Posted on Aug 10, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am
Amy Tierney, TMCnet Web Editor, has written an excellent post about the role digital signage is playing in the areas of schools and other educational institutions:
As more students embrace a technology-filled lifestyle filled cell phones, smartphones and other wireless devices, the days of reaching that audience with flyers and bulletin board posting are waning.
As a result, digital signage on campus is emerging as the hot new tool to deliver messages to students. Digital signs let schools display information in a way designed to grab people’s attention. The technology operates on a network of plasma or LCD TVs and users on the back end manage content using specialized software from the provider.
Digital signage is typically used to display upcoming events, news headlines, sporting events or scores, class schedules, and student and faculty achievements. The solution is also useful for publicizing menu board information and dynamic wayfinding.
And location is everything. Most digital signs are placed in locations where students typically congregate, such as student centers, libraries, cafeterias and administrative buildings.
For example, company officials from Omnivex, a Toronto, Ontario-based provider of software development for digital signage networks and electronic displays, said its software is used to display information in buildings and public areas at colleges including the Harvard School of Public Health, Texas A&M University and the University of Michigan, among other universities.
And the use of the technology appears to be growing.
“We are seeing an increase in digital signage deployments at educational institutions because it is a visual communications medium suited to the young audience on campuses,” Jeff Collard Omnivex president said in a statement. “Real-time content is more memorable and impactful than static or pre-recorded messages, particularly for students who have grown-up in the world of Internet, smart phones and video games.”
Yet a growing number of providers are offering services that feature an emergency alert system within the solution.
Officials with Black Box Network Services, a Lawrence, Pa.-based provider of voice 
communications, data infrastructure, and product solutions, for instance, said the company’s iCOMPEL digital signage solution offers an emergency override notification feature. The tool is part of the company’s all-in-one tool iCOMPEL offering, a set of browser-based, networked digital signage media players and appliances.
“With a click of button, a screen can have a message displayed immediately to allow people to get information in a timely manner,” George A. Borden, digital signage national sales manager, forBlack Box ( News – Alert) Network Services, told TMCnet in an interview.
“For campuses, it’s a great way to get messages out there in the event of an emergency. You can capture the attention of people quickly.”
For example, users can upload a wayfinding map highlighting directions to the nearest exit in the event of a fire. Or if severe weather strikes, Black Box’s iCOMPEL service can filter in an RSS feed with weather alerts, Borden said.
One of the unique features of iCOMPEL is that users can change content on the spot. Users can access the system’s backend administration panel to make changes through wireless devices, such as theApple ( News – Alert) iPhone or other smartphone devices.
And already, Black Box is reporting an increase in adoption of its iCOMPEL solution.
“We have been seeing an uptick at colleges,” Borden said of company sales. “It’s definitely more than it was three months ago.”
Recently, New Mexico State University adopted Black Box’s iCOMPEL system to replace its previous digital signage network. The school wanted to upgrade existing monitors with LCD screens and implement a solution with the override notification feature, Borden said. The new network is slated to be in place this fall, he said.
Amy Tierney is a Web editor for TMCnet, covering unified communications, telepresence, IP communications industry trends and mobile technologies. To read more of Amy’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
Black Box, Digital Signage, Omnivex, Wireless Digital Signage
Amy Tierney, Black Box, Digital Signage, digital signage deployments, digital signs, educational institutions, FrameMedia, Omnivex, real-time content, RSS feed, schools, students, technology, TMCnet, wayfinding map, weather alert
Posted on Jul 31, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am
Business Wire.com tells us about digital signage at the New York Grand Hyatt:
CONCORD, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Omnivex Corporation, the premier provider of digital signage software, announced today that the Grand Hyatt Hotel of New York is running its sophisticated digital signage system on Omnivex software.
The Grand Hyatt NY has a complex floor plan and hosts many conferences and meetings. The hotel wanted to help enhance the guest experience and help them navigate the large facility more easily. The hotel selected Omnivex software to manage the network for its ability to automatically update screens throughout the hotel by interfacing with the hotel’s existing scheduling system, called Daylight.
On the newly redesigned Conference Level, four 40 inch LCD displays are suspended in mid-air in front of the glass that overlooks the main floor. The content directs guests to their meetings, illustrates the floor plan, and informs guests of on-site restaurants and upgrades such as Hyatt Gold Passport. Outside each meeting room, 15” widescreen LCD panels provide automatically updating schedules to show what is taking place in each room.
“The guest experience is our top priority and the digital signage system puts Grand Hyatt NY a notch above competing luxury hotels,” says Thomas Beatty, senior director of convention services for Hyatt’s eastern region. “This technology helps our facilities stand out as exceptional.”
