Sony is probably the world’s most recognizable name in display technology. That’s largely owing to the fact that, at its core, the company has been in the business of consumer products. They’ve been in and out of digital signage for many years, but in the stretch of the last 3 or 4 years, they’ve made a substantial bid for the B2B market by expanding their line up of BRAVIA professional displays.

The BRAVIA professional series boast a powerful new System on a Chip (SoC) platform that eliminates the need for external hardware like a media player. This makes the displays less prone to potential interoperability issues from third-party hardware. And with simplified installation and connectivity, there are fewer points of failure.

And as you would expect from a brand name known for reliability, Sony BRAVIA professional displays deliver best-in-class imaging. The 4K HDR Processor X1 reproduces content in the finest details, making text and graphics sharper & easier to read. The displays run on Google’s Android TV operating system, are IP network-ready, equipped with RS-232C connectivity, have optional interactive touch support, and are available in sizes ranging from 32 to 100 inches.

The display design combines a flat bottom bezel and a side logo position which make it ideal for portrait & tilt positions.

These screens are great options for professional deployments if you’ve got the budget for it (more on that in the next section.)

Note: Sony doesn’t offer an outdoor display yet, so for window-facing or outdoor digital signage, we recommend a Samsung or Dynascan display instead.

For the TL:DR version, here are some key features of the Sony BRAVIA professional display line:

Consumer vs. commercial screens

Commercial-grade screens are always going to come with a higher sticker price than your standard consumer TV. That's because they're built to be used in a professional setting - which throws a lot more at a screen than your typical living room does.

When choosing screens for a digital signage deployment, it's probably tempting to cut a few corners on the hardware to save on entry costs. After all - why pay thousands of dollars on a professional screen when you can run into your local big box store and pluck a TV off the shelf for half the price?

While there may be some use cases that are served fine with a consumer TV, we at Fugo almost always recommend purchasing a professional screen if you have the budget for it.

Why? Here’s the short answer: TVs and monitors might look similar, but they’re very different, and TVs simply aren’t suited to the operating demands of digital signage. Digital signage lives in a much more demanding environment - often being required to withstand long operation hours in tight installation areas and operate in portrait position.

And while consumer TVs may do the job just fine for a while, they require much more maintenance down the line due to heavier usage than they’re designed for. Not to mention the fact that commercial usage almost always voids the warranties of consumer TVs.

The displays themselves aren’t the only important factor when it comes to a digital signage project. The real potential of these screens is unlocked from pairing your player to a content management software that lets you create unique content playlists, zone your screen, schedule & update content on the fly, connect to apps, and monitor playback - all remotely, from anywhere.

Fugo is a cloud-based solution that eliminates the need & cost of managing and maintaining on-premise server hardware and software, which gives you greater flexibility to scale out a screen network. It works seamlessly with the BRAVIA Android TV operating system - you just download the Fugo Digital Signage app from the Google Play store like any other, pair it to our CMS on your laptop or phone and viola - you’re in business!

The combination of the BRAVIA SoC design and Fugo cloud-based software makes it easier to design, deploy and manage digital signage projects with ease and scale.

1.1 Turn on your display.

1.2 Choose your language.

1.3 You can choose to set up your TV with an Android tablet or a phone. If you don't have one, you can skip this option.

1.4 Connect to WiFi.

1.5 You now can enable Google Assistant. However, we recommend you turn it off if you're going to be using your display for digital signage.

1.6 Set a name for your TV.

1.7 Once Sony TV is set up, you can go to Apps and then click Get more apps to explore Google Play apps.

1.8 Find our app by searching for Fugo Digital Signage

1.9 Install the Fugo Digital Signage App

1.10 Once you open Fugo, you'll see a PIN displayed on screen. We'll cover what to do with this in the next section: How to pair your screen.

Note: to pair your screen, you'll need a Fugo account. If you have not registered a Fugo account yet, you can head over to fugo.ai/app to start your 14-day free trial.

2.1 After successfully logging in, you can click Create, then, Screen on the Welcome page. Alternatively, you can navigate to the Screens page in the top navigation bar and click Create Screens.

2.2 Enter the PIN from the Fugo player window into the space provided.

2.3 To finish the pairing process, give your screen a name and add a location.

2.4 Your screen will now be listed on your Screens page:

Congratulations, you’ve added your screen! Here, have this cake 🍰 to celebrate!

Now you’re ready to start publishing content. We’ll cover that in the next section.

Now you’re ready to start publishing content. We’ll cover that in the next section.

With your player all set up, you’re ready to give it something to play!

Fugo allows you to display several types of content:

You can use our Design Studio to create screen-ready content like digital posters & menu boards without having to leave Fugo for a 3rd party tool - learn how here.

When your content is ready to go on screen, you can use our friendly playlist builder to publish your content - learn how here.

Fugo supports the ability to set an on/off schedule your display from inside the Fugo platform. Here's how:

You can find more instructions in this Sony Knowledge Center article.

Reach out to support@fugo.ai or send us a message in the handy chatbot inside Fugo CMS.

Happy publishing!