Digital signage is a popular way to communicate with customers and employees. A traditional digital signage installation typically includes a display and a separate media player connected to it to communicate with the server and play the media content. However, this is no longer necessary with the advent of SoC technology.

What are SoC Displays?

SoC stands for System on Chip. It is a powerful multi-core processor mounted inside the casing of commercial displays that replaces the traditional playback device and its cables.
System on Chip displays are becoming very popular today, both for small and large digital signage displays, and are offered by the leading display manufacturers in the market such as Samsung or LG.
SoC displays come in different sizes, brightness levels, can be used both indoors and outdoors and differ in operating hours.

What are the advantages of SoC displays?

First, it is an ALL-IN-ONE digital signage solution. Therefore, it is a much more elegant and tidy installation: it takes up less space, there are no additional cables or metalwork, and ultimately, there are fewer points of failure.
SoC displays are cost-effective. Although the cost of a professional SoC display may be higher than a standard display, the total cost of the installation is usually lower compared to a traditional setup:

• No separate device to pay for
• The complexity of the entire installation is reduced
• Future maintenance is much easier

Some might argue that SoC displays might not be as powerful or reliable as a stand-alone media player.
However, new generations of SoC displays offer great performance and high quality. The latest displays have quad-core processors and run 4k content. They are also very reliable, built to last. Statistics show that SoC reliability in market leading displays is really high and their failure rate is as low as < 0.5%.

SoC displays and power saving

The new generation of SoC displays is extremely energy efficient. One of the main reasons is that they don’t have that extra hardware – the media player – that consumes extra power.
Saving energy is very important for businesses. It’s not only good for the environment, but also for business results and goals.

Security in SoC displays

Data security is of paramount importance and of great concern to both enterprises and customers but with SoC displays you can be sure that your data is safe.
Most SoC displays have a security lock to prevent theft or tampering.
In addition, the content is usually stored on a secure server that can only be accessed by authorized personnel.
SoC displays have a number of security features, such as:

• Authentication: Authentication is used to control access to content stored on the server. Only authorized personnel can access and play content.
• User management: User management allows you to control who can access and play content. You can create different user groups with different permissions.
• IP filtering: IP filtering is a way to restrict access to content from certain IP addresses. This is useful if you only want authorized personnel to access content from specific locations.
• Logging and auditing: Logging and auditing allows you to keep track of who has accessed and played content. This is useful for security and regulatory compliance.

What type of content can be played on an SoC display?

SoC displays can play any type of content that would normally be played on a digital signage display: video, images, animations, RSS feeds, social media feeds, web pages, etc.
The most popular content types are video and images. You can use SoC displays to play short videos or commercials, as well as to create eye-catching image galleries.
SoC displays are also a good way to display real-time information, such as weather, stock quotes or social media feeds.

Functionalities of SoC screens

• Playback of HTML5 content created from templates.
• Screen partitioning that allows playing more than 1 content simultaneously.
• Change of content by means of external signals, or ‘triggers’.
• Playback of bar text or tickertape linked to an RSS feed.
• Remote control of screen on/off.
• Support for displaying web content via URL.
• Possibility of integration of external systems, such as queue management, audience measurement, weather widgets, Co2 meter, etc.

Soc displays applied to Digital Signage

Digital signage is one of the most popular applications of SoC displays. SoC displays are more reliable, easier to install and maintain, and offer greater security, as we have seen above.
In addition, SoC displays offer many features that are perfect for digital signage applications.

Content scheduling

Content scheduling allows you to specify when content should be played. This is useful for playing content at specific times or dates.

Playlists

Playlists allow you to create a sequence of content to be played in order. This is useful for creating a loop of content that will play continuously.

Triggers

Triggers allow you to play content in response to external events. For example, you can play a message when someone walks past your screen.

Web integration

Web integration allows you to display web content on your SoC screen. This is useful for displaying information from the Internet, such as weather or news.

Integration with external systems

External systems allow you to display information from other systems on your SoC screen. For example, you can display sales information from your point-of-sale system.

Waapiti. Soc technology applied to digital signage

SoC displays are becoming very popular in digital signage solutions because they offer a number of advantages over traditional playback devices. They are more versatile, more secure and easier to install and maintain. If you’re looking for a new digital signage solution, consider using SoC displays for your next project.
For more information about SoC displays, contact us today and we’ll tell you more about our SoC display solutions.