Projectors for digital signage: when they work, lumens and 24/7 duty
Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com's guidance on projectors for digital signage: a projector earns its place when the image must be larger than about 100 inches, land on a floor, ceiling or window film, or vanish when switched off, and the room can be kept dim; it fails in bright ambient light and under lamp maintenance. A 4,000 ANSI lumen projector gives office-level brightness (350 nits) only up to about a 115-inch image, so plan 6,000 lumens or more for a lit lobby. Choose a laser light source rated about 20,000 hours for long duty over a 3,000 to 5,000 hour lamp, and feed it over HDMI from any player running the free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer.
Key facts
- Projected brightness in nits equals lumens times screen gain divided by (pi times the image area in square metres), so 4,000 lumens on a 120-inch 16:9 image (3.97 square metres) gives about 321 nits with a gain of 1.0, below the 350 to 500 nits our brightness standard sets for an office.
- A 4,000 ANSI lumen projector reaches 350 nits on an image up to about 115 inches, 250 nits up to about 136 inches and 200 nits up to about 152 inches, before any loss from picture modes.
- Throw ratio is the distance from lens to screen divided by image width, so a 150-inch image, 130.7 inches wide, needs a 1.47:1 lens from 16 feet and a 0.73:1 short-throw lens from 8 feet.
- A lamp rated 4,000 hours lasts 0.9 years at 12 hours a day and 0.46 years at 24 hours a day; a laser light source rated 20,000 hours lasts 4.6 years at 12 hours and 2.3 years at 24 hours, all as planning figures to half brightness.
- Over 5 years at 12 hours a day a 4,000-lumen lamp projector costs about $4,438 to own and a laser model about $4,032, as planning estimates as of November 2026, with electricity at $0.1419 per kWh.
- Pixels on a 120-inch 1080p image stop being visible at about 9.8 feet and on a 120-inch 4K image at about 5.0 feet, scaled from our screen size guide's 4.5 and 2.3 feet for a 55-inch screen.
- Any projector with an HDMI input works with DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer on Windows, Mac, Android, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi or iPad, and the first 3 screens are free forever.
Last updated November 4, 2026. Lumens, lifetime hours and prices on this page are planning figures as of November 2026 unless they are physics; brightness targets come from our display brightness standard, pixel-density figures from our screen size guide, and product behavior from our SignStudio and SignPlayer documentation.
When does a projector beat a screen for digital signage?
A projector beats a screen when the image has to be very large, has to land on a surface a panel cannot occupy, or has to disappear when the space is used for something else, and it loses whenever daylight or bright room lighting reaches the surface. The table lists where each outcome happens.
| Situation | Projector or screen? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Image wider than 100 inches on a single wall, dim room | Projector | A 150 to 300-inch image costs far less projected than as a 98-inch panel or an LED wall |
| Floor projection at an entrance or in a store | Projector | Nothing else puts a moving image on a floor people walk across |
| Ceiling or vaulted surface in a museum, church or venue | Projector | Panels cannot follow the surface; projection can be warped to it |
| Rear projection onto film on a shop window | Projector, behind the glass | A short-throw projector and rear-projection film turn the window into a screen after dark and leave it clear by day |
| Gallery, event or theatre where the wall must be plain by day | Projector | When off, the wall is a wall; a 98-inch panel is a black rectangle |
| Lobby or atrium with daylight, 1,000 lux and up | Screen or LED | Ambient light washes out projection; a 700 to 1,500 nit panel or LED wall holds up |
| Storefront window facing the street by day | Screen | A window-facing screen needs 2,500 to 4,000 nits; no projector delivers that on glass in daylight |
| Menu board, waiting room, corridor, 43 to 75 inches | Screen | Panels at those sizes cost $627 to $1,450 and need no maintenance |
| Screen that must run 24 hours a day for years | Screen | A commercial LCD is rated 50,000 to 60,000 hours; a laser projector about 20,000 |
Bottom line: projection is the tool for very large, unusual or temporary surfaces in controlled light, and a panel or LED wall is the tool everywhere light or hours are high.
Two things people underestimate are ambient light and maintenance. A projector adds light to a surface that the room is already lighting, so the picture's contrast is the projector's light divided by the room's light on the same wall. Maintenance is lamps, filters, dust on the optics and alignment drift, each of which is a visit with a ladder.
