How to Come Up with a Touchless Interactive Option That Won't Embarrass Users
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine Suppose you wanted to use digital displays to keep staff informed and also make video information available on demand, but the workplace is way too grimy to use a touch screen.
Staff in industrial settings who spend their days around dirt, dust and grease are not good candidates for flicking, swiping and pushing a touchscreen in the break room to sort menus and information. The screen would be a mess in short order, and in many cases, the screen is enclosed to protected against all the crud.
The cool kids in this sector would immediately raise the idea of using Kinect motion capture sensors, so staff could keep their grimy mitts off the screen and instead gesture to make things happen on it. Wow. Except only about 1 in 10 staffers would know what to do or would willingly flap their arms in front of their colleagues.
And a Kinect hack requires development, as well as a user learning curve.
A client we have was wrestling with the whole touch screen challenge thing – to make monthly messages from the president launch on demand and get safety videos more readily available. The solution turned out to be pretty simple.
A touchscreen is just responding to triggers. Someone touches an icon on a screen and the software is mapped to cause a certain file to play when that event happens. The same thing can happen with other things as triggers, and in this case, we suggested mechanical buttons – like the sort of buttons you’d see on slot machines and vending machines. Buttons than are built to be pushed and pushed and pushed.
The buttons would feed the triggered event into something called a PIC processor (essentially a micro-controller), which would then output a serial command that could be read and understood immediately by whatever digital signage software application is running.
So when someone walked into the break room and wanted to review the training video on forklift safety, they’d push button two (because the prompt on the screen said so) and that trigger would launch the appropriate video.
This does not end up with the deep level of engagement possibilities of something with a virtual keyboard that can take data entry, but there are many, many situations like this in which just making material available on demand is huge, and data input would never be required.
There’s also some interesting training requirements things that could be baked in if staff walk around with access cards and these displays had attached RFID/NFC readers. Swipe or tap, video launches, and now there’s a record that employee has seen that safety demo.
I know a few companies, including the digital signage software platform this client used, can easily work with externally triggered serial commands to drive content. PIC processors are not something you get at Best Buy, and they require customization. But they are not exotic things and easily built (and at quite low cost). A company I worked for a couple of years – Digital View – has a lot of experience with them, and there are no doubt others.
So, grimy fingers should not keeps a company’s digital staff communications efforts from going interactive. There are some pretty easy, effective workarounds. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Creating the Right Content Formats for Your Digital Signage System
By Frank Kenna
President and CEO, The Marlin Company The following is reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). For more information, go to http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org.
This is the final installment in Frank Kenna’s series on “Sourcing Content For Your Digital Signage.”
In my last few blog posts, I've covered the first four items from my list of Five Things to Look for When Sourcing Digital Signage (DS):
1. What are you trying to communicate?
2. What is the source?
3. Is the information accurate?
4. Can you get permission to use it?
5. How do you get it into a format compatible with your DS system?
Today I’ll cover #5. As you may recall, the “it” referred to in the list is the content that’s so important for keeping your DS system fresh and relevant.
Now that you’ve found some content, you realize that you have to figure out how to actually get it into your digital signage system. Most likely, you’re dealing with the typical formats such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and video.
Ideally, your content management system (CMS) is smart enough to upload these files in native format. If so, then it’s simply a matter of doing straight uploads, keeping in mind that you want the aspect ratio (height vs. width) of the piece to most closely match the display frame to which you’re uploading.
Content Format Conversion Tips and Tools
But what if the CMS system won’t natively upload your content? Well, you have a few options, some better than others.
Images
The first is to convert the piece of content into a format that the CMS will accept. For example, let’s say you have a photo in TIFF format that won’t upload. Chances are that your CMS will accept a JPG – most will – so you could open the photo in any image editor like Photoshop, save it as a JPG and then upload. That one’s pretty easy.
PDF
Moving up the complexity scale, let’s now say you have a PDF file that your CMS won’t allow. So you need to convert that PDF into something it will accept. You then determine that you want to convert it into a Word document, since you know the CMS will accept those. But how? The answer is that you need to find a converter that’ll work while doing the least possible damage to the original content.
