Media player

The media player is the computer behind the screen. It holds the content, runs the schedule and outputs the picture, and it is the part of a signage installation most likely to be the reason a screen is black.

Players range from a Raspberry Pi through purpose-built signage boxes to a full Windows PC when a video wall or multiple outputs are involved. Cost per screen rises across that range and so does what the player can be asked to do.

The alternative is not to have one at all. Many commercial displays run the signage software on a chip inside the panel, which removes a device but ties you to whatever that panel’s operating system supports.