Wow Menu Boards
Guide

Digital menu board media player: what you need.

The player is the small computer behind the TV. Here is what it does, how to get one, and what to ask before you buy.

By Jimmy Anderson, owner of Sweet Aloha Ice Cream and founder of Wow Menu Boards. Published Nov 2026.

Wow Menu Boards is made by Streamline SMB, LLC, Jimmy's software company.

What a media player does

A digital menu board is two parts: the TV and the player. The TV shows the picture. The player is the small computer that gets your menu from the internet, saves it, and sends it to the TV. Without a player, the TV only has a blank screen.

You may hear other names for it: media player, digital menu player, or menu box. They all mean the same thing. A good player does four jobs. It plays video smoothly. It follows your hours. It keeps playing when Wi-Fi drops. And it updates itself, so you never carry a USB stick to the wall.

Three ways to get a player

1. A TV with Fire TV built in

Some TVs have Fire TV inside them. There is nothing to plug in and nothing to hide behind the set. This is the cleanest option, because there is no stick to knock loose and no extra cable. Look for “Fire TV” on the box or in the TV's menu.

Three of our five TVs at Sweet Aloha are this kind. They run our menu board every day, in full HD with motion. If you are buying a new TV for a menu, this is the one we would look for first.

2. A stick in an HDMI port

A Fire TV Stick is a small stick about the size of a pack of gum. It plugs into a free HDMI port on the back of your TV, and a power cable plugs into a wall outlet. It turns almost any TV into a menu board.

Two of our five TVs use sticks. Before you hang a TV, check that an outlet is within reach and that you can reach the HDMI port. Tape or run the cable behind the wall so it does not hang. The stick price changes by store and by sale, so check the store for today's number.

3. A separate box

Some companies sell their own box. It is a larger player, with its own power, and often its own price. The box can work well, but ask what it costs, who fixes it if it breaks, and whether you can use your own TV.

The honest tradeoff: a box is one more thing to buy, plug in, power and replace. A built-in player or a stick has fewer parts, and fewer parts means fewer things that can go wrong on a busy night. We do not sell a box. Our app runs on the Fire TV you already have.

Questions to ask any company about hardware

  1. Do I need to buy a player? How much does it cost, and is that a one-time price?
  2. Which TVs work with it? Can I use the TVs I already own?
  3. What does the screen show if the internet goes out?
  4. Does the screen turn on and off by itself at my hours?
  5. How does the app update? Do I need a USB stick or a remote?
  6. If the player breaks, who replaces it, and how long does it take?

The internet question matters most. A screen that goes blank on your busiest night is the wrong answer. Ask to see it work with Wi-Fi turned off.

Our setup, live in our shop

This is what runs at Sweet Aloha today. The app on each player saves your menu on the TV, so the board keeps playing with no internet and catches up when it returns. The screen goes black after hours and returns at opening to the minute, while the TV stays on. Nobody on our team touches a remote.

A shave ice menu board still playing on a TV, with a Wi-Fi-off badge
Wi-Fi is off, and the board keeps playing. Open the picture to enlarge it.

Installing from the Amazon Appstore is Coming soon. Today, our team helps every new shop install the app, so you are not left alone with a stick and a code.

Not sure what your TV needs? Tell us the model and we will set up your first screen with you.

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Four mistakes with players

  1. Hiding the stick where it overheats. A stick pushed deep behind a TV, with no air, can run hot. Leave a little room and use the short HDMI extender that comes in the box if the port is tight.
  2. Using a shared outlet that gets switched off. If the player shares a plug with a lamp or a fan, someone will unplug it one night. Give it its own outlet, and put tape over the plug.
  3. Picking a TV with no Wi-Fi nearby. Test the signal where the TV hangs. A weak signal slows updates, even if the menu still plays.
  4. Planning to use a remote every day. If staff must press a button to start the board, some morning it will not start. Pick a player that starts itself and follows a schedule.

Cost, in one line

There is no player box to buy with us. The software is $12 per screen, per month on Basic, and a stick, if you need one, is a one-time purchase at the store's price. See the whole list on our digital menu board cost page.

Keep reading

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