ROI — Measuring the Success of Digital Signage Content
By Debbie Wilson-Dewitt
Marketing Communications Manager, VISIX When we talk about ROI, it can be return on investment, return on involvement or just how to know your digital signage is working. A lot of people don’t think about measurement when planning their messages and the fact is, if you’re going to involve yourself — your budget, time and creativity — you’ll want to measure ROI so you can justify those efforts. Instead of thinking of ROI in strictly financial terms, consider the effect on long-term goals, brand image and culture in your organization.
The biggest factor in measuring ROI is including a call to action in your content. If you just put out a message without asking the audience to do something that says they saw the message, you have no way of knowing if it worked.
Measuring viewer attention is easy with some basic strategies and tracking. - First, determine a clear, quantifiable goal
- Then, create your message with a simple, easy-to-track call to action
- Next, set up a response tracker like a webpage, web form or email address
- Publish your message and look at how many people responded
- And measure the results against objectives
Another idea is to see which displays in your facility get the best response by using interactive touchscreens or pairing displays with web kiosks to let viewers take immediate action.
There are also informal ways of measuring success, such as general conversation — a lunchroom chat, if you will — where you simply ask people if they’ve seen your messages and what they thought of them. However you choose to measure your ROI, make it a long-term, continuous process so you can fine-tune your messages to become better and better at reaching people and getting the results you want. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Taxi TV Targets Audience Purchases
By David Weinfeld
Chief Strategy Officer, Screenreach Interactive The following is reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). For more information, go to http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org.
There's a solid article on Ad Age this week that looks at new features being offered by VeriFone Media Group's Taxi TV. The ad enhancements include in-cab commerce, coupon printing and user-specific targeting.
Given VeriFone's market share in the payment processing space, which is a fundamental component of the company's Taxi TV platform, it's easy to see the genesis of these new features. The integration of direct product purchases within Taxi TV's ads is a solid step for any DOOH network. With the frequent promotions for Broadway shows that run on Taxi TV, tapping into the purchase funnel at the point of engagement could, in theory, produce strong results.
I happen to be very bullish on VeriFone Media's long-term prospects. With the parent company's giant reach across a diverse range of venues, I envision a day in which small consumer-facing screens are directly integrated into all of the company's point-of-purchase terminals. We are beginning to see this already, with screens primarily being used to display purchase information to each customer. The long-term play is the distribution of place-based ads to consumers, in which VeriFone's payment processing systems provide real-time data for just-in-time targeting. This, in essence, represents the evolution of some of the features Taxi TV is now rolling out.
Is Mobile a Threat or Opportunity for Taxi TV?
Even though Taxi TV offers one of the most "captive" audiences in all of DOOH, the media network's biggest threat is the screen we have in our pockets. What could be viewed as a threat, I see as an enormous opportunity. It's impossible to deny people's impulse to take their phones out of their pockets the moment they step into a taxicab. Rather than viewing mobile as a competing medium, I believe Taxi TV needs to embrace it as a channel for audience interaction.
My recommendation is to extend the network's new features to mobile, thus allowing passengers to purchase items from their phones based upon on-screen content. With an optimized second-screen mobile experience, Taxi TV could leverage people's smart devices to enhance and extend its core content. This could include everything from multi-player social gaming, location-based alerts, single-click mobile purchasing, to exclusive content layers. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Smartphones Are Changing the In-Store Digital Dynamic, And That's OK
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine We’ve been hearing and reading for two or three years now how the rise of smartphones was going to change the dynamic in retail environments, and force some rethinking and reinvention of early in-store digital efforts.
One-way pushes of content were looking awfully antiquated, and basic touch screens were going to quickly seem lame when compared to the slick Apps people were firing up on their iPhones and Android handsets.
It was reasonable to wonder whether people really would be whipping out their phones in the middle of their shopping trips, but research is now coming out that suggests the dynamic really is evolving.
A new study released by Performics, a performance marketing firm, suggests people are doing all kinds of things that influence buying decisions while on the last few steps of the fabled path to purchase.
The study done in September, involving more 1,000 Americans who had to at least had a social network account of some sort, found three in five of these “social shoppers” were using their smartphones to do competitive price searches (62 percent) or find specials, coupons, or deals (60 percent) while in a retail location.
The 2011 Social Shopping Study, done by ROI Research, also found 53 percent looked for product reviews and 45 percent checked availability. The research also found 41 percent research product information, 40 percent look for alternate store locations and just 18 percent use their smartphones to search for and (presumably) view product videos.
They also do a lot more purely social things than certainly I would have thought. Almost half of them (45 percent) frequently or occasionally “check in” at a store (why?), and 30 percent take photos and post them on a social network, asking for comments (e.g., “Does this make my butt look big?”).
Well… ummm…
Interesting for the QR and NFC people is an indication that 30 percent use a barcode scanner app on their phones to scan and shop for prices.
So what does all that mean in the context of digital screens? A few things…
Some of the product look-up, deeper detail and navigation stuff that was perhaps thought to be ideal use-cases for in-store screens may already be supplanted by phones and Apps. Not everyone will use them, of course, but a lot do. Is it better to get a locator map on a screen and then toddle off trying to recall the directions, or an App in your hand that provides turn-by-turn, aisle-by-aisle guidance?
The screens are going to be the best activation tools around to get consumers using digital product, review and loyalty apps and other tools that retailers and brands manage. People will, no matter what, use Google Shopping and Amazon to price-compare while on the sales floor – but logic tells you there is lots to be done to still close a sale onsite even if the price might be better at another retailer or online.
The CEO for Aegis Media, at the recent DPAA media summit, said price comparison shopping brought on by smartphones didn’t spell doom for brands that can’t compete on price with house products. Nigel Morris suggested “this actually makes brands more relevant, because brands need to communicate in a rich way at the point of transaction.”
