Digital Signage File Formats Guide
Choosing the right file formats ensures your content plays reliably across all devices while maintaining visual quality. This guide covers video codecs, image formats, and encoding specifications for optimal digital signage performance.
Quick Reference
Recommended Formats
| Content Type | Recommended Format | Alternative | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video (general) | MP4 (H.264) | MOV, WebM | AVI, WMV |
| Video (4K) | MP4 (H.265/HEVC) | H.264 High Profile | Uncompressed |
| Images (photos) | JPEG | PNG | BMP, TIFF |
| Images (graphics) | PNG | SVG, WebP | GIF |
| Images (transparency) | PNG | WebP | GIF |
| Audio | MP3 (320kbps) | AAC | WAV, FLAC |
Video Formats
Codec Comparison
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ VIDEO CODEC COMPARISON │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ H.264 (AVC) - RECOMMENDED FOR MOST USE │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compatibility: ★★★★★ (Universal) │
│ Quality: ★★★★☆ │
│ File Size: ★★★☆☆ │
│ CPU Usage: ★★☆☆☆ (Low - hardware decode everywhere) │
│ │
│ Best for: General content, maximum compatibility │
│ Player support: 100% of media players │
│ │
│ │
│ H.265 (HEVC) - RECOMMENDED FOR 4K │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compatibility: ★★★★☆ (Most modern players) │
│ Quality: ★★★★★ │
│ File Size: ★★★★★ (50% smaller than H.264) │
│ CPU Usage: ★★★☆☆ (Needs hardware decode) │
│ │
│ Best for: 4K content, bandwidth-limited deployments │
│ Player support: ~90% of players from 2018+ │
│ │
│ │
│ VP9 (WebM) - GOOD ALTERNATIVE │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compatibility: ★★★☆☆ (Limited player support) │
│ Quality: ★★★★★ │
│ File Size: ★★★★★ (Similar to H.265) │
│ CPU Usage: ★★★☆☆ │
│ │
│ Best for: HTML5/browser-based players │
│ Player support: Chrome-based, some dedicated players │
│ │
│ │
│ AV1 - EMERGING (Future) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compatibility: ★★☆☆☆ (Limited - newest hardware only) │
│ Quality: ★★★★★ │
│ File Size: ★★★★★ (30% smaller than H.265) │
│ CPU Usage: ★★★★☆ (Needs latest hardware) │
│ │
│ Best for: Future deployments with new hardware │
│ Player support: Growing, check specific device │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Recommended Video Specifications
Standard Definition (Legacy)
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 720 × 480 (NTSC) or 720 × 576 (PAL) |
| Codec | H.264 Baseline |
| Bitrate | 2-4 Mbps |
| Frame Rate | 29.97 or 25 fps |
| Container | MP4 |
Full HD (1080p) - Most Common
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920 × 1080 |
| Codec | H.264 Main or High Profile |
| Bitrate | 8-15 Mbps (quality dependent) |
| Frame Rate | 30 or 60 fps |
| Container | MP4 |
| Audio | AAC, 128-256 kbps, 48kHz |
4K UHD
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 3840 × 2160 |
| Codec | H.265 (HEVC) Main or H.264 High Profile |
| Bitrate | 25-50 Mbps (H.265) or 50-100 Mbps (H.264) |
| Frame Rate | 30 or 60 fps |
| Container | MP4 |
| Audio | AAC, 256 kbps, 48kHz |
Encoding Settings (FFmpeg Examples)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FFMPEG ENCODING COMMANDS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ 1080P H.264 (Maximum Compatibility) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ffmpeg -i input.mov \ │
│ -c:v libx264 \ │
│ -profile:v high \ │
│ -level 4.1 \ │
│ -preset slow \ │
│ -crf 18 \ │
│ -c:a aac \ │
│ -b:a 192k \ │
│ -movflags +faststart \ │
│ output.mp4 │
│ │
│ │
│ 4K H.265 (Modern Players) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ffmpeg -i input.mov \ │
│ -c:v libx265 \ │
│ -preset medium \ │
│ -crf 22 \ │
│ -tag:v hvc1 \ │
│ -c:a aac \ │
│ -b:a 256k \ │
│ -movflags +faststart \ │
│ output.mp4 │
│ │
│ │
│ PORTRAIT 1080x1920 (Vertical Signage) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ ffmpeg -i input.mov \ │
│ -vf "scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease, │
│ pad=1080:1920:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" \ │
│ -c:v libx264 \ │
│ -profile:v high \ │
│ -crf 18 \ │
│ -c:a aac \ │
│ -movflags +faststart \ │
│ output_portrait.mp4 │
│ │
│ │
│ KEY PARAMETERS EXPLAINED │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ -crf: Quality (lower = better, 18-23 recommended) │
│ -preset: Speed vs compression (slow = smaller file) │
│ -profile:v: Compatibility level (high for quality) │
│ -movflags +faststart: Enables streaming playback │
│ -tag:v hvc1: Apple compatibility for H.265 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Video Container Formats
| Container | Extension | Video Codecs | Compatibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP4 | .mp4 | H.264, H.265 | Universal | Recommended for all use |
| MOV | .mov | H.264, ProRes | Good | Apple origin, widely supported |
| WebM | .webm | VP8, VP9, AV1 | Moderate | HTML5/browser players |
| MKV | .mkv | Any | Limited | Flexible but poor player support |
| AVI | .avi | Various | Legacy | Avoid - outdated |
| WMV | .wmv | WMV9 | Windows only | Avoid - limited support |
Image Formats
Format Comparison
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ IMAGE FORMAT COMPARISON │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compression: Lossy │
│ Transparency: No │
│ Best for: Photographs, complex images │
│ File size: Small │
│ Quality: 80-95% recommended │
