Yes, but not by installing an app on the TV. A Samsung home TV runs Tizen, just like Samsung’s signage displays, but it does not let a signage app take over the screen. Plug a small player into its HDMI port and the TV becomes a digital sign that you run from your phone.
This article explains why, how to tell which kind of Samsung you have, the TV settings worth changing, and when it is worth buying a proper signage display instead.
Why a Samsung TV won’t run the signage app
Samsung makes two families of screens that look much the same on the wall:
- Home televisions, sold in electronics shops. They run Tizen with an app store for streaming apps.
- Smart signage displays, sold through AV and business suppliers. They run Tizen plus the Samsung Smart Signage Platform (SSSP), which lets a signage app install itself, start when the screen switches on, and stay in front.
The easyCMS player for Samsung needs that signage platform. Home TVs, including The Frame, do not have it, and Samsung’s TV app store does not carry signage players. That is not specific to us: every signage company that offers a Samsung app works the same way.
Which Samsung do you have?
On the screen’s remote, press Home and look for Custom App or URL Launcher, or press Menu and look under System for Play via.
| What you see | What you have | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Custom App, URL Launcher or Play via | A Samsung signage display | Install the player on the screen itself: Samsung Tizen player setup |
| An app store with streaming apps, none of the above | A Samsung home TV | Add a player on the HDMI port (below) |
If you have the box or the invoice, a signage display is usually described as a “smart signage” or “professional display” and came from a business supplier, not a TV shop.
Turn a Samsung TV into a digital sign
You need three things:
- A player on the HDMI port. Our Android player arrives set up, with a display licence already on it: plug in power and HDMI and it starts. A reasonably recent Android box of your own works too, following the Android player setup guide, and so does a small Windows PC with the Windows player.
- An easyCMS account, a one-time 49€ for your first screen.
- A phone on the same network as the player, to claim the screen at Add a display.
Mount the player behind the TV, out of sight. Most players come with a plate or a sticky pad, and some TVs have a USB port that can power a small player, though a separate power supply is more reliable.
Five TV settings to change
A home TV is set up for someone sitting on a sofa with a remote. A sign needs to look after itself. The menu names differ by year, so search the TV’s settings if a name doesn’t match.
- Switch off the automatic power-off. Samsung TVs can turn themselves off after a few hours with no remote button pressed, which looks like a fault on a sign. It is usually under General → Eco Solution or Power and Energy Saving, as Auto Power Off.
- Turn on Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). Samsung’s name for HDMI-CEC lets a connected device switch the TV on and select its input, where the device supports it. It is under General → External Device Manager.
- Start on the player’s input. Set the TV to come back on the last-used input rather than its home screen, so the player is what you see after a restart.
- Check what happens after a power cut. Switch the TV off at the wall, then back on. Many home TVs return to standby and wait for the remote. If yours does, look in its power settings for an option to switch on automatically, and if there isn’t one, that spot needs a signage display. A signage display comes back on by itself.
- Calm the picture down. Store lighting is not a living room: turn off motion smoothing and the “dynamic” picture mode, and lower the brightness if the screen is indoors and the content looks harsh.
When a signage display is worth it instead
A home TV with a player is a fine way to start, especially for one or two screens you already own. A Samsung signage display costs more up front. It earns that back in four places:
- Hours. Home TVs are designed for a few hours a day. Signage displays are built for 16 or 24 hours. A shop screen runs twelve hours or more, every day.
- Warranty. Home TV warranties often exclude commercial use. Read yours before you rely on it.
- One device. A signage display runs the player itself, so there is no box behind the screen and one less thing to unplug.
- Brightness and portrait. Shop windows need far more brightness than a living room, and portrait mounting needs a panel rated for it.
Tizen vs webOS vs Android player goes through the difference between home and commercial screens in more detail. If you are buying new, Samsung Tizen digital signage software lists which signage models run easyCMS.
What it costs
| Route | Screen | easyCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung TV you already own + easyCMS Android player | Already paid | 499€ player with its licence, plus a one-time 49€ account |
| Samsung TV you already own + your own Android box or PC | Already paid | One-time 49€ account, licence included |
| New Samsung signage display | From your display supplier | One-time 49€ account, licence included, no player to buy |
There is no monthly fee. Further screens are 99€ each, or 66€ when you buy them in the same order as your account. The arithmetic against monthly subscriptions is in digital signage cost per screen.
Then run it from your phone
Whichever route you take, the screen is run the same way: from easyCMS Studio on your phone. Pick one of more than 80 templates (offers, menus, opening hours, notices), change the words, and tap Show on. Set it to play always, between two dates, or every weekday morning. When something can’t wait, Urgent notice puts one message on every screen at once.
Choose the player you have, and the page walks you through connecting it to your account.
Not sure which kind of Samsung you have? Send us the model number from the label on the back, and we’ll tell you which route fits.
Related reading: Samsung Tizen digital signage software, Digital signage player buying guide, Meet easyCMS Studio, Android player setup.