Preparing for digital signage 5: Connectivity and bandwidth

This article is the fifth in a series on choosing the network architecture for your digital signage system, If you're new to the concept of digital signage, or unfamiliar with the different architectures that existthen start with this article: Digital signage: getting ready. If you missed the previous article, see: Getting ready #4: Training and time to get the hang of it

Digital signage is a communication tool for displaying multimedia content on screens. This tool is based on a system of equipment (player, server, management software, etc.) which must be able to communicate with each other. A stable connection is essential. Depending on the content to be displayed and the frequency of content updates, the amount of information to be exchanged can be considerable. Depending on the infrastructure in place, and the means of connectivity (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G...), problems of bandwidth, slow network traffic or additional costs may arise.

Hosted model

In this architecture, each of the display players must be connected to the company's local network. The server must also be connected to the same network, as must the communicator's management workstation. Data exchange is therefore limited to this local network. If this local network is also used by the company's staff, slowness can occur. A communicator sending long videos on a frequent basis could temporarily saturate the network. Thus, only the internal network infrastructure limits bandwidth. The service provider(s) supplying the player, server and software can provide data consumption information, enabling you to make an informed choice. Monitoring bandwidth usage on the local network remains the responsibility of the company's technical team.

On the other hand, the system doesn't consume data from the Internet, so it doesn't use Internet bandwidth and therefore doesn't require additional billing, for example from a telecoms operator.

Digital signage on SaaS model

In a SaaS architecture, each player must be connected to the Internet. This connection can be made via the company's local network. (For example, the player connects to the company's local network and has shared Internet access, as if it were an additional employee's workstation). In this case, both local network and Internet bandwidth are consumed. This can lead to slowness, depending on the content sent and the equipment used. If the company has a sufficient Internet subscription, all workstations and display players can coexist without slowness or additional billing. Some SaaS solutions also offer bandwidth management by downloading content only during certain time slots.

Connecting each player to the Internet can also be achieved via additional network equipment. This equipment can be a classic Internet box, offering wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi) connectivity, or even mobile connectivity (3G, 4G...). In this way, each player can connect to the Internet without passing through the company's local network. However, this alternative may entail additional costs, such as the purchase or rental of network equipment, as well as additional Internet or data subscriptions. These costs often depend on data consumption, and therefore on the equipment and solutions chosen, as well as on the use of the platform (video streaming consumes more data than image broadcasting!).

Dynamic screens on hybrid models

In the case of a hybrid architecture, some data exchanges take place over the Internet, and therefore also consume data. In principle, these exchanges are less data-intensive than in a SaaS architecture, since they only concern part of the content to be distributed.

Consumption under the microscope

The amount of data consumed by the players depends on the communicator's usage. However, in most cases, the media to be broadcast are downloaded to the display players only once. Bandwidth is then only used to download new media, before they are broadcast for the first time. What's more, this means that broadcasting is not interrupted, even in the event of an Internet outage. What's more, some solutions offer the option of re-encoding content on the server before sending it to the players. This drastically reduces the size of files to be transmitted over the network, and thus limits data consumption (on the Internet and on the local network). Streaming is the only area where data consumption may be high. These should be used with full knowledge of the facts.

This means that all architectures can use bandwidth on the local network and cause slowness, depending on the use made by the communicators. Only a SaaS architecture can cause additional costs linked to additional Internet or mobile data subscriptions, but some (SaaS) solutions offer optimizations that limit data size and frequency, guaranteeing minimum traffic and lower bills.

Continue reading :

• Getting ready #1: Equipment
• Getting ready #2: Set-up time and effort
• Getting ready #3: Support technical and maintenance
• Getting ready #4: Training and familiarization time
• Getting ready #6: Safety
• Getting ready #7: Usability and scalability
• Getting ready #8: Pricing
• Summary: Getting ready for digital signage

Cenareo offers you an intuitive, scalable solution Saas solution, perfectly adapted to the needs of communications professionals in all sectors of activity: point-of-sale, in-house communications, hospitality and DOOH.

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