The short answer
- Few screens and slow changes suit local files. Many screens and fast changes suit cloud software.
- The first thing to ask of any cloud product is what shows on the screen after a week with no connection.
- Offline costs you remote control: no dashboard and no alerts. Someone has to notice a dead screen.
- You can have both on our hardware: install your own cloud CMS app, or use HTTPS sync from your own server.
Four kinds of system
These describe typical product categories, not any particular brand. Details vary, so check with the seller.
| Local files | Cloud with offline cache | Cloud only | TV app or stick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When the network drops | Keeps playing. It never needed one | Keeps playing the cached copy, if the product caches. Check how long | May stop or show an error | Stops at the end of the buffer, or shows the app error |
| Changing content | A visit, a mailed card, or your own server | From any browser | From any browser | From an app on your phone or computer |
| Knowing a screen is alive | Someone has to look | Usually a dashboard | Usually a dashboard | Rarely |
| Dayparting and schedules | On and off hours only, on our player | Usually yes | Usually yes | Depends |
| Monthly fee | None | Usually | Usually | Sometimes |
| What can go wrong | A card gets lost. Old slides stay up | A license lapses. A login expires | The network or the vendor has a bad day | A TV update, an app update |
Our summary of typical products. Local files means our player and others like it.
The line between the middle two columns matters most. Plenty of cloud systems keep a good local copy and will play through an outage. Others stop. Sellers' pages do not always make it clear which you are getting, so ask directly and test it: unplug the network for a day during your trial. To see the difference on screen, try our outage demo.
How the offline kind works
Our player picks what to show in a fixed order:
When you insert a card, the unit copies it into internal memory, and only then swaps to that copy. By design, a power cut in the middle of the copy leaves the old show in place. Pull the card and it keeps playing. There is nothing to log into, and no connection for it to lose.
The middle road: sync from your own server
The player can fetch a playlist over HTTPS on a timer from any web host you control. You publish a small file listing your media with a version number, and the screen pulls whatever changed. A failed download, a bad checksum or a dead network are all designed to do the same thing: leave the current show playing.
That gets you remote updates with no vendor account. You give up the rest of what a cloud product does. There is no editor, no user accounts and no status page. Somebody needs to be comfortable publishing files to a web server. If that person does not exist at your company, this is not a saving.
And if you want a full cloud service on our hardware, a customer's own CMS app can be installed in place of our player. Check that the vendor supports Android, ask us about the unit before you commit, and test the offline behavior.
Which should you pick?
| Your situation | Our suggestion |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5 screens, content changes monthly or less | Local files |
| 5 to 20 screens in one building, content changes weekly | Local files, with sync from your own server |
| Screens where there is no usable network (elevators, basements, sheds) | Local files |
| 20 or more screens across many sites | A cloud system |
| Content that changes daily, or several people editing | A cloud system |
| Prices or data fed from another system | A cloud system, or your own app |
| Ad slots you sell, with reports | A cloud system with proof of play |
These are rules of thumb. The screen counts are our judgment, not a standard.
The screen count matters less than the labor. If you have 40 screens that never change, local files are fine. If you have 3 screens that change every morning at a site two hours away, get a cloud system. The no-subscription guide shows how to work out the hours.
What about security?
A screen with no network connection is hard to reach from outside, which suits a clinic or a bank lobby. Our waiting room page makes that point. The other side is that someone can walk up with a card, so mount the screen where the slot is out of reach. The staff menu sits behind a PIN. Ask us to set your own PIN on a ready-to-play order. Once you connect a unit to a network, treat it like any other Android device on that network and keep it apart from systems that matter.
Where offline is the wrong choice
- Many sites with no one on the ground. Mailing cards to 30 stores and hoping they get swapped is a bad plan.
- Fast-changing content. Daily specials across a chain, live data or anything time-critical.
- Accountability. If someone has to prove a message played, you need logs.
- Nobody near the screen. A remote site where a dead screen could stay dead for a month needs monitoring.
Questions
Can digital signage work without internet?
Yes, if the player stores content locally. Ours plays from a card, a USB stick or internal memory with no network at all. Check with the seller of any cloud product, since some keep a local copy and others stop.
What happens to cloud signage when the internet goes down?
It depends on the product. Some keep playing a cached copy and others stop. Ask the seller, and test by unplugging the network during a trial.
How do I update offline digital signage?
Copy new files to a microSD card or USB stick and put it in the screen. Or use optional HTTPS sync from your own web server.
Can I use a cloud CMS on these displays?
Yes. A customer's own CMS app can be installed in place of the IMD Signage Player. Check that the vendor supports Android, and test it first.
Planning information, not legal or engineering advice. Rules differ by place: check codes and permits with your local authority and your licensed trades.