Multi-Head digital signage players have been gaining popularity in the journey to making a digital signage deployment more economical. A “multi-head” player is a PC with multiple video outputs and sometimes, multiple audio outputs that can playback independent content from each head, all powered from one CPU.
What are the benefits of multi-head digital signage playback devices?
1. You get two players for the price of one.
2. Only one license of Windows operating system needs to be maintained.
These cost-cutting benefits seem to make the signage selection process a no brainer for these players. However, we must think through what the topology for the digital signage network will look like and also what is the true cost of these systems.
TOPOLOGY
We need to examine the equipment required to ensure a functional and efficient multi-head system. Notice the topology with multi-head player devices. The 5 displays are connected to player 1, 2 and 3. Since a player device cannot be dedicated to each screen, the player must be installed at a central location for both screens. Between each channel, or feed, you will see an extender transmitter and an extender receiver.
These are required because the common location for the players is in an office or back room. This is done for ease of access to perform patch upgrades, system updates, etc. Granted,this is not the case in all setups, but this is commonly what is practiced in the industry.
TRUE COST
Even though less playback devices are needed when using a multi-head playout device, there are added time and cost factors due to the nature of using PC based players. For example, if the device is running a Windows operating system, patch upgrades must be part of your weekly routine. Virus software definitions must be up-to-date at the very least once per week. De-fragmentation schedules must be set up so as to not interfere with the operation of the digital signage. All of this costs money. Also, since the player to display ratio isn’t 1:1, we must include the cost of the video extenders as well.
We must ask ourselves then, is there a better way? Consider solid state players. There is a player for each display, and no more extender devices.
Since the players are not a PC, they receive updates automatically and are not a security threat. They do not have a copy of Windows that must be purchased and maintained.
After analyzing the costs between the two networks, you may end up with a similar cost upfront. However, the ongoing costs are much more for the multi-head deployment because of the amount of time that is sunk into the maintenance. The extender hardware is an additional point of failure that must be supported as the years go by.
The moral of the story?
Look beyond how attractive the idea of multi-head deployments are and think long-term; sometimes, two heads aren’t better than one!