Digital OOH and in-store digital are ideally suited to drive brand awareness and reinforce brand and store loyalty right on the sales floor. Smartphones may introduce countless alternatives, but digital screens are powerfully positioned to do the work needed to keep shoppers in that store and get stuff in the shopping basket, even if it is cheaper four blocks away. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top A Healthy Serving of Digital Signage Musings
By David Little
Director of Marketing, Keywest Technology The following is reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). For more information, go to http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org. This column is a bit of a digital signage dim sum — a tasting of various thoughts, facts and musings that taken together should make for a tasty treat.
Item one; nearly all smartphones will have touchscreens in the not too distant future. ABI Research released a projection in late August that sees 97 percent of all smartphones having a touchscreen by 2016. To put that into perspective, in 2006 only 7 percent of the smartphones shipped had touchscreens. The research firm attributes much of the coming proliferation to the availability of low-cost capacitive touch controllers that can reduce the cost of adding touch-based interactivity by as much as 30 percent.
Question: When touchscreen capability is ubiquitous in smartphones, will interactive touchscreen capability simply be expected by consumers? Will signs without it leave consumers wondering what's wrong, or worse, simply walking away to a friendlier, more interactive alternative?
Item two; a blending of digital technologies may point the way to the future for out-of-home advertising. Global lifestyle and environmental communications agency Kinetic said in September that it was launching Fuel, "a response to the increasing scope of Out of Home advertising including opportunities to integrate digital interactivity, dynamic displays, experiential and bespoke design into client brand campaigns."
In announcing the launch, Kinetic's UK chief operating officer said the move "reflects the changing nature of Out of Home media and the huge opportunities that emerging technologies add…"
Question: How long until others notice and begin to leverage complementary interactive technologies with digital signs to produce an even more effective communications experience or more powerful marketing opportunity? What sorts of opportunities will be available when a sign can communicate wirelessly with a smartphone, for example, and vice versa?
Item three; a telling glance can direct a sign. Researchers from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in South Korea in mid-September demonstrated a technology that allows someone to have interactive control over a television — and digital signage is not too far of a stretch of the imagination — by tracking his gaze. The technology, shown at the International Broadcast Convention in Amsterdam, uses a camera to track where one of the pupils of a viewer is directed to give the viewer interactive control. In one demo, a viewer's gaze was used to pull up the vital statistics — age, name and hometown — of various dancers as they performed on stage. Still a prototype, a finished version is years away.
Question: Will the gaze of a digital signage viewer one day replace touch as the gateway to interactivity? If so, what possibilities will this new interactive interface open to communicators and marketers?
That's about all for this digital signage dim sum tasting. I hope this presentation gave you some food for thought. At the very least, I hope it didn't leave you with any digital signage dyspepsia. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Commercial Small Screens
By Perry Goldstein Though I see many products labeled as commercial digital signs, there doesn’t seem to be a hard-and-fast definition of what makes a unit commercial. Nonetheless, I would say that there are three determining factors to be considered, at least in the small screen category: - It comes with a sign program built in
- It’s built with a durable cabinet
- It has a long life (50,000-hour rated) panel.
In other words, the unit would have absolutely no consumer application at all.
The life of the panel is critical for digital signage. In a 24/7 environment, 10,000- to 15,000-hour consumer panels won’t last very long. If you do the math, a 50,000-hour panel is ideal for around-the-clock use. Small signs are beginning to offer longer warranties (three to fiver years) but still lag behind their large-screen counterparts. I predict that the demand for commercial small screen digital signage will increase over the next few years as they become more integrated into retail, education and hospitality.
Electronic Price Tags — A product I call an electronic price tag is popping up in more and more retail stores. It’s tent shaped and has a black and white LCD. It runs off a battery and is wireless. Its primary function is to give basic information and the price of the products. There is nothing eye catching in the content that will draw attention to it. It’s very functional, and replaces paper tags. One might argue that it’s really not digital signage, but I am including it here. You can make your own judgment.
Photo Frame with Sign Software — There are many brands on the market that offer a photo type player with built-in content software. The users build their own content on top of the management system to customize the message. The unit is perfect for a small business and is easy to program. The only catch is that it may still be a consumer panel and not designed for constant play over a long period. It may or may not be able to be networked to other signs.
Commercial Monitors — This would be a screen built with a long life panel (50,000 hours rated), with an input for a sign player (HDMI, DVI, VGA) and RS232 port for control. It is like its large screen counterpart. There does not seem to be a large selection of these on the market right now. The cabinet must be rugged, with limited or no access to buttons or wires. As the players become smaller, the cabinets could accommodate the players inside them.
All-In-One — This would be a small screen with a player or PC built in. This is an emerging product, in its early stages. It can be either passive or touch screen. It’s a space and cost saver, since there is no need for a separate player. The processor has no OS or content system preloaded. That makes it compatible with most content management systems. However, due to the limited space in the cabinet, the processor’s capability is limited. Actual capability of this unit is determined by the OS, the size and demand of the content management system and actual content itself. It comes built with a long life panel. The cabinet is made of all metal and can be surface or flush mount.
Between the consumer and commercial products I’ve described in the past two articles in this series, you have a large selection of displays you can choose from. What you actually decide to do depends on your application.
Perry Goldstein is a veteran of the electronics industry. After spending 30 years in consumer electronics, he has transitioned into the Pro AV industry. Currently, he is sales & marketing manager with El Segundo, Calif.-based Marshall Electronics, where he heads the company’s Digital Signage and MXL Pro Audio division. Goldstein will be sharing his small screen expertise on a DSE 2012 panel titled "Evolution or Revolution? The Changing Face of Small Screen Digital Signage." To contact Goldstein for questions regarding the information in this article, email perry.goldstein@gmail.com.
This article was reprinted with permission of Digital Signage Connection and originally appeared here.
