What hardware actually works with programmatic DOOH on Trillboards?

Any Android 8+ device, any Fire OS device (Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube), any Tizen 5+ display (Samsung commercial and consumer), any WebOS 5+ display (LG commercial and consumer), BrightSign players running BOS 8+, NVIDIA Shield TV, Chromecast with Google TV, and Chrome-based kiosks. The same kiosk binary runs across all of them.

Can I use a consumer TV or do I need dedicated signage hardware?

Consumer TVs work. Most venues activate with a consumer Samsung Tizen TV plus a Fire TV Stick 4K Max for the kiosk runtime. Dedicated signage hardware (BrightSign, certain NVIDIA Shield configurations, the Trillboards signage stick) is useful for venues that need persistent stable runtime — restaurants and bars sometimes prefer dedicated hardware because the device never gets unplugged.

What's the cheapest viable hardware?

Fire TV Stick 4K Max at $35 retail from Amazon is the entry point. It runs Fire OS, supports H.264 + H.265 + AV1 video decode, has 2 GB RAM, and clears the latency budget for the OpenRTB pipeline. Venues with strict cost constraints typically start with one Fire TV Stick 4K Max per screen and upgrade to the Trillboards signage stick (free with first 5 screens) as revenue scales.

Does the kiosk app run on Roku?

Yes via the Roku-channel pathway. Roku-platform devices run a Trillboards Roku channel that pipes the OpenRTB pipeline through the channel UI. Latency is slightly higher than native Android/Fire TV (130-150 ms p99 vs 95-100 ms p99) due to the channel-bridge overhead, but cleared CPMs are comparable.

What about BrightSign?

BrightSign players running BOS 8+ are supported via a dedicated firmware module. BrightSign deployments tend to be higher-end venue installations (corporate campuses, premium retail, airport lounges) where the dedicated player and the Trillboards kiosk run side-by-side. The BrightSign integration uses BrightSign's native scheduling alongside the Trillboards OpenRTB layer.

What's the RAM footprint of the Trillboards kiosk?

Around 220-280 MB resident in steady state on Fire OS devices. Peaks at 400-450 MB during video transitions. On Android TV devices the footprint is similar. The on-device CV pipeline (for venues running audience-signal emission) adds 80-120 MB depending on the model configuration.

Does the kiosk work offline?

The kiosk handles offline gracefully — if the OpenRTB connection drops, the device falls back to house content and queues proof-of-play receipts locally until connectivity returns. Bid requests are not fired during offline periods (the SSP needs a live connection to fan out demand). When the connection comes back, the kiosk resumes normal operation and uploads the queued receipts for the offline-period reconciliation.

What network bandwidth does each screen consume?

Steady state: 5-15 Mbps for HD video creatives, 25-40 Mbps for 4K. Idle (between creatives): under 200 kbps for the OpenRTB heartbeat and audience-signal upload. Most venues activate without changing their existing internet plan.

Can I run multiple screens off one Fire TV Stick?

No — each screen needs its own kiosk runtime so the proof-of-play receipts are signed at the device level. The Trillboards signage stick is built for the one-stick-per-screen model. Operators with multi-screen venues typically activate each screen with its own Fire TV Stick or signage stick.

How does the kiosk update?

OTA updates are pushed from the Trillboards control plane to the device. Updates are staged in canary mode (5% of fleet first), then rolled out network-wide over 24-48 hours. Operators see the current kiosk version per screen in the earner dashboard and can pin a specific version if they want to delay an update.

Is there a hardware certification program?

Yes for partners shipping bulk hardware. The Trillboards CTV certification covers the OpenRTB pipeline, the proof-of-play signing chain, the on-device CV pipeline, and the brand-safety filter integration. Certified devices ship with the kiosk pre-flashed and the OpenRTB credentials provisioned at the factory.

Screen Hardware for DOOH: Fire TV, Android TV, Tizen, WebOS, and the Devices Running Programmatic Ads

The hardware question is the first one every venue operator asks. "What do I plug into my screens to get this working?" The answer is wider than most operators expect — programmatic DOOH on Trillboards runs across roughly 60 distinct device classes spanning Fire OS, Android TV, Tizen, WebOS, BrightSign, Roku, NVIDIA Shield, Chromecast, and Chrome kiosks. A single kiosk binary handles all of them.

This page is the consolidated hardware reference. Per-device venue distribution, RAM + bandwidth footprint, eCPM benchmarks, and the kiosk architecture that makes the same OpenRTB pipeline run on a $35 Fire TV Stick and on a $2,000 BrightSign player.

