Why Content Engagement Matters To Your Digital Signage Strategy
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.
Much has been said of the benefits digital signage offers marketers, but don’t forget the personal context in which digital signage viewers will likely see your message.
Successful marketers know their ads exist in a context that enhances the value of their message to consumers. For instance, a billboard lets Interstate drivers know a gas station is at the next exit. Or, a print ad for the latest smartphone runs in a magazine with a focus on high-tech gadgets. Even the nightly news has commercials relevant to its audience. Who doesn’t need an antacid or hemorrhoid relief after plugging into the latest news?
The same is true for successful digital signage ads. To succeed for the marketer, digital signage ads and messages must deliver value to the consumer. A freely available white paper from DigitalSignageToday.com entitled, “Key Ingredients For a Successful Digital Signage Campaign,” sheds light on putting together a digital signage network that delivers a value proposition for consumers.
According to the white paper, a successful digital signage network combines five key elements to convey clear messages to consumers and keep them entertained. To this end, digital signage captures the attention of consumers and focuses it on product features, specials, or some sort of infotainment that adds to the brand experience. So, by delivering an appealing message at the point of purchase to customizing a marketing message for a specific place and time, digital signage offers significant benefits to marketers and retailers. But a solid digital communication strategy only starts here.
For the growing medium to flourish, marketers would do well to deliver on the value proposition of digital signage for consumers: make their shopping experience better than it would have been without the presence of the digital signs.
One way to make the shopping experience better is to allow consumers to change the content of the digital sign. How so? Simply by giving customers choices in what kind of content they want to see on the screen, which is what interactive digital signage is all about. This enables the context of advertising, product information or infotainment to be personalized according to one’s whims.
In a recent article, "A Lesson From the Agencies: Creating Successful DOOH Content," published by OutputMagazine.com, author Geny Caloisi highlights several examples of how important engaging content is to a more meaningful consumer experience.
The article quotes Sophie Burke of Zoom Media, who says, “…the majority of truly successful and innovative media campaigns involve an element of spontaneity – whether it's copy which can be adapted dynamically based on real-time data, or an interactive component which allows the consumer to get involved."
Additionally, the article quotes Nick Mawditt, global director of insight and marketing at Kinetic, a UK-based digital-out-of-home media company, who suggests that physical interactions are more useful than the more hyped gesture interaction. Mawditt relates, "If you touch a screen, you are engaging in a more personal and private level, even if it's in a public space. With gesture, the engagement is brief and people can feel self-conscious."
So there you have it in a nut shell; in the same way that mobile and Internet media benefits from relevant interactive media, digital signage campaigns can benefit by adding interactions of many kinds, which lead to a better, more helpful, or at least a more personalized experience. This is why engaging content matters to a digital communication strategy and why you should consider trying it on your next digital signage campaign.
I just read the AP story about the departure and arrival monitor that fell on a family of five at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport in Birmingham, Ala. on Friday. It was a six-screen (3×2 array) flat-panel enclosure that apparently held 40" LCD monitors that were mounted inside a wooden housing – pretty typical of what you see at most airports. However, it was not attached to anything — it was free-standing. The entire enclosure fell on the entire family, killing the 10-year-old boy, seriously injuring the mother (who's still in the hospital) and injuring the other kids.
This is a tragedy and should be and will be investigated. And, in addition to monitoring the condition of the mother, we also need to be watching this story for who will get the blame. Is it the airport's responsibility to make sure the digital signage is safe, is it the integrator's responsibility to make sure it meets code for the structure (whether or not they designed the system) or is it the state's responsibility to monitor these types of installs — much like they monitor the safety of elevators?
I am not sure where this will end up, but we all better be watching this and take note as safety of giant electrical/digital signs will soon be monitored and the responsibility of one of these three groups. And, as I am sure you are all going to call operations to make sure you are insured properly, I'd think learning the codes and safety regulations to keep everyone safe once these things have been installed is the most important issue at hand.
The thoughts and prayers of the entire rAVe Team go out to the Bresette family. You can monitor their progress via the eldest daughter's twitter feed here: https://twitter.com/anna_bresette
Demand for Rich Content and Interactivity Will Drive Digital Signage Growth
By Jeff Hastings CEO, BrightSign
It’s been quite a start to the new year. We’ve talked extensively with customers, partners and fellow vendors at industry trade shows in the first quarter. In general there is a great deal of optimism and excitement about where our industry is headed. Even though the year is still young, we’re starting to see some interesting trends emerge — trends that will be responsible for much of the growth that we’ll see in 2013.
