Depending on the content you plan on running on your display can change the requirements substantially. Running videos will require more processing power and if you’re streaming the content (e.g. Vimeo or YouTube) you will need a faster internet connection with a good amount of bandwidth.
4K Video (not recommended)
The reason 4K is not recommended is simply that most digital signage is viewed from a distance and the visual difference from that distance isn’t as noticeable. Also, running 4K requires a 4K TV, a more powerful computer system/player and if you are streaming content it will require a must faster internet connection. Not to mention that if you are running multiple displays in a single location you may put unnecessary stress on your whole connection.
If you choose to run 4K video these are the minimum requirements you will need.
Internet Speed
15 Mbs – 25 Mbps (per display)
Display
Processor:
4th generation Intel® Core™ processor family (Intel Haswell based CPUs)
GPUs include: HD Graphics 4200/4400/4600/5000, Iris™ 5100 and Iris™ Pro 5200.
AMD A10-7800 APU
GPU:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 or better
AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series or better
HD Video (recommended)
Internet Speed
5 Mbps – 10 Mbps (per display)
Display
Processor:
Single Core 3.5 GHz – Dual Core -2.4 GHz or higher
Graphics:
Nvidia/ATI with 256MB Video Ram and core clock 600 MHz
Understanding Internet Speed and Bandwidth
Depending on your ISP (Internet Service Provider) they will offer different speed packages. Your speed is how much bandwidth you can consume (eg. A 300 Mb file downloaded at 100 Mb/s will take approximately 3 seconds to download but will consume 300 Mb of bandwidth). The video below offers good explanation of Internet Speeds. A easy way to test your internet speed is https://speedtest.net