How many lumens does a digital signage projector need?
A projector needs enough lumens to put the target nits on the whole image, and the arithmetic is physics: luminance in nits = lumens x screen gain / (3.1416 x image area in square metres).
The targets are the same as for any screen, from our display brightness standard: 250 to 350 nits in a dark room, 350 to 500 in an office, 500 to 700 in retail or a clinic, 700 and up near windows.
The image area for a 16:9 picture is diagonal squared x 0.42735 square inches, and 1 square metre is 1,550 square inches. A 100-inch image is 2.76 square metres, 120 inches is 3.97, 150 inches is 6.20 and 200 inches is 11.03. The table multiplies target nits by pi and by the area, with a matte white screen of gain 1.0 and no losses.
| Image diagonal (16:9) | Width x height | Area | Lumens for 250 nits (dark room) | Lumens for 350 nits (office) | Lumens for 500 nits (retail, clinic) | Lumens for 700 nits (near windows) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 in | 87.2 x 49.0 in | 2.76 m² | 2,170 | 3,030 | 4,330 | 6,060 |
| 120 in | 104.6 x 58.8 in | 3.97 m² | 3,120 | 4,370 | 6,240 | 8,730 |
| 150 in | 130.7 x 73.5 in | 6.20 m² | 4,870 | 6,820 | 9,740 | 13,640 |
| 200 in | 174.3 x 98.1 in | 11.03 m² | 8,660 | 12,130 | 17,330 | 24,260 |
Bottom line: a 4,000-lumen projector covers a 120-inch image in a dark room and a 100-inch image in an office, and anything near windows needs 6,000 to 14,000 lumens or a screen instead.
Read the 4,000 ANSI lumen question directly from the formula. At 350 nits the area a 4,000-lumen projector can light is 4,000 / (350 x 3.1416) = 3.64 square metres, which is a diagonal of the square root of (3.64 x 1,550 / 0.42735) = 115 inches. At 250 nits it is 5.09 square metres and 136 inches, and at the 200-nit minimum for a dark room 6.37 square metres and 152 inches.
ANSI lumens are an average of nine readings across a white image, which is why the figure is lower and more honest than a single peak or "light source lumens" number; compare projectors on ANSI lumens only.
Real installations deliver less than the rating, because accurate picture modes and eco settings cut output, and a common planning allowance is to buy 20 to 30 percent more lumens than the table says. A screen with a gain of 1.3 raises the nits by 30 percent on its axis.
Laser or lamp: which projectors are reliable for 24/7 digital signage?
A laser light source is the reliable choice for signage duty, because it is rated about 20,000 hours to half brightness against 3,000 to 5,000 hours for a lamp, switches on and off instantly, and dims gradually rather than failing. Those hours are planning figures; the maker's spec sheet gives the rating for the model and the mode.
| Light source | Rated life to half brightness (planning figure) | Life at 12 hours a day (4,380 h a year) | Life at 24 hours a day (8,760 h a year) | Behaviour | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UHP lamp | 3,000 to 5,000 hours; longer in eco mode | 0.7 to 1.1 years per lamp | 0.3 to 0.6 years per lamp | Warm-up and cool-down, dislikes frequent cycling, drops brightness fast, can fail suddenly | Occasional use, events, budget installs with someone on site |
| Laser phosphor | About 20,000 hours; some models 30,000 | 4.6 years (6.8 at 30,000) | 2.3 years (3.4 at 30,000) | Instant on and off, gradual dimming, constant-brightness modes, sealed engines available | Permanent signage, long hours, ceilings and portrait mounts |
| LED | 20,000 to 30,000 hours | 4.6 to 6.8 years | 2.3 to 3.4 years | Lower lumens per model, compact, cool | Small images, pico and short-throw units in dim rooms |
Bottom line: at 12 hours a day a lamp is a yearly visit and a laser is a 4 to 5-year engine; at 24 hours a day even a laser is a 2 to 3-year engine, which is why panels win continuous duty.
The arithmetic: 4,000 lamp hours / 4,380 hours a year = 0.91 years, and 4,000 / 8,760 = 0.46 years, so a lamp projector running around the clock needs a new lamp roughly every five and a half months. A 20,000-hour laser gives 20,000 / 4,380 = 4.57 years at 12 hours a day and 20,000 / 8,760 = 2.28 years at 24 hours.