First and foremost, we believe that the demand for rich content and interactivity will drive explosive growth this year. We’re going to see a proliferation of rich, compelling content developed in HTML5 and delivered in HD. 4K HD is on the horizon as well – this new ultra high-res video format has twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of 1080p, with four times as many pixels overall. It can be delivered using a new codec called H.265 that provides a 50 percent bit rate reduction so that file size remains manageable. The crux of all this, however, is that rich media like this requires powerful devices capable of hosting, managing and serving it up, and software capable of supporting the latest development tools.
In addition, the proliferation of touchscreens is driving explosive growth in interactivity. This shift is happening as a direct result of the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. People have become comfortable with touch/swipe as a method of interaction with their personal technology, so it makes perfect sense that digital signage will begin to connect with people in the same manner.
In recent years the market has produced substantial advancements in hardware – devices have become smaller, less expensive and more powerful. These new media players are a great example of hardware that's more than capable of handling today’s rich media, with the ability to scale as content continues to develop in the months and years ahead.
We’re reaching an inflection point where the richness of content is matched by the impressive capabilities of today’s hardware. While the shift to solid-state technology is becoming commonplace, installers and end-users must remember to choose carefully and be sure they are investing in the very best equipment. Solid-state players have set a new standard for reliability, rendering those dreaded blue or black screens a distant memory, and now they are exceeding customers’ performance expectations at every turn.
The underlying theme is the co-dependence of hardware and software — and this rings true now more than ever. We stand at the confluence of rich content and robust hardware, and what results is digital signage that’s nothing short of breathtaking.
This column is reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). For more information, go to http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org.
China Drives Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Growth in 2012; Pacing to Surpass U.S. as World's Largest DOOH Market in 2013
By Patrick Quinn PQ Media, President/CEO
China’s digital out-of-home media (DOOH) industry was surging toward 40 percent annual growth in the third quarter of 2012, and the country’s blistering expansion pace may drive it past the US as the world’s largest market in 2013, according to PQ Media.
Revenues generated by China’s DOOH network and billboard operators were pacing for 40 percent year-over-year growth in the third quarter of 2012, which would push the Chinese market past the $2 billion mark for the year, trailing only the US and gaining fast. An accelerated 2012 performance would follow a 39 percent expansion in 2011, when China became only the second market besides the US to exceed $1 billion in annual DOOH revenues, according to preliminary data released from the PQ Media Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2013-2017. In real dollars, the Chinese market expanded by more than $400 million in 2011, nearly doubling in size compared with 2009.
Digital place-based networks in a range of venues, such as corporate, transit and cinema, accounted for about two-thirds of China’s DOOH revenues in 2011, while digital billboards operating in various OOH locations comprised the rest. Digital billboard revenue expanded faster, but both DOOH segments produced enviable double-digit growth in the fastest-growing market among the world’s regional leaders.
“Remarkably, China could be growing faster if stringent regulations on content distribution were loosened, agencies were more educated about DOOH and digital signage quality improved,” said PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn. “Global brands want to advertise in China and they’re increasingly drawn to the vast DOOH opportunities, as media operators upgrade their expanding networks with attractive mobile, social and interactive features, while pursuing better audience metrics.”
China’s strong growth drove global DOOH revenue up 15 percent to nearly $7 billion in 2011 and was the catalyst fueling 20 percent growth in the first half of 2012, according to the PQ Media Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2013-2017. By comparison, U.S. DOOH revenues increased 11 percent in 2011, and were on an accelerated pace in the first half of 2012, although second-half trends may have impacted the final growth outcome.
China is home to some of the largest and fastest-growing DOOH companies in the world, including Focus Media, AirMedia and VisionChina, as well as divisions of Phoenix Satellite TV and Beijing Bashi Media. China’s DOOH industry has, by far, the most digital screens of any global market, with Focus Media operating more than 200,000 screens in the corporate & healthcare office vertical alone. VisionChina reportedly operates over 100,000 digital screens throughout this market’s vast transit system.
China’s corporate & healthcare network vertical is the market’s largest venue category, accounting for about one-quarter of all DOOH industry revenue, according to the PQ Media Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2013-2017. Focus Media targets upscale business executives in over 90,000 buildings and the company has aggressively pursued deployment of interactive screens, which it refers to as the Next Generation Network. Focus also partners with Enjoy China Technology to add mobile and social media features to its screens.
The growing transit venue is dominated by AirMedia, the largest operator, and VisionChina. AirMedia operates screens in 40 airports through an exclusive arrangement with nine airlines, as well as a smaller network at gas stations. VisionChina has more than 100,000 screens deployed in subways and bus systems in about 25 cities, including exclusive agreements to manage digital signage in the Shenyang public transportation system and DOOH networks in Guangzhou subways.
