Samsung’s Latest VXT Release Tunes New Functionality To Hospitality Sector

March 13, 2025 by Dave Haynes

Companies as big as Samsung want and need scale for whatever they make and market, so it is not surprising that the latest iteration of the company’s cloud-based CMS – Visual eXperience Transformation (or, better, VXT) – appears to be have functionality tuned to so-called hospitality TVs and aimed at hoteliers and healthcare providers.

With the creative tools in VXT Canvas, says PR, users can generate QR codes for guests to connect and cast their mobile devices to Hospitality TVs. VXT Canvas now also offers templates specifically designed for hotel room service menu boards. Additionally, when integrated with a hotel’s property management system, VXT transforms Samsung Hospitality TVs into control panels, enabling effortless management of connected in-room IoT devices such as smart thermostats and lighting.

Additional updates improve content creation and control of Samsung Hospitality TVs for hoteliers and healthcare providers. With the creative tools in VXT Canvas, users can generate QR codes for guests to connect and cast their mobile devices to Hospitality TVs. VXT Canvas now also offers templates specifically designed for hotel room service menu boards. Additionally, when integrated with a hotel’s property management system, VXT transforms Samsung Hospitality TVs into control panels, enabling effortless management of connected in-room IoT devices such as smart thermostats and lighting.

Samsung already had something called Samsung LYNK Cloud, which is positioned as an all-inclusive integrated platform featuring content management, device control and even data analytics. It had previously being touting its MagicINFO CMS software as the solution for hospitality, but as is the case more broadly, that solution is being wound down as Samsung pushes its pure cloud, much more modern option.

Hotels and healthcare – which at the higher end bears a lot of similarities to hotels – are seemingly strong verticals to chase. On the software side, Uniguest and the Portuguese firm Nonius are the most active. On the display side, Samsung is mainly competing with LG and PPDS (Philips).

Alex Lee, EVP of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics and thought to be the guy driving the VXT bus, says the new release of the platform is “addressing the growing demand for secure, flexible deployment options while enhancing content and screen management. These advancements enable businesses to create engaging experiences that captivate, inform and entertain their audiences across use cases.”

Also from the PR:

Samsung VXT is fully compatible with its latest digital signage products, including its E-Ink based color e-paper products.The new release introduces robust screen management for Android and Windows devices within an organization’s B2B display network. VXT users can now remotely adjust screen settings, including backlights and screen orientation, as well as security controls such as USB, WiFi and Bluetooth locks. Scheduling allows remote control of screen operations based on business hours or holidays to help with optimizing energy usage.

Introduced in 2024, PIRS (Pre-Integrated & Repeatable Solutions) are app-style content solutions within VXT designed to meet the needs of specific industries. These ready-to-use tools can be deployed instantly, requiring no coding knowledge or complicated software expertise. New integrations between PIRS apps and the Samsung SmartThings IoT platform enable dynamic automation, allowing screens to display content based on sensor triggers, such as emergency notifications when a fire alert is detected.

Among the notable new PIRS solutions is the Gen AI App that empowers users to create images via text in VXT Canvas. The generative AI-based image generator app will be free as part of the VXT CMS. Additionally, the latest Data Sync app makes it easier than ever to connect data sources within VXT without any coding. Users can design data-driven content directly in VXT Canvas, such as meeting information on signage outside of conference rooms in a corporate setting. Data Sync supports multiple data formats, including JSON, XML, CSV and Google Sheets.

For app developers, VXT streamlines the onboarding process by introducing step-by-step guidance and built-in functions at every stage from app development to release. Developers can more quickly gain global brand exposure with Samsung B2B customers and start generating new revenue through sales of their solutions in the VXT Marketplace.

Me: I have been watching VXT’s efforts to get software vendors – including CMS software companies that compete for business with Samsung’s VXT – to develop these repeatable apps and market them through Samsung. I think it is fair to say the notion has not caught fire. There were a handful at ISE 2024, a handful at InfoComm 2024, and a handful again last month at ISE 2025.

The dedicated PIRS page lists three (though I think there are more than that), and another two that are “coming soon.” As with apps for in other kinds of marketplaces, like the Apple App Store, Samsung gets a piece of the action from subscriptions to the apps.

I think there is merit to the approach, but Samsung needs to build up awareness of what VXT is, and likely find software developers outside the digital signage ecosystem. It is a BIG ask for a CMS software company to write a functionality app and plop it on the VXT marketplace, where it would in theory compete with the CMS company. But let’s say a company that specializes in car rental management (pulling this idea out of my empty head) would like to publish content – like car status and pickup stall assignments – on screens at customer counters. It could stick with the core functionality and use APIs to drop this on top of VXT, which would handle conventional digital signage bits.

More from the release …

Businesses can now deploy VXT with a hybrid cloud infrastructure. This allows users to enjoy the benefits of the cloud — such as remote content deployment and seamless software updates across all B2B displays — while maintaining the added security of storing data on their own servers. Hybrid cloud deployment is an ideal solution for organizations in industries with stringent security requirements, including large corporations, government agencies and educational institutions.

To enhance user support and deliver efficient customer service, the new release updates the VXT Assistant’s language learning model for more comprehensive responses to inquiries about the platform’s web manual, service details, plan-specific features and release notes. Users can chat with the assistant in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Swedish, Polish, Korean and Portuguese. The VXT Assistant is available for all pricing plans, including the S-, P- and X-Series.