The primary damage to avoid is ‘rasterizing’ the original. Without getting too technical, most original documents with letters/words, etc., keep the text in vector format, which makes it easy to move and resize without sacrificing quality. If you simply cut & paste the PDF into a Word document, the .PDF would be rasterized (treated like a photo) and all the vector info would be lost. The problem with this is when you now try to enlarge the image for your display, it will be treated like a photo – that is, a bunch of pixels – and the result will be low-quality and fuzzy. It’ll work, but you won’t like the result.
So what you need to do is convert the PDF in a way that retains the original vector information. There are various software applications you can buy to do this. There’s one in particular that I like called Zamzar. It’s online, requires no download, has dozens of conversion options… and it’s free! PDF-to-Word is one of the many conversions it will handle. Just upload the PDF, select Word as the desired result, and they’ll email you the converted file in a few minutes. You may have to adjust some of the formatting in the resulting file, but the result will be worth it.
PowerPoint
Now let’s take a look at PowerPoint, one of the most common apps used for DS content generation. People like it because it’s easy to use and has almost unlimited design options and flexibility. But what if your CMS won’t accept PowerPoint files? One option is to open the PowerPoint document and “Save As” the file as a different format that the CMS will accept. For example, you could save each PowerPoint slide as a JPG and upload those. Not a perfect solution, but it will work. Or you could use something like Zamzar and convert to a SWF (Flash) file, assuming the CMS will work with those. Either method will result in some formatting issues and loss of animations and transitions, but your PowerPoint will now be displayed in your DS.
Down and Dirty
If all else fails, you can always open up your piece of content and use the “Print Screen” button on your keyboard to take a screen shot of it. Then paste the result from the clipboard into Photoshop or Word, save in the appropriate format and upload. This method is down and dirty, but it’s easy and lets you get virtually anything you can see on your computer’s screen into your digital signage.
Next Time…
Getting video into your DS is pretty much the same story — that is, converting it into a format that will upload, but there are some important details that deserve their own blog, so I’ll tackle that next time.
In the meantime, if you’re in the process of spec’ing out a digital signage system, do yourself a favor and find one that will natively upload your most-used file types. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Digital Signage Scoop: There's a Lot More Going on at School Than the Three Rs
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.
Schools and universities are flocking to digital signage to fulfill a variety of communications tasks.
As the summer rapidly comes to a close, children, adolescents and young adults prepare to return to school to resume their education.
While that annual ritual continues much in same way it has my entire life, many other aspects of the school experience are different. For instance, why should a student learn the Dewey Decimal System when there's Google and the Internet? Remember that distinct smell and soggy feel of newly mimeographed tests? A relic of a bygone era. How about recesses filled with competitive games of soccer, kickball or basketball? Is it even OK to have winners and losers anymore?
Here's another you're sure to remember: The disembodied voice of the principal emanating from a small speaker on the wall filling the classroom with various announcements. That, pardon the pun, is old school. It's gone -or at least augmented by technologies like student-run TV production and digital signage.
While it's not surprising that digital signage is replacing outmoded methods of communications around schools, what some might find shocking is the scope of digital signage deployments on campuses. According to an article published in ecampusnews.com in July, some 1,500 campuses added digital signage last year, and an additional 2,200 campuses are forecasted to do the same in 2011.
Digital signs at elementary schools, high schools and on the campuses of colleges and universities are used for a variety of applications, including, but not limited to: - Informational: Where bulletin boards, lockers and even telephone poles on campus were once covered with fliers recruiting students for activities, advertising a new band on tour or conveying some other piece of important news, digital signs are offering a more attractive way to get the message out more quickly and easily.
- Wayfinding: Frequently visitors to a college campus or even a massive high school don't know how to get where they want to go. Digital signs not only can greet visitors, but also make it easy to find a gymnasium, theater or even an auditorium where voting in a local or national election is being conducted.
- Menu boards: With digital signage, controlling the display of what's for lunch at the school cafeteria becomes consistent and less labor intensive, if deployed across an entire school district. Think of the manual steps that must be taken to use the old plastic lettering -repeated over and over again across the district. Then there is simplifying the steps to coordinate this huge dance.