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Share Article Back to Top U.S. Sales of Flat Panel Displays for Digital Signage and Commercial Use Grow 9 Percent Y/Y and DisplaySearch Adds ALMO to its Commercial Display POS Tracking Sales of large (26”+) flat panel displays made for commercial applications, such as digital signage, continue to increase according to the latest DisplaySearch Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report.
“In contrast to slowing sales of flat panel TVs for at-home consumer enjoyment, monthly sell-through of FPDs designed specifically for commercial applications are up through the first three quarters of 2011, with sell-through 9 percent ahead of the same period last year,” noted Chris Connery, DisplaySearch Vice President of PC and Large Format Commercial Displays.
Figure 1: Sales of Large (26”+) Commercial-Grade LCD and Plasma Displays through U.S. Commercial Distribution Channels
Typical applications for these self-defined, commercial-grade displays are digital signage applications like way-finding, electronic menu boards, flight-information displays, boardroom displays and classroom displays. While the sale of commercial-grade flat panels in out-of-home (OOH) environments is typically the only benchmark used to gauge the digital inventory of digital signage in which advertisers can sell advertising space, further analysis shows that many products that might have been originally developed just for in-home TV watching are also being used in commercial environments for digital signage.
While some of the surveyed commercial distributors are used for TVs that will eventually flow through consumer outlets and then into consumer homes, a good portion of these TVs are used in commercial deployments. “Shipments of TVs through commercial channels are five to six times greater than large commercial-grade displays, but the growth has really been in pure commercial-grade products,” notes Connery. The percentage of TVs shipped commercially that end up in commercial installations varies by distributor and by season, with IT distribution channels sometimes leveraged more in Q4 to help with logistics management for smaller, consumer-oriented retailers. Most TVs shipped through distribution in Q1-Q3 end up in commercial installations, thus showing that the market for commercial-use displays is much larger than what product specifications alone can determine.
Due to the project-oriented nature of the digital signage business, market shares can vary greatly from month to month if a large deployment, such as a national convenience store retrofit, occurs in a given period. While some manufacturers clearly distinguish between commercial-grade displays and consumer-TVs, others blur the lines through hybrid displays or products called “commercial-TVs” that are similar to consumer-TVs except for the model number and distribution channel. For example, while Sony has a small lineup of commercial-grade professional displays, most of the Sony-branded products sold into commercial channels are actually part of its consumer-TV line-up. Conversely, NEC is almost exclusively a commercial brand. Brands like Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic and LG have strong portfolios of commercial-grade displays as well as TVs, both of which are available through commercial distribution.
Table 1: September 2011 US IT/AV Distributor/Reseller FPD Brand Market Share by Type
The purchase of TVs for commercial usage typically comes through commercial distributors and resellers, such as ALMO, Avnet, Best Buy for Business, CDW, Insight, Ingram Micro, SED, Synnex, Tech Data, Tiger Direct, Zones and several other IT/AV resellers and distributors. The addition of leading U.S. commercial distributor ALMO to the DisplaySearch Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report is effective with the October edition.
The Monthly Large Format Commercial Displays Sell Through Report captures and analyzes U.S. commercial sell-through data from both AV and IT reseller and distributor channels for large-format LCD and PDP displays (>26"). Leveraging information and expertise from both DisplaySearch and parent company The NPD Group, the report covers markets such as digital signage, corporate conference rooms, public transportation and more. In an effort to continue to add visibility to this market segment, DisplaySearch has added ALMO, a leading distributor, to its POS tracking services. Along with other changes to its reseller and distributor mix of POS reports, DisplaySearch, through combined efforts with NPD, has been able to enhance visibility to commercial-only sales channels by adding new commercial outlets and by incorporating historical data so that proper Y/Y comparisons can be made without spikes in data when new companies join.
For more information on this report, please contact Charles Camaroto at 1.888.436.7673 or 1.516.625.2452, or contact@displaysearch.com or contact your regional DisplaySearch office in China, Japan, Korea or Taiwan. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top YCD Multimedia Buys C-nario YCD Multimedia yesterday announced the acquisition of C-nario. Although details of the purchase price were not released, YCD recently received a $6 million in fundraising led by Carmel Ventures, Opus Capital, Pitango Venture Capital and Plenus, together with other existing shareholders. YCD Multimedia provides marketers with a set of tools to manage, distribute and target digital media within the retail environment. And, of course, C-nario is a global industry leader providing corporations and organizations worldwide with advanced digital signage software solutions and applications.
YCD is here: http://www.ycdmultimedia.com/
C-nario is here: http://www.c-nario.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Dell Powers More Flexible Digital Signage Offerings Do you associate Dell with digital signage? Dell OEM Solutions was recently selected by Tripleplay Services, a provider of IPTV, Video Streaming and digital signage solutions, to provide a back-end hardware platform, including the OEM-ready Dell PowerEdge R710 and T110 servers.
Founded in 2001, Tripleplay Services has an impressive customer base across 33 countries. Tripleplay claims the largest IPTV deployment within the UK with over 200,000 client devices supported within closed communities and the largest deployment of HD streaming and IPTV servers for any single customer in Europe.
Tripleplay’s relationship with Dell OEM Solutions has already proved instrumental in a number of significant customer wins, with particular traction within stadium, education and retail sectors. (Tripleplay’s customers in these markets include Chelsea FC and the Green Point and Port Elizabeth 2010 World Cup stadiums in South Africa, Sheffield Hallam, Portsmouth and Southampton Solent Universities and London School of Economics, Dixons/Currys and several hospitality solutions in major four- and five-star hotels around the world.)
“Tripleplay’s solutions are a great example of a widely-deployed technology, which people might be surprised to find out is powered by Dell OEM Solutions,” says Sam Forsbom, general manager, OEM Solutions EMEA at Dell. “However, the fact that we are powering digital signage technology in a number of very high-profile customer deployments shows how invaluable our combination of technology and services can be to organizations like Tripleplay looking for ways to facilitate business transformation.”
