Digital Signage Expo: Buzzword Is “Small to Medium Businesses”

Posted on Feb 27, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

The Digital Signage Expo started yesterday, and according to Digital Signage Today.com, , “Economy makes the big players take the low–cost route.”

The article, edited by Bill Yackey, follows:

LAS VEGAS — The buzzphrase of the first day of Digital Signage Expo seemed to be “small-to-medium businesses,” or customers that have only a small number of screens or deployments. There has always been a segment of the digital signage industry focused on this long-tail market, but the economy has no doubt lead even the big players in the digital signage industry to reconsider their target customers.

That was highly evident when Scala issued a press release this morning, announcing six new initiatives to “lower the barrier to entry to digital signage.” Most notable of the six is a partnership with FASTSIGNS, a traditional signage provider that announced in January that it is offering a packaged digital signage solution using NEC hardware and Scala software. FASTSIGNS CEO Catherine Monson said that in the six weeks since the product announcement, the company has received $2 million in quotes for the system.

Scala’s other initiatives consists of:

• A partnership with Frame Media to launch SignChannel, a new low-cost, self-service, easy to use, entry-level digital signage service based on wireless photo frame technology.

• Scala as a Service, a hosted version of Scala Content Manager that provides an online digital signage network for a monthly fee.

• The “Ultra Low Cost PC” (ULCPC), at approximately half the cost of traditional PCs.

• Support for several all-in-one devices that include a “PC built into the Screen” form factor.

• An initiative to support cost-effective video appliances (aka “MPEG Players”) reducing the total cost of ownership of both the hardware and software per Player.

Although NEC Display Solutions was highlighting its impressive 82-inch LCD and its ultra-thin bezel MultiSync X461UN for video walls, Mike Zmuda, director of business development, made a point to emphasize the release of NEC’s MultiSync 15 Series and the 46-inch LCD4615, designed for entry-level digital signage applications.

“You have to give up the thin bezel for the 15-series, and there is less firmware, but the 15-series easily allows the addition of touch overlays and protective panels at a cheap price,” Zmuda said.

In the sense that time is money, Omnivex’s next release of its Moxie software (due March 1) is engineered to save users time scheduling content using a system similar to iTunes’ Genius, where songs are given attributes and tags and play when those attributes are selected. Here digital signage content is given meta-tags and assigned to play based on the user selecting relevant tags.

Black Box Network Services has had the SMB customer in its mind all along, offering a complete digital signage solution and emphasizing its 24/7 tech support specific to digital signage. Although the company has more than 180,000 SKUs in its catalog, it showed the iCompel, a player designed for small deployments which comes with software already installed in the player. Brian Kutchma, director of marketing, also said that although the software is licensed, customers aren’t charged for future upgrades.

Check back to Digital Signage Today all this week for constant coverage of Digital Signage Expo. For live updates from the show floor, follow us on Twitter.

Jiffy Lube’s Digital Signage by IOHI, Keywest

Posted on Feb 25, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Digital Signage Today.com reports that the digital signage and telephone communication for Jiffy Lube will be handled by IOHI, Keywest.

IOHI, a solution-based audio/video marketing company, announced that it has been hired by multiple Jiffy Lube franchises to provide in-store digital signage, as well as call handling solutions.  Jiffy Lube has more than 2,000 service centers in North America and has the largest system of franchised and company-operated service centers in the fast lube industry, servicing approximately 27.5 million customers each year.

IOHI provides on-hold messages and call handling greetings for phone systems and IOHI VideoCast digital signage solutions to improve the customer experience in service waiting areas.

Jiffy Lube promotions were cross-featured on both their phone messages and digital signage to target at-home and in-store customers and potential customers. Existing monitors and new commercial-grade LCD screens were utilized for digital signage, and custom product and branding videos were programmed to interrupt a live television feed at designated intervals. Other branded Jiffy Lube ads rotate in additional zones. There are also options for a custom ticker and current time and temperature.