- Create ambience: Some school districts and universities use digital signage to create a desired environment. For example, one Midwestern high school honors program focused on business education relies on a digital sign outside each classroom to showcase the work of students and to give them a place to make special presentations. The digital signs, thus, are both functional and instrumental in creating the desired look and feel the school district desires.
- Emergency alerts: Displays on a digital signage network makes informing faculty, staff and students of potential severe weather and other emergency situations quick and easy.
So, here's the scoop: These digital signage applications are transforming how many different communications tasks are being fulfilled in educational settings. Digital signs are replacing outmoded approaches while at the same time making it easier to communicate an effective message. It's no wonder thousands of campuses and school districts nationwide are turning to digital signage.
Image via Scala. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Six Clues to Better Digital Signage Press
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine Across the pond and along the Thames, Adrian has a rant up on DailyDOOH about the sorry state of press releases he gets all day, every day, from companies looking to get some love and attention in that blog.
He kindly mentions that when he gets press from pressDOOH, it’s actually useful and ready to go.
I am in this very weird position of being someone who develops press material for companies (among a buncha things), but also gets pretty much the same gush of PR material as DailyDOOH, as companies look to get a mention on Sixteen:Nine.
Adrian nicely covers off the formatting and ease of access issues, so I thought I would add to his rant by mentioning the other area – content quality – that plagues a lot of the press stuff that gets sent my way.
1 – Not getting to the point. In newspaper parlance, it’s called burying the lede. If I have to wade through seemingly endless blabber about “leading global provider” and “state of the art” before I finally start to build a picture of why this was sent to me, it’s either going to get ignored or – if your timing is bad and I am cranky – the press you get may not be what was hoped for, at all.
2 – Teeing up useless quotes. I completely ignore quotes that start with “We’re pleased …” or “We’re delighted/excited/thrilled/emptying our bladders …” I also ignore quotes that sound about as natural as something in the mission statement of the Maine Society of Retired Actuaries. Most press release quotes are invented, so there’s no reason why they cannot be natural sounding and enhance a story. Quotes are a great tool to reinforce the context of something, like, “In the testing we’ve done so far, this has improved performance by ….”
3 – Plenty of jargon, no context. You may have noticed a lot of Sixteen:Nine posts have some spin in them that amounts to my expressing why the people reading the thing should care. Software companies are particularly notorious for issuing releases that spew out lists of new bells and whistles and enhancements that mean something to the developers, but to few others. Too few companies issue releases that clearly state how adding this feature will reduce time or costs to do something by “X” or open up the ability to do “Y”.
4 – Lacking in credibility. It’s not a rampant problem, but there are definitely companies out there that send out stuff that either stretches the truth or carefully leaves out important details. If I don’t believe the release, I’ll tend to hit the delete button, or go the opposite way and call the company out. It usually takes very little searching to unearth the truth.
5 – Using filters and gatekeepers. If, as is too often the case, a news release doesn’t properly anticipate follow-up questions, someone should be ready on the other end of the phone or email to answer questions… within the hour of the release. If the only contact person is from a third party public relations firm, I don’t even bother. I don’t want to be handled. I don’t want to be scheduled. And I definitely don’t want to be monitored during a phone interview by a PR person “just sitting in” on the call. I want to be able to send a note to the CEO and get an answer kicked back directly from the person in the know.
6 – Assumptions of an editor. For decades, press releases were purely mechanisms to stimulate awareness and coverage by the mainstream or business press. The internet changed all that. What most people who generate press releases have failed to understand (and this is baffling) is that a lot of people read press releases straight off PR news wires or off the returns of search results. Even when there is a familiar media organization in the header of a “story” it is quite possibly just an automated feed from a PR service. So this notion that editors will “touch” releases and turn them into interesting, highly readable features is mostly wishful thinking.