China’s cinema network vertical is expanding rapidly, as the country surpassed Japan in 2012 as the world’s second-largest film market behind the US. Cinema operators have moved fast in recent years to upgrade China’s theaters by installing the latest digital screen technology. Focus Media is the largest cinema network operator with nearly 2,000 screens in almost 300 theaters in early 2012, a three-fold increase from only 100 theaters in 2008, outstripping Filmore Media’s network of 1,200 screens in about 200 metroplexes. IMAX is also aggressively expanding its screen deployment in China, working closely with the Wanda Cinema chain to increase its footprint to 50 screens by year-end 2012.
Large global OOH operators are helping to spur China’s growth, as well, but they often need to partner with a China-based OOH operator to achieve significant success. For example, JCDecaux helps to manage AirMedia’s digital airport signage, while Clear Channel’s AdShel partners with Clear Media to operate digital signage and CBS Outdoor collaborates with Clear Media to manage Beijing Bashi’s digital bus network.
The PQ Media Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2013-2017 is the 6th edition in a series that has become the industry’s leading benchmark for revenue, growth and trends, providing in-depth data, insights and perspective on all four global regions and 28 leading markets. PQ Media tracks the global DOOH industry by the two major media platforms and six venue and location categories, including cinema, retail, corporate & healthcare, entertainment & education, transit and roadside. To receive a special savings on the new 6th edition, please click through the following hyperlink by April 23: PQ Media Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2013-2017.
This column is reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). For more information, go to http://www.digitalscreenmedia.org.
Philips Redesigns the EL Series Digital Signage Displays
Redesigned from the inside out, the new Philips EL Series of LED edge-lit LCD panels includes some unique features. One, called Failover, allows the sign to keep playing digital signage content even if the network fails because it's smart enough to automatically kick in when the primary input fails and switch to a different one. Simply select a primary input connection (e.g., primary = DisplayPort) and a Failover input connection (e.g., Failover = HDMI, DVI, VGA) and you're ready.
Another, called SmartControl, allows you to set the video input, modify the color settings, set the display's ID when creating video walls and even diagnose each display's status, giving you all the power you need to manage your displays from one central location. And, one called Advance IR Control, allows for both IR loop-through via RS232 connection and IR pass-through, giving integrators the ability to control an entire installation of displays plus hidden media players via a remote control. This means you don't have to dismantle a signage installation to access hidden media players and mounted displays.
The new EL series comes in 32", 42", 46", 55" and 65" sizes. All are 1920×1080 resolution and range in brightness from 360 nits to 500 nits. They offer VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort and component video inputs as well as have IR, network and RS232 control. In addition, a USB port allows for content to be played on the fly.
Visix has launched a brand new website for its newest digital signage content management application APPOINT. The site is optimized for audiences seeking affordable digital signage solutions for K-12 schools, small businesses, local franchises, clinics and more.
The new website features product information, technical specs and pricing with direct links for online buying. Each of three products can be downloaded directly from the website for a free 60-day trial period, and can be purchased and licensed for use through the site’s online portal:
APPOINT: This software is used to create, manage and schedule digital signage messages. The user-friendly interface lets users select a theme and layout, import and create content, and then schedule it for playback in either playlists or programs.
APPOINT Player: The player software runs on a small PC connected to a screen(s) and tells it what to play when.
APPOINTwmv: This application allows users to publish their PowerPoint presentations as videos and schedule them to playback in any digital signage software. This product offers everything in APPOINT with the exception of scheduling and player controls.
A digital signage blog also provides articles to educate and help basic users get started with their digital signage system.
The site is organized to allow quick, easy access to all of these resources. If a visitor is not sure where to look for specific information, a site-wide search engine and site map are provided.
Haivision Video Cloud Goes Live; Simplifies Online Video
Haivision today announced the launch of the Haivision Video Cloud, which simplifies the complexity of live and on-demand video workflows by providing an end-to-end media platform. Haivision’s online video platform provides a complete solution for companies to engage their audiences with dynamic media content, regardless of network or device.
The Haivision Video Cloud simplifies the complexity associated with the management and publishing of video by integrating on-premise source encoding, file-based and live transcoding, media management, microsite builder, automated publishing and feed management and viewer-based real-time analytics. With the Haivision Video Cloud, organizations can implement an end-to-end system they can rely on to deliver both live and on-demand media experiences to any connected device.
The Haivision Video Cloud features integration of a robust and reliable content delivery