To check out Tripleplay Services, click here: http://www.tripleplay-services.com/index.php
For more information on Dell Digital Signage, click here: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/sitelets/solutions/industry_application/pub_solutions/dell_digital_signage?c=us&l=en&s=gen Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Noventri Launches Green DS Player with Integrated Software, Will Plant a Tree if You Buy One If you're interested in a simple, still-image player from a company that has a reason to say it's green, the new Noventri SF-100e may be the perfect digital signage player for you. The company claims this is the industry's "greenest" digital signage player — a simple embedded media software engine with a network port in and a DVI/HDMI/VGA port out, no moving parts, no fan, no hard drive and, best of all, for every one sold, the company plants a tree in the buyer's honor. The no-hard-drive solution has a USB port (and is packaged with a 1GB USB memory stick) that plays all the content sent to it via an Ethernet network and outputs it either analog (VGA) or digital (via DVI or DVI to HDMI adapter) in any native resolution from 640×480 to 1920×1200. The player has a profil of 4" x 5" x 1" so it's also pretty small.
Input is 5-volt (so can be powered over Ethernet) and only uses 4 watts of power total (compared to a PC-based DS player that usually averages 200-300 watts). Noventri claims that the $599 SF-100e (that's less than half the price of the SpinetiX HMP200, even though the SpinetiX player does video) can operate in ambient temps from -40°F to 185 °F (-40 °C to 85 °C) at an altitude of up to 16,000 feet and humidity range from 0 – 80 percent.
Full specs are here: http://www.noventri.com/simple-digital-signage.php Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Mitsubishi Adds 55" Narrow Bezel Displays Mitsubishi announced the release of a narrow-bezel, 55-inch monitor (MDT551S) that the company is aiming at video conferencing, gaming, retail kiosks and digital signage. Included with DisplayPort, VGA and HDMI inputs, the new 55" is CFL-backlit, includes network monitoring and control and the ability to send video and audio via the network. With a brightness spec of 700 cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1300:1, the MDT551S is 1920×1080 native, weighs in at about 90 pounds and uses about 350 watts of power in use.
Complete specs are here: http://www.mitsubishi-presentations.com/mdt551s/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Professional Flat Panel Display Market Grows 29 Percent In the professional flat panel display sector, the pure pro display market experienced quarter-on-quarter growth of close to 6 percent in Q3, with year-on-year growth of nearly 29 percent and volume sales of 454,000 units, according to new research from Futuresource Consulting. Combining pro displays with consumer displays sold into the professional market, the combined market grew by nearly 7 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 and 25 percent year-on-year.
After a difficult Q2 for the Japanese market – when professional display sales fell 55 percent – the country began its recovery in Q3, posting sales of 26,000 units, equivalent to quarter-on-quarter growth of 68 percent. It was also a strong quarter for Japanese vendors, who all experienced good growth in their professional display line-ups, ahead of the market curve.
China continues to lead the market for professional display, with the transport sector in particular driving growth. Domestic players still dominate the competitive landscape, though international brands are beginning to enjoy some traction after a long period of investment.
If you want more information or want to read the report, go here: http://www.futuresource-consulting.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Crimson AV Ships In-Wall Mounting Box Crimson AV announced that its VersaFit in-wall mounting systems would begin shipping this week. VersaFit is basically a recessed in-wall box that mounts securely between studs behind almost any wall-mounted display. It's compatible with more than 20 standard Crimson mount styles, including nine arm-style multiple-angle mounts that allow for full motion and a variety of viewing angles while still being able to retract the TV flush with the wall. The VersaFit comes with built-in guides for placement on 1/2" and 5/8" drywall, providing for tool-less leveling that allows for accurate positioning during pre-construction installation. It lists for about $100.
You can see all the specs here: http://www.crimsonav.com/products/vfb16 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Canon Intros Ultra-Short Throw 3D Projectors Canon has introduced the LV-8235 Ultra-Short Throw (UST) projector that's capable of projecting an 80-inch picture from a distance of only 1 foot. Because the LV-8235 UST can sit on a table or be mounted horizontally or vertically on a wall, ceiling or floor, it can be used for both educational and digital signage applications. Spec'd with a brightness of 2500 lumens, native WXGA (1200×800) resolution and a 2000:1 contrast ratio, the projector has HDMI and VGA inputs and is IP- or RS232 controllable. It's very quiet for a short throw projector at 28 dBA.
The Canon LV-8235 UST Multimedia Projector has a list price of $1,799 and you can learn more after it's put it on the website here: http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/projectors/lcd_projectors Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Russian Startup Projecting Interactive Visuals on Man-Made Fog
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine This seems to be cool interactive display day around the armed compound.
The latest is word of a Russian start-up that is doing smaller, interactive variations on the fog screen thing a Finnish company debuted a few years ago.
This company, called DisplAir, projects images on a steady stream of cold fog to make visuals appear from nothing, and uses infrared readers to respond to gestures.
Reports Tech Crunch:
Unlike oversized body movements, which Microsoft Kinect analyze and process using motion camera and infrared depth sensors, DisplAir solves a bigger challenge of detecting and interpreting finer movements of hands.
Yet DisplAir’s award-winning technology, developed in a student dormitory, has only 0.2 seconds lag time between gesture and computer reaction, compared to 0.1 second lag time of Kinect for Xbox 360, using up to 1500 points in its multi-touch screen system with 1 cm accuracy.
The founder and CEO of DisplAir, Maxim Kamanin, the TechCrunch post continues, believes that there are applications in advertisement and entertainment industry. For example, Russian Alma Group will use the technology in psychotherapy treatments, while Medical Group plans to set up an interactive terminal for its reception.
When manufactured in large quantities, the device may cost between $4,000 and $30,000. The company is capable of producing 40- to 140-inch screens and it is currently looking for investors to launch commercial production. See a video of DisplAir on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Hy9bNhALo4g
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Share Article Back to Top Minority Report's Visionary Doing DSE 2012 Keynote
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine Minority Report references in stories about digital signage tend to set my eyes rolling, but a guy named John Underkoffler gets a pass –- since he’s the fellow who came up with the gesture-based user interface in that 2002 Spielberg sci-fi movie.
