DirecTV just entered the digital signage market with an amazingly simple system that leverages its existing set-top boxes – like their most popular HD set-top box, the HR24.

Basically, the way it works is through a monthly fee, you get access to a cloud-based graphical “wrapper” that appears along the bottom and right side of a TV playing a DirecTV station. That wrapper is where you put your client’s custom content — and you can totally customize the color scheme, messaging and content. So, anywhere there’s a DirecTV receiver, you can wrap the TV channel in content that’s served via the network.

For example, if you’re a sports bar and want to have drink specials displayed on your HDTVs, this is a very simple way to do it — and it can be scheduled with different messaging at different times of the day. You know how virtually every gym now has a bank of TVs playing all sorts of channels while you work out? Well, imagine wrapping that TV channel with specials advertising personal trainers, personal fitness classes or upcoming members-only events — all that can be served (and controlled) via a cloud-based system using the DirecTV network.

It’s not going to go live until Q2 2012, but you can understand it better by going here: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/messageboard