Glossary
What the words actually mean on a screen network, including the trade-offs the brochures leave out.
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A
- Advertising networksAn advertising network sells screen time across many locations as a single media buy, usually programmatically.
- AI-powered recommendationsA recommendation engine suggests what someone is likely to want next, based on patterns in past behaviour rather than a rule someone wrote.
- AnalyticsAnalytics is the umbrella term: in a screen or video operation it splits into several distinct things that are routinely confused for one another.
- APIAn API is a defined way for one system to ask another for data or to do something, without a human in between.
- API integrationAPI integration is the built connection between two systems: the work of mapping fields, handling failures, and keeping it alive as both ends change.
- Artificial intelligence (AI)In signage and video, AI means software that decides what to show based on live data rather than a schedule someone set in advance.
- Audience analyticsAudience analytics estimates, in aggregate, who was in front of a screen: how many, how long, and sometimes broad demographics.
- Audio integrationAudio integration is adding sound to screen content: technically simple, and almost always the wrong default in a shared space.
- Augmented reality (AR)Augmented reality overlays computer-generated content onto a live view of the real world, usually through a phone camera.
- Automated customer serviceAutomated customer service handles enquiries without a person: through chat, kiosks, or personalised video that answers the question before it is asked.
B
- Beacon technologyBeacons are small Bluetooth transmitters that let a phone work out it is near a specific spot indoors, where GPS is unreliable.
- Big data integrationBig data integration connects a screen or video platform to the large datasets a business already holds, so content and reporting draw on real behaviour.
- Biometric authenticationBiometric authentication verifies someone by a physical trait (fingerprint, face, iris) rather than something they know or carry.
- Branding solutionsIn a screen network, branding means keeping identity consistent across sites and formats you cannot personally inspect.
C
- Campaign managementCampaign management is running content as time-bound campaigns across a network: planning, approving, scheduling and retiring them as a unit.
- ChatbotsA chatbot answers questions in conversation rather than through a menu, increasingly by generating replies rather than matching scripted rules.
- Cloud computingCloud computing means running software on infrastructure someone else operates, reached over the internet, instead of servers you own.
- Cloud-based storageCloud storage keeps media on managed infrastructure rather than local servers, which raises questions about residency, egress cost and what happens on the way out.
- CMS integrationCMS integration is connecting a signage or video platform to a system that already holds your content or data, so nothing is maintained twice.
- Content aggregationContent aggregation pulls material from several sources into one place (news, social posts, internal systems) so a screen can draw from all of them.
- Content automationContent automation generates or updates what plays from data and rules, so a person is not producing every variation by hand.
- Content creationContent creation is producing what actually plays, and on a screen network it is the recurring cost people forget when they buy the screens.
- Content management system (CMS)A signage CMS is the software that holds your media, decides what plays on which screen and when, and gets it there.
- Content schedulingContent scheduling decides what plays where and when: by time, by date range, by location, or by a condition being met.
- Cross-platform compatibilityCross-platform compatibility is software running on more than one kind of device or operating system, which in signage means not being locked to one screen vendor.
- Customer engagementCustomer engagement is the degree to which people actively interact with a brand rather than passively receive it: measurable, and easy to measure badly.
D
- Data securityData security is protecting the information a platform holds, and in a screen network the exposed surface is usually the players, not the server.
- Data-driven contentData-driven content is decided by data rather than only filled by it: the data chooses what to show, not just what the numbers say.
- Digital artDigital art on screens is content whose purpose is atmosphere rather than message, increasingly generative, so it never repeats.
- Digital billboardsA digital billboard is a large outdoor LED display running scheduled advertising, usually sold as rotating slots across several advertisers.
- Digital feedback surveysDigital feedback surveys collect customer opinion at the moment of experience (on a terminal, a screen or a scanned link) rather than by email days later.
- Digital marketingDigital marketing is marketing delivered through channels that can be measured and changed after launch, which is what separates it from print or broadcast.
- Digital signageDigital signage is any network of screens showing content that is managed and updated centrally rather than at the screen itself.
- Digital signage screenA digital signage screen is a commercial-grade display built for continuous operation, unlike a consumer television.
- Digital signage softwareDigital signage software is the whole stack that runs a screen network: the manager you publish from, the player on each device, and the link between them.
- Display analyticsDisplay analytics reports what the screens did: what played, when, for how long, and whether the device was actually on.
- Display protocolsDisplay protocols are the command languages that let software control a screen itself (power, input, brightness) rather than only what it shows.
- Dynamic contentDynamic content is assembled at play time from data rather than fixed when it was designed: a template plus a value, not a finished file.
- Dynamic messagingDynamic messaging changes what a screen says based on context (time, place, weather, stock, audience) rather than playing a fixed sequence.
E
- E-commerce integrationE-commerce integration connects screens or video to the online store, so what is shown reflects real catalogue, price and stock, and can lead to a purchase.
- Edge computingEdge computing processes data on or near the device instead of sending it to a central server, which for signage is often the difference between working offline and not.
- Engagement metricsEngagement metrics measure interaction rather than exposure (dwell, taps, completion, drop-off), which is a better proxy for attention than impressions.
- Ephemeral contentEphemeral content is deliberately short-lived: it expires, and the expiry is the point rather than an operational accident.
F
G
- GamificationGamification applies game mechanics (points, challenges, chance, progress) to something that is not a game, to make participation feel worth the effort.
- GeofencingGeofencing draws a virtual boundary around a real place and triggers an action when a device crosses it.
- Gesture recognitionGesture recognition lets someone control a screen by moving rather than touching it, using a camera or depth sensor.
I
- Immersive audioImmersive audio places sound in three dimensions so it appears to come from a direction, rather than simply from the speakers.
- Immersive videoImmersive video surrounds or responds to the viewer: 360-degree footage, or interactive video where choices change what plays.
- In-queue displaysIn-queue displays are screens placed where people are already waiting, the one place in a venue with guaranteed dwell time.
- In-store analyticsIn-store analytics measures movement and presence inside a physical space using sensors (cameras, wifi, or depth sensors) rather than transactions.
- In-store navigationIn-store navigation helps a shopper find a specific product inside a specific store: aisle and shelf, not just 'we stock it'.
- Interactive adsAn interactive ad invites a response (a tap, a choice, a scan) instead of only being watched, so the viewer's action becomes the measurement.
- Interactive kioskAn interactive kiosk is an unattended screen a visitor operates themselves: to order, check in, look something up, or find their way.
- Interactive retail displaysAn interactive retail display is an in-store screen a shopper can act on (touching, scanning or gesturing) rather than only watch.
- Interactive videoInteractive video lets the viewer make choices that change what plays next, turning a broadcast into a session that produces data.
L
- LCDLCD is the panel technology behind most commercial screens: a liquid crystal layer that blocks or passes light from an LED backlight behind it.
- LEDLED means two different things in signage: the backlight inside most LCD screens, and direct-view LED walls where the diodes are the picture.
- Live feedsA live feed is external data pulled onto a screen automatically (prices, weather, transit times, queue numbers), so the content changes without anyone editing it.
M
- Machine learningMachine learning is software that improves at a task from examples rather than from rules a person wrote: the technique behind most of what gets called AI.
- Managed servicesA managed service is paying someone else to run the network (monitoring, updates, content scheduling, field repairs) rather than staffing it internally.
- Media playerA media player is the device that runs the signage software and drives the screen, either a separate box or a chip built into the panel.
- Mobile advertisingMobile advertising delivers ads to phones, and its useful role alongside screens is reaching the same person near the same place.
- Mobile device management (MDM)MDM is centrally configuring, securing and updating a fleet of devices, and for signage the relevant fleet is usually the players and tablets, not phones.
- Mobile integrationMobile integration is any deliberate handoff between a screen in a space and the phone in someone's pocket.
- Motion sensingMotion sensing detects that someone is present or moving near a screen, without identifying them.
N
O
P
- PersonalisationPersonalisation adapts content to the individual, using data you hold about them, which is what separates it from merely changing by context.
- Playlist managementPlaylist management controls what sits in the loop on each screen, in what order, and for how long.
- Point-of-sale integrationPOS integration connects screens to the till system, so prices and availability on the wall come from the same source as the checkout.
- Projection mappingProjection mapping projects video onto an irregular physical surface (a building, a product, a set) with the content warped to fit its geometry.
- Proximity marketingProximity marketing targets people by how close they are to a place (a store, a shelf, a screen) rather than by who they are.
Q
- QR codeA QR code is a scannable link between a physical surface and a phone, the cheapest reliable handoff from a screen to the device that can actually convert.
- Queue managementQueue management organises waiting (ticket numbers, virtual queues, calling systems), and screens are how the queue's state is communicated.
R
- Remote managementRemote management is operating and diagnosing screens without visiting them, the difference between a support ticket and a site visit.
- Responsive designResponsive design makes one layout work across different screen sizes and orientations, which on a signage estate is a fleet problem, not a phone problem.
- Retail analyticsRetail analytics measures what happens inside a store (footfall, dwell, conversion by area) to answer questions the till alone cannot.
S
- ScalabilityScalability is whether adding screens, sites or viewers costs proportionally more effort, or whether the tenth site is as easy as the second.
- Smart display engineThe display engine is the part of signage software that actually composes and renders what appears on screen, frame by frame.
- Smart mirrorsA smart mirror is a display behind a two-way mirror surface, showing information over a reflection, most often in fitting rooms and beauty retail.
- Social engagementSocial engagement is the measurable interaction people have with content, and on a screen network the useful version is prompting it in a physical place.
- Social media wallA social media wall displays posts from a hashtag or account on a screen, which means putting content you did not write in front of your audience.
- Social proofSocial proof is the tendency to trust what others have already chosen: reviews, ratings, counts, or visible popularity.
- SynchronisationSynchronisation makes several screens play in step, so content spanning them stays aligned frame by frame.
T
- Touchscreen technologyTouchscreen technology detects where a surface is touched, most commonly by capacitive sensing, which is accurate but does not work through thick gloves.
- Transparent displaysA transparent display shows content while remaining see-through, so a physical product behind the glass stays visible.
U
- User authenticationUser authentication establishes who someone is before letting them into a system, and in a multi-site network it is inseparable from who may publish what.
- User behaviour trackingUser behaviour tracking is measuring what people actually do around a screen or inside a video (dwell, path, taps, drop-off) rather than what they say they did.
- User interface (UI)The user interface is the surface a person operates, and on a public screen it has to be understood by someone who has never seen it and will not read instructions.
- User-centric designUser-centric design means deciding what to build from how people actually behave in the situation, rather than from what the system can do.
V
- Video wallA video wall is several panels driven as one surface, either as a grid of screens with visible seams or a seamless LED wall.
- Viral marketingViral marketing relies on the audience distributing the content, which makes it a property of the content, not a channel you can buy.
- Virtual reality (VR)Virtual reality replaces the user's view of the real world entirely, through a headset, as opposed to AR, which adds to it.
- Visual merchandisingVisual merchandising is arranging a retail space so products sell themselves, and screens are one element within that, not a replacement for it.
W
- WayfindingWayfinding is helping people navigate a physical space: on a screen, usually a searchable directory and a route rather than a static map.
- Wearable technologyWearables are devices worn on the body (watches, headsets, glasses) that put a screen or sensor closer to the person than a phone does.
- Web-based platformA web-based platform is software you run in a browser, with nothing to install on the machine you manage it from.