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Tell us more! My team is currently looking for a digital signage option that would include cable/IPTV of some variety.

Wouldn't it be less expensive and simpler to buy a few real servers ?

Not at all. $35 for a pi and $200 for HDMI>SDI converter is significantly cheaper than any media server with that many broadcast outputs.

For IPTV - each TV needs a decoder. Hard to beat $35 per set. Plus running our own stack means we can tune for latency unlike an app on Roku/ATV

Nice. I'm looking at a streaming media system of some sort which repurposes existing audio hardware where possible.

This turns out to be ... somewhat frustratingly difficult.

There are numerous Bluetooth-based systems, some WiFi-based ones. The hard part is sorting out the interface to control the system -- there's nothing quite so frictionless as either on-device controls or a remote, though going with an iPad or cheap tablet seems the best option.