Network-Controlled Screens
Some commercial displays — such as professional LG and Samsung signage panels — can be controlled directly over your local network. On top of driving the picture over HDMI, Bohemica Signage can also send the panel a power command of its own. This is what we call a network-controlled screen.
Its job is recovery rather than scheduling: if someone switches the panel off with the remote, or it ends up in a state where it no longer shows your content, the player brings it back on its own — instead of the screen staying dark until somebody visits the site.
💡 Do I need this?
A network-controlled screen is an optional addition for professional LG and Samsung panels. A player connected over HDMI already shows your content and already follows the location's business hours. Adding network control means a panel that has been switched off doesn't stay switched off.
How it works
There are two parts to setting up a network-controlled screen:
- Prepare the panel. You configure the display once so it never powers itself off on a timer, never switches input on its own, and stays reachable over the network even while it's off — on LG that's the PM Mode network-standby setting, on Samsung the remote-configuration setting. While you're in the menus, note the panel's local IP address. Step-by-step guides:
- Add it in the dashboard. Open the Display, go to its Screens section, and add a screen. Choose the screen vendor and enter the local IP address you noted earlier — plus, on Samsung panels, the Screen ID, which is the Device ID you set on the panel. (LG panels also offer an optional MAC address field.)
The display needs your local network, not the internet
A network-controlled panel does not need internet access to be managed, but it does need to be reachable on the same local network (LAN) as the rest of your setup. If you're deploying into a corporate network, check IP addressing and policy with your system administrator first.
What network control actually does
Once a screen is added, the player contacts the panel over the local network:
- once a day,
- when the player starts up, and
- when your schedule brings the screens back on after a closed period.
On an LG panel that's a power-on command; on a Samsung panel it's a restart command, so the panel briefly power-cycles. Either way, a panel that was left off or got stuck comes back without anyone visiting the site. If the panel can't be reached, the player keeps retrying quietly in the background.
The player never sends the panel a power-off command — going dark at closing time is handled by the player itself.
Going dark is the player's job
Your screens follow the business hours of the location their Display belongs to. A few minutes before opening, the player brings the picture up; shortly after closing, it lets the picture go dark. The same happens during longer gaps in the schedule: the picture goes dark and comes back shortly before the next item is due. The panel itself stays powered while its picture is dark — it just isn't showing anything.
Why disable the panel's own timers
The golden rule for professional signage is simple: your schedule decides when there's a picture — the panel just shows it. Built-in sleep timers, "no-signal" power-off, automatic input switching, and aggressive energy-saving modes all let the panel make its own decisions, and they fight your schedule: a panel that switched itself off on a timer shows nothing even though the player behind it is running happily. The LG and Samsung guides walk you through switching all of these off.
One thing you don't need is HDMI-CEC (LG calls it SimpLink, Samsung Anynet+): Bohemica Signage doesn't use it. Because CEC lets any other device on the HDMI cable power the panel on and off, leaving it switched off is the safer default for a signage panel.
Need help?
Not sure whether your panel supports network control, or which settings to change? Get in touch with Bohemica support and we'll help you set it up correctly.