For a TV that runs 15 minutes of news and 1 minute of your own promos, feed the news through an HDMI to IP encoder into a signage player and let one playlist own the schedule. Budget 1 to 3 seconds of stream delay, expect a copy-protected set-top box to refuse an encoder without the HDCP handshake, and reserve the scheduled HDMI switch for a single TV that must show the news frame-current.
For a screen that plays news for 15 minutes and your own promos for 1 minute, two pieces of hardware can do the switching: a scheduled HDMI switch at the TV, or an HDMI to IP encoder at the news source feeding a signage player that owns the whole schedule. For a restaurant, the encoder wins in most builds. One playlist times the rotation exactly, one network cable reaches each TV, and the news becomes a window you can hang a banner over. Budget 1 to 3 seconds of stream delay, and expect a copy-protected set-top box to refuse an encoder without the HDCP handshake. The switch stays the right call for a single TV where the news has to match another screen to the second.
The two builds
A scheduled HDMI switch sits beside the TV. Input 1 takes the set-top box, input 2 takes the player or small PC that shows your slides, and you program its timer for the cycle: 15 minutes on input 1, then 1 minute on input 2. The switch passes video through untouched, so the news picture carries no added delay, and the HDCP handshake between the box and the TV completes through the switch as if the cable were direct. Two devices carry the schedule, the switch and your signage source, and the TV simply shows whatever input 2 is displaying at the flip.
An HDMI to IP encoder sits beside the news source instead. It turns the box's HDMI output into a stream on your network; hardware units handle 1080p60 with H.264 or H.265 compression. Every signage player on the LAN opens that stream, plays the news full screen or as a window, and the playlist flips to your promo at minute 15 and back at minute 16. One device owns the timing, and a second TV means a second player, not a second switch.
The screen itself plays no part in this choice; it shows whatever it is given, and picking it is a separate job covered by the display range. If the promo side of your rotation is a menu board, the basics of building the slides live in the menu board guide, and this article only handles where the news feed comes in. Note too that players with a live HDMI input exist but are uncommon, and Android signage units rarely have a working one, which is its own article: why HDMI input on Android signage players rarely works.
Side by side
| Scheduled HDMI switch | HDMI to IP encoder | |
|---|---|---|
| Who times the rotation | the switch's timer, plus the playlist on input 2 | one playlist on the signage player |
| Added picture delay | none, the signal passes through | 1 to 3 s on RTSP or UDP; 6 to 30 s on HLS |
| Cable to each TV | HDMI, passive runs hold 1080p to about 15 m / 50 ft | one Ethernet run, good to 100 m |
| Second and third TVs | a switch and a signage feed at every screen | players join the same stream over the LAN |
| HDCP on a set-top box | passes the handshake to the TV | encoder needs HDCP support or the box refuses |
| Layouts | full-screen swap only | news as a window, banners, split screens |
| Network load | none | one stream per player |
Where the scheduled switch wins
Pick the switch when the build is small and exact. One TV, no layout ambitions, and a room where a second screen shows the same channel: the sports-bar case. The switch adds no delay, so a goal lands on both screens together. It also needs no network at the screen, and it keeps working when the set-top box refuses encoders on HDCP grounds.
The one discipline the switch demands: input 2 must already be showing your promo content when the timer flips, because the TV displays whatever that source has on screen at that second. A small dedicated player on input 2 does the job; SoC player, external player or mini PC narrows that choice.
Where the encoder wins
The encoder wins on schedule and on scale. The rotation lives in one playlist, so the promo starts at exactly 15:00 into the cycle; there is no second clock to drift out of agreement. The news becomes a window: a scrolling banner above it, your offers down one side, a split screen for off-peak hours. Distance stops being a problem, because Ethernet runs to 100 m, five times the usual passive HDMI limit. And each new TV joins by opening the same stream, which is how a six-screen dining room stays one system.
One check comes before the purchase order: the player must accept the stream's transport. Android signage players commonly refuse RTSP, and an RTSP stream that will not play on an Android signage player explains why and what to look for. If the promo side of your rotation is a menu board, our card-based units cover the slides offline with no software subscription; see menu boards without a monthly fee. The live stream still needs a player built for streams.
Ask the player's datasheet one more thing: what it is designed to show when the feed stops, because news feeds do stop.
