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CrownTV vs Raydiant.

Raydiant (acquired by Displai Systems in May 2025 and now focused primarily on hospitality) is the most expensive software-first CMS in the category at roughly $49/month per screen, with an optional proprietary player. CrownTV is the alternative when you need commercial Samsung displays, nationwide install, and a single account manager owning the rollout from quote to live.

Side by side

CrownTV vs Raydiant — eight dimensions that matter.

What you actually buy when you sign the contract — pricing, hardware, install, and ongoing support, in plain English.

Dimension
Raydiant
CrownTV (recommended)
1. Hardware included
Proprietary player ($500+, optional) — no displays
Samsung commercial displays + media player + mounts, sized and shipped per location
2. Software / CMS
Enterprise CMS, hospitality-focused since the 2025 Displai acquisition
CrownTV Dashboard — 200+ apps & integrations, engineered for our hardware
3. Installation responsibility
Not offered — hire your own installer
CrownTV nationwide certified install crew — licensed, insured, 50 states
4. Multi-location coordination
Enterprise tooling, but install coordination is on you
One project manager across all sites — site surveys, scheduling, sign-off
5. Content design service
Not offered as a service
In-house design team — brand kits, templates, and ongoing creative refreshes
6. Support SLA
Account manager on enterprise plans only
4-hour response, 48-hour hardware replacement, dedicated account manager
7. Time-to-live (1 store)
4–6 weeks (procurement + your installer)
Under 1 week from site survey — pre-configured hardware ships ready
8. Total cost of ownership
$49/mo (most expensive software-only) + player $500+ + display + install
One contract, one invoice — bundle pricing with predictable monthly TCO

Sources: Raydiant's public pricing and product pages, plus our own published bundle pricing and SLAs. Updated regularly.

Straight talk

When you should choose Raydiant instead.

We don't think CrownTV is the right answer for every operator. Here's where Raydiant legitimately makes more sense — based on how each product is actually built, not marketing.

  • Restaurants and hospitality groups already invested in Raydiant/Displai content

  • Enterprises that prefer software-first vendors and have an AV partner of record

  • Teams that value Raydiant's hospitality template library

Choose CrownTV when

You want one party owning hardware procurement, software, install scheduling, content design, and ongoing support — across one location or two hundred — under a single contract and a single SLA.

Get a turnkey quote

Update: Raydiant is now Displai

In May 2025, Displai Systems acquired the assets of Raydiant — products, technology, and customer contracts. The raydiant.com domain now redirects to displai.ai. Displai has stated it will maintain services for existing Raydiant customers while focusing primarily on hospitality. This page covers the established Raydiant product as it continues under the Displai brand. If you're a current Raydiant customer evaluating your post-acquisition options, the migration path below applies.

TL;DR — when each one wins

Pick Raydiant (Displai) if you're already invested in their content library, you operate a hospitality or QSR concept where their vertical-specific templates and POS integrations save real time, and you have an in-house AV team handling display procurement and install. The post-acquisition focus on hospitality genuinely benefits restaurant groups already running on the platform.

Pick CrownTV if you're rolling out signage across a multi-location brand, you don't have an AV team in every market, and you'd rather buy commercial Samsung displays, professional install, the CMS, and ongoing support under one contract than coordinate Raydiant's software, your own display procurement, and a local installer in each store.

Consider both if you're a current Raydiant customer wanting to keep your hospitality content workflow but consolidate hardware, install, and support under one operator. We've migrated multi-location restaurant and retail accounts off Raydiant onto our turnkey stack while preserving menu-board content and POS integrations.

Where Raydiant is genuinely the better fit

Raydiant built a real hospitality CMS — restaurant menu-board templates, POS integrations, multi-user content workflows, and an enterprise feature set that earned them a strong QSR client base before the Displai acquisition. There are situations where they beat us cleanly. If any of these describe you, check Displai's current product page — they may save you migration time.

