Outdoor digital signage and DOOH software for any display

An outdoor sign is a display, something to run it and something to show. screenRIG supplies the last two.

Ask the maker of an outdoor display for the brightness and the weather protection that suit the spot, and ask your installer about the enclosure and mounting. Whatever you buy, a Player drives it, and the rest of this page is what happens once the Player starts.

The Samsung, LG, BrightSign and Android Players start by themselves at power-on, and so does the Linux Player on a dedicated-screen install, so a sign comes back after a power cut. Each native Player downloads your content once and replays it from the device's own storage, so a dropped network does not stop it. Pages that need the internet, such as a live web page, still do.

People read an outdoor sign from a distance and in passing, so a page carries one message in large type. These ready-made apps suit a sign that faces the street, the car park or the trail. Your photos, video and live streams play on the same screen.

The live previews at the top of this page draw several of these. Apps lists every one.

Each screen follows its own time zone, so a sign can play the daytime loop until evening, an evening playlist after it and another at the weekend. Switches land within about a minute of each boundary, and the Player needs no update.

A display schedule lists when the display is on. Outside those windows the display goes to standby, and because the Player works it out on the device, it keeps working when the network is down. How a Player switches the display depends on the device. A Raspberry Pi or Linux PC can use HDMI-CEC, DDC/CI or the panel backlight, and every Player can show an on-screen blackout instead. The Player guide lists what each Player controls.

A takeover puts one playlist ahead of everything else, for up to 7 days or until you clear it: a road closure, a full car park, a severe-weather notice. The Emergency message app has ready-made wording for it, and the sign returns to its schedule by itself afterwards.

You cannot stand in front of every sign, so the Player reports its health every fifteen minutes. That covers uptime, memory and network, and on Linux, Raspberry Pi and managed Android devices it covers temperature too. Every plan includes live view, blank and frozen screen detection, and email and webhook alerts, so your agent hears about an offline or frozen sign.

DOOH is digital out-of-home: messages and ads on digital screens in public places. "DOOH media" is the airtime on those screens that advertisers buy. A digital screen differs from a printed billboard in three ways. Its content changes from a distance, it can show several advertisers in turn, and it counts what played.

Screens fall into three groups.

• Large-format boards. Roadside and rooftop displays.
• Place-based screens. Lobbies, malls, gyms, stations and transit stops.
• Point-of-purchase screens. Checkouts, counters and fuel pumps.

screenRIG is the software that runs the screen and sells its airtime. It does not sell or install billboards, and it does not find advertisers for you: you invite them.

Advertising on screenRIG is by invitation. You keep the screen, set the rate and approve what plays.

1. Open the screen to advertising and define ad slots. A slot accepts image or video, up to the longest duration you set.
2. Put an ad break in the playlist. An ad-break page turns a slot into an ad break, and every other page keeps playing.
3. Invite advertisers by email. They buy from your Marketplace and need no screen of their own.
4. Review each creative. Nothing plays until you approve it.
5. Set your rate per 15 seconds of completed playback. Advertisers pay only for completed plays. Skipped or interrupted plays are not billed, and a slot with nothing to fill is skipped rather than shown blank. Unsold slots can fall back to your own VAST tag.
6. Show the advertiser proof. Every completed play can be exported as a CSV, and the delivery report shows gross, serving fee and net.

1. You

   Open the Main Street screen to advertisers. One ad break after every third page, up to 15 seconds, image or video. I want to approve every creative before it plays.

2. Agent

   The Main Street screen is open to advertisers with one ad slot of up to 15 seconds, image or video, after every third page. Every creative waits for your approval before it plays. Give me the first advertiser's email address and I will send the invitation.

A play counts only while the page is visible on the glass, so a screen in standby counts none. Buying agents can also purchase the same inventory through AdCP: non-guaranteed buys, priced per completed play, with each creative reviewed before it plays. Selling airtime runs on every Player except Apple TV, iPhone and iPad. The serving fee and the rest of the rates are on pricing, and the pharmacy use case shows a whole network selling its counter screens.

Which outdoor display should I buy?

screenRIG does not make or rate displays, so it names none. Ask the display maker how bright it is in sunlight, how it is protected from weather and what temperatures it works in, and ask your installer about the enclosure and mounting. Then pick the Player from the table above.

Do I need a media player box?

Not on a Samsung Smart Signage or LG webOS Signage display, which run the Player themselves. Any other display needs a device behind it: a BrightSign player, an Android or Google TV box, a Raspberry Pi or a PC.

Does the sign keep playing when the network drops?

Yes. Each native Player replays what it downloaded from the device's own storage, and a display schedule keeps switching the display on the device. A live web page or a connected app still needs the network.

Can I run a digital billboard with screenRIG?

If the display can run a Player, directly or through a device behind it, it plays your content and your ad breaks like any other screen. screenRIG does not sell or install billboards, so the board, its installation and any local approvals are for the maker and your installer.

What is programmatic DOOH?

It means buying screen time through automated systems rather than booking a slot by hand. On screenRIG, buying agents can purchase your inventory through AdCP, as described above, and advertisers you invite buy from your Marketplace themselves.

Can a church or a shop use it for a sign by the road?

Yes, with any display that has a Player. The churches page shows announcements that take themselves down, and the same pages run on an outdoor display.

What does an outdoor sign cost?

The display, the device behind it and the installation are priced by their makers and installers. screenRIG is free, with unlimited screens. Paid plans add business tools, more people, people to talk to, governance and contract terms. See pricing.

Start free, pair the device behind the display and ask your agent for the loop, the schedule and a screenshot before you leave the site.