The delay numbers and the sound
Set the delay budget by transport. RTSP or UDP on a network you control puts the picture 1 to 3 seconds behind the box's output; the cost is encoding plus network buffering. HLS costs more: standard segment buffering holds output 6 to 30 seconds behind live, so use it only when the player accepts nothing else.
Sound follows the same rule. The stream carries audio with the same 1 to 3 second offset, so if the set-top box feeds a soundbar directly while the picture travels through the encoder, voices lag the lips by that margin. Keep sound on one path: out of the TV behind the player, or nowhere.
HDCP: when the box refuses
HDCP is the copy-protection handshake between a video source and its display, and a cable or satellite box checks it on every connection. An encoder that takes no part in the handshake receives a black picture or an error. At that point the routing question is settled for that source: a switch still works for one TV, and for several TVs the source changes. Business-licensed TV services and your own camera or recorder outputs are the sources you may capture. Adapters that strip the protection exist, and using one trades a wiring problem for a licensing one.
Example: a restaurant TV cycling 15 minutes of news and 1 minute of promo
The inputs: 15 minutes of news and 1 minute of promo, the rotation this article works with; a 1 to 3 second stream delay on RTSP or UDP, the planning figure for hardware encoders; doors open at 6:00.
The rule in words: cycles per hour equal 60 divided by the cycle length, and promo airtime per hour equals cycles per hour multiplied by the promo length.
The arithmetic: cycle length is 15 + 1 = 16 minutes. Cycles per hour: 60 ÷ 16 = 3.75. Promo airtime: 3.75 × 1 min = 3.75 min, which is 3 minutes 45 seconds of your content every hour, alongside 56 minutes 15 seconds of news. The schedule from a 6:00 start: promos run 6:15:00 to 6:16:00, 6:31:00 to 6:32:00, 6:47:00 to 6:48:00, 7:03:00 to 7:04:00.
The encoder's read on that schedule: the player fires every flip from one clock, so each promo lands on its listed second. The picture inside the news window runs 1 to 3 seconds behind the live broadcast, which no one in a dining room notices unless a second screen on the same channel is in view.
The decision this example gives: under 3 seconds of lag and no comparison screen, the encoder path holds the rotation and takes it. Where the same channel plays on a second screen and the seconds matter, that screen gets a switch.
Before you buy
Encoder spec sheet: input and output up to 1080p60; a published latency figure in seconds; the transport list, with RTSP or UDP present; HDCP support declared if a set-top box feeds it; power and a mounting spot near the source.
Player spec sheet: the transport list, matched against the encoder's; timed playlists in minutes; window layouts for the news-plus-banner build.
Network: a stream is one feed per player, sized like any other video on the LAN; video bitrate for signage players, tested before you deploy gives the sizing method.
The decision
Recommendation: build the encoder path for a restaurant TV that alternates news and promos on a fixed rotation: a hardware HDMI to IP encoder into a signage player that accepts the stream, the 15-and-1 schedule in that player's playlist, RTSP or UDP transport, and the broadcast lag accepted. Choose the scheduled HDMI switch when a condition bites: one TV only, the news must match a second screen to the second, or the set-top box refuses the encoder on HDCP. If the box refuses and the build still wants several TVs, change the source to one you may capture, and the encoder path comes back.
Questions
How many TVs can one HDMI to IP encoder feed?
Every player that opens the stream pulls its own copy, typically 4 to 8 Mbps at 1080p with H.264. A gigabit switch carries a building of players long before the network is the limit; the encoder's concurrent-output limit decides the ceiling, so read that number on its spec sheet. For more screens than the encoder allows, a second encoder on the same source is the plain fix.
Does the stream delay show on sports?
Yes, in one case: a second screen in the same room on the same channel. The signage TV trails the box-fed screen by the stream delay, so a goal lands 1 to 3 seconds late. News, talk shows and ad breaks carry no such comparison, and a room with only the signage TV has nothing to measure the delay against.
What transport should I set on the encoder?
RTSP or UDP on a network you control, which keeps you at the low end of the 1 to 3 second budget. HLS adds segment buffering and puts the picture 6 to 30 seconds behind live, so set it only when the player accepts nothing else. Match the transport to the player's supported list before ordering either box.
Can I skip the set-top box and take news from an app or a service?
Sometimes, and it removes the HDCP question entirely. Channels and services that license business display hand you a stream or an app built for venues, which routes exactly like the encoder's output. Consumer streaming apps on a public screen are a rights question that sits with the service, and the wiring cannot answer it.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.