A professional player is a small box built to do one job for years: play your screen all day, come back by itself after a power cut, and never need a visit. Over five years it costs only a little more than a cheap box, because the cheap box usually has to be bought twice.
What makes a player professional
No fan
The metal case is the heatsink. A fan is a moving part in a dusty corner nobody opens, and it fails first.
Starts by itself
After a power cut it switches on, starts the player and carries on. No home screen, no prompt, no remote.
Checked from your desk
You see when each screen last checked in and can take a screenshot of what it shows. See display monitoring.
Plays without internet
Content is kept on the box, so a dropped connection never means a blank screen.
Same model for years
Screen forty behaves like screen one. One setup, one spare in the cupboard.
What to look for on a spec sheet, in plain words, is in our buying guide.
What it costs over five years
Typical street prices for one screen, for budgeting rather than quotes. Every route also needs the 49€ easyCMS account once; it includes your first screen.
| Route | Player | Lasts | Five years, with the screen’s licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| easyCMS Android player | 499€, licence included | 5 years or more | 499€ |
| Generic Android box | 150€ to 250€ | 2 to 3 years, so budget two | 399€ to 599€ |
| Windows mini-PC | 300€ to 600€ | 4 to 5 years | 399€ to 699€ |
| Player built into the screen | Part of the screen’s price | As long as the screen | 129€, plus the dearer screen |
The box and PC routes include a 99€ display licence; a Samsung Tizen or LG webOS screen takes the 129€ licence, as its built-in player has a dearer licence of its own. If a player dies, the licence moves to the replacement, as explained in display licences and authorisation. The gap between routes is smaller than one unplanned site visit. The screen, mount and fitting cost more; see cost per screen.
Our Android player
Arrives ready
The app is installed and your CMS address and key are already in. Plug in power and HDMI and it plays.
Licence included
The licence for its screen is already active on the box. That screen needs nothing else from us.
Built for long days
Made for 16 to 24 hours a day, in Full HD or 4K.
Video walls
Several screens playing one picture in step, or a live camera feed, work only on Android.
See the Android player: 499€, once.
When not to buy it. If you already have a spare PC, a 99€ licence is cheaper; a signage screen with a player built in takes a 129€ licence, still cheaper. A generic box will also play a simple slideshow perfectly well; you are paying for the boring part, a player that behaves the same on every screen.
Still running our old PRO player?
This page first announced our Windows PRO player in 2019. We no longer sell it, and its Windows 10 left support in October 2025. It keeps playing, but plan to move it to a supported Windows release or to Android.
Keep reading
- Tizen vs webOS vs Android: which kind of player to pick.
- Digital signage player buying guide: eight checks before you buy.
- Players for easyCMS: every platform we support.
Rather talk it through? An expert hour is 25€.