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Digital menu boards and the arrays of small and large screen plasma displays narrowcasting dedicated audio-visual marketing feeds about available products and menu items are fast becoming the preferred way for fast-food and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) to market their products and provide information to customers. This overview is designed to help new and potential users of this rapidly developing technology understand the equipment employed in digital signage networks (DSN).

What Is a Digital Signage Network?
A digital sign, or digital signage, is one or more LCD or plasma screens that are connected to a dedicated network which display a QSR’s marketing messages over what is known as a “narrowcasting” channel. (Narrowcasting, as opposed to broadcasting, in that the wireless frequencies that the signals are transmitted over is higher and not used for public – i.e., TV or radio – transmissions.) The network can be housed within a restaurant or it can be located offsite and controlled remotely from that external location. Much like the Internet that we interact with everyday, the DSN transmits messages and images from a central computer to the restaurant’s menu boards.

The hardware (plasma display screens, monitors, players and peripherals) and network connections that make up a DSN are discussed below. Some or all of the software – i.e., the operating systems for the network, the digital advertising software and the marketing programming and content – may be produced and/or managed separately by the bigger users, but more typically is created and supplied by the same digital signage company that provides the hardware.

DSN Screens
When selecting screens, you need to be aware of the differences between commercial and consumer-grade products. The LCD or plasma TV you have at home is not the same as the one you need for your restaurant.

QSR screens are used for considerably longer, extended periods than those used in a home. As a result, a longer lifespan is needed. The life expectancy of a consumer-grade screen is estimated to be about 50,000 hours, which will last the typical home movie viewer for many years. For QSRs, many of which operate close to 24 hours a day if not continually, that life span is not nearly sufficient.

LCD or plasma screens that are designed for the consumer market are outfitted with connections that suit their intended use – watching TV or movies, gaming etc. They lack the computer inputs that a DSN requires.

Orientation is another factor to consider. For movie watching, landscape orientation is the norm. In a QSR, a portrait orientation may be required to fit a screen into a specific location or conform to a certain type of message. Only commercial-grade screens can have their orientation changed.

Cost is another factor with screens. The price of large LCD screens is coming down, making them more competitive with plasma. Still, the initial costs of installing a full menu board of LCD or plasma screens can overwhelm a small business. To mitigate costs, some small restaurants opt for a combination of digital and static menu panels, a solution that allows them to gain the benefits of digital signage while keeping costs in check.

DSN Media Players
The other hardware consideration is the media player. A media player is the computer used to create and store the content for the digital menu board. According to industry tradepaper, Digital Signage Today, there are three main considerations for media players:

Solid-state vs. Rotating Disk Drive – Solid-state players do not have moving parts. Rotating disk drives do move and require adequate ventilation and fans, factors that are important when deciding where to locate the media player.

Future Growth – As you develop your DSN, you need to know that your media player can handle future changes to technology and the increased volume of data being created and stored.

One or More Players – Smaller locations tend to have one media player to control the output on multiple screens. The advantage? With only one central computer, there is only one piece of hardware to maintain. On the other hand, if there is only one central computer, a breakdown means downtime for the digital menu board. More computers mean you have a backup should one machine fail. Be sure to weigh this consideration carefully when implementing your network and shop around for a robust hardware system. System downtime can have significant revenue implications due to loss of the customer efficiencies and marketing advantages that digital signage provides in the first place.

Connectivity
Broadband Internet access has made it possible for DSN Media Players to be run with wireless connectivity.

Unlike old dial-up methods for accessing the Internet, narrowcasting does not require a phone line. Narrowband access means that a QSR can use a wireless router, connected to the media player, to send the menu board content to a variety of screens in the restaurant.

For restaurants whose digital menu content is controlled remotely, cellular networks can be used to transmit the data from the central location to local menu boards.

Learn More
With continual advances in technology, the hardware in a digital signage network is becoming more cost-effective to obtain and easier to use. The technology seems to be proliferating almost exponentially. Look around, visit other QSR outlets and ask the management and staff how their system is working for them. See if you can talk to the person who is tasked with dealing with the digital signage itself and interacting with the digital signage provider. See if they have a technical background and whether they get the technical support they need, when they need it from their provider. Once you have some familiarity with the different setups that are available and want more information on implementing a digital menu board system in your restaurant, talk to a vendor with experience in the QSR industry. Ask questions. If you do not have a technical background yourself don’t be daunted by the ‘techie’ nature and feel of the systems, the more user-friendly the system the better, obviously – but the best digital signage providers should be able to set your restaurant up with both hardware and software that you can easily handle with their help.
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Ihab Salloum