For years, the standard approach to digital menu boards has been: buy a commercial display, attach a media player, and pay monthly software fees. But this model is being disrupted by a simpler alternative—using Smart TVs directly as menu displays.
In this article, we'll compare both approaches and explain why many restaurants are ditching media players entirely.
The Traditional Media Player Setup
The conventional digital signage stack looks like this:
- Commercial display: $400-2,000+ per screen
- Media player: $200-500 (Android box, PC, or proprietary device)
- Monthly software: $15-50 per screen
- HDMI cables, mounts, power strips: Additional costs
The media player sits behind or beside the TV, connected via HDMI. It runs software that downloads content from a cloud server and displays it on the screen. When you want to update your menu, you log into a web portal, make changes, and wait for the cloud to sync content to your player.
Problems With Media Players
Hardware failures: Media players are often cheap Android boxes that overheat, freeze, or fail within 1-2 years. When they die, your menu goes dark until you replace them.
Cloud dependency: No internet? No menu updates. Slow internet? Sluggish performance. Cloud outage? Your screens might show error messages or outdated content.
Management overhead: Every player needs firmware updates, app updates, and occasional reboots. With multiple screens, this becomes a significant IT burden.
Ongoing costs: Those $25/month per-screen fees add up. A 6-screen restaurant pays $1,800/year just for software—on top of the player hardware.
The Smart TV Alternative
Modern Smart TVs have built-in WiFi, web browsers, and processors powerful enough to display menu content directly—no external player needed.
With systems like KwickSIGN, the Smart TV connects to your local network and pulls content directly from your on-premise POS server. The setup is:
- Smart TV: $200-600 per screen
- Media player: Not needed
- Monthly software: $0 (included with POS)
- HDMI cables: Not needed
Why Smart TVs Win
Simpler setup: Mount TV, connect to WiFi, open URL. Done. No extra boxes, cables, or configuration.
Fewer failure points: No media player means no media player failures. Smart TVs are designed for years of continuous operation.
Local network speed: With server-based systems like KwickSIGN, content comes from your local POS server at LAN speed—not from a cloud server across the internet.
No internet dependency: Your menu works even if your ISP has issues. The TV and POS communicate over your local network.
Lower total cost: No player hardware, no per-screen software fees. Just the TV and your existing POS system.