For just running a screen not only is Windows a massive waste in terms of resources and costs, but so is a NUC. A Raspberry Pi (equivalent) is more than sufficient.
Depends on what the screen is doing. We deployed a system with multiple Raspberry Pi's running Chrome in kiosk mode, each driving a TV showing different data.
For one of them we had to switch from a Raspberry Pi to a small NUC to display a page with 3-6 videos running. The pi could show 1 or 2 videos but with all 6 going, it was very stuttery playback.
I'm actually surprised it handles two videos without issue... It's a good option a lot of the time. When the scalping got bad, I started using the cheaper intel boxes, smaller than NUC but more powerful than rpi and included a case and enough storage.
There is exactly zero reason for an app whose only purpose is to be shown on a screen to be Windows or x86 specific. It can be due to obsolete development practices or obscure vendor requirements, but still..
1. LoB apps need to be run not just on a computer that only shows a screen, but in other contexts, there is no reason to develop a whole new app just for that purpose.
2. Developers who are only used to working with Win API's like WPF, DotNet, etc. or other frameworks that are windows only Why would we want to employ whole new dev team just to maintain that app separate from the apps that run on our Laptops and normal computers
3. Management Tools. If my entire fleet of computers is managed by ConfigMgr and controlled by Group Policy and Compliance Setting why would I want to spin up a completely separate management system like Ansible or something just to control these machines when I could have them integrated into my existing tool set of which my helpdesk and everyone else is trained to use?