“Getting my digital signage solutions in place has been easy, and IOHI is a great company to work with,” said Chris Burns, Jiffy Lube franchisee and president, STC Management LLC. “The content is targeted and branded for Jiffy Lube and I am even able to include a real-time feed with the time and temperature displayed in a zone on the screens, plus I can change the content remotely any time I want. IOHI’s solution has been a great addition to my stores.”

To offer Jiffy Lube sophisticated playback of its product and branding videos, IOHI relies on a digital signage solution from Keywest Technology. Keywest’s MediaZone manages scheduling and plays back content to meet the needs of Jiffy Lube franchisees. IOHI works closely with Jiffy Lube franchisees and the Jiffy Lube Association of Franchisees.  IOHI’s creative team drives the construction of new audio and video by providing the franchisees with a marketing calendar of applicable and/or seasonal products and services to be included in their on-hold, call handling and digital signage content creation.

IOHI VideoCast custom content and call handling solutions assist Jiffy Lube franchisees in increasing sales, improving customer service and the customer experience, up-selling and informing customers of products and services with which they may not be familiar. The content reflects Jiffy Lube’s other marketing initiatives, as well as reinforces their brand identity.

IOHI’s turnkey service includes a review and approval process for on-hold, call handling and digital signage content that lets Jiffy Lube franchisees confirm it fits their overall marketing goals. Additionally, an online tool makes the process even more convenient via IOHI’s webXpress system branded for Jiffy Lube franchisees.

Once content is approved, IOHI uploads the audio and video remotely via custom hardware on specified dates to coincide with other forms of marketing.

Datacasting For Digital Signage

Posted on Feb 23, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

The following article, from Digital Signage Today.com, is by Lyle Bunn, principal and Strategy Architect for BUNN Co.  Bunn is highly regarded as an advisor and educator in North America’s digital signage industry.

Datacasting is emerging as an attractive alternative to DSL, satellite and cellular connectivity for digital signage/DOOH network operators because it combines the cost-effectiveness of multicasting with the addressable media transport associated with DSL/Internet. Datacasting offers the rapid, low-cost deployment that makes cellular attractive, but can provide much higher connectivity capacity and speeds.

One of the major players in this area of the digital signage industry is National Datacast, a commercial, wireless data broadcasting subsidiary of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). NDI has acted as a content delivery provider since 1988, but is turning its capabilities in connectivity service and media management to the digital signage and digital out-of-home sectors. National Datacast provides regional or national connectivity through partnerships with PBS member stations and their satellite networks.

While digital signage software from firms such as BroadSign, EnQii, Harris, Scala, STRATACACHE and others can provide flexibility and ease of use in designating display groups and specifying content spots for playout on even individual displays, I believe past connectivity options have not offered a cost-effective combination of network-wide media fueled with fast, player-targeted download.

Today’s connectivity model is a fundamental element of digital signage, in-store TV and DOOH dynamic displays since centrally-controlled networks are “media-fueled” to present information or ads according to pre-defined, often day-parted playlists.

The typical architecture is to forward media spots and a playlist file from a network operations center to media players at display locations, and then to add live inputs from databases or external feeds such as weather, news, sports scores or financial information.

Internet connectivity, such as DSL, and cellular treats each media transfer as a separate connectivity transaction, and as such requires large connection capacities to process network traffic.

Multicasting, the transmission of the same files to multiple locations at the same time, can offer media transfer value, but can add an overhead to media management at each location.

The datacasting model NDI’s datacasting network (short for “data broadcasting”) uses digital file transfer techniques that are similar to delivery of content via other means – that means a digital signage player can readily utilize content files delivered by datacasting. Datacasting applications are numerous and include transfer of video and audio files, corporate digital file transfer, updating of software, gaming and information, training and education, alert notification, safety and security and information services.

Datacasting empowers the capabilities of available software tools and offers operational cost-effectiveness that can allow digital signage/DOOH network operators to expand networks and better apply their day-parting capabilities.