Most of the oh-so-tiresome Minority Report references we hear and read have to do with ad posters reconizing and pitching at Tom Cruise as he’s out in public. Underkoffler and his team at Oblong Industries are behind the other particularly iconic part of that flick, as Cruise puts on a special glove and starts driving a crime and video database seemingly in thin air by usinga waving and pointing hand.
Now Underkoffler has been enlisted as the opening keynote speaker at Digital Signage Expo in March. The chief scientist and technological visionary at Oblong will speak March 7th on ”Through and Beyond: A Pixel Dialogue.” The talk will lay out his vision of the radical shift that’s coming in how we think about digital displays
Before founding Oblong, Underkoffler spent 15 years at MIT’s Media Laboratory, working in holography, animation and visualization techniques.
Obviously a very smart cat, and someone who should draw a big crowd. Kudos to Richard Lebovitz at DSE for digging up someone very diferent and intriguing for the big slot.
For what’s probably a pretty good preview of what he will be talking about, try this TED video: http://www.ted.com/talks/john_underkoffler_drive_3d_data_with_a_gesture.html Click here to watch a video overview of the technology from Underkoffler: http://vimeo.com/2229299 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top NanoLumens Diversifies Product Line, Goes Outdoors
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine I have been watching NanoLumens for about 2 1/2 years now, really liking the display product but always thinking the line needed to get a little more diversified to get end-users interested. It looks very much now like that diversity thing is addressed.
The Atlanta company was at Customer Engagement Technology World this month showing off a bunch of different products all built around the idea of lightweight, flexible, bright displays.
The big news for me is shape, and outdoor capability. I know the sales guys got asked a LOT about whether the units could go outside, and they now have one they say can even get lowered into a swimming pool and will keep on running.
I believe them, but I am not going in that pool.
“The full commercialization of flexible digital displays is now a practical reality, which means it is now cost effective to deploy flexible displays that are movable, lightweight, energy efficient, durable and easily serviceable in just about any location,” says company President and CEO Rick Cope. “Coupled with the coming 100 percent adoption of smartphones, this heralds a new era of one-to-one marketing, allowing an entire population of mobile device consumers to interact with marketing displays in literally any location—public events, transit centers, conferences and exhibitions, airports, malls and even in stores.”
The product line started with NanoFlex, which is an LED panel about the size of a sheet of plywood that weighed less than 100 pounds and could bend.
There are now both flexible and non-flexible frames in four product lines: NanoFlex, NanoWrap flexible displays, NanoSlim (non-flexible rectangular displays) and NanoShape (non-flexible round, square, and triangular displays).
There’s also the NanoPanels, which is IP65-rated, meaning it can handle the abuse of the elements, ambient sunlight and, to some degree, the public.
The Slim version is also pretty interesting in that it can get as big as 16 feet wide by nine high, with a 4 mm pixel pitch (meaning it will look quite good from not too far back) and even at that Godzilla wall size it would weigh less than 750 pounds.
No word on price, but they are not cheap because the big production volumes aren’t there. One argument NanoLumens can credibly make is the labor and structural costs of putting these units up is a fraction of big LCD or LED walls. The plywood sheet-sized units can hang on piano wire.
Looking forward to seeing these somewhere soon. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top DSE's Conference Program is Reason to Attend March Show Offering ten educational programs on Tuesday, March 6th as part of its pre-conference curriculum, the DSE show is a one-stop DS educational opportunity:
The courses include: - The Digital Place-Baesd Advertising Summit designed specifically for Brand Marketers, Advertising professionals and digital place-based network operators.
- The Digital Signage Certified Expert (DSCE) Program designed for those whose professional involvement requires a full understanding of all of the elements of digital signage and the interconnected technologies.
- The Digital Signage Guided Installation Tour designed to provide behind-the-scenes insights into some of the best digital signage installations in Las Vegas.
- 3D Workshops designed to provide a clearer understanding of the latest in 3D technologies.
- NEW Digital Signage in Transportation designed specifically for professionals faced with the unique challenges of providing digital communications in public transportation settings.
- NEW Digital Signage 360: A Global Perspective designed to literally give technology providers, system integrators, network operators and advertising professionals a worldwide overview of the opportunities, challenges and state-of-the-art accomplishments in digital signage.
- Platt Retail Institute Retailer Educational Forum designed specifically to provide retailers with unique insights into store marketing, consumer-facing digital platforms and digital signage at retail.
- NEW Hands-on Content Workshop with four individually facilitated tracks designed specifically for content strategists, planners and designers in Retail, Restaurants, Banking and Corporate Communications.
- Speed II Digital Signage Training designed for end-users and suppliers of dynamic place-based signage to quickly "get up to speed" on what they need to know to plan, execute and manage digital signage installations.
- NEW Mobile Models You Can Believe In designed for those who wish to learn how to incorporate and take best advantage of the mobile component that can plug consumers into communications programs in varying environments including Retail, Higher Education, Corporate Communications and other large scale public displays.
Details are here: http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Digital Signage Software and Player on a USB Stick?
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine Jason Cremins of SignageLive had a tweet up last week about a Norwegian start-up that has a PC that is the size of a car cigarette lighter, but capable of running Android and driving 1080p video.
Laptop magazine reports how FXI Technologies showed off a USB stick-sized portable computer prototype, complete with a dual-core 1.2-GHz Samsung Exynos ARM CPU (same as in the Galaxy S II), 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI-out and a microSD card slot for memory.
Codenamed Cotton Candy because its 21 gram weight is the same as a bag of the confection, the tiny PC enables what its inventor calls “Any Screen Computing,” the ability to turn any TV, laptop, phone, tablet, or set-top box into a dumb terminal for its Android operating system.