The features that make a projector reliable for signage are the ones that remove visits: a laser light source, a sealed or filter-free optical engine so dust cannot reach the panels, a stated 24/7 or continuous-duty rating from the maker, and a constant-brightness mode that holds output as the source ages.
Add lens shift so the unit mounts square without keystone, free-angle installation for portrait or ceiling use, and RS-232 or LAN control for scheduled power. A schedule that switches the projector off when nobody is looking is the cheapest reliability feature of all.
What is throw ratio and how do you calculate it?
Throw ratio is the distance from the projector's lens to the screen divided by the width of the image, so a 1.5:1 projector sits 1.5 times the image width away. The image width for a 16:9 picture is the diagonal times 0.8716, and the distance you can mount at is set by the room, so the ratio you need is simply distance divided by width.
Image width (in) = diagonal (in) x 0.8716
Image height (in) = diagonal (in) x 0.4903
Throw ratio = throw distance / image width
Throw distance = throw ratio x image width
For a 150-inch image the width is 150 x 0.8716 = 130.7 inches (10.9 feet). From a ceiling bracket 16 feet (192 inches) back, the required ratio is 192 / 130.7 = 1.47, which a standard lens with a 1.2 to 1.5 zoom range covers.
From 8 feet (96 inches) the ratio is 96 / 130.7 = 0.73, a short-throw lens. Ultra-short-throw units at about 0.25:1 sit 0.25 x 130.7 = 32.7 inches from the wall, which suits floor and window projection.
Zoom lenses give a range, such as 1.2 to 1.8:1, so the projector can sit anywhere between 1.2 and 1.8 image widths away; fixed short-throw lenses give one figure. Lens shift moves the image up, down or sideways without tilting the projector, which is what keeps the picture rectangular from an off-centre ceiling mount. Check the model's throw chart for the exact distances, because lens tolerances vary.
Which projector resolution do you need?
1080p is enough for most signage projection, because viewers stand far from a large image, and 4K matters only when people read fine detail from inside the pixel-vanishing distance. Our screen size guide puts that distance at 4.5 feet for a 55-inch 1080p screen and 2.3 feet at 4K; pixel size scales with the diagonal, so multiply by the size ratio.
| Resolution name | Pixels | Aspect ratio | Pixels per inch on a 120-inch image | Pixels vanish beyond (120 in) | Fit for signage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XGA | 1024 x 768 | 4:3 | 9.8 | About 18 feet (9.8 feet x 1,920 / 1,024) | Legacy; letterboxes 16:9 content |
| WXGA | 1280 x 800 | 16:10 | 12.2 | About 15 feet | Budget office units; crops or bars on 16:9 scenes |
| Full HD (1080p) | 1920 x 1080 | 16:9 | 18.4 | 120 / 55 x 4.5 = 9.8 feet | The default; matches the SignStudio HD preset |
| WUXGA | 1920 x 1200 | 16:10 | 18.4 | About 9.8 feet | Business units; design a 16:10 scene or accept bars |
| 4K UHD | 3840 x 2160 | 16:9 | 36.7 | 120 / 55 x 2.3 = 5.0 feet | Close viewing, maps, fine text; check whether the chip is native 4K or pixel-shifted |
Bottom line: buy 1080p for an image people watch from 10 feet or more and 4K only when they stand within about 5 feet of a 120-inch picture or read small type.
Text size follows the same rule as any screen: about 1 inch of letter height per 10 feet of viewing distance, and a minimum of the distance in feet divided by 25. On a 150-inch 1080p image the pixel density is 1,920 / 130.7 = 14.7 pixels per inch, so 2-inch letters for viewers at 20 feet are 2 x 14.7 = 29 pixels tall, which 1080p renders cleanly.
Do you need keystone correction or edge blending?
Avoid keystone correction and use lens shift, because keystone squashes the picture digitally to fake a rectangle and loses resolution and brightness at the compressed edge. Edge blending overlaps two or more projectors by 10 to 20 percent of the image width and fades each across the overlap so the join disappears; it happens in the projectors or a processor, one player output per projector, and needs matched units re-aligned whenever anything moves.
How do you feed a projector from digital signage software?
Feed a projector exactly like a screen: a media player running the signage software connects to the projector's HDMI input, and the projector is just a display to the player.
DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS and Chrome OS Flex, Raspberry Pi (Pi 4 works, Pi 5 recommended) and iPad, so a $40 to $100 Android TV stick, an $81 to $137 Raspberry Pi kit or a Windows mini PC at $110 to $200 drives one projector.
Set the player's output to the projector's native resolution, 1920 x 1080 for a 1080p unit, and build the scene at that size in SignStudio. For two projectors showing different images, SignPlayer Desktop on Windows or Mac drives as many screens as the computer has video outputs, each output registered as its own screen. Our media players comparison covers the choice of player; a projector adds nothing new to it.
Power is the one difference. A lamp projector needs its own cool-down cycle, so it should be switched off through its own timer, RS-232 or LAN command rather than by cutting the mains; a laser unit tolerates a schedule or a smart plug. Scheduling the projector off outside opening hours is also what stretches a 20,000-hour laser from 2.3 years at 24 hours a day to 4.6 years at 12.
What does a projector cost to own over five years?
Over five years at 12 hours a day a laser projector costs slightly less to own than a lamp projector of the same brightness, even though it costs about twice as much to buy, because the lamp projector buys five lamps and five ladder visits. The figures are planning estimates as of November 2026; the hours and electricity are arithmetic.
| Line item, 5 years at 12 hours a day (21,900 hours) | 4,000-lumen lamp projector | 4,000-lumen laser projector |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price (planning estimate as of November 2026) | $1,500 | $3,000 |
| Light source life (planning figure) | 4,000 hours per lamp | 20,000 hours |
| Replacements in 21,900 hours | 21,900 / 4,000 = 5.5 lamps used, the first included, so 5 bought at $300 = $1,500 | 0; the source reaches its rated life at year 5 |
| Labour per replacement (planning) | 5 x $50 = $250 | $0 |
| Filters and cleaning (planning) | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity | 350 W x 21,900 h = 7,665 kWh x $0.1419 = $1,088 | 300 W x 21,900 h = 6,570 kWh x $0.1419 = $932 |
| Five-year total | $4,438 | $4,032 |
| Interventions over five years | 5 planned | 0 planned |
Bottom line: the laser unit wins by about $400 over five years and by five ladder visits, and the gap widens at longer hours because the lamp count doubles while the laser engine simply ages.
At 24 hours a day the picture changes shape rather than direction. The lamp projector uses 43,800 / 4,000 = 11 lamps, 10 of them bought, and the laser projector runs through its 20,000 hours twice over, so it is replaced about every 2.3 years.
Continuous projection is a maintenance commitment either way, which is why a 24/7 lobby is usually a panel or LED job and projection is reserved for the surfaces nothing else can reach.
Projector, 98-inch display or LED wall: which should you choose?
Choose by three questions in order: how bright is the room, how many hours a day does the image run, and does the surface have to be larger than 98 inches or something other than a flat wall. The table puts the three options side by side with planning figures as of November 2026.
| Factor | Projector (laser, 4,000 to 7,000 lumens) | 98-inch commercial display | Indoor LED wall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image size | 100 to 300 inches and beyond | Fixed at 98 inches: 85.4 x 48.0 inches of picture | Any size, built from cabinets |
| Brightness delivered | About 320 nits from 4,000 lumens on a 120-inch image, less on larger images | 350 to 700 nits, window-class models higher | 800 to 1,500 nits indoors, 5,000 and up outdoors |
| Ambient light tolerance | Dim rooms only | Offices, retail, lobbies | Any, including atriums |
| Life at 24 hours a day | About 2.3 years to half brightness at 20,000 hours | 5.7 to 6.8 years at 50,000 to 60,000 hours | About 11.4 years at 100,000 hours |
| Maintenance | Dust, filters, alignment, light source | Cleaning | Module swaps, calibration |
| When switched off | The wall is a wall | A black rectangle | A black wall |
| Surfaces | Walls, floors, ceilings, window film, curves | Flat wall or stand | Flat or gently curved structure |
| Planning cost as of November 2026 | $1,500 to $8,000 plus screen or surface treatment | $4,000 to $10,000; confirm with a reseller quote | $50,000 to $80,000 for 100 square feet at 2.5 mm pitch, installed |
| Mounting | A ceiling bracket carrying 5 to 15 kg | A structural mount for a 60 to 100 kg panel | An engineered structure, contractor-installed |
Bottom line: dim room and a huge or unusual surface means projector, lit room and under 100 inches means a 98-inch display, lit room and over 100 inches means LED.