This reliable, national infrastructure of commercial-grade digital connectivity has been used by a long list of clients such as Movie Gallery, Update Logic, TV Guide, Microsoft, Disney, VISA, IBM and others.

The receiving equipment is also very simple in nature. A standard antenna is connected using coaxial cable to a specialized digital television receiver which is then connected by USB to a media server or on some other type of content processing computer/ display. The antenna and receiver typically costs under $200 retail.

Other datacasting service features important to digital signage/DOOH network operators include:

Nationwide coverage that allows network operations in multiple regions to be provided by a single connectivity operator.

Transmission reliability is not affected by user volume, cable breaks or environmental conditions such as rain, snow, smog and dust.

Multicasting allows satellite transmission to deliver value to a large network deployment.

Multiple file formats can be transported, reducing the need for transcoding or file re-formatting, which increases overheads and can degrade playout quality.

Security at the highest level associated with an enterprise application.

The NDI Network Operations Center (NOC) can manage media distribution in any predefined display architecture.

TiroMedia Introduces New HD Network Player

Posted on Feb 20, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

TiroMedia is pleased to announce the introduction of a new HD Network Player: The TMP N4. The new player player features an HDMI interface as well VGA. It supports resolutions up to 1080p. It has built-in wireless (802.11b/g) in addition to wired Ethernet. This allows for great flexibility in deployment.

At 6.8″ x 4″, the TMP N4 is one of the smallest HD digital signage players available on the market. The player uses very little power compared to a a PC. This results in considerable savings in energy costs, especially in environments requiring 24/7 operation.

Like all players available from TiroMedia, the TMP N4 is 100% solid-state and has no moving parts. All content is stored on a local CF card. The new player is fully compatible with TiroMedia’s web-based CMS. The CMS is not only compatible with the TMP N4 but it also compatible with all network players offered by TIroMedia, such as the TMP N2.

The CMS is available free of charge with the purchase of a network player.

Priced at $799.99, the TMP N4 competitively priced and offers customers to deploy high definition digital signage networks at reasonable costs.

This article is from NewsWireToday.com.

Helius Chosen By Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Posted on Feb 18, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has chosen the Helius digital communications system to “inform and train its employees, as well as to keep inmates abreast of correctional facility rules and regulations.”

With Helius digital signage, the Sheriff’s department will be able to “optimize the flow of information from central command to local offices. . . quickly and efficiently.”

“We tested other solutions, but in the end we chose Helius because the system allowed us to conveniently provide digital signage, on-demand training, and department-wide communications in an affordable, all-in-one package,” said Sergeant Steve Strange.

“The Sheriff’s decision to implement our multi-purpose solution further validates the importance of using a media system that offers both communication and training capabilities. We welcome the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to our broad base of corporate and government customers who use our system at tens of thousands of sites across North America,” said Mike Tippets, president of Helius. “Helius is proud to offer solutions that enable law enforcement and first responders to remain current and receive key information as they valiantly serve and protect our communities.”

You may read the article in its entirety on Digital Signage Today.

Wireless Ronin Allies With Chrome Systems and eVox

Posted on Feb 16, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

GlobeNewsWire.com reports that Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc. has joined with Chrome Systems, Inc. and eVox to create a powerful Automotive Product Information Center (Auto-PIC) in order to deliver “dynamic product information and multi-media presentations for virtually all automotive brands.:”

“”Auto-PIC is a critical tool in helping dealers and OEMs to compete in this challenging market,”" said Jim Granger, president and CEO for Wireless Ronin. “”We listened when they told us they needed a turn-key system that could be quickly deployed and would both reduce costs and help the dealership sales staff drive sales. Auto-PIC is another example of how Wireless Ronin provides truly unique and innovative solutions to our customers.”"

Read the full article about Wireless Ronin, Chrome, and eVox on GlobeNewsWire.com.

Wegener Corporation Will Present At Digital Signage Expo 2009

Posted on Feb 13, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

From CNNMoney.com comes this article about the Wegener Corporation vice president of marketing Kamy Merithew, who will be speaking at the Digital Signage 2009 Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center next week.