  • You already have a content library and integrations on Raydiant. Migration costs time. If your menus, promotions, and POS hooks are tuned and working, the inertia case for staying on Displai is real — especially given the post-acquisition hospitality focus.
  • You operate a restaurant or hospitality concept and want vertical-specific templates. Displai's hospitality DNA runs deep — menu engineering, dayparting, POS-driven price updates. Cross-vertical CMSes (including ours) can replicate the workflows but not the vertical depth out of the box.
  • You already own commercial displays and an install partner. Raydiant is software-first. If your hardware is on the wall, your AV team owns install, and you just need a CMS, that's their model.
  • You're software-first and prefer subscription CMS over bundled hardware. Some procurement teams prefer software OpEx separately from hardware CapEx. Raydiant's pricing model fits.

If none of that fits — if you're a multi-location operator without AV staff in every region, you don't already have an install partner, and "stitch the CMS, the hardware, and a local installer together" sounds like a project plan you'd rather not own — keep reading.

Where CrownTV is the better Raydiant alternative

CrownTV doesn't compete with Raydiant on hospitality template depth. We sell the rollout — hardware, install, software, and support — under one contract. Four reasons multi-location operators move from Raydiant to us, in order of how often we hear them:

1. Turnkey delivery — one contract, one PM, one number to call

When you sign with us, one project manager owns the entire deployment: site survey, display sizing per location, mount selection, shipping, regional installer dispatch, network configuration, content load, and sign-off. You get one quote, one invoice, and one phone number when something needs attention. Raydiant owns the software layer; the rest — display procurement, installer hiring, mount selection, content design, ongoing field replacements — sits on you. That's a full-time job for a 50-store rollout. See how our turnkey service works end-to-end.

2. Commercial-grade hardware shipped pre-configured

Every CrownTV deployment ships Samsung commercial displays (QMC for indoor; OM for high-brightness window) rated for 24/7 operation, paired with our own commercial media player at $150 — a fraction of Raydiant's optional $500+ proprietary player. Displays land on site pre-paired to your CrownTV Dashboard tenant; the installer mounts, plugs in power and ethernet, and the screen pulls down your content. You're not locked into a single vendor's player ecosystem — you're on Samsung's global commercial-display infrastructure with a 3-year onsite warranty. See the commercial display options.

3. Nationwide install network — same-week scheduling in 50 states

We run a vetted, licensed, insured installer network across all 50 states. When you book a national rollout, our PM coordinates installer dispatch per market, shares the install playbook, and signs off remotely once each screen is live and visible in the Dashboard. Raydiant doesn't sell install. You hire your own AV contractor in each market, brief them, and hope they show up on time. For a 100-location rollout, that's 100 separate contractor relationships and 100 separate sign-off conversations. See our installation service detail.

4. 13 years of operating experience and a blue-chip client roster

CrownTV has been deploying digital signage since 2013. We've shipped 16,000+ screens across the US for brands including Victoria's Secret, L'Occitane en Provence, Bonobos, Janie and Jack, Mercedes-Benz, and Westfield. That history matters when you're handing off a national rollout: we've already solved the field problems your AV team is about to encounter — content sync across timezones, role-based permissions for franchise vs corporate users, mall landlord install rules, RFP procurement workflows, ADA placement requirements. Read recent client deployments.

Pricing — what each one actually costs at scale

We won't restate Raydiant's prices on this page because they change. Check displai.ai for current numbers — historically Raydiant has been the most expensive software-first CMS in the category at around $49/month per screen, with their proprietary player priced around $500+ as an optional add-on. Their model is software-first: license fee × number of screens, with displays, mounts, and install on you.

CrownTV pricing has two paths, both published on our pricing page:

  • Software-only (apples-to-apples with Raydiant's CMS layer): $20 per screen per month with annual billing — significantly less than Raydiant's $49/month. Same CrownTV Dashboard, 200+ apps, role-based permissions. You bring your own commercial display and run our software on a compatible player.
  • Turnkey, all-in (the model most multi-location brands buy): starts at $3,200 per screen for indoor Samsung QMC 32-inch deployments and scales to $19,600 per screen for QMC 98-inch. High-brightness Samsung OM window displays run $3,850–$14,000 per screen. The all-in number includes the panel, commercial mount, CrownTV media player, professional install, on-site training, network setup, and the first year of CrownTV Dashboard. Multi-store rollouts get volume pricing and we'll match any signed competitive quote.

Honest math: even on software alone, CrownTV is $29/month cheaper per screen than Raydiant. Add Raydiant's $500+ proprietary player and the gap widens. Once you load in displays, mounts, and your own installer per location, CrownTV's bundled all-in price typically lands well below the fully-loaded Raydiant stack — and you get one accountable contract instead of a four-vendor coordination project.

