Digital waiting room displays are steadily replacing cable and satellite TV in businesses and medical offices across the country. If you’re in the market for a digital signage solution for your waiting room, there are a few important things you should know before signing a contract. This article will highlight some of those things, with the goal of helping you make an informed decision when it comes to settling on the digital display that’s right for your waiting room.

Digital Waiting Room Displays: What to Look Out For

First and foremost; if this is for your waiting room, you want a solution that will entertain your visitors, or otherwise distract them from the wait. Entertainment is really the key thing here — nothing makes time go faster than getting immersed in something fun or interesting.

Live wallpaper solutions are not fun, nor are they that interesting

You’ll find, or may have already seen, digital displays that are simply a collection of scenic pictures. Some are animated, whilst others are static images in a slideshow. They might look nice on the surface, but set a timer for 15 minutes and keep watching that endless sunset, or sandy beach, until it rings. The 15 minutes will probably feel more like 30.

The bottom line: It’s boring.

Boring your visitors is not helping make them feel comfortable. Waiting experiences can be dreadful, that’s why putting something entertaining on the TV goes a long way.

The Best Digital Waiting Room Displays Resemble TV

Businesses and medical offices have traditionally put cable TV in their waiting rooms because people like watching television; and because what else would you put on the TV? The former is still true, and for the longest time so was the latter. But now, today, there are plenty of cable alternatives that are a better fit; whether you’re running a business, or managing a medical office.

People like watching television, but television just doesn’t work in a waiting room.

It doesn’t work for a lot of reasons; competitor ads, complaints about the news, visitors constantly asking to change the channel — or even the fact that most shows/movies are well-over the time that most people spend waiting. It’s no good no matter which way you look at it, but you probably already know that.

The best digital waiting room displays resemble TV; never settle for a service that’s just a programable slideshow, or a digital ad-scroller. Programming your TV to feature ads, sales, or otherwise important messaging is great — but you don’t need the whole screen for it. More than a digital display, what you want is a custom TV network for your waiting room.

FACT: People tend to ignore ads/messaging, regardless of the platform, unless that ad is paired with something that’s of interest to them.

Why a Custom TV Network?

A custom TV network combines the best aspects of television and digital signage. The messaging that you would normally dedicate a whole TV to is instead played alongside fun and interesting videos that visitors genuinely enjoy watching. Those videos get visitors to notice the TV, and the entertaining content puts them in a good mood; which makes them more receptive to your messaging.

A great custom TV network is more than just TV + digital signage.

But the best waiting room TV software has variety, gives you control, and boasts brand-oriented features that are designed to move your business or medical office forward. These are the top features you should be looking for in your TV system.

It’s Relevant TV: The Best Waiting Room TV Software

It’s Relevant is everything you’d expect from forward-thinking waiting room technology. It has variety; featuring over half-a-million licensed videos organized into 40+ categories. It gives you control; allowing you to block unwanted content, upload your own personal videos, and custom-tailor your messaging with an easy-to-use management system. Finally, it comes with brand-oriented features to help drive your business or medical office forward; features such as social media integration, and a dedicated client success manager who’s there to help you strategize and use the system to its fullest potential.

Chat with the TV experts at ItsRelevant.com if you have any questions about creating a custom TV network for your locations.