Resources

Digital signage glossary

Terms explained in plain words; every term has its own page.

Android TV box: A small device that connects to a screen over HDMI and runs Android apps, turning an ordinary TV into a signage screen.
Aspect ratio: The ratio of a screen's width to its height; 16:9 landscape and 9:16 portrait screens are the most common.
Cache: Local storage where the player keeps content and the latest data so it can play quickly and independently of the connection.
Dayparting: Showing different content at different times of the day, such as breakfast in the morning and the dish of the day at noon.
Deployment: Sending the changes made in the panel to the screens in one deliberate step and recording the result for each screen.
Digital signage: Managing the content shown on screens in shops, hotels, hospitals and offices from one piece of software.
Digital signage CMS: The software where you manage the content, schedule and devices behind your screens; the brain of a signage system.
Emergency broadcast: Stopping normal playback instantly and showing an urgent message on all screens or on chosen screens.
HTML5 signage: A digital signage approach in which the player is built with web technologies and runs on almost any device with a browser engine.
Kiosk mode: Locking a computer or browser so that it shows a single app full screen and nothing else.
KVKK: Turkey's Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698, the main law that governs the processing of personal data in Turkey.
Menu board: A digital screen that shows the menu, prices and offers in restaurants, cafés and cafeterias.
Offline playback: A screen continuing to play its last received content without interruption when the server or internet connection drops.
Pairing code: A short code shown on a new screen that you enter in the management panel to connect that screen.
Playlist (folder): A list of content items that play in turn on a screen; in MIA this is called a folder.
Portrait screen: A screen mounted with its long edge vertical; a natural fit for elevators, corridors and totems.
Program and scene: A program is a screen's whole playback layout; a scene is the arrangement of that layout shown at a given moment.
Proof of play: A record and report of which content played on which screen, how many times and for how many seconds on each day.
RSS: A feed in which websites publish their new content in a machine-readable form; on signage screens it powers news tickers.
Scheduling: Deciding in advance, with rules, on which dates, at which hours and on which days a piece of content plays.
Self-hosted: Running software on your own server, or on a server you choose, rather than in the vendor's cloud.
Signage player: The app or device that runs on or beside a screen and plays the content it receives from the management software.
Software license (perpetual vs subscription): The right to use software. A perpetual license is bought once, a subscription is paid periodically; MIA uses a one-time, fixed-term license.
SSSP: Samsung Smart Signage Platform: the software platform on Samsung's professional signage displays that lets you install a player app.
Tag targeting: Giving screens tags such as city, floor or type and playing content only on the screens whose tags match.
Ticker (scrolling text): A short band of text that scrolls horizontally along one edge of the screen, used for announcements, news or rates.
Tizen: The operating system Samsung uses on its Smart TVs and signage displays, running apps built with web technologies.
URL Launcher: A built-in feature of Samsung signage displays that loads an app or web content from a server address.
Video wall: A layout in which several screens are arranged side by side and on top of each other to act as one large picture.
Wayfinding: Directional screens and signs that help visitors find their way around a building or a site.
Webhook: An HTTP notification sent automatically from one system to another when an event happens.
Widget: A ready content component that updates itself, such as a clock, a weather forecast or exchange rates.
Zone: A part of the screen that plays its own content, so one screen can carry a video, announcements and an information band.