VIA, Capital Networks Certify Rare Beast: One Commercial Android Digital Signage Player With 2 Distinct Outputs

December 3, 2015 by Dave Haynes

The DEEP look I took recently into Android digital signage revealed a few things – among them how most of the players were adapted consumer set-top boxes and sticks, and how few were commercial-grade (aka reliable and predictable) devices.

One of the few commercial manufacturers was VIA Technologies, a Taiwan company that has a big office in Silicon Valley, and was the sponsor of the report.

That company has had a set of signage players in the market for at least a couple of years, and has been marketing what I think is the only dual-head commercial Android signage player out there. By dual-head, I mean one device can drive two distinct outputs (as opposed to two screens running the same thing).

The company has jointly announced with Capital Networks that the unit – called ALTA DS 2 – is now certified to run on Capital’s Audience digital signage content management platform.

Says the release:

“We’re delighted that the VIA ALTA DS 2 meets the exacting performance and compatibility requirements for Capital Networks certification,” says Richard Brown, VP of International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “The combination of the VIA ALTA DS 2 and Audience for Android provides an ultra-reliable solution for mission-critical dual-output applications at a fraction of the cost of typical dual-output PCs, without sacrificing performance.”

“Commercial grade media players that run Google’s Android operating system are rare, but incredibly important to digital signage network operators who demand high reliability, management tools and predictable supply chains,” says Jim Vair, Vice President of Business Development at Capital Networks. “The VIA ALTA DS distinguishes itself from this elite group with its ability to deliver two distinct, independent video outputs from one affordable, solid state player.”