How to switch from Raydiant (Displai) to CrownTV

Raydiant migrations are routine for us — and especially relevant now for accounts evaluating their post-acquisition options. Here's the actual sequence:

  1. Discovery call (30 min) — we walk through your current Raydiant setup, screen count per location, content library, POS integrations, and what you want to change. No commitment.
  2. Site survey — remote for simple installs, on-site for window displays or video walls. We size displays per location based on viewing distance, ambient light, and your brand standards.
  3. Quote — one number covering hardware, mounts, install, training, and Year 1 software. Line-by-line breakdown shared.
  4. Content rebuild — your existing menu boards, schedules, promotions, and integrations transfer to the CrownTV Dashboard. Our content team rebuilds zones and adds any apps Raydiant didn't cover. Hospitality-vertical workflows (dayparting, POS-driven menus) are part of our standard onboarding.
  5. Install — pre-configured Samsung displays ship to each location. Our installer dispatch handles 1 store or 100. Most single-location switches go live within 1–2 weeks of contract; multi-location rollouts run on a published cadence with the PM owning timeline.
  6. Ongoing — your account manager owns the relationship. Hardware failures route through us under Samsung's 3-year onsite warranty; software changes go through our content team or your own admin users in the Dashboard.

You can cancel Raydiant (Displai) at any time once your CrownTV screens are live. We don't charge a migration fee.

Questions we get on procurement calls

What does the Displai acquisition mean for my Raydiant contract?

Displai Systems acquired Raydiant's assets in May 2025 and has stated it will continue services for existing Raydiant customers, with a strategic focus on hospitality. The raydiant.com domain redirects to displai.ai. If you're outside hospitality (retail, corporate, healthcare), the post-acquisition product roadmap may not align with your priorities long-term — and now is a reasonable time to evaluate alternatives. CrownTV's migration path covers all of that.

Can we keep our existing displays and just switch the CMS?

Yes. If you already own commercial-grade displays (Samsung, LG, NEC), our software-only tier at $20/screen/month — vs Raydiant's $49 — runs on most modern commercial panels via our Android-based player. We'll audit your existing fleet first; if any screens are consumer TVs being run 12+ hours a day, we'll flag the ones likely to fail and quote replacements separately so you can decide what to keep.

What's the lead time on a multi-location rollout?

For 1–10 locations, four to six weeks from signed contract to last screen live. For 50+ locations, we publish a phased rollout calendar, typically 8–14 weeks depending on regional installer availability and your store-opening windows. Same-week installs are possible for single locations when displays are in stock.

Should I buy Raydiant's proprietary player, or use CrownTV's?

Raydiant's player is well-engineered but costs around $500+ and locks you into their ecosystem. CrownTV's commercial Samsung-compatible media player is $150 — included in the bundle — and is supported by Samsung's commercial-warranty infrastructure. Lower cost, broader hardware ecosystem, no vendor lock-in.

What happens if a screen fails in the field?

Samsung commercial displays we ship include a 3-year onsite warranty. If a panel fails, Samsung dispatches a certified tech to your location at no cost — you don't ship anything. For media player or mounting hardware issues, we send a replacement under our SLA (typically 48 hours). Your account manager coordinates the entire loop. With Raydiant alone, you'd diagnose whether it's the player, the display, or the network, then call each vendor separately.

Can you handle 100+ locations under one contract?

Yes — multi-location rollouts are the bulk of our business. Recent examples: 150+ L'Occitane en Provence boutiques across the US and Canada, 115+ Janie and Jack stores plus a London flagship, 100+ Victoria's Secret locations. One PM, one master service agreement, per-location work orders. RFP and procurement-friendly.

How do you compare to ScreenCloud, Yodeck, and OptiSigns?

The short version: ScreenCloud, Yodeck, and OptiSigns are software-only CMSes at lower price points than Raydiant — different polish, different integration depth, none of them ship hardware or run install. ScreenCloud comparison, Yodeck comparison, OptiSigns comparison. All our head-to-head comparisons cover every major signage vendor.