The Cotton Candy has a USB 2.0 connector on one end and an HDMI jack on the other. When connected to an HDTV, it uses the HDMI port for video, the USB for power and Bluetooth to connect to a keyboard, mouse or tablet for controlling the operating system. The device can output up to 1080p so even a full HD screen can display the Candy’s preloaded Android 2.3 operating system at its native resolution. The dual core CPU is powerful enough to play local 1080p video or stream HD clips from the Web.
When you plug the Cotton Candy into a Mac or PC, the Windows or OSX operating system recognizes it as a USB drive. You can then launch the software and run the Cotton Candy’s Android environment in a secure window while you use your desktop OS outside the window. You can even transfer files between your notebook’s native OS and the Cotton Candy’s Android environment by dragging them off or on the USB stick’s memory.
We watched as FXI CEO Borgar Ljosland popped the Cotton Candy into his MacBook Pro and, within seconds, had the device’s Android OS running in a full screen window and, though we didn’t get to play with the device ourselves, we were impressed with how quickly it started up. Borgar told us that Android developers can use this environment to test out their apps while they work on code in another window.
HDTVs, monitors, and computers are just the tip of the iceberg for the Cotton Candy. Borgar told us the device will be able to connect to tablets, smartphones, and even set top boxes via USB or Bluetooth. He says that he expects the device to be able to turn even an iPhone or an iPad into a terminal for its environment. Imagine an iPhone running Android!
Because the Cotton Candy is a full-fledged computer, it should be able to plug into a USB hub and connect directly to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to launch its OS. Offices or schools could set up docking terminals to support users who carry it in their pockets.
Cotton Candy’s purpose is to provide a computing experience that users can carry with them and replicate anywhere they go. Imagine walking into an Internet cafe or a business center, popping your Cotton Candy into a USB port, and having your own operating system and applications take over the device.
Though the current prototype runs Android 2.3, Borgar told us that the ARM-based hardware can run Ubuntu Linux currently and future versions should be able to run the ARM version of Windows 8. Future versions of the device will have a USB 3 connector and faster processors.
From developers to students to mobile workers, there are a number of groups that could find innovative ways to use a computer the size of a USB stick. However, you won’t see a consumer product shipping anytime soon from FXI. The company plans to sell the Cotton Candy to developers and let OEMs license the technology and turn it into something that can appeal to a wide audience.
Borgar does not expect these future “any screen” products to replace your primary PC or smartphone, but says they could become popular secondary devices. With Ubuntu installed, the Cotton Candy can even be turned into a mobile file or web server!
FXI hasn’t set pricing yet for the Cotton Candy, but expects it to cost considerably less than $200 per unit.
This is interesting on a few counts.
In theory, firing up a network is reduced to hanging a commercial panel that has a USB slot, and then plugging in the Cotton Candy (which has Wi-Fi).
At sub-$200, it’s certainly cost effective – though there may well be even cheaper devices on the horizon like the Raspberry Pi and all kinds of ARM devices.
This looks and smells more like a real product as opposed to a gadget that will never get outside the lab environment. However, the company also looks extremely small and early stage, with a somewhat barren website that nonetheless has broken images and bad links. Not the best way to instill confidence. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Videotel Intros Another Looping DS Player Videotel's new VP77 is a multi-function, low cost, simple-to-use digital HD media player (1080p) using either a compact flash card or USB drive. With a built in auto start, auto-play function, your content begins to play and loop automatically. The VP77 can also be set up to stream video over your internal LAN or the internet. The VP77 will play most major video formats including MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, avi and Dvix. To use the VP77, you just insert the CF card or USB drive into the front of the player, plug in the unit and your video or audio files will start playing.
You can see all the specs of the $362 VP77 here: http://www.industrial-dvd.com/more-information/default.aspx?product_id=210 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Primeview Debuts Transparent LCD Monitor Primeview's new transparent LCD is available as a 22” display in color or black and white. It's truly a unique display solution as it combines a retail product display along with high definition video advertising to create a cool signage experience, making it excellent for museums, retail environments and show windows. A built-in USB player makes it simple to change content with any standard thumb drive.
The Primeview PRV22TC has an 80-degree viewing angle, uses a commercial grade LCD, and offers DVI, HDMI and USB input ports. It's similar to a shadow box where you place a physical product between the glass and the display to make for a unique DS experience.
The best way to understand the product is to watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h-ilq-XRoDQ
All the specs are here: http://primeview.biz/Product.aspx?id=165 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Ronin Reports 25 Percent Decrease In Revenue for Q3 2011 Think twice before buying Ronin stock — the company just reported a revenue drop in the third quarter of 2011 of 25 percent sequentially to $2.3 million from $3.1 million in the prior quarter, and decreased 14 percent from $2.7 million in the same year-ago period. This all while the DS market is having a record sales year.
Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased 37 percent to a record $7.8 million from $5.7 million in the same year-ago period. The quarterly decrease was primarily attributable to lower dealership deployments of Chrysler’s iShowroom-branded tower application into Chrysler dealerships. The quarterly decrease was partly offset by additional orders for 20 Fiat dealership installations for the iShowroom application, which is being featured in the Fiat Style Center of the new Fiat Studio Facilities.
Recurring revenue in the third quarter of 2011 from the company’s hosting and support services was approximately $400,000 or 17 percent of total revenue. As of Sept. 30, 2011, the company had received purchase orders totaling approximately $1.4 million for which it had not recognized revenue. Gross margin in the third quarter of 2011 was 49 percent, as compared to 46 percent in the previous quarter and 50 percent in the third quarter of 2010.
Net loss totaled $1.4 million or $(0.07) per basic and diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $1.4 million or $(0.07) per basic and diluted share in the previous quarter, and a net loss of $1.4 million or $(0.08) per basic and diluted share in the same year-ago period. Net loss for the third quarter of 2011 included $169,000 of non-cash stock compensation expense.