In recent years, digital signage networks have been growing in popularity as a cost-effective means of building and reinforcing brand and corporate identities, as well as informing and entertaining customers in retail, hospitality, transportation, and other public venues. During the workshop, Merithew will focus on “after hours” uses for digital signage-specifically how retailers can use their digital signage networks to better communicate with their employees before and after store operating hours.

“Digital signage networks give corporations a dynamic, paperless means of communicating with employees who are dispersed across their retail sites,” said Merithew. “It also offers point-to-multipoint distribution of information about sales training, theft prevention, security drills, employee benefits, and other timely corporate communications. This workshop will focus on techniques to maximize the scheduling of time-specific and repetitive content to serve multiple audiences.”

Read the entire article about Wegener’s presentation at the 2009 Digital Signage Expo right here on CNNMoney.com.

WEGENER(R) can be reached at (770) 814-4000 or at www.wegener.com.

Digital Signage For Schools

Posted on Feb 11, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

When given a choice between paying attention to a static sign or a digital sign, most people of any age and in any situation or environment will pay much more attention to a digital sign.  This means, of course, that if a business of any kind wishes to attract and keep the attention of its customers or clients, it needs to consider using digital signage.

There really are no limits to the kind of business or institution that can benefit from a digital sign, and that includes educational environments as well as malls, hospitals, stadiums, and all other places where people gather.

But what could digital signage possibly do for a SCHOOL?

Answer:  Plenty!

Any kind and any level of educational institution – elementary, middle, secondary, and college – can benefit greatly via a digital sign.  Think about it:  Down in the office, a secretary or principal programs in an announcement, and that announcement is INSTANTLY attracting the attention of the students and instructors on the digital signage!  Sports scores, upcoming events and games, slogans, advice, debates, plays, concerts, PTA, bake sales, faculty information, parent information, weather reports, emergency announcements, all kinds of schedules, volunteer programs. . . . if the educational institution utilizes it, the digital signage can announce it, enhance it, report it, and repeat it!

Digital signage would work for a school, inside the building or outside!  A big digital sign that welcomed people would be a wonderful attraction for a school.  Digital signage outside the building could remind the community of events, scores, and all kinds of opportunities and information vital to the coherence of the community.

There really is no business or institution that couldn’t benefit greatly from digital signage.  Really.

iDklic Wins Digital Signage Contract in Brussels

Posted on Feb 9, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

iDklic is Belgium’s leading Digital Out-Of-Home Media Agency. The company provides retailers and marketers innovative ways of targeting and engaging consumers. iDklic centrally manages out-of-home digital networks in car dealerships, airports and retail stores, delivering dynamic, relevant and visually appealing messages via plasma and LCD screens. Clients include EPC-Familia Mercedes-Benz, V.Pharma, Pharma Santé, BITC, Zaventem Airport. iDklic centrally manages and produces content for all of its clients. iDklic Creative, iDklic’s in-house creative studio, is Belgium’s number one out-of-home digital content provider .

From the Daily DOOH, we learn that iDklic, which also works with NAVORI,  has won a digital signage contract with Brussels International – Tourism & Congress (BI-TC) and the Brussels Convention & Visitors Bureau for the deployment of a digital signage solution at the BI-TC’s Brussels Airport stand.

For more information about iDklic’s work with Brussels International, click here for the full article.

Roku Expands BrightSign Family of Digital Signage

Posted on Feb 6, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

From ElectroPages comes this article about Roku expanding the non-PC digital signage and kiosk controllers.

Founder and CEO, Anthony Wood, said: “By creating a product line of five new BrightSign models, we’ve taken our products to a new level. Rather than offering fully-loaded models with features that may not be necessary for all applications, we’ve packaged each model with specific software and hardware capabilities that we’ve found are most popular to the wide range of digital signage applications out there. Now you only pay for what you need and save money in the process.”

Read the entire article about BrightSign digital signage right here.