There are opinion pieces out all the time trying to make the case that the press release is dead. It’s not. Press releases are terrific marketing and communications tools. The problem is that the formula and process that was used 10-15 years ago doesn’t now work, and too few people realize it. Good press releases tell stories that are complete and credible, and get you interested from the first words. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Nix to Take Over as Scala CEO
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine Tom Nix will be the new CEO of digital signage software vendor Scala when Gerard Bucas steps down from that gig at the end of October.
It’s been a quick rise to the top for Nix, who only joined the company last summer. Nix had been the point man in North America for Dynamax and after leaving that post, had been working as a consultant for Magenta Research when he started chatting with Scala. Nix has been VP, Americas and Oceania, for the company – running sales, services and support operations in those regions.
From Scala’s press release:
“Scala is leading the shift to digital signage’s next stage where companies exploit their ability to connect to virtually any data source using almost any device,” says Nix. “These devices can range from mobile applications, like tablets and smart phones, to CxO boards that provide real-time management information by consolidating and displaying a custom broadcast channel of key performance metrics from customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning packages such as Salesforce.com and Oracle.”
“Tom Nix brings the vision and skills that Scala needs to capture the rapidly emerging market opportunity to help organizations integrate data with digital communications and devices to connect more closely with key audiences,” says Carol Armitage, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Scala. “We want to thank Gerard Bucas for building the technical and operational foundation that will enable us to launch Scala on to its next strong growth phase.”
“Many organizations are challenged to find innovative ways to deliver valuable content to target audiences in the short bursts of time available. Scala software not only provides a strong, highly usable, incredibly stable platform that meets 95 percent of the needs of most customers out of the box, it can also be easily customized well beyond many competitive offerings. It is exciting how many customers keep pushing the envelope with the Scala platform in addressing their unique requirements and finding new ways to quickly engage and inform audiences,” says Nix.
Nice man, and highly regarded from what I know.
Little things can be big measures of people. When cutbacks sent me out the door 2.5 years ago, Nix was one of the first people to send a note and then call to basically say, “How can I help?”
We’d never even met.
Congratulations, Tom. This article originally appeared on Sixteen:Nine. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top DSE Moves to March 6-9 Digital Signage Expo (DSE), the tradeshow and conference dedicated to digital signage, interactive technologies and digital Out-of-Home Networks (DOOH), will present new educational opportunities for the first time in March 6-9, 2012, at its annual event in Las Vegas, themed “Digital Signage in a Connected World."
Both the keynote speaker and keynote thought-leadership panelists will expand upon the “Connected World” theme with forward-looking perspectives on the industry. The theme also will play a large role in almost every one of the eight DSE 2012 seminar tracks.
Digital Signage Expo 2012, co-located with the Interactive Technology Expo and Digital Content Show, is scheduled for March 6-9, 2012, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. To reserve exhibit space on sale now or to attend, contact Chris Gibbs, (770) 649-0300 Ext 17. Or, for more information, visit http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net
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Share Article Back to Top The $25 Digital Signage Player Comes Closer to Reality
By Dave Haynes
Editor, Sixteen:Nine I wrote back in May about a project that was working with the premise of a modestly-functioning computing device that would cost all of $25. The Raspberry Pi project, as its called, is still ticking along, and there’s more evidence that the people involved may get something off the test bench and into the real world.
TechCrunch has a video up about the little single board PC running the multi-player shoot ‘em up game Quake 3, which has some involved graphics and a lot of fast movement. The testing shows this thing – using a Broadcom chip (think set-top box) can handle full HD at acceptable frame rates.
This project was started and is intended for lowering the cost of computing for kids in the third world – not so they can play Quake but so they can learn computing skills.
However, anyone in the business of getting video and other visuals out to thousands of locations at as low a cost as is possible is undoubtedly fascinated by the idea of dramatically trimming hardware costs. Digital signage media player costs are all over the place, but it is pretty safe to say even the cheapest PCs now cost hundreds of dollars.
The little Raspberry Pis are using ARM (smart phone) processors and running open source software like Ubuntu Linux. The alpha design of the board is about the size of a credit card (which means it could fit in behind any panel).