Displays on the Executive Suite Level provide dynamic listings of events, directions showing how to get there and the correct elevator and level needed to get there. Custom monoliths encasing large-screen LCDs stand vertically in high-traffic areas facing elevator banks and present welcome messages, schedules, navigation, real-time news and weather, and branding of guest companies hosting events at the hotel.
Omnivex software also manages content on the guest room channel on the hotel’s in-room cable television system. The channel features content with the details of upcoming meetings and events taking place at the hotel, so guests have access to the information directly from their room.
“The next step is to extend the digital signage network to the Ballroom Level, which is currently under renovation,” says David Alter, Director of Engineering and Project Management for AVT Communiqué, which oversees the system. “Omnivex gives us the capability to stretch functionality in new ways and provide great value to guests at the hotel.”
AVT manages the system remotely from its Chicago office, while administrative staff at the Grand Hyatt NY can also post messages and make changes to the content as needed.
About Omnivex Corporation
Founded in 1991 in Toronto, Ontario, Omnivex Corporation is the world leader in software development for digital signage networks and electronic displays. Many Fortune 500 companies and public institutions rely on Omnivex to deliver their messages to their audiences. Omnivex software is used to manage all aspects of digital signage networks, including content management, real-time data acquisition and distribution, and remote device monitoring and management. For more information, please visit www.omnivex.com.
About Grand Hyatt New York
Located in midtown Manhattan and adjacent to Grand Central, The Grand Hyatt is steps from the city’s top attractions – including Times Square, Broadway theaters, Central Park and Fifth Avenue. The hotel has 55,000 square feet of renovated meeting space. http://www.grandnewyork.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/.
Press Contact:
Lawren Markle
Tech Image (For Omnivex)
626-345-9746
lawren.markle@techimage.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20090721005249/en
http://www.omnivex.com
Posted on Jan 16, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am
From INewsWire comes a preview of the newest, most cutting-edge technology for digital signage and all 
kinds of interactive technologies! The Digital Signage Expo will be in Las Vegas at the Convention Center, from February 24-26. If you want to attend, or wish to exhibit, please contact Chris Gibbs at 770-649-0300 ext. 17, or visit the Digital Signage website, where you will find even more information!
Here is a partial list of what you can expect to see in the way of new digital signage/interactive technology at this year’s Digital Signage Expo:
• BroadSign’s Creator, a web-based content creation tool that allows simple and intuitive template-based dynamic messaging.
• Adder Corporation’s new Adderlink X50 Extender allows greater user flexibility among others: a system administrator who works on a PC that is located in a secure or isolated area at the site, or the ability to make presentations in a room where it is not feasible to have a computer.
• AdFlow Networks’ Media Player Engine, an interactive selling tool that encourages impulse buying, may be updated in real-time, is easy to use and requires no IT resources or large up-front investment.
• Allure Global’s DigiBox allows display of fully animated digital movie posters with movie times and ratings in full color.
• DT Research’s DS1700, 17-inch all-in-one-signage system which provides an integrated computing display in one slim, mountable package, ideal for digital signage and kiosk applications.
• NEC’s new MultiSync 15 Series with new mechanical design, comprehensive output panels and robust functionality.
• Omnivex’s Moxie offers digital signage design and management tools, through a browser interface.
• Samsung’s Matrix Interlocking Display 2 allows sturdy, stable video walls up to four displays high, by an unlimited number of displays wide.
• Thomson’s PRN’s new interactive product Display TV merchandising solution.
• Tightrope Media Systems’ new Carousel 5.2.0 offers Carousel Touch, allowing interactive bulletins through touch screen panels.
According to the President of ExpoNation, LLC, and producer of Digital Signage Expo Chris Gibbs: “The Digital Signage, Interactive Technologies and Out-of-Home Network Industry is still growing. As of this date, we have a record high number of exhibitors and more registered attendees for 2009 than we had for the 2008 show. Those statistics suggest that organizations are focused on the significant benefits and opportunities that our industry’s technology and solutions offer.”
The Expo will feature, among many other things, a full day conference called “Revolutionizing Interactive Marketing in Public Spaces with Mobile and Gestural Digital Signage.”
The International Pavilion will host exhibitors from around the world, and the New Product Pavilion will showcase what’s brand new in the world of digital signage! And there’s more, much MUCH more!
The full press release for the Digital Signage Expo may be read here.
Digital Signage, Digital Signage Expo, Interactive marketing
Adder Corporation, Adderlink X50 Extender, AdFlow Networks, Allure Global, BroadSign Creator, Carousel Touch, Chris Gibbs, DigiBox Media Player Engine, Digital Signage, Digital Signage Expo, DT Research, ExpoNation LLC, gestural digital signage, iNewsWire, Interactive marketing, Las Vegas, Matrix, mobile signage, Moxie, MultiSync 15 series, NEC, Omnivex, Samsung, template-based dynamic messaging, Thomson, Tightrope Media Systems, wireless digital signs