The 98-inch panel is the quiet winner for most lobbies because it needs no maintenance and holds 350 to 700 nits in daylight; the sibling page on large format displays compares it with a 2 x 2 video wall. The video walls guide has the LED and tiled-LCD costs behind the third column.
Worked example: a 150-inch lobby wall
An office wants a 150-inch welcome image on the lobby wall opposite the entrance. The ceiling bracket can be 16 feet from the wall, the lobby has large windows and measures about 1,200 lux at midday, and the screen runs 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays. The question is whether a projector can do it, and what it would take.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Image size | Width 150 x 0.8716; height 150 x 0.4903 | 130.7 x 73.5 inches, 6.20 square metres |
| 2. Throw ratio | 16 ft = 192 in; 192 / 130.7 | 1.47:1, a standard zoom lens |
| 3. Brightness target | 1,200 lux is the "near large windows" row | 700 nits recommended, 700 minimum |
| 4. Lumens for 700 nits at gain 1.0 | 700 x 3.1416 x 6.20 | 13,640 lumens |
| 5. Lumens with blinds to office light (350 nits) | 350 x 3.1416 x 6.20 | 6,820 lumens |
| 6. What 4,000 lumens would give here | 4,000 / (3.1416 x 6.20) | 205 nits, below every indoor target |
| 7. Hours and light source | 12 h x 5 days x 52 = 3,120 h a year; 20,000 / 3,120 | A laser source lasts about 6.4 years |
| 8. Resolution | 150 / 55 x 4.5 ft | Pixels vanish beyond 12.3 feet at 1080p; 4K only if people stand closer |
| 9. Alternative | A 98-inch commercial panel at 500 to 700 nits | 85.4 x 48.0 inches, no maintenance, $4,000 to $10,000 planning |
Bottom line: the 150-inch projection needs a 7,000-lumen laser projector and blinds, or a 14,000-lumen unit without them, so unless the 150-inch size is the point, a 98-inch display at 500 to 700 nits is the cheaper and brighter choice.
If the client keeps the projector, the specification reads: laser phosphor, 7,000 ANSI lumens or more in the picture mode actually used, 1080p or WUXGA, a lens covering 1.47:1 with vertical lens shift for the ceiling offset, a matte white screen or a plain pale wall, blinds on the windows by day, LAN control for a 7 am to 7 pm schedule, and a Windows or Android player running SignPlayer on the HDMI input.
How to do this in DigitalSignage.com
DigitalSignage.com treats a projector as a screen: install SignPlayer on the player, pair it, and build the scene at the projector's native resolution. The free plan covers the first 3 screens forever, so a single projected wall costs nothing in software.
- Set the player's output to the projector's native resolution, usually 1920 x 1080, and connect it over HDMI.
- Install the free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer on the player, open it and note the registration code it shows.
- In SignStudio, click Register SignPlayer, type the code, and name the screen after its location.
- Create the scene with the HD 1920 x 1080 preset (or a custom size for a WUXGA unit), size text with the 1 inch per 10 feet rule, and assign it to the screen in a campaign.
- Publish, stand at the far end of the room, and check brightness at the brightest hour of the day.
SignPlayer Desktop on Windows or Mac drives as many screens as the computer has video outputs, which is how two projectors get two different images from one player.
Edge blending, geometric warping and keystone are not documented in SignStudio or SignPlayer, so do them in the projector or a processor; and whether the Toggle Display command on the Screens dashboard reaches a projector over HDMI-CEC, or how to schedule a projector's power, is not documented either. For both, ask support (support@digitalsignage.com, live chat at https://chat.digitalsignage.com/).
Frequently asked questions
Projectors for digital signage: when they work, lumens and 24/7 duty
A projector works for digital signage when the image must be larger than about 100 inches, land on a floor, ceiling or window film, or vanish when off, and the room can be kept dim; it fails in bright light and under lamp maintenance. Brightness is lumens times gain over pi times area: 4,000 lumens gives about 321 nits on a 120-inch image, enough for a dark room, not a lobby. Choose a laser source rated about 20,000 hours (4.6 years at 12 hours a day, 2.3 at 24) over a 3,000 to 5,000 hour lamp, and feed it over HDMI from a player running DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer.
