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Volume 1, Issue 3 — March 12, 2009 |
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Click above for more information My Digital Signage Expo Review
By Gary Kayye, CTS Walking the floor of the 2009 Digital Signage Expo (DSE) in Las Vegas last month was exciting. The fastest growing emerging market in AV has definitely started to mature a bit and is still growing exponentially — even in a down economy. Kudos to the show organizers, and also actually the venue — and that's saying a lot because I HATE Vegas.However, as you know, I am a straight shooter and a "tell it like it is" sort of person, so I'm going to be quite open and honest here about some major problems I see in the near-term future of the DS market. 1. The software market for DS is way too fragmented and the biggies are bullies: Walking the show floor, I was amazed how many software content companies there were — I stopped counting at 60. And the sad thing is, a lot of them are really good companies with a really good offering. Just about every company started with, "We're not trying to be everything to everyone like Ronin or Scala – we have a great, unique product, that fills the holes for the small- and medium-sized companies." Is that really a good marketing pitch? I think not. Interestingly enough, the best (and probably simplest) pitch I got was from a company that, ironically, wasn't even on the show floor — Westinghouse. They had a suite in the Hilton. They are hawking an all-in-one beginner and intermediate solution where they will package the displays with a very simple software package. It's not a perfect package — just the best pitch I heard, by far. The DS market cannot, at this point, service 60+ companies out there — so I suspect you will see both collateral damage from the economy and consolidation take out 50 percent of these by the DSE Vegas show next year. But, that ultimately helps the consumer — and many of these companies, if by working together, they can produce some great products. But, what struck me the most is how arrogant some of the Scala and Ronin folks were. Thank goodness I have a personal relationship with Jeff Porter of Scala or I would have though that company was like Microsoft of the 1990s. Note to the account reps and sales reps of both of those companies: you do not work for Microsoft. You do not have a 90+ percent market share. Be kind and not condescending when you show people your offerings. You may be the market leaders now, but if you present to each and every customer like you did in your booth tours, you will be relegated to a 10 x 20 at the back of the hall in 2010 as you will have shrunk to a tiny, handful-of-people company. 2. The Europeans are way ahead of the Americans: The integration of and the maturity of the European companies at DSE was way ahead of the average American company. Not many emerging markets can make that claim. We certainly knew the mobile (or what we call cell) phone market was and is — but not a lot else. Personally, I think a lot of it is due to the chasm between AV integrators and IT integrators. In speaking with the Europeans that were there at the show, they have a more sophisticated relationship with the AV companies than the US-based DS market seems to have. Since the beginning, they (the Europeans — specifically the retail DS market) have been partnering with AV companies to help with the integration of these sophisticated networks. In most cases, the sale was handled direct with the retail store chain, but all along, the software producer or hardware company making the sale had the AV company on the side coaching and pricing the details of the install. I think we can learn a lot from that.3. Very little personalized DS integration: With the exception of two companies, nanonation, out of Lincoln, NE, and Capital Networks out of Canada, there was little or no true integration with personal information displays (i.e., cell phones, game consoles, iPods, etc.). Are we all to believe the future of the DS market is giant displays hanging in the window of every storefront? I know we don't believe that. Instead, pushing personalized digital signage content to someone is the future — we all can agree on that — and, believe it or not, we can do that now with the sophistication of the networks (both cell and WiFi) we have out there now. Ultimately, there will be displays on shopping carts pushing specials to us as we browse the aisles, there will displays on restaurant menus that allow us to see what we're ordering and we'll soon see more iPhone-like products that truly connect you to the Web and allow for special offers to be pushed to us as we walk the mall. In the meantime, one of these best out there now leveraging the cell phone (Bluetooth) network is a tiny company called iSign (www.isignmedia.com) – offering SMS solutions to push messages via IM or text messages to any Bluetooth-enabled phone that steps within 90-feet of the sender (a retail store, a bar, etc). 