System on chip

A system-on-chip display runs the signage software on hardware inside the panel. Samsung’s Tizen screens and LG’s webOS screens are the two most common, and both have signage platforms certified to run on them.

The appeal is one device instead of two. No external player means no second power supply, no cable to be unplugged by a cleaner and nothing visible behind the screen, which is why it is popular where the installation has to look tidy.

The trade is flexibility. The panel’s operating system decides what can run on it, upgrades arrive on the display vendor’s schedule, and moving to different signage software later may mean the screen cannot come with you.