Really interesting stuff. Without a doubt, a few companies with flexible software will have a crack at making this work as a digital signage player once it comes to market. The final cost would be more than $25 once an enclosure, USB ports, solid state memory and other bits are added, but it would still be crazy-cheap. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Silicon Image's New MHL Standard Finds First Home The much-hyped Silicon Image MHL, which allows mobile devices (e.g., phones, tablets, laptops, etc) to send uncompressed 1080p HDCP-protected content (with eight channels of audio) via HDMI while charging the battery at the same time, will debut on the new Toshiba Regza WL800A DTV model, which is available in 46” and 55” screen sizes. MHL technology is a new HD audio/video connectivity standard that enables a mobile device to transmit 1080p uncompressed video with up to eight channels of digital audio, while also supporting HDCP content protection, over five pins. In addition, MHL-enabled DTVs and displays provide power to the mobile device when connected, ensuring that the phone battery is charged and ready to use even after viewing a full-length feature movie. Consumers are also able to control MHL-enabled mobile devices using the existing DTV remote.
To read all about the MHL technology from Silicon Image, go here: http://www.siliconimage.com/products/family.aspx?id=10
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Share Article Back to Top NEC Upgrades 42" V Series and Adds OPS Slot Digital signage users’ options for cost-effective displays just broadened with the introduction of NEC's 42" V422 and V422-AVT displays with integrated tuners. Announced today, these public-display-grade panels protect against permanent image retention and are ideal for retail stores, restaurants, indoor venues, training facilities and corporate boardrooms.
An upgrade from the V421, the 1300:1 contrast ratio V422 series has built-in low-profile, 10-watt speakers and an expansion slot that allows for seamless integration of NEC accessories, third-party components and Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) products. The V422 also features a DVI loop-through option, whereby customers can pass a digital signal from one device to the next, eliminating the need for additional hardware, such as a DVI daisy chain module. Other V Series features, such as Ethernet and RS232 control, real-time scheduler and text ticker, are incorporated into the 1080p native V422.
The V422 and V422-AVT will be available in September 2011 at a minimum advertised price of $979 and $1079, respectively. Full specs are here: http://www.necdisplay.com/p/v422 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top AMX Ships RS232, IR, Relay and I/O to IP Controller Dubbed the ICSLan, this hand-held control box allows for control of RS 232, IR, Relays and I/O devices via an IP network. This is a long-overdue option for connecting shades, RS 232 controllable AV gear and simple IR sources to AMX networks. However, one claim to fame for AMX is that it actually shipped two months earlier than planned.
The ICSLan lets integrators connect devices not typically Ethernet enabled, including some projectors, LCDs, Plasmas, lighting and shades to an Ethernet network via a single standard twisted pair cable for remote management using a NetLinx Controller.
ICSLan Device Control Boxes are available in the following configurations: the EXB-IRS4 for IR/S interfaces; the EXB-COM2 for serial interfaces; the EXB-REL8 for relay interfaces; EXB-I/O8 for input/output interfaces; and the EXB-MP1 for multiple interfaces including IR, serial and I/O.
You can see all of them here: http://www.amx.com/products/categoryCentralControllers.asp Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top CQ Media Add Green Feature to Hypersign CQ Media recently added a new feature it's calling “Eclipse” to the Hypersign Digital Signage software. It embeds the function to turn the digital DS and HD displays to standby mode whenever the display is not in use. Eclipse can be activated in the scheduling calendar within the Hypersign Admin portal to program the non-operation hours. When the Eclipse mode is scheduled to expire, regularly-scheduled digital signage will appear again. CQ Media says the Eclipse feature results in up to 62 percent savings on total power consumption (by the display) during run time. These figures are based on econo-power with the display on for 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Based on these results, Eclipse is considered an energy efficient and “green” solution for automatically powering down the television displays. This feature helps to contribute to a customer’s overall LEED and sustainability efforts for their facility.
You can learn all about Hypersign here: http://www.hypersign.net/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Contemporary Research Ships DS Scaler that Outputs to ATSC Channels Contemporary Research has entered the digital signage market with a VGA video scaler that outputs a DTV signal. The QMOD-HDSC detects and automatically scales a PC's inbound resolution, scales it to 1080p resolution but as a digital cable channel, set from 2 to 135. HD video can be fed from the VGA or Component inputs, with options for stereo or digital audio.