Where the turnkey alternative matters most

The Raydiant-vs-CrownTV decision tilts hardest in industries where uptime, brand polish, and multi-vendor coordination are operational risk. We see the strongest fit in restaurants and QSR (24/7 menu boards in kitchen-adjacent heat — Raydiant's home turf, but you still need someone owning the install), multi-store retail (consistent brand presentation across hundreds of stores), and corporate workplaces and lobbies (executive-grade install standards). For deeper background, see our digital signage software overview and media players we ship under the turnkey package.

Victoria's Secret • L'Occitane • Bonobos • Mercedes-Benz • Janie and Jack • Westfield
16,000+ screens deployed | 13 years in business | 50-state install network

Talk to a CrownTV PM about your rollout

If software-only isn't getting your stores live the way you need, get a turnkey quote — displays, install, CMS, all under one contract.

Custom quote

Every project is custom-quoted.

Tell us what you're building — all inquiries responded to within 4 business hours.

Frequently asked

CrownTV vs Raydiant — FAQ

What's the main difference between CrownTV and Raydiant?
CrownTV is a turnkey provider — one contract covers Samsung commercial displays, the CrownTV Dashboard CMS, a pre-configured media player, nationwide professional installation, and content design. Raydiant is software-only — you still source displays, hardware, and installation separately.
Is Raydiant cheaper than CrownTV?
On software license alone, Raydiant is around $49/month per screen — software-first, optional $500+ proprietary player, no displays or installation. CrownTV's CMS license is $29/month per screen. Once you add commercial displays, mounting, installer labor, and warranty into the Raydiant stack, the total cost of ownership typically lands at or above CrownTV's bundle — with multiple vendors and invoices instead of one.
Does Raydiant include hardware?
No. Raydiant is software-only — you source commercial displays, a media player or compatible device, mounting hardware, and installation yourself. CrownTV bundles all of that under one quote: Samsung commercial displays, our media player, commercial mounts, and licensed installation, all coordinated by one account manager.
Can I move from Raydiant to CrownTV?
Yes. CrownTV migrations are common. Your account manager runs a site survey, audits the existing Raydiant hardware (if any), recommends Samsung commercial replacements where needed, exports your content, rebuilds it inside the CrownTV Dashboard, and schedules nationwide install. Most single-location migrations land within 1–2 weeks of contract.
Which is better for multi-location: CrownTV or Raydiant?
CrownTV. Multi-location rollouts need one party owning hardware procurement, install scheduling, content sync, and SLAs across every site. CrownTV provides exactly that — one PM, one contract, one invoice. Raydiant supplies software only — you stitch together hardware, installers, and content per site, which slows multi-site rollouts.
Does Raydiant install signage for me?
No. Raydiant does not offer installation — you hire your own AV technicians or do it yourself. CrownTV operates a nationwide certified install crew (licensed and insured) that mounts displays, runs cables, configures the player, and tests playback before sign-off in all 50 states.
What's the Raydiant support SLA vs CrownTV's?
Raydiant typically offers account manager on enterprise plans only. CrownTV provides a 4-hour response SLA, 48-hour hardware replacement, and a dedicated account manager who knows your sites — so when a screen goes dark, one phone call resolves it instead of debugging across CMS vendor, hardware vendor, and installer separately.
Should I choose CrownTV over Raydiant for retail or restaurants?
For most multi-store retail and restaurant operators, yes. CrownTV ships commercial-grade Samsung displays rated for 24/7 operation, certified install in 50 states, and content design support — operationally critical for customer-facing screens. Raydiant can work if you already have an AV partner and prefer software-only, but bundling typically wins on TCO and time-to-live.
When does Raydiant actually beat CrownTV?
Restaurants and hospitality groups already invested in Raydiant/Displai content. Enterprises that prefer software-first vendors and have an AV partner of record If that's your situation, Raydiant is a defensible choice. CrownTV is built for businesses that want one provider owning hardware, software, install, and ongoing support — not for teams that want maximum vendor flexibility.
What hardware does CrownTV ship vs Raydiant?
CrownTV ships Samsung commercial-grade displays (24/7 rated, 3-year onsite warranty), the CrownTV media player ($150 included in quote), and commercial mounts — all sized and pre-configured per location. Raydiant ships raydiant player $500+ optional — no displays, no mounts, no installation.
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