The Digital Signage system includes Digital Media Manager, a Web-based software application, and Digital Media Player, a small hardware device that controls playback of video, graphics and text on video displays.

Digital Media Player is priced at US$1,495, while the cost for Manager is based on a customer's configuration, Wyatt said.

In September, Cisco brought out two products called Digital Media Encoders to help create media for distribution over the Digital Signage network.

Melissa Webster, an analyst at market research firm IDC, called the digital signage business a "highly fragmented market" with a "tremendous number" of providers. Almost all the vendors are small, but larger ones tend to focus on building advertising networks or deploying outdoor signs.

"I think we will see very rapid uptake once there are large, standards-oriented vendors [such as Cisco] in the market," Webster said.