QMOD technology enables users to create their own on-site HDTV broadband distribution system using a variety of HD, SD and AV sources, distributing digital signage, satellite, cable and media as HD digital cable channels over existing broadband wiring. It also enables users to view HD sources at any destination, using HDTV displays or tuners.
The MSRP (Manufacturers’ Suggested Retail Price) for the unit is $2870 and full specs are here: http://www.crwww.com/QMOD-HDSC.asp Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top DSA Opens Crown Awards Applications The Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA) is now accepting entries for the DSA Crown Awards, recognizing the impact of excellent content in out-of-home environments through the use of digital signage, self-service kiosks, and mobile technology.
Companies may enter in one or more of the following categories: - Point of Wait (dwell time – such waiting for a table, waiting in line, waiting room, etc.)
- Point of Sale (shoppers – such as retail, restaurant menu boards, etc.)
- Point of Transit (people on the go – such as airports, digital billboards, etc.)
Within each of the three categories above, entrants will select one of the following two sub-categories:
- Content run on a digital signage / kiosk network (one-way or interactive)
- Content campaign run across multiple screens(digital signage/kiosk plus mobile, online and/or TV)
DSA welcomes entries from all interested companies – members and non-members alike. The cost to enter is $195 per entry. All entries will require the submission of a photo of the screen in its environment and a video of the content. The content must have been aired between October 1, 2010 and October 1, 2011 to be eligible. Enter here: http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org/dsa-crown-awards Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top iCompel Adds Wireless Module Black Box has introduced a new Wi-Fi module for its iCOMPEL DS players. The factory-installed module provides 802.11a/b/g/n wireless capabilities to any iCOMPEL subscriber unit. Easy to integrate into an existing WLAN’s access point infrastructure, the iCOMPEL Wi-Fi Module operates in the 5GHz band for the communication of bandwidth-heavy multimedia files to remote players. For data privacy, it features 4-, 128-, and 152-bit WEP encryption and 802.1x authentication, with network security settings configurable via the iCOMPEL administration interface. The same interface also enables administrators to assign priority to wired or wireless, test for network connectivity (using ping, trace route, and DNS lookup tests), determine signal strength to access points, and see what bit rate they’re getting.
For complete specs, go here: http://www.blackbox.com/Store/Results.aspx/search-icompel%5e%5e%5e/p-0 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top ClearOne Acquires MagicBox ClearOne instantly became a player in the digital signage market this week with its announced acquisition of MagicBox, headquartered in Corvallis, Ore. Founded in 1995, MagicBox designs, develops and markets a variety of hardware and software solutions to deliver digital content and information to digital displays. MagicBox offers both hardware and software solutions in the DS market as well as a room sign that competes with Visix.
Details on MagicBox are here: http://www.magicboxinc.com/ Back to Top Jill Miller joins Immersive Labs Jill Miller, known by many in the sector as the point person for The Digital Signage Group, has signed on with Immersive Labs as executive vice president of sales and marketing.
TDSG, run by Jill and her husband David, has for years been a reseller and big advocate and educator for the space. They were doing webinars years before they became the thing to do. Faced with a lot of BIG players now coming into the space – the Ingrams, AVI-SPLs and so on – TDSG was wound down and the lights are off.
Miller has been helping out Immersive CEO Jason Sosa since early this year, and the gig was formalized this month.
Miller stays in the Seattle area but Immersive is based in New York. The company does what it calls adaptive advertising technology – blending anonymous video analytics and machine learning with ad targeting capabilities.
Jill is a great pickup for Jason (met him briefly at DSE). She has a ton of experience and insight, but also a bazillion contacts and strong educating skill (which always seem necessary in this space).
Justin Holmes has also been hired as CTO for Immersive. This article originally appeared on Sixteen:Nine. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Visual Planet Intros New Touchfoil Technology UK-based Visual Planet's new Touchfoil technology, described by the company as "large area multi-touch technology," can be used to turn large areas of glass, such as shop windows, internal glass walls and tabletops, into huge interactive surfaces that behave just like the latest tablet devices.