│ │
│ ✓ Universal support │
│ ✓ Excellent for photos │
│ ✗ No transparency │
│ ✗ Artifacts in graphics/text │
│ │
│ │
│ PNG (.png) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compression: Lossless │
│ Transparency: Yes (alpha channel) │
│ Best for: Graphics, logos, text, overlays │
│ File size: Medium to large │
│ │
│ ✓ Perfect for graphics │
│ ✓ Supports transparency │
│ ✓ No quality loss │
│ ✗ Large file size for photos │
│ │
│ │
│ WebP (.webp) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Compression: Lossy or lossless │
│ Transparency: Yes │
│ Best for: Web/HTML5 players │
│ File size: Smallest │
│ │
│ ✓ Excellent compression │
│ ✓ Supports transparency │
│ ✗ Limited player support │
│ │
│ │
│ SVG (.svg) │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Type: Vector (scales infinitely) │
│ Transparency: Yes │
│ Best for: Logos, icons, simple graphics │
│ File size: Very small │
│ │
│ ✓ Scales to any resolution │
│ ✓ Tiny file size │
│ ✗ Limited player support │
│ ✗ Not for photos/complex images │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Recommended Image Specifications
| Display Resolution | Image Resolution | JPEG Quality | Max File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p (1920×1080) | 1920×1080 | 85-90% | 500KB |
| 4K (3840×2160) | 3840×2160 | 85-90% | 2MB |
| Portrait 1080p | 1080×1920 | 85-90% | 500KB |
| Video Wall (3×3) | 5760×3240 | 90% | 5MB |
Image Optimization Tips
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ IMAGE OPTIMIZATION CHECKLIST │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ RESOLUTION │
│ □ Match image resolution to display resolution │
│ □ Don't use images larger than display (wastes memory) │
│ □ Don't scale up small images (looks blurry) │
│ □ For video walls, create at full combined resolution │
│ │
│ COMPRESSION │
│ □ JPEG quality 85-90% for photos (not 100%) │
│ □ Use PNG only when transparency needed │
│ □ Optimize PNG files with tools (TinyPNG, ImageOptim) │
│ □ Strip metadata to reduce file size │
│ │
│ COLOR │
│ □ Use sRGB color space (not CMYK or Adobe RGB) │
│ □ Save in 8-bit color (not 16-bit) │
│ □ Test on actual display (colors may vary) │
│ │
│ FILE NAMING │
│ □ No spaces in filenames (use_underscores) │
│ □ No special characters (!@#$%^) │
│ □ Keep names short but descriptive │
│ □ Use lowercase extensions (.jpg not .JPG) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Audio Formats
Supported Audio Formats
| Format | Extension | Bitrate | Compatibility | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP3 | .mp3 | 128-320 kbps | Universal | Background music |
| AAC | .m4a, .aac | 128-256 kbps | Excellent | Embedded in video |
| WAV | .wav | Uncompressed | Good | Short sounds |
| OGG | .ogg | Variable | Limited | HTML5 players |
Audio Specifications
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ RECOMMENDED SETTINGS │
│ │
│ For embedded video audio: │
│ • Codec: AAC │
│ • Bitrate: 192-256 kbps │
│ • Sample rate: 48 kHz │
│ • Channels: Stereo (2.0) │
│ │
│ For standalone audio: │
│ • Format: MP3 │
│ • Bitrate: 256-320 kbps │
│ • Sample rate: 44.1 or 48 kHz │
│ │
│ IMPORTANT NOTES │
│ • Many signage deployments are muted │
│ • Audio may violate venue noise policies │
│ • Test audio levels on actual hardware │
│ • Consider accessibility (captions instead) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Player Compatibility Matrix
Common Media Player Support
| Format | BrightSign | Samsung Tizen | LG webOS | Android | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H.264 MP4 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| H.265 MP4 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅* | ✅ |
| VP9 WebM | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| JPEG | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| PNG | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| GIF | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| WebP | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| SVG | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ✅ |
| MP3 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
*Android H.265 support varies by device hardware
Common Issues & Solutions
Video Won't Play
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Black screen | Unsupported codec | Re-encode to H.264 |
| Audio only | Missing video codec | Check player codec support |
| Choppy playback | Bitrate too high | Reduce bitrate, check hardware |
| Green/pink artifacts | Color space issue | Encode as YUV 4:2:0 |
| Wrong aspect ratio | Pixel aspect ratio | Encode with square pixels |
Image Display Issues
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Blurry image | Resolution too low | Use native display resolution |
| Slow loading | File too large | Optimize/compress image |
| Wrong colors | CMYK color space | Convert to sRGB |
| Transparency not working | JPEG doesn't support | Use PNG format |
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Steps
- Video Encoding Guide - Detailed encoding workflows
- Player Specifications - Hardware capabilities
- Content Best Practices - Design guidelines
- Network Bandwidth Guide - Bandwidth planning
File format support varies by media player manufacturer and model. Always test content on your specific hardware before deployment. This guide is maintained by MediaSignage, pioneers of digital signage technology since 2008.