Scala

Scala incorporates into various signage solutions and brings a power engine to bear in content sharing.

Scala can also be difficult to navigate, especially for the newly initiated. Keep a help guide handy.

The Scala platform (Designer, Content Manager, Player) provides a great deal of out-of-box functionality for a variety of uses. Its main pros are flexibility, user interface, and scalability. Scala Designer gets you started quickly with creating and publishing content with support for many file types and a large library of built in transitions and clip art. Content manager allows you to easily organize and create advanced frame sets for playback. This flexibility makes Scala great for a variety of applications such as large video walls, menu boards, or standalone displays. Another pro of Scala (Content Manager) is its user interface. It is divided into logical sections making it easy to navigate and make changes, however, you will become best friends with your mouse as there is a lot of clicking involved (see cons). Lastly, the scalability of the software makes it ideal for small or large deployments. Adding additional players is seamless allowing you to expand your network with little effort.

Make sure you have a solid use case and understand what Scala can do out of the box and what you will need to develop to achieve your desired functionality. Scala provides functionality that can serve a variety of use cases, however, some will require more work than others. Basic video walls and simple signage (1 media item to the next) are well suited for Scala out of the box. However, more advanced playback behaviors (think if this then that kind of behavior) will certainly require custom script development which can be a challenge as ScalaScript is nowhere near as universal as developing in other languages. As mentioned in the pros, Scala Content Manager provides a logical user interface, however, nearly every setting requires and enormous number of mouse clicks to get things done.

We have been using Scala for our agency to manage digital signage on our digital displays for over a year now and it is a very good program. The layout is easy to learn and use, has all the functions you need, and makes managing displays very easy. We can upload media files, transport them to specific channels (displays), and set the schedule of when they will run. Very good product overall.

Not much to dislike about Scala. Our marketing and IT teams have used this program for over a year and there are no issues or complaints about the program.

It's a really rich and deep application, with lots and lots of features for all kinds of needs in digital signage

Some features might need some time getting used to, or not be too easy to find. It's user interface is solid, but could be better