The technology works by attaching a transparent film (the Visual Planet Touchfoil) to the inside or underside of the surface, adding a display and suitable content application to create a fully interactive solution. Over the past seven years, thousands of Touchfoils have been successfully installed worldwide in public spaces, such as premium brand retail shop windows, office reception areas, bus shelters, street kiosks, tourist information booths and even bathroom mirrors. These new multi-touch drivers, developed by Visual Planet software engineers in Cambridge, England, include Windows 7 gesture support and an SDK to enable partners throughout the world to develop bespoke applications for the Touchfoil
To learn more about Visual Planet's technology, go here: http://www.visualplanet.biz/ or watch this video: http://youtu.be/KPL74HyIavc Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Toyota Dealership Uses DS for Imaging and Customer Egos Camelback Toyota, a dealership located in the heart of Phoenix, is receiving a lot of attention for its recent renovations. After 22 years of selling Camrys, 4Runners and other models in its old facility, Camelback Toyota has moved light years ahead with its new, state-of-the-art, 62,000 square-foot showroom alongside a 65,000 square-foot service facility.
“Our sole objective was to create an atmosphere of comfort for our guests whether they are buying a new vehicle or servicing their vehicle,” said Kim McKay, Customer Relations Manager at Camelback Toyota. “We wanted our guests to experience a wow factor when they walk into the showroom, but that’s only possible if we made some big changes to the look, the amenities and the technology.” According to McKay, Camelback is a flagship dealer for Toyota and the only one like it in the United States. “Toyota dealer representatives from all over the country have visited our location, marvel at what we’ve done here, and are taking notes on what they can integrate into their own dealerships,” said McKay. “What continues to make the biggest impression on all our guests, however, is the new digital technology.”
Camelback Toyota worked with Phoenix-based Unified Brand to help with developing a digital signage network that would offer custom content and a high-end brand experience. As a full-service media agency, Unified Brand had the capability to create, distribute and manage all content, preventing the dealership from having to hire a full-time employee to manage the new system. It was a perfect fit.
Scala helped Unified Brand create a sophisticated digital signage network with an expansive fleet of flat-screen TVs and delivered all the customized content Camelback Toyota was seeking. Seven unique channels launched the network with two more in production to be released soon. They include: - LoungeTV — Custom channel featuring dealer-specific content (special promotions, new accessories, service and financing deals), manufacturer content (car models displayed as running footage) and entertainment content (extreme sports clips, CBS shorts and movie trailers)
- ShowroomTV — Custom channel featuring running model footage, new and classic photos and custom auto trivia
- Service Drive — Service/parts specials, customer comments and a potential integration with the service appointment calendar
- GreenTV — Real-time view of how much energy the dealership has saved with its innovative green measures
- Projection — Movie theater-sized high-definition projector screen displaying a self-service application of the “Thought of the Day” and featuring images and famous quotes
- New Car Delivery — Custom application to congratulate the new owner with a “Name in Lights” concept also featuring the model footage
- Parts & Accessories — Detailed showcase of the rim upgrades and interior technology options available
- Touchscreen application to “Build Your Own Car”
The movie theater-sized HD projector screen that dominates one wall of the dealership, however, would become the showpiece. Using Scala’s content creation and distribution software in combination with self-service tools (e.g., Crawl), Camelback Toyota runs rotating images of famous people such as George Steinbrenner, Jack Welch and Rodney Dangerfield, as well as motivational quotes and custom-written “Thoughts of the Day” on the projector screen. The goal is to motivate, entertain and inspire employees and customers.
The new digital signage system also includes: - Real-time elements such as sports scores, stock prices and weather
- 45 Samsung HD screens scattered throughout the showroom, lounge, four-bay service area, cafe, new car delivery area and parts and accessories department
- Large, wall-mounted projector screen (15 feet X 12 feet)
- Custom back-end system to change channels and switch to live TV from an iPad
- Constantly fluctuating library of dealership-specific content
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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).
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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
rAVe DS [Digital Signage] contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |