Frequently Asked Questions
Visit the sections below for answers to Bluefin’s frequently asked questions.
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Who is Bluefin?
Bluefin is a leading manufacturer of digital signage for retail and commercial settings, corporate communications, hospitality, and more. Our digital signage displays can be customized with various sizes, housing options, and integrated operating systems to fit project-based needs.
Does Bluefin own manufacturing facilities?
Yes! We operate our board-level manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China with full-time in-house design, production, and logistics teams.
What does Bluefin manufacture?
We produce LCD displays for digital signage. We accomplish this by designing and manufacturing our own printed circuit boards, allowing us to combine various LCD sizes, all-metal housing designs, and integrated system-on-chips to produce a wide range of dedicated digital signage displays.
Does Bluefin manufacture its own LCD panels?
We are not an LCD panel manufacturer. We work with the world’s top LCD manufacturers to reliably source panels with an emphasis on performance and longevity, and our relationships allow us to develop digital signage at custom sizes for special orders.
How does Bluefin integrate systems like BrightSign and Intel?
We work with our platform partners to produce drop-in SoCs that combine with our own motherboards on the fly. This creates a standard for our integration that makes new SoCs fit seamlessly into the entire Bluefin all-in-one catalog.
Where is Bluefin located?
Bluefin is headquartered in Cumming, Georgia, USA— just north of Atlanta, where we operate our sales and support teams. Our manufacturing center is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
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What screen sizes are available?
Bluefin offers readily available LCD screens from 10.1” to 55”, as well as ultrawide sizes, and even some unique shapes. Additional sizes from 6” to 86” are available for tailored factory orders.
What is a system-on-chip (SoC)?
System-on-chips are small circuit boards which contain everything needed to run an operating system, such as BrightSign, Windows or Linux. These SoCs can be installed in Bluefin screens labeled All-in-One or Flex-OS. Embedded SoCs allow you to run your software without connecting an external system over a video cable.
Can I have more than one SoC installed in a single device?
Only one SoC can be installed in a Bluefin screen at a time.
Do all Bluefin screens come with an SoC?
Screens labeled as Flex-OS can be purchased with or without an SoC installed. Without an SoC, the Flex-OS screen will only behave as a monitor for an external device.
Screens labeled All-In-One (Not Flex-OS) require an SoC to be installed, and cannot display from external devices.
What kind of touch screens does Bluefin use?
Bluefin screens can include optional 10-point projective capacitive (PCAP) touch screens on most sizes.
Do touch screens support gestures like ‘pinch’ and ‘zoom’? Are drivers required?
Bluefin touch screens include multi-touch gesture support. Additional drivers are not required, but iOS (Macintosh) is not supported.
My screen has an SoC. Can I still display from an external device with HDMI?
HDMI override is available on Flex-OS screens. When a live HDMI source is connected, the Flex-OS screen will immediately change input to the HDMI source.
Can I use the touch screen with an external device?
On Flex-OS touch screens, a dedicated mini-USB port can be used for the touch screen output. When outputting to an external device, the touch screen will not interact with any installed SoCs.
What external computers / media players can I use with Bluefin touch screens?
Windows and x86/ARM Linux-based operating systems (including Android and Chrome-OS) will work with Bluefin touch screens. It is not necessary to manually install drivers. Mac/iOS are not supported.
Do Bluefin screens come with Power over Ethernet (PoE)?
Power over ethernet is optional on screens between 10.1’’ and 21.5’’.
Depending on the size, this specification may require PoE+ (802.3at) or PoE++ (802.3bt).
See our blog post for more information on PoE.
Does Bluefin make outdoor displays?
Yes! Bluefin has developed high-bright outdoor displays.
Click here to learn more.
Does Bluefin make mounting equipment for screens?
We do not manufacture mounting equipment, and we cannot provide consultation on mounting equipment.
Nearly all Bluefin screens include a standard VESA pattern to be compatible with a wide range of commercial mounting hardware.
Bluefin can also customize mounting points on custom production orders to better suit your integration needs.
Can Bluefin housing styles be replaced after purchase?
Housings cannot be replaced with different styles (Finished, Frameless, Countertop, etc) after purchase.
Can Wi-Fi be installed after market?
Wi-Fi modules can be installed after market on most displays, but you may have difficulty installing Wi-Fi on screens smaller than 13.3’’ as these require full disassembly. We recommend ordering Wi-Fi during production for your convenience.
What color (powder coat) are Bluefin screens?
Finished screens are provided with RAL 9005 black powder coat. Frameless screens come unpainted, bare metal. Ask us about custom housing colors for screens.
How to properly clean and maintain your digital signage screens?
For step-by-step guide on cleaning and maintaining your Bluefin digital signage, Click here to learn more.