Non-GAAP operating loss totaled $1.1 million or $(0.06) per basic and diluted share, compared to a loss of $1.1 million or $(0.06) per basic and diluted share in the previous quarter, and a loss of $1.0 million or $(0.06) per basic and diluted share in the third quarter of 2010. The company defines non-GAAP operating loss as GAAP operating loss with the add-back of certain items. Reconciliation to GAAP operating loss on a quarterly basis is contained in a table following the unaudited financial information accompanying this release.
At September 30, 2011, the company's net working capital position was $3.5 million, as compared to $4.6 million at June 30, 2011. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top NEC Adds 27" to LED-Backlit Line NEC Display announced today a new 27-inch, LED-backlit monitor in the form of the MultiSync EA273WM, which is up to 30 percent thinner and 25 percent lighter than the company's previous 27 LCDs. It boasts a 130-mm, height-adjustable stand and future-proof connectivity such as DisplayPort and HDMI inputs. Other improvements include the redesigned On Screen Display (OSD) controls, user-friendly OSD menu and streamlined cable management. The EA273WM is packed with green features, including LED backlight technology, which reduces power by more than 40 percent compared to select previous generation EA Series models. Other eco-friendly highlights include ECO Mode and smart sensing technology, including an ambient light sensor and human sensor, which detects user activity in front of the monitor and reduces its power up to 95 percent with inactivity.
Using a native 1980×1080 HD LCD, the new 27" has a spec of 25,000:1 contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness and has an integrated four-port USB 2.0 HUB. It's Energy Star 5.0 compliant as well as TCO 5.1 and lists for $499. Full specs are here: http://www.necdisplay.com/p/ea273wm-bk
Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top A "Surface" for Real-World Budgets
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine A few things have struck me when I have seen the Microsoft Surface interactive tables in the wild.
1. Cool.
2. Buggy.
3. Crazy expensive.
I don’t know if the second point is addressed with this, but a new Surface-style touchscreen product set to debut in a couple of months at CES certainly addressed cool and most certainly improves on the price-point.
Tech blogs are reporting on a teaser video released by the Montreal firm EXOPC, for something called the EXOdesk. The product is billed as a 40-inch interactive surface that is an extension of the touch UIs developed by the company for tablets running, a little ironically, Microsoft’s Windows 7.
The company has a series of touch Apps for tablets and this is, in many respects, just a bigger playground to run them on. The interface is based on HTML5 (not Flash).
The current Surface product has an MSRP north of $12K, and the new generation due in 2012 is about $4K less, but still a budget buster for a lot of (or most) companies. The attraction of the EXOdesk is the $1,300 price tag being teased by the company.
It would not be as slick as the Surface and not offer as many opportunities, and be supported by a small Canadian company instead of a Fortune 500 firm. But for a retailer, public facility or private company looking to offer interactive communications on what amounts to a huge tablet, this will definitely get a look.
The company has also shown a massive 65-inch wall-mounted touch screen prototype at Computex in Taiwan. Click here to watch a YouTube video about the EXOdesk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5dlUi3DnrzA Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top DVDO Ships Wireless HDMI Adapter DVDO is now shipping its DVDO Air Wireless HDMI mobile solution that allows users to wirelessly connect a wide range of HDMI devices to their HDTVs – and not just Blu-ray Discs, cable or game consoles, but also smart phones, tablets and computers – all in what DVDO claims is full 1080p and in 7.1 channel sound.
DVDO Air is a wireless hardware solution that enables customers to easily wall-mount or place HDTVs anywhere in the room without visible HDMI cables. Mount the HDTV and wireless receiver on the wall, connect DVDO Mobile or any other HDMI source component to the wireless transmitter, and with plug-and-play simplicity the wireless link is ready to go. DVDO Mobile utilizes Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) technology to connect to the latest MHL-enabled smartphones, tablets and mobile devices. DVDO claims that the DVDO Air + Mobile combo delivers uncompressed picture and sound from the mobile device to the big screen HDTV wirelessly and keeps your device fully powered at the same time. The company is aiming it to "do it yourselfers" in their press release – aka end-users, but this product has application for integrators doing digital signage or residential custom install work.
To see all the specs, go here: http://www.dvdo.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top DSA Announces Crown Award Winner Profiles
By David Drain
Executive Director, Digital Screenmedia Association By now, you may have seen the list of DSA Crown Award winners, but unless you were one of the judges or at the DSA Pre-Show Party on Nov. 8, you haven't seen the actual video clips behind the award-winning entries.
We've now created profiles on each of the winners, with their video submission, objectives, results and selected judges' comments. As you view the clips and read the entries, you'll see what it takes to win gold, silver or bronze in the DSA Crown Awards. We thank everyone who entered and those who judged.
In case you are wondering, we will be calling for entries for the DSA Industry Excellence Awards at the beginning of the New Year. Unlike the Crown Awards, the Industry Excellence Awards considers overall kiosk, digital signage or mobile projects in each major vertical market segment.
Be planning your entries for the DSA Industry Excellence Awards and the DSA Crown Awards in 2012 as we raise the bar for excellent digital screenmedia projects and content. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Primeview Debuts 47" with Ultra-Narrow Bezel Primeview's new LED-backlit LCD monitor is a 47" that has a bezel that's only 5.7 mm wide, according to Primeview, and can be used in both landscape and portrait mode. Designed as a 24/7/365 commercial application digital sign, the 1366×768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio PRV47LCWLUN carries a brightness spec of 700 nits and can be staked together in any form factor to build unique shapes and sizes for applications. It has an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of 60,000 hours.
For more specs, you'll have to wait until it's on the Primeview website here: http://primeview.biz/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Lots of Interactive Signage Goodies in IPG's New(ish) Media Lab
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine IPG Mediabrands, described as the “media innovation unit” of the $34-billion media holding company Interpublic Group, has launched a whiz-bang media lab in its New York offices.
