LIVE FOR ANDROID
The cheapest way to bring a screen onto the network
A native Android player that runs on a device small enough to hide behind the screen. It is how most mixed estates get their older displays onto one CMS without replacing them.
- $12/display/mo
- Professional plan, all features
- 6
- Platforms from one CMS
- 2
- Licence models: own it or subscribe
- 14-day
- Free trial, no credit card
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Live for Android, in plain terms.
Live for Android is the native Android player for the Live CMS. It runs on Android signage hardware or on a small media player connected to a screen over HDMI, connects to a cloud-hosted or self-hosted CMS, and plays what is scheduled to it.
This is usually the answer to the awkward part of a rollout. A retail estate, a school or a restaurant group almost never has one screen type: there are commercial panels in the newer sites and ordinary displays everywhere else, bought across several refresh cycles. The Samsung and LG players cover the first group with no extra hardware. Android covers the rest, at the lowest cost per screen of any option here.
LiveSign resells a purpose-built player for exactly this, the SDA, at $346 per unit excluding VAT, with Live for Android pre-installed and shipping to more than 91 countries. You can also run the player on ProDVX Android hardware or other Android signage devices you already own.
The device list is the longest of the six platforms, because the player is an ordinary Android application rather than a build for one vendor's chip. Commercial displays with Android inside, from Philips, Sony BRAVIA Professional, Vestel, TCL, AG Neovo and ViewSonic, run it on the panel with no box behind the screen at all. HDMI sticks, media players and Android set-top boxes run the same application. The Android compatibility list marks which of those have been tested, which are standard Android and expected to behave identically, and which need a model check first.
PLAYER SPEC
- Runs on
- Android signage hardware including ProDVX devices, Android SoC commercial displays, and our SDA media player connected over HDMI.
- Devices covered
- Philips, Sony BRAVIA Professional, Vestel, TCL, AG Neovo and ViewSonic SoC panels, plus HDMI players, sticks and Android set-top boxes. See the compatibility list.
- Installs as
- A standard Android application, on the device directly or pushed through the MDM that already manages the fleet.
- Hardware option
- The SDA player is $346 per unit excluding VAT, with Live for Android pre-installed, shipping to 91+ countries.
- Content types
- Video, images, RSS, text and data sets, plus layouts, scheduling and campaigns from the CMS.
- Connects to
- Live CMS over HTTP or HTTPS, on TCP/80, TCP/443 and TCP/9505.
- Video wall
- Not supported. Video wall output runs on the Windows and BrightSign players.
WHAT IT DOES
What the Android player actually gives you.
The same Live CMS drives every platform. This is the part specific to this one.
Native Android application
A real player application rather than a browser tab pinned open, installed on the device and pointed at your CMS.
Full content support
Video, images, RSS, text and data sets, with layouts, scheduling and campaigns built in the same CMS as every other platform.
Small, cheap endpoint
A player that mounts behind the screen and costs a fraction of a PC, which is what makes a large rollout affordable.
Runs on the panel too
Commercial displays with an Android system-on-chip run the player on the screen itself, so an Android estate needs no box behind the screen either.
Brings old screens in
Any display with an HDMI input joins the network, including consumer TVs carried over from a previous refresh.
Cloud or self-hosted
Runs against LiveSign's cloud CMS or a CMS entirely on your own infrastructure, with no difference to the player.
Monitored per screen
Display Admin reports each player in real time with diagnostic and proof-of-play data, per site and per group.
WHERE IT FITS
When Android is the right choice.
Six platforms means picking one on purpose. Here is when this is the one.
Cost per screen matters
Rollouts covering every corridor, aisle or location at once, where the endpoint price multiplied by the screen count is the budget.
The screen is not a commercial panel
Ordinary displays and consumer TVs that have no SoC player of their own, which is most of a mixed estate.
One screen per site
Small sites and single-screen locations where a full PC or a purpose-built appliance is more than the job needs.
You want it pre-configured
The SDA ships with the player already installed, so the site work is plugging in HDMI and power and connecting it.
RUNS THESE NETWORKS
Where teams specify Android.
- RetailThe low-cost option for older screens and consumer TVs in store.
- QSR & RestaurantsThe cheapest way to bring an existing franchise screen onto the network.
- EducationKeeps per-screen cost down across a whole-campus rollout.
- HealthcareA compact player behind the screen for a clinic or single waiting area.
Live for Android: common questions
What hardware does Live for Android run on?
Android signage hardware including ProDVX devices, Android SoC commercial displays from Philips, Sony BRAVIA Professional, Vestel, TCL, AG Neovo and ViewSonic, or our SDA media player connected to any screen over HDMI. It also runs on HDMI sticks and Android set-top boxes. The Android compatibility list names each device family and marks what has been tested.
How much is the SDA player?
$346 per unit excluding VAT, with Live for Android pre-installed and a one-year return-to-base warranty. It ships from London, UK or Boxtel, Netherlands to more than 91 countries.
If we buy the SDA, is the licence included?
The SDA ships with an unlicensed player. If you are on a LiveSign plan, the Android licence is included in the plan cost. If you are not on a plan, perpetual licences can be bought separately.
Can we use it on ordinary TVs?
Yes. Any display with an HDMI input can join the network via an Android player, which is how most mixed estates bring older screens onto one CMS without replacing them.
Does it work with a self-hosted CMS?
Yes. The player connects to a cloud-hosted Live CMS or one self-hosted on your own infrastructure, over HTTP or HTTPS using TCP/80, TCP/443 and TCP/9505.
Does the Android player support video walls?
No. Video wall output, where one layout spans several physical panels as a single canvas, runs on the Windows and BrightSign players.
Want this in writing? Download the Android brochure (PDF).
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