The eight hidden costs of cheap digital signage.
A $40 streaming stick is the most expensive way to run a screen — the bill just arrives in IT hours, dark lobbies and content nobody has touched since the install. Here's what to ask any vendor.
IT labor you never budgeted
Someone reboots the stick, clears a reauthorization prompt, or drives to the store to unplug it.
Forced app and OS updates
Consumer devices update on their own schedule and interrupt playback mid-promotion.
Reauthorization and sign-in screens
A login prompt sitting on the lobby screen all weekend.
Warranty that excludes 24/7 use
Consumer warranties assume a few hours a night. Signage runs sixteen. Replacements come out of your budget.
A dark screen during your best promotion
No offline cache means an internet blip is a black screen nobody notices for a day.
Support that answers by email, eventually
Tickets, tiers, next business day, and three replies to explain the problem again.
Per-user and per-seat licensing
Every store manager who needs access becomes another line item.
Screens that go stale by month three
The real cost. Nobody owns updating it, so it quietly stops working as marketing.
Seen enough? Ask us the hard questions.
Twenty minutes, your screen count, real pricing. No deck.