Monitor screen status, get offline alerts and keep a list of your screens
Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com shows every screen's state on the Screens dashboard in SignStudio: online, offline, warning, syncing or paused, with the last seen time, the content playing now, the IP address and the player version, plus a Screenshot button that captures what the DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer is showing. Alerts are documented for offline players, failed content sync, low storage, high temperature, available updates and expiring licenses, delivered by email, SMS, webhook, Slack or in the dashboard. For a screen list, Bulk Actions includes an Export that downloads screen details; keep a manual inventory next to it for what lives outside SignStudio, such as serial numbers, mounts and install dates.
Key facts
- The Screens dashboard uses 5 states, online, offline, warning, syncing and paused, and a status change normally shows within 1 to 2 minutes of the player losing or regaining its connection.
- 6 alert types are documented, offline, content sync failed, low storage, high temperature, software update available and license expiring, over 5 channels: email, SMS, webhook, Slack and in-app.
- Each screen record carries 6 fields, name, ID, group, location, tags and description, which is enough to build a usable inventory without a spreadsheet.
- Scheduled maintenance is documented as a nightly restart of all players at 3:00 AM, a weekly staged update window and a monthly cache clear on low-storage screens.
- Well-run networks hold 99 percent uptime per screen, about 7 hours of unplanned downtime a month, and 99.5 percent on customer-facing screens.
- A quarterly health check of 20 points takes about 30 minutes per site, most of it read from the dashboard.
- Monitoring costs nothing extra in 2026: the first 3 screens are free forever, then from $3 per screen per month on mediaCLOUD Plus+, with every screen billed once an account has 4 or more.
Last updated October 23, 2026. Sources: SignStudio player management, remote monitoring, player status and screenshots, health check checklist and user management pages on this site.
What does the Screens dashboard show for each screen?
The dashboard shows a status indicator, the last seen time, the content playing now, the IP address, the player version and system information for every registered screen, with search, filter and group controls above the list. Resource figures, CPU, memory, storage and temperature, are reported for players that expose them, such as a Raspberry Pi through its SignService daemon.
| Indicator | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Online, the DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer is connected and playing | SignStudio heard from the player within the last minutes | Nothing |
| Offline | SignStudio cannot reach the player; it keeps playing cached content | Check network and power; follow the offline guide |
| Warning | An issue was detected, such as low storage or a failed sync | Open the alert and act on it |
| Syncing | The player is downloading content | Wait; large videos take minutes on a slow link |
| Paused | The screen was paused on purpose | Resume it if it should be playing |
Bottom line: a glance at the status column and the last seen time tells you which screens need attention today, and the Screenshot button tells you what each one is really showing.
A screenshot shows the player's output, not the panel. If the screenshot is correct but the screen on site is dark, the fault is the display, the input or the cable. If the dashboard says offline but the screenshot was taken minutes ago and the content is right, the connection has just dropped and the player is still playing from its cache.
How do I get an alert when a screen goes offline?
Turn on the offline alert and send it to a person on site as well as to IT, because the person who can plug a cable back in is rarely the one reading the IT inbox. Our player management page documents the alert types and the delivery channels; it illustrates an offline threshold of 5 minutes and a sync-failure threshold of 3 failures, which are sensible defaults.
- Open SignStudio and find the alert settings for your account. Our documentation lists the alert types and channels but does not show the exact menu path in the current version; if you cannot find it, ask support at support@digitalsignage.com, live chat at https://chat.digitalsignage.com/ or +1-877-344-7446.
- Enable the offline alert first, then content sync failed and low storage. High temperature matters for Raspberry Pi and fanless players in cabinets.
- Choose the channels: email for the record, Slack or a webhook for the team channel, SMS for the one person who will go to the screen.
- Set the threshold so a 2-minute Wi-Fi blip does not page anyone; 5 minutes during opening hours is the documented example, and 15 minutes outside them is a common practice.
- Test it: unplug one player's network cable, wait past the threshold, confirm the alert arrives, plug it back in and confirm the player returns to online.
- Review who receives alerts once a month, because staff change and an alert nobody reads is the same as no alert.
Our documentation describes alerts that fire when something happens; it does not describe a scheduled daily or weekly status report email. If you need a report on a schedule, forward alerts to a ticketing tool through the webhook, use the API to read screen status into your own report, or ask support whether a scheduled report is available for your account.
How do I export a list of my screens?
Select the screens on the dashboard, open Bulk Actions and choose Export, which our player management page documents as downloading screen details. The same page lists CSV among the export formats for proof of play reports; it does not state the file format of the screen export, so open the downloaded file and check before you build a process around it.
A second route for larger networks is the API, which the developer documentation covers: read the screen list, status and last seen time into your own spreadsheet or dashboard on whatever schedule you choose. A third route, for a one-off list, is to search and filter the dashboard by group and copy the visible columns.
What should a screen inventory contain?