Live network data

The Trillboards-connected hardware fleet as of the latest snapshot:

0 active screens running the OpenRTB 2.6 kiosk
0 distinct hardware classes with characteristic venue distributions
0 countries across the active fleet
0 venue categories mapped to the per-device distribution matrix

The full hardware catalog with per-device venue distribution + eCPM benchmarks is at /data/hardware/.

The Fire TV family — the most-popular venue hardware

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

Amazon's flagship streaming stick, retail $35-55 depending on promotional pricing. The most-popular venue hardware on the Trillboards network. Specs:

Fire OS 7+ (Android 9 based)
2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage
Quad-core 1.8 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), 5 GHz capable
HDMI output up to 4K HDR
H.264 + H.265 + AV1 hardware decode

The kiosk runs at 220-280 MB resident, well under the available RAM. Latency budget for the OpenRTB round-trip clears in 80-95 ms p99. Compatible with the full venue catalog — coffee shops, bars, restaurants, fitness centers, salons, retail, automotive — without per-venue tuning.

Fire TV Stick 4K

The older variant, still in widespread venue use. Slightly less RAM and slower CPU than the 4K Max, but compatible with the same kiosk binary. Retail $30-40 depending on availability.

Fire TV Cube

The premium Fire TV variant with always-listening Alexa and a faster CPU. Used in higher-traffic venues where the longer dwell time justifies the extra cost. Retail $130-150.

Why Fire TV dominates venue deployments

Three reasons. First, the price point — at $35 retail, the hardware cost amortizes against the first month of programmatic revenue. Second, the Amazon Appstore distribution — operators can install the Trillboards kiosk from a familiar store without sideload friction. Third, the form factor — the stick plugs directly into the HDMI port, takes no additional space, and stays out of the way once installed.

The Android TV family

Android TV Signage

Consumer TVs with built-in Android TV (Sony, Hisense, TCL, certain Samsung models). The kiosk app is available in the Google Play Store and installs directly. No separate streaming device needed.

Common in hotel lobbies, airport lounges, and corporate venues that prefer integrated displays over plug-in hardware.

NVIDIA Shield TV

The premium Android-based device. 3 GB RAM, faster GPU than the Fire TV family. Used in venues that need high-performance video transitions or 4K HDR playback. Retail $150-200.

Chromecast with Google TV

Google's Android-TV-based dongle. Comparable specs to Fire TV Stick 4K Max at a similar price point. Operators with Google-centric vendor relationships often prefer this path.

Samsung Tizen

Samsung Tizen Displays

Tizen runs on Samsung commercial displays (the QM/QH/QB series) and on Samsung consumer Smart TVs (Tizen 5+). The Trillboards kiosk is available in the Tizen Store and installs directly.

Tizen deployments are common in shopping malls, premium retail, and venues with Samsung CMS infrastructure. The native Tizen scheduling runs alongside the Trillboards OpenRTB layer.

LG WebOS

LG WebOS Displays

WebOS runs on LG commercial displays (the SM/SH/UH series) and on LG consumer Smart TVs (WebOS 5+). The Trillboards kiosk is available in the LG App Store.

WebOS deployments are common in corporate campuses, medical clinics, and venues with LG commercial infrastructure.

Dedicated signage hardware

BrightSign Players

BrightSign players running BOS 8+ are supported via a dedicated firmware module. BrightSign deployments tend to be higher-end venue installations where the dedicated player and the Trillboards kiosk run side-by-side. The BrightSign integration uses BrightSign's native scheduling alongside the Trillboards OpenRTB layer.

Common in airport lounges, corporate campuses, medical clinics, and premium retail.

Trillboards Android Signage Stick

The Trillboards-branded plug-and-play signage stick. Pre-flashed with the kiosk app, OpenRTB credentials provisioned at the factory, no setup required beyond plugging it into HDMI and joining Wi-Fi. Free with the first 5 screens activated on the platform.

The signage stick uses the same Android 12 base as the consumer market sticks, but with a hardened firmware that disables non-Trillboards apps and locks the device to kiosk mode. Used by operators who want zero operational overhead.

Roku CTV

Roku CTV Devices

Roku-platform devices (Roku sticks, Roku TVs, Roku Premiere) run the Trillboards Roku channel. The channel pipes the OpenRTB pipeline through the Roku UI. Latency is slightly higher than native Android (130-150 ms p99 vs 95-100 ms p99) due to the channel-bridge overhead, but cleared CPMs are comparable.

Used in venues that already have Roku infrastructure — typically venues that started as direct-to-consumer Roku channels and added the programmatic DOOH layer.

Chrome-based kiosks

Chrome OS Signage

Chrome-based kiosks run the browser variant of the Trillboards pipeline. Server-side OpenRTB negotiation, client-side WebRTC for creative playback, and a JavaScript proof-of-play layer that signs receipts via the kiosk's device certificate.