How big an image can a 4000 ANSI lumens projector light for signage?
About 115 inches at office brightness (350 nits), 136 inches at dark-room brightness (250 nits) and 152 inches at the 200-nit minimum, with a gain 1.0 screen and no losses, because the lit area is lumens divided by nits times pi: 4,000 / (350 x 3.1416) = 3.64 square metres, which is a 115-inch 16:9 diagonal. Buy 20 to 30 percent more lumens than that as a planning allowance for real picture modes.
What are the most reliable projectors for 24/7 digital signage?
Models with a laser phosphor light source rated about 20,000 hours, a sealed or filter-free optical engine, a stated 24/7 or continuous-duty rating from the maker, a constant-brightness mode, lens shift, free-angle mounting and RS-232 or LAN control. Even then a 20,000-hour source reaches half brightness after 2.3 years at 24 hours a day, so schedule the projector off when nobody is watching, and use a commercial display rated 50,000 to 60,000 hours where the image must run around the clock.
What is a high brightness projector and when do you need one?
A high brightness projector is one rated roughly 6,000 ANSI lumens or more, and you need one when the image is large or the room is lit. A 150-inch image needs about 6,820 lumens for office-level brightness (350 nits) and 13,640 lumens near windows (700 nits); a 200-inch image needs 12,130 and 24,260. Below 120 inches in a dim room, 3,000 to 4,000 lumens is enough.
Which projector resolution is best for digital signage?
1080p (1920 x 1080) for almost all signage, because it matches 16:9 content and viewers stand far from a large image: on a 120-inch picture the pixels vanish beyond about 9.8 feet. Choose 4K UHD when people stand within about 5 feet of a 120-inch image or read fine detail, and check whether the projector's chip is native 4K or pixel-shifted. WXGA and WUXGA are 16:10, so 16:9 scenes get bars or cropping.
How do you calculate projector throw distance?
Throw distance equals throw ratio times image width, and image width for a 16:9 picture is the diagonal times 0.8716. A 150-inch image is 130.7 inches wide, so a 1.5:1 projector sits 196 inches (16.3 feet) away, a 0.73:1 short-throw unit 95 inches (8 feet) away and a 0.25:1 ultra-short-throw unit about 33 inches away. Work backwards from the room: available distance divided by image width is the ratio you need.
Does a projector cost more than a screen to run?
Over five years at 12 hours a day a 4,000-lumen lamp projector costs about $4,438 and a laser model about $4,032 as planning estimates as of November 2026, including five lamp changes for the lamp unit and electricity at $0.1419 per kWh. A 55-inch commercial display at $995 to $1,450 costs about $75 a year in electricity with no consumables, so projection only pays where the image size or the surface justifies it.
Can DigitalSignage.com drive a projector?
Yes. A projector is a display to the player, so any device running the free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi or iPad feeds it over HDMI, and SignPlayer Desktop on Windows or Mac drives as many projectors as the computer has outputs. Build the scene at the projector's native resolution in SignStudio. Edge blending and warping happen in the projector or a processor; they are not SignStudio features.
Related guides
- Display brightness (nits) standards for digital signage
- Digital signage media players compared
- Window displays and foot traffic
- Video walls for digital signage
- Screen resolution standards for digital signage
- Screen size and viewing distance
- Display lifespan and 16/7 vs 24/7 ratings
- Turn screens on and off on a schedule
- Large format displays: 75 to 110 inch screens vs video walls
Try it on your own screens, free
DigitalSignage.com, which publishes this guide, runs a permanent free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever (no credit card, no ads, no watermark, no time limit), then from $3 per screen per month on Plus+. Once an account has 4 or more screens, every screen is billed, so 10 screens cost $360 a year; Enterprise is priced per screen in the public price calculator. The free DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad or any modern web browser, so the hardware you already own usually works. Start free · pricing · How 11 vendors compare on price
Maintained by MediaSignage Inc., operator of DigitalSignage.com since 2006. Product behavior on this page comes from our own SignStudio and SignPlayer documentation; where we do not document a step, this page says so instead of guessing. Last reviewed November 4, 2026.