A good inventory holds what SignStudio knows and what it cannot know: the physical device behind the screen, where it is mounted, when it went in, and who owns it on site. Keep the SignStudio screen name identical to the inventory name, so an alert and an inventory row match without translation.
| Column | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Screen name in SignStudio (DigitalSignage.com screen record) | Lobby 1, Store 42 Menu Left | The name in alerts and on the dashboard; make it match the inventory |
| Group and tags | Group: Store 42; tags: menu, portrait | Campaign targeting and bulk actions use these |
| Location | Store 42, Main St, ground floor, left of counter | Sends the right person to the right wall |
| Display | 55-inch commercial panel, model, portrait | Decides mounts, brightness and replacement parts |
| Player device | Android TV box, model, 3 GB of RAM, Ethernet | The thing that fails; its platform decides the fix |
| Serial numbers | Display and player serial | Warranty claims and theft reports |
| Network | VLAN 100, DHCP reservation 10.100.1.42, wired | The first thing IT asks |
| Install date and installer | 2026-03-14, in-house | Warranty clock and refresh planning |
| Site owner and phone | Store manager, mobile number | Who gets the SMS alert and plugs things back in |
| Last health check | 2026-10-01, all clear | Ties the quarterly audit to the record |
Bottom line: ten columns per screen, kept in a shared sheet with the same names as SignStudio, turn every alert into a two-minute phone call instead of a search.
What should I check daily, weekly and quarterly?
Check status daily, review alerts and content weekly, and run the full 20-point health check once a quarter. The daily pass takes a minute per site from the dashboard; the quarterly check takes about 30 minutes per site and needs one walk past the screens.
- Daily: sort the dashboard by status, deal with offline and warning screens first, and take a screenshot before you restart anything so you have evidence of the fault.
- Weekly: read the last seen column for players that check in only now and then, which usually means Wi-Fi or power; review the alert log; remove expired campaigns.
- Monthly: confirm alerts still reach someone who can act; clear the cache on low-storage screens, which the maintenance schedule documents as a monthly task.
- Quarterly: run the 20-point health check: players, displays, network, content and accounts, including users who have left and screens nobody owns.
Users and roles matter here. SignStudio user management gives each person a role, Owner, Administrator, Content Manager, Editor, Operator or Viewer, and scopes that limit a user to specific screens or groups, so a store manager sees one location and a regional manager sees a region without a shared password.
What does monitoring cost?
Nothing beyond the plan you already have, because the Screens dashboard, screenshots, remote commands and alerts are part of SignStudio rather than an add-on. The table puts the 2026 software cost next to the small hardware items that make remote monitoring effective.
| Item | 2026 cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalSignage.com SignStudio monitoring, 1 to 3 screens | $0, free forever | Dashboard, screenshots, remote restart and reboot, alerts |
| mediaCLOUD Plus+, 10 screens | $30 per month, $360 per year | Every screen is billed once an account has 4 or more |
| mediaCLOUD Plus+, 50 screens | $150 per month, $1,800 per year | Volume pricing in the public calculator may quote lower |
| Enterprise | Per screen in the public price calculator | Adds proof of play reports with CSV and PDF export |
| Smart plug per hard-to-reach player | $15 to $25 | Power cycles a player that stops answering commands |
| Technician visit avoided by a remote fix | $150 to $400 per call | The usual cost of a truck roll |
Bottom line: the software to monitor 50 screens costs $1,800 a year in 2026, less than five avoided technician visits.
Frequently asked questions
Monitor screen status, get offline alerts and keep a list of your screens
Open the Screens dashboard in SignStudio to see each screen as online, offline, warning, syncing or paused, with last seen time, current content, IP address and player version, and click Screenshot to see the output. Enable the offline alert by email, SMS, webhook or Slack and send it to someone on site. Use Bulk Actions, Export for a screen list, and keep a shared inventory with serials, locations and owners.
How do I know if my digital signage screen is online?
Look at its status on the Screens dashboard. A working screen shows online with a last seen time within minutes and the content it is playing; click Screenshot to confirm what is on the panel. Offline means SignStudio cannot reach the player, which keeps playing cached content, so check network and power rather than the content.
Can I get an email when a screen goes offline?
Yes. Our documentation lists email, SMS, webhook, Slack and in-app delivery for the offline alert, alongside alerts for failed sync, low storage, high temperature, updates and expiring licenses. Set a threshold of about 5 minutes during opening hours, send it to a person on site as well as IT, and test it by unplugging a player once.
Can I export a list of my screens from SignStudio?
Yes. Select screens on the dashboard, open Bulk Actions and choose Export, documented as downloading screen details. Our documentation does not state the file format, so check the download before building on it. The API is the route for a recurring export into your own spreadsheet.
Can I get a daily status report email for all my displays?
Our documentation describes alerts that fire when a screen goes offline or a sync fails, not a scheduled daily report. For a report on a schedule, forward alerts to a ticketing tool through the webhook, read status through the API into your own summary, or ask support whether a scheduled report is available for your account.
How often should I check my digital signage screens?
Glance at the dashboard daily, review alerts and last seen times weekly, clear low-storage caches monthly, and run the 20-point health check quarterly, about 30 minutes per site. Act on a missed check-in within minutes; well-run networks hold 99 percent uptime per screen and 99.5 percent on customer-facing screens.
Is screen monitoring included on the free plan?
The Screens dashboard, screenshots and remote commands are part of SignStudio, and the free plan includes about 90 percent of the features for the first 3 screens forever. Our documentation does not list which alert channels are on which plan, so if a channel is missing from your free account, ask support.
Related guides
- SignStudio player management
- SignPlayer status, screenshots and logs
- My screen shows offline: how to find the cause and fix it
- Remote monitoring best practices for digital signage networks
- Digital signage health check: 20-point checklist
- SignStudio user management: roles and scopes
- Scheduling and remote management FAQ
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 23, 2026.