The perfect compatibility of hardware and software installed on it is key to the success of any IT project regardless of industry. Of course, the digital signage market is no exception. That is why, here at Look, we always pay special attention to the compatibility of various hardware options and our app players. Whether it's affordable digital signage players such as Amazon Fire Stick, Nvidia Shield TV and Intel Compute Stick or commercial-grade digital signage displays from Sony and Philips, if we claim to support a given device, it means we guarantee that our software will run smoothly on it.
Moreover, in order to simplify the process of finding a suitable hardware for our customers, we offer our own line of professional plug'n'play digital signage players, which, thanks to special firmware, surely work perfectly with our software and can be used in projects of any complexity. So, our affordable bestseller Look HD-2214 is suitable for any simple use cases where you just need to display video, images and dynamic content on your digital signage screens. Along with it, we recommend our HD-2218 PRO model for use in projects with commercial-grade video walls, and we offer the HD-2220 with a SIM card slot in cases where there is no stable Internet connection via wifi or LAN at the location where your screen is installed. Thus, our customers always have a choice.
Digital signage player Look HD-2222
And recently this choice has increased as another great player has been added to our lineup. This is totally new, just delivered flagship media player Look HD-2222 and today you will learn everything about this device.
Unboxing
We have a standard plan: let's start with unboxing, then specification, and at the end, a load test with a conclusion. So, to unboxing! The first thing, of course, that catches your eye already by the picture on the box is the color of the device itself. It's green! Probably you remember that all previous Look players were strictly black. And suddenly such a pleasant surprise! Our R&D team decided to give the new device a more distinct personality, making it stand out from the rest of the players on the market! Well, they succeeded! The device itself, as usual, is in an individual package. It is made of soft plastic, very pleasant to the touch. The device does not look cheap, which is expected, but still important. What's more. Despite the fact that the device has the usual HDMI stick form factor, and, being slightly larger in size, but very similar to our basic Look HD-2214, it does not have the usual HDMI connector. Instead, there is a standard HDMI output. In addition, we have 2 USB inputs (2.0 and 3.0, respectively), an Ethernet connector (with a bandwidth of 1 GB), a memory card slot and a power in. The kit also includes a power supply with interchangeable plugs for popular types of outlets and a 30 cm HDMI cable, also green, which is cool. Everything you need and no frills, in general.
Specification
Now to the declared specification: the device performance is provided by a fresh and pretty fast 4-core CPU Rockchip 3568, with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage on board, which looks more than impressive. The firmware is based on Android 11. This device has output resolution up to 4K over 60Hz and supports WIFI 6. In general, all the characteristics undoubtedly meet the requirements and challenges of 2023.
Installation and testing
Of course, we tried this little green baby in action and subjected it to load testing! It connects to the system with ease: just set up wifi or plug in an ethernet cable and you instantly get a 6-digit code for pairing with a CMS. We used quite a tough scenario, however, as always. We have divided the screen into several areas, in one we have put a playlist with 4K videos, then placed the online weather on the top, on the right side we have put an Instagram, and at the bottom launched the ticker with streaming news. All elements of the scenario worked out smoothly. Nothing twitched or froze. Overall, we got an excellent result and are just really happy with that.
Conclusion
Well, let's summarize! Despite the fact that we can be accused of bias, we have to admit that both in terms of the declared specification and the demonstrated performance, the Look HD-2222 is one of the leading media players of its generation and will undoubtedly become an excellent choice for digital signage projects of any complexity. And taking into account the fact that we offer it at an average price of 20-25% lower than analogues on the market, Look HD-2222 becomes an obvious smart choice in terms of value for money.
