lane for the checkstands would have a digital signage displayed while the customer is paying so that they can see some promotional videos or products while waiting.
The help I need is, how to setup the signage efficiently and with less cable possible.
The current method I thought of is very pricey. Say the store has 3 checkout stands with 2 lanes each. Each checkout stand would have two digital signage for each lane making it a total of 6 signages. My solution is to buy an Intel Stick and HDMI splitters so that each checkout stand is powered by one intel stick and then I will split the output to two monitors for efficiency.
My question is, is it possible to just provide one master digital signage player (instead of the intel sticks) for all the checkout stands without wires running through the lanes? Also, with only one player powering up all the checkout stand signages, they will be playing the same content in sync.
My boss doesn’t want wires running through the ceiling nor the floor because it would be an obstacle and is not very good to see in terms of aesthetics.
I’m sorry if my explanation is not clear.
Thank you for your help and I greatly appreciate it.
Edit: The perfect example of what I’m trying to say is the digital signages in gasoline stations (you know, the small tv playing videos while you gas up your car). We would like to somehow try the same effect on the checkstands.
This type of question is always a balance between flexibility and synchronisation - it often turns out to be nothing to do with cost (as video replicators can get pricey).
Both of the options you’ve mentioned are viable and should function as you’ve said. The first one is what we consider to be the traditional approach, the second one is a niche use case for when you always want exactly the same content on every screen.
If you ever want to integrate with the POS system or have interactive signage or indeed show something different on one lane (till closed for example), then a central replicated system would not be able to do that.
I’d always urge people to use the traditional approach unless you need synchronised content - or in other words go with flexibility.
Thank you for the response and I apologize for the late reply. Interactive signage would not be the option. It would only be used for advertisements while checking out of the counter.
Would it be correct to assume that a central replicated system would be best? Since they would be at checkout counters, I could just use long HDMI cables to connect all of them up.
All of the monitors would be hung from the ceiling. I can have the wires run with it and have the player at the center together with a HDMI repeater. That’s what I plan to do.
If all the screens need to show the same content all the time then an hdmi splitter and long cables (assuming they’re within the limits for an HDMI cable in length) or HDMI over Cat5/IP distribution if it’s too far for direct connection will be fine.
If they need to show different content then you’ll need a different device connected to each screen to show the content on.
What we’'ve done and works perfectly reliable and safe, was to place centrally a couple of Android-based players and the server (all on the same rack shelf), and used a DVB-T modulator for each.
(you can use DVB-T, DVB-C, ATSC modulators, see this for an example: http://www.dipolnet.com/digital_dvb-t_modulators_-_assortment_and_applications_bib220.htm)
These modulators have RF output generating cable TV signals which can be tuned very easily by standard television sets. These signals can travel very long distances on standard RG6 antenna cable, can be easily and cheaply amplified and split to many TVs. Several modulator outputs can be easily summed together just by daisy chaining them, and the final output signal would carry multiple signage contents on different TV channels, just like regular cable TV does.
So for displays, we just used regular flat TV sets using regular antenna inputs. Just make sure you choose the proper modulator for the TV set tuner standards which are available in your area.
Quality is excellent, modulator has HDMI input, digital television signal generated is also HD resolution.
We also cared for security in this project, the signage player was away from that location, the content cannot be compromised, and also technology peekers could not see what’s behind it running the content.