Common in coworking spaces and venues with existing Chrome OS device fleets. The browser variant also runs on regular Chromebooks operating in single-app kiosk mode.

Per-device, per-venue performance leaders

The hardware catalog tracks the top 60 (device class, venue) combinations on the network. The combinations with the highest cleared CPMs:

Hardware × venue match-up

Different venue categories favor different hardware:

High-traffic consumer retail (coffee shops, convenience stores, grocery) → Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Price-sensitive deployment, high unit count, the standard $35 stick clears the budget.
Premium hospitality (airport lounges, hotel lobbies, premium restaurants) → BrightSign or NVIDIA Shield. Higher reliability requirement, longer dwell, the venue can amortize the higher hardware cost against the higher cleared CPMs.
Salons + service venues (hair, barber, nail, auto repair) → Trillboards signage stick or Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Operator preference between branded plug-and-play or off-the-shelf cheap.
Bars + nightlife (sports bars, lounges, breweries) → mixed. Operators with existing Samsung commercial displays use Tizen; operators with consumer TVs add a Fire TV Stick.
Corporate / medical / education (medical clinics, college campuses, corporate campuses) → BrightSign or LG WebOS. Existing signage infrastructure tends to drive the choice.

The per-device, per-venue revenue benchmarks are published at /data/hardware/ with one page per device class and one page per (device, venue) combination for the top 60 combos.

Hardware compatibility check before activation

Before activating, operators should verify:

OS version — Android 8+ / Fire OS 6+ / Tizen 5+ / WebOS 5+ / BrightSign BOS 8+. Older versions may run the kiosk but won't get the latest CV pipeline updates.
Network — Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet. The kiosk does not require a high-bandwidth connection; 10-20 Mbps sustained is comfortable.
HDMI output — for stick-based devices. Direct-on-TV deployments (Tizen / WebOS / Android TV) skip this.
Power — the kiosk runs continuously; the device needs to stay powered. Most operators leave the device on permanently rather than power-cycling daily.
App store access — Amazon Appstore, Google Play, Tizen Store, LG App Store, Roku Channel Store. For Chrome OS, sideload via Chrome management.

The kiosk binary architecture

A single kiosk binary serves all device classes. The architecture:

+---------------------------+
| Trillboards kiosk runtime |
+---------------------------+
| Device-specific layer     |  ← Fire TV / Android TV / Tizen / WebOS / Roku channel
+---------------------------+
| Native video player       |  ← VAST 2.0 + 3.0 + 4.x
+---------------------------+
| OpenRTB 2.6 client        |  ← bid request / response / proof-of-play
+---------------------------+
| On-device CV pipeline     |  ← optional, audience signals
+---------------------------+
| OS                        |  ← Android / Fire OS / Tizen / WebOS / BrightOS
+---------------------------+

The device-specific layer handles the OS-level integration (HDMI, network, app lifecycle). The native video player runs the VAST creative. The OpenRTB client handles the auction round-trip. The CV pipeline (where supported) runs the audience-signal classifier.

The full developer reference for the kiosk runtime is at /support/developers/ with sub-pages for the partner SDK, the sensing SDK, the edge SDK, the TypeScript SDK, and the DSP API.

Frequently asked questions

The FAQ block above covers the most common hardware-selection questions. For the business model that makes the kiosk free, see the free digital signage hub page. For the OpenRTB protocol details, see the programmatic DOOH hub page.

Related Trillboards data surfaces

Hardware catalog — full device matrix with per-venue distribution + benchmarks
Venue catalog — every venue with characteristic hardware mix
Trillboards signage stick — the plug-and-play Trillboards-branded device
Kiosk setup guide — device-by-device activation walkthrough
Screen apps overview — the kiosk app for venue operators
Free digital signage revenue-share guide — the business model that funds the hardware
Monetize TV screens guide — the 2026 activation playbook

Screen Hardware for DOOH: Fire TV, Android TV, Tizen, WebOS, and the Devices Running Programmatic Ads

Screen Hardware for DOOH: Fire TV, Android TV, Tizen, WebOS, and the Devices Running Programmatic Ads

Live network data

The Fire TV family — the most-popular venue hardware

Why Fire TV dominates venue deployments

The Android TV family

Samsung Tizen

LG WebOS

Dedicated signage hardware

Roku CTV

Chrome-based kiosks

Chrome OS Signage

Per-device, per-venue performance leaders

Hardware × venue match-up

Hardware compatibility check before activation

The kiosk binary architecture

Frequently asked questions

Related Trillboards data surfaces

Explore related Trillboards data