The IPG Media Lab, says a release this month, is the world’s first, and the industry’s most highly-invested immersion and exploration center dedicated to bringing the most promising technologies from Silicon Valley and the “Innovation Economy” together with leading global brands to create solutions for real-world marketing problems.
I am not quite sure how you launch something you already had, but I guess politicians re-announce projects and programs all the time and few people nit-pick. IPG has had an emerging media lab for at least a year and probably much, much longer.
Anyway, new or renovated, there’s lots of technology at play here to get brand people tingling and ensure IPG stays high on the Cool-O-Meter. Much of the featured products in the release are directly relevant to digital signage and digital out of home.
The 5,000-square-foot lab serves as Mediabrands’ digital inner sanctum and the physical location where clients and the IPG network will go to engage and develop technology-enabled marketing programs alongside proprietary data and analytics. The IPG Media Lab team has vetted and compiled a database of over 500 companies and continues to work with venture capital firms, small technology funds and thousands of emerging media companies around the world to review and assess new ways to connect consumers in the digital space. The companies chosen for inclusion in the IPG Media Lab compendium will be fed to all IPG Mediabrands employees.
At any given time, the Lab will feature 50 of these technologies, platforms and applications. These will be accessed within six permanent installations, or “Permatrends”: The Mobile World, Connected Entertainment & Experience, Retail Innovations, Social Media, Audience Measurement and Marketing Accountability. The Lab will continually improve and optimize the Lab experience through a proprietary feedback system, powered by Tagstand, which enables real-time monitoring of engagement throughout the space, leveraging NFC technology.
“Mediabrands is investing significantly in the future of brand communications,” said Matt Seiler, Global Chief Executive Officer, Mediabrands. “We, as partners to major international brands, have a duty to keep our clients and agency talent apprised of landscape changes and developing opportunities to engage a rapidly advancing global consumer.”
“This is the place where our clients can touch, interact and test the applications, platforms and technologies that will help grow their businesses while creating consumer utility that is value-driven,” said Quentin George, Chief Innovation Officer, Mediabrands. “The Lab is the industry’s only interactive framework that helps global brands better understand where their customers are with technology, where they will be tomorrow and how to better anticipate and respond to opportunities.”
At launch, the IPG Media Lab prominently features six nascent media developments with emerging technology partners:
Transparent LCD Freezer/Cooler Door
Created by STRATACACHE, this new translucent digital signage technology allows marketers to directly enhance brand awareness and capture consumer interest at the critical point-of-decision. Bringing active media into the freezer/cooler aisle and transforming ordinary glass surfaces into a digital media experience, interactive advertisements embedded within a transparent LCD panel allow customers to see-through enticing promotional ads to the corresponding product in the backdrop.
Interactive Shoe Kiosk
Created by Intava (Software) for the IPG Lab via consortium with ELO (Touchscreens) and Texas Instruments (RFID), this digital kiosk allows RFID-tagged products to be recognized by the screen for the purpose of providing an interactive, deeply informative customer experience. When a shoe is placed on the table, customers can learn about style, fit, product attributes and access customer reviews/ratings via social media platforms. This will bring new consumer shopping habits directly to retail environments.
Audience Measurement (Using Facial Recognition)
Two solutions that use standard cameras to identify and measure audiences are featured in the Lab to add a layer of quantifiable emotional response to products, experiences and media. One, from Affectiva, is designed to measure a consumer’s emotional response to products and media. TruMedia’s technology is able to determine gender, age and audience size for the purpose of providing a more relevant media experience in real time.
CMO Desk of the Future
This interactive desk allows C-level executives to interact with and mashup information via data display tools from Infomotor, Chartbeat, Turn dashboard and several location-based technologies. Visualizations will yield new ways to experience and manage large volumes of real-time and historical data. The screen-based system features real-time usage of a company’s website, brand and competitor chatter, purchase data by local market, company share price and other economic impacts connected to allow for real time marketing decision-making.
Interactive Mirror (And Glass)
Developed and created by the IPG Media Lab, this activated mirror allows customers to check out and purchase items straight from the dressing room, share their selections via social networks as well as providing suggestions on other items they might like based on their original choices. This gives the retailer the opportunity to provide a higher level of customer service, and gives the customer new ways to shop.
Virtual Dressing Room
Developed by FaceCake with Microsoft’s Kinect-based interactivity, this augmented-reality tool takes the shopping experience from the store to a customer’s home. Using a mobile device to take pictures of item tags in store, the customer can then try on and purchase items in their home by using a Kinect Cam to bring together the items onto their body. Incorporates mobile interactivity through the use of NFC and Microsoft tags, social sharing and expert recommendations based on historical purchases.
It’s a nice showroom for the company and the vendors who have a spot in there. I am not sure what the price of entry is to be in these kinds of high-profile labs, but I asked Stratacache CEO Chris Riegel and he says he’s not paying to be in there. They asked him.
No pix with release (shaking my head here, yet again), so I grabbed one from Fast Company, which did a tour and wrote about the new(ish) lab. Images via Fast Company Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top So, that's rAVe DS [Digital Signage] for this month! Remember, we are here to HELP the AV market penetrate the DS market. Only 12 percent of the DS market is integrated by AV companies. The other 88 percent is IT-based. Now, there are AV publications and even an association that would like to draw those IT people in to AV (it would increase readers, right? – and more readers means they can charge more for ads). That is NOT what we are doing. rAVe DS is specifically designed to pull AV into the DS market and teach AV companies how to take business away from the currently dominated by IT market.
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read a 100% opinionated ePublication that's designed to help AV integrators. We not only report the news and new product stories of the digital signage industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that's why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don't like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don't reply to this newsletter — instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe [Publications] has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter rAVe ProAV Edition. rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004. rAVe Rental [and Staging] launched in November 2007. rAVe ED [Education] launched in May 2008. rAVe DS [Digital Signage] was launched in January 2009.
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Back to Top Copyright 2011 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – (919) 969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
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