4. Too much content is relying on the PC — and a Windows PC no less: The reliability issues with Microsoft Windows are infamous. So, why are so many of the content storage and players Windows-based? Sure, they all say their own proprietary software ensures that their own box is immune to the Windows diseases (i.e., the blue screen of death, viruses, freeze-ups, etc.), but wouldn't you expect to say that if you worked for a company that only sold Windows-based players? I was and continue to be thoroughly impressed with those companies out there that are looking past Microsoft for other solutions. I was invited to three private suites at DSE where I saw two Apple solutions (using the iPhone and the AppleTV) and one proprietary solution. We will see solutions coming in late 2009 that pull us away from Microsoft and on to more reliable platforms. 5. Finally, the fragmentation: Any emerging market is fragmented. Studies show that well less than 2 percent of all retail locations in the US and less than 4 percent worldwide use any sort of digital signage for way-finding, advertising or marketing. For universities, the numbers are even lower. Go corporate and we dip into the 1 percent range. This market is an early adopter market on its way to an early majority buyer. We will see exponential growth (even in a down economy) in 2010 and even more in 2011. But, consolidation needs to occur in the DS market. A fall out of the part-timers and the companies who don't specialize in this market will occur over the next 18 months. Who is left will be the market leaders — and it may not be the market leaders of today. Just because you have the front and center booth at DSE 2009 doesn't mean you will in 2011. In fact, I think it's likely to change. I see a new set of leaders emerging and minor players becoming major. It was an eye-opening experience to see some of the guys in the smallest of booths have a better vision for the market than those that lined the entrance. So, I am awarding those I saw that had creative vision and products I see that should be given attention by the AV integrators heading into or already supporting the DS market. So, below I present to you, the 2009 Digital Signage CHAMPS — awarded for their creativity, likely staying power, and commitment to support the AV channel, in addition to their current channels of distribution and their understanding for the vision of the future of the DS market: personalized messaging – not mass marketing. Back to Top |
Click above for more information The 2009 Digital Signage CHAMPS Most innovative DS hardware product: Capital Networks' Audience.tagNow, DS gets personal! This is literally a tiny (about 2.5" x 2") OLED display that you wear on your clothes like a button. But, it's a digital sign with 2 GB of storage, a rechargeable 8-hour battery and capable of playing motion video and graphics. It's perfect for waiters at a restaurant, booth nametags or people in ANY service industry. Check it out at http://tag.capitalnetworks.com/home.php Most innovative DS software product: CognoVision's AIM SystemCognoVision's proprietary core technologies allow for real-time tracking of faces, hands, bodies, and objects — couple that with a Digital Sign and you've got personalized content delivery! A lot of content delivery systems (i.e., DynaSign, VertiGo and BroadSign) are adding on CognoVision's technology to make personalized DS delivery possible. Check it out at: http://www.cognovision.com/technologies.php Best DS display: NEC's MultiSync X461UN thin bezel 46" LCD monitorThis LCD has the thinnest bezel ever! It's naturally going to be a hit in sign-wall applications as well as stand-alone DS apps as it makes the monitor disappear. Except NEC has a problem here as they've got to figure out how to put their logo on the front as it's too thin for anyone to notice it! Check it out at: http://www.necdisplay.com/Products/Product/?product=2e933d29-08f0-4038-bd22-29bcec6f1389 Best non-PC hardware solution: SpinetiX's HMP 100 Media PlayerSpinetiX HMP100 is the first networked Media Player appliance dedicated to the professional digital signage industry that isn't a re-purposed PC. For DS it represents a better alternative of choice to personal and industrial computers and proprietary dedicated software because it's simply a stand-alone media player that doesn't crash. Check it out at: http://www.spinetix.com/HMP100 Best PC-based hardware solution: Visix's Media ApplianceThrowing out Windows and integrating Linux made this our pick of the show. Like the hundreds of other DS media appliances, it's packed with the ability to play any video and audio file format you'd need for any DS network in a 3.75-pound package. But, again, it's not Windows — it's Linux. Check it out at: http://www.visix.com/products/channelplayers/index.htm Best entry-level DS package: Westinghouse Digital's neonNOWNope, you read that right. If you're literally looking for a supplier for an all-in-one packaged starter DS network, this is the best: the Westinghouse Digital neonNOW. It's template-driven, integrates easily and the software is truly drag-and-drop icon-based. It's perfect for hotel, retail, doctor/dentist office or restaurant applications. Again, it's entry-level but a perfect package for it. Check it out at http://dss.wde.com/v1/wordpress/?p=17 Best "Oh by the way, we do DS too" product: Sony's VSP-NS7 Media PlayerOh, by the way, Sony is in the DS market too. Known for their displays, Sony brought to DSE their latest media player in the form of the VSP-NS7. At $2000, it's native 1920 x 1080, has RS 232 control, is 720p video capable, has an IP camera input and is fully programmable. Check it out at: http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-VSPNS7/ Best personal messaging product (tie): Capital Networks' Audience.tag and iSign's Bluetooth broadcasting systemI already told you all about the Audience.tag product (see the first award). It's definitely a personal DS product and, by far, the hit of the show. But, another great product for personal messaging is iSign's broadcast network using Bluetooth technology. Just get in range and the system will send any Bluetooth-enabled phone a text message. For a store, this could be a special, for a restaurant, this could be an offer to seat you right away. Check it out at: http://www.isignmedia.com/ Best interactive DS product: Ecast's IQ 40" touch-screen with multi-touchThis is just simply the best touch panel digital signage in the market. If you have an application where you want to have customers interact with the DS messaging, this is the perfect display with a touch screen overlay. You can see it at http://www.ecastcentral.com/ Best DS Kiosk: OLEAOLEA makes the coolest kiosks I've ever seen and they blew away every other kiosk manufacturer at the show. They aren't boxes with lots of built-in electronics — they're sleek, aesthetically pleasing and customizable. Seriously, I've never seen better kiosks. They're at http://www.olea.com/ Best DS SaaS (Software as a Solution) Network: Visix's (SaaS) — it's virtually identical to their site-based solution but leverages the Internet. This solution is virtually identical to Visix's site-based solution but leverages the Internet, and they got this right on their first try. Their SaaS has become an instant-industry model for emulation. You have all the power of a DS network without the up-front capital investment — all hosted by Visix virtually. Check it out at: http://www.visix.com/services/servers/index.htm Back to Top |
Virginia Commonwealth University's — Emergency Preparedness 101 Virginia Commonwealth is the largest university in the state of Virginia, and the first major American research facility to offer a BA program in Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.The Goal With 30,000 students and more than 17,000 full and part-time faculty and staff to inform and protect, VCU practices what they teach. When Assistant Director of User Services Sam Kennedy and his team started shopping around for a digital signage solution, they were offered a grant from the Department of Homeland Security if they used their system to develop public emergency communications. How'd They Do It?This enabled VCU to purchase a unified software solution from Visix, which is the centerpiece of a sophisticated, campus-wide visual communications system delivering news, announcements and emergency alerts across 15 buildings and over a television network connected to the RF (CCTV) system. The human element is crucial to Kennedy, who sees the system as an important means of getting communications where they need to be in a timely fashion. "To communicate, you've got to use multiple channels because different people perceive messages differently. We have a wide-focus communication plan that assists word-of-mouth. People must be integrated into the solution or it ultimately has no meaning," says Kennedy. The unified software solution from Visix gets information to VCU's audience wherever they are, delivering crisis communications to thousands of overlapping endpoints. This entire install was done by The Whitlock Group, an AV integration firm. (http://www.whitlock.com/). To read the entire case study, go to: http://www.visix.com/applications/education/vcu.htm If you want to submit your install as the Case Study of the Month, send it to: pr@ravepubs.com 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. Less than 5 percent of the DS market is integrated by AV companies. The other 95 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.
To read more about my background, our team, and what we do, go to https://www.ravepubs.com Copyright 2009 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 510 Meadowmont Village Circle, Suite 376 – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – (919) 969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com rAVe Rental [and Staging] contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. Back to Top |
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