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Samsung digital menu boards vs a Fire TV.

A commercial display has its own player inside. A Fire TV uses the TV you own. Here is a fair look at both.

Commercial displays have a player inside

Samsung digital menu boards are commercial displays. A commercial display is a screen made to run all day, every day, in a business. Most come with a small computer built in, so you do not need a separate player.

That is a real strength. One piece of gear does the job: the screen is also the player. It is made to be bright and to stay on for long hours.

A Fire TV is a different path to the same place. Your TV, or a small stick behind it, plays the menu. The screen can be an ordinary TV, or a TV that already has Fire TV built in. Three of our five TVs at Sweet Aloha are exactly that.

Cost and lock‑in questions

We will not guess what a commercial display costs. The price depends on screen size, brightness, the model and who sells it, so we say this plainly: ask for a quote. Ask the seller for two numbers, the display and any yearly software fee, so you can compare the full picture.

Then ask these four questions:

  • Does the menu software only work on that brand of display?
  • If I add a second screen from another maker, does it still work?
  • What do I pay each month after the first year?
  • Who fixes it if the player inside the screen stops working?

For our side, the answers are simple. Our Basic plan is $12 per screen, per month, and Standard ($19) and Pro ($29) open when Clover sync ships. You pay for the software per screen, and the TV and the Fire TV stick are yours. There is no contract, and you can cancel any time.

Using the TV you already own

The biggest difference is what you do with the TV on your wall today. A commercial display usually means buying a new screen. A Fire TV path usually means keeping the one you have.

If your TV has Fire TV built in, you install our app on it. If it does not, you plug a Fire TV Stick into an HDMI port on the back. That is the whole shopping list. At Sweet Aloha, three of our TVs have Fire TV built in and two use sticks, and all five run our menu every day.

The Sweet Aloha scoop board with scoop sizes, prices, cones and toppings
One of the boards that plays on our TVs: scoop sizes, prices, cones and toppings.

Your TV keeps being your TV. If you later move to a commercial display, the Fire TV stick can come along to the next screen you add.

The two paths side by side

Here is a plain look, based on how each path works. It is not a lab test. Where a price depends on the seller, we say so.

QuestionCommercial displayFire TV with our app
What you buyA display with a player built inA stick, or a TV with Fire TV built in
PriceAsk for a quote$12 per screen per month (Basic), plus your TV and stick
Which screenA new displayThe TV you own
SetupAsk the seller what is includedWe set it up with you
Built forLong hours, bright rooms, many locationsOne shop or a few, with a TV you own

Already have a TV on your wall? We set up your first screen with you. Try it free for 14 days, no card.

Which fits a small shop

A commercial display is a good pick if you are building a new space, have a very bright window, or run many locations and want the same screen everywhere. It is made for that, and a dealer can help you plan it.

A Fire TV is a good pick if you have a TV already, one shop, and no spare hour. You get a menu that plays full-HD motion, turns on and off at exact times, keeps playing if the internet drops, and updates itself. Those are live today, in our shop, every day. Our team builds your board and sends it to your screens. A dashboard to edit it yourself is Coming soon.

Not sure? Start with the TV you have. Read the Fire TV menu board page for the steps, or what a media player does.

Keep reading

Run your shop's menu like we run ours.

We open free trials a few shops at a time, and we set up your first screen with you.

14 days free, no cardNo contract. Cancel anytime.