Turn screens on and off on a schedule and keep players awake
Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com gives you two layers of control. The DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer has a documented power schedule, power saving and screen saving on a daily timetable, and SignStudio can turn a screen on or off remotely with the Toggle Display command; the display itself is switched by its own on and off timers, by HDMI-CEC from the player, or by RS-232 or IP control on commercial panels. During opening hours the player must never sleep: turn off sleep, screen saver and power saving on the device, and install the Watchdog on Android. Turning a 55-inch screen off for 12 hours a day saves roughly 570 kWh a year.
Last updated October 22, 2026. Sources: SignPlayer system requirements, player management, Android and Windows setup guides, screens and installation FAQ and the power consumption reference on this site.
Two different problems
Scheduling content and scheduling power are separate things. A campaign that ends at 10 PM leaves the screen showing the default content, or the last cached scene; it does not switch the panel off. Switching the panel off saves electricity and panel life, and is done at the display, the player, or SignStudio.
| Where | Mechanism | Works with | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The display | Its own on and off timer in the menu | Any screen with a timer, most commercial panels, many TVs | Set once on site; check it after power cuts and clock changes |
| The display, remotely | RS-232 or IP (LAN) control | Commercial displays | Commercial panels expose RS-232 or IP control for scheduling power and inputs; needs a controller or a script |
| The player | The SignPlayer power schedule: power saving and screen saving on a daily schedule | Native SignPlayer | Documented on the system requirements page; the player idles outside the window |
| The player, over HDMI | HDMI-CEC wake and standby | Players and TVs with CEC enabled | Convenient but a frequent cause of input switching; see below |
| SignStudio | Toggle Display command on the Screens dashboard | A player that is online | Manual, per screen or in bulk |
Set a schedule on the display
- Open the display's menu and look for an on timer, off timer, or an on/off schedule. Brands name it differently.
- Set the on time a few minutes before opening, so the panel is warm and on the right input when the first customer arrives, and the off time after closing.
- Set the input the panel should wake to, if the menu offers it, and lock the input if it does.
- Turn off eco timers, auto power off on no activity and power-down on no signal, which otherwise fight your schedule during the day.
- Test one full cycle and check that the panel comes back on the correct input the next morning.
A display that sleeps by itself in front of a healthy player looks exactly like a dead player. The troubleshooting FAQ lists off timers, sleep timers and energy-saving modes as a top cause of a screen that goes black at a set time.
Use the player's power schedule and the remote command
The system requirements page lists a power schedule among the things every native SignPlayer does: power saving and screen saving on a daily schedule. Our documentation does not show the exact screen in SignStudio where it is set, so look for it in the screen's settings, or ask support at support@digitalsignage.com, live chat at https://chat.digitalsignage.com/ or +1-877-344-7446 for the current steps on your platform. For a one-off change, the Toggle Display command on the Screens dashboard turns a screen on or off from anywhere, singly or with Bulk Actions.
Keep the two schedules consistent: if the display's off timer and the player's schedule disagree, the earlier off and the later on win, and the gap looks like a fault.
HDMI-CEC: useful, and the usual suspect
HDMI-CEC lets the player wake the TV and put it in standby over the HDMI cable, which is handy on a consumer TV without a timer. The same mechanism is why signs jump to another input or switch themselves off: any CEC device on the chain can send those commands. The screens and installation FAQ advises disabling CEC in the display menu, where brands call it Anynet+, Bravia Sync or SimpLink, unless you rely on it to wake the screen each morning, and then testing that it behaves. Use the display's input lock as well where it exists.
Keep the player awake during opening hours
| Platform | Settings to change | Where documented |
|---|---|---|
| Android TV and Google TV | Settings, Power: turn off power saving, idle TV standby and auto shut-off. Settings, Daydream: set the screen saver to never. If it still appears, enable developer options (tap Build several times under Settings, About) and set the suspend option to never. Install the Watchdog APK so SignPlayer restarts after a reboot | Android install guide |
| Windows | Set sleep, hibernate and display-off timers to never for the signage user; the Windows platform guide uses powercfg -change -standby-timeout-ac 0, -hibernate-timeout-ac 0 and -monitor-timeout-ac 0. Turn off notifications and set Windows Update active hours to opening hours. Enable power on after AC loss in the BIOS | Windows install and platform guides |
| Mac | Prevent automatic sleeping, set the display to never turn off, turn off the screen saver, and enable starting up automatically after a power failure | Mac install guide |
| Raspberry Pi | Disable screen blanking in raspi-config under Display Options; the Pi otherwise blanks after about 10 minutes. The Pi powers on by itself when power returns | Raspberry Pi guides and troubleshooting FAQ |
| Chrome OS kiosk | Set the screen-off timeout to never in the kiosk device settings in Google Admin | Chrome OS install guide |
| iPad | Settings, Display and Brightness, Auto-Lock: Never, and keep it on its charger | iPad install guide |
What a schedule saves
From the power consumption reference on this site, a 55-inch indoor display at about 130 watts:
| Hours per day | Annual kWh | At $0.12 per kWh | At $0.16 per kWh | At $0.30 per kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 380 | $46 | $61 | $114 |
| 12 | 570 | $68 | $91 | $171 |
| 16 | 759 | $91 | $121 | $228 |
| 24 | 1,139 | $137 | $182 | $342 |
A screen that runs 24 hours but is only seen for 12 costs twice what it should, and the panel's rated life is measured in hours. The player itself draws 3 to 10 watts on a Raspberry Pi or Android stick, so leave it running and switch the panel.
A reliable daily cycle
- Morning: the display's on timer or CEC wakes the panel on the right input; the player has been running all night, or the power schedule brings it out of power saving.
- Day: no sleep, screen saver or eco timer anywhere in the chain; the campaign schedule changes content on the player's clock.
- Night: a nightly player restart during closed hours, as the player management page documents, then the display's off timer.
- After a power cut: the player powers on by itself and starts SignPlayer, the display powers on by itself, and the morning cycle resumes. Test it once by pulling the plug.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn digital signage screens off at night automatically?
Use the display's own on and off timer, or RS-232 or IP control on a commercial panel, and keep the player's power schedule consistent with it. SignPlayer documents a power schedule with power saving and screen saving on a daily timetable, and SignStudio can turn a screen on or off remotely with Toggle Display. Leave the player running; only the panel needs to sleep.
Does scheduling content in SignStudio turn the TV off?
No. A campaign that ends leaves the screen showing default content or the last cached scene. Switching the panel off is done by the display's timer, by CEC or RS-232 control, or by the player's power schedule, which is separate from the content schedule.
How do I keep an Android TV from sleeping when it runs digital signage?
In Settings, Power turn off power saving, idle TV standby and auto shut-off; under Settings, Daydream set the screen saver to never; if it still appears, enable developer options and set the suspend option to never. Install the Watchdog APK so SignPlayer restarts after any reboot.
Should HDMI-CEC be on or off for digital signage?
Off, unless you rely on it to wake the TV each morning. CEC lets any connected device switch inputs or power the display down, which is why signs jump to another input. Disable it in the display menu, where brands call it Anynet+, Bravia Sync or SimpLink, and lock the input if the panel allows.
How much does turning a screen off overnight save?
A 55-inch indoor display at about 130 watts uses roughly 1,139 kWh a year at 24 hours a day and 570 kWh at 12 hours, so a 12-hour schedule saves about 570 kWh, or $68 to $171 a year depending on your rate. Across 100 screens that is a real line item, and the panel lasts longer.
Why does my screen go black at the same time every day?
A display timer, an eco mode or a schedule gap. Check the display menu for off timers, sleep timers and energy-saving modes, then check that a campaign or default content covers every opening hour in the player's time zone.
Related
- SignPlayer system requirements
- Install SignPlayer on Android and Android TV
- Install SignPlayer on Windows
- Screens and installation FAQ
- Power consumption and running cost
- SignStudio player management
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 · 2026 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 October 22, 2026.