If an installer's quote says "screens included" and never says what plays on them, this is for you. It is not for a single branch with one TV: a USB stick and a printed menu are enough.
What does 'screens included' leave out?
The player. A digital signage display shows whatever a small program tells it to show. That program is the player. It takes the schedule from your signage system, stores the menus and plays them on the screen, even when the branch internet drops.
Where the player runs decides what it costs. The player's maker publishes the prices, and they differ by route, not by screen size or brand. A quote that lists displays, mounts and fitting can be complete and still leave you with a licence to buy for every screen.
That is a small line on one screen and a real line on forty. It is easy to miss because nobody on the installer's side is hiding it. The installer sells screens. The player is someone else's product.
Which four routes can run the player?
The player's maker sells its Windows player free. It sells a one-off licence for Android, ChromeOS, Samsung (Tizen) and LG (webOS). DigitalSignage.com's summary of the maker's prices, updated on 21 October 2026, gives the figures below. Hardware prices are not in it and differ by supplier.
ChromeOS screens are USD 49. The licences are perpetual and include minor upgrades. A major upgrade later is extra: USD 17 on Android, USD 28 on ChromeOS and USD 50.50 on Samsung and LG.
The same summary lists Apple TV and Roku as not supported. A streaming stick from a TV shop is not a cheaper way in.
What do 20 screens cost in player licences?
Multiply by the route:
Free player software is not a free screen. The Windows route has no licence line, and it has a box to buy for each screen. Ask your installer to price the Windows box and the Android box side by side. The licence line is the only part of that comparison that is public.
Our default when you are buying new is a small Windows box behind each screen. No licence line grows with every branch you add. When you already own commercial Samsung or LG displays, the licence is the price of not buying a box: USD 85 a screen against what a box and its fitting would cost you. That sum is the one to run on your own quote.
Which two questions come first?
Two answers pick the route before any price does:
- 01Which screens do you already own? Commercial Samsung or LG displays can run the player inside. Consumer smart TVs usually need a box behind them.
- 02How many branches will you add? A licence per screen is small at 20 screens and a budget line at 200. A route with no licence grows more slowly.
If you own nothing yet, you are choosing on the second question alone. If you own twenty consumer TVs, the first question tells you the boxes are coming whatever you decide, so the licence decision is Windows against Android.
What should the quote say about the player?
Ask for four lines in writing:
- 01The model of every screen and every box, and which player runs on each.
- 02The player licence per screen, and who buys it.
- 03The name the licences are bought in, so they stay yours if you change installer.
- 04The price of a major player upgrade later, since minor ones are included.
Then check one behaviour: the screen keeps playing when the branch internet drops. The maker's player page says its player stores content locally and keeps playing its schedule through a network drop. Ask your installer to show it by unplugging the router.
What does Mindcat Screens charge, and what is separate?
Our price is for the screen: AED 49 a screen a month for screens 1 to 10, AED 35 for 11 to 50, AED 25 for 51 to 200 and AED 19 from 201. The same numbers apply in SAR. Logins for marketing, operations, branch managers and IT are free. The shared plan has a monthly minimum of AED 590, so no one can buy one screen at the per-screen rate. Nine screens pay the AED 590 minimum. Twenty-five screens pay 10 × 49 + 15 × 35 = AED 1,015 a month. UAE VAT is 5 percent and Saudi VAT is 15 percent on top.
Up to 10 screens, the quick start is a fixed package we set up for AED 2,500, one time. Your installer connects the screens with our player guide. From 11 screens, we start with one call with your operations or marketing lead.
Player licences for Android, Samsung, LG and ChromeOS screens are paid to the maker, once per screen. You buy them, or we order them in your name at cost. The Windows player costs nothing. Screens, media players, mounts and installation come from your AV installer, or we quote them separately.
We call the method One edit, every branch. Tell us how many screens you run, in which branches, and what they are today. We reply with the setup plan and the monthly price per screen, in AED or SAR, and we check your screen models in the first call. If you run one branch and your menu changes a few times a year, we say so and point you back to the stick. If the Thursday price change is what hurts, our post on USB sticks, an installer's bundle or a per-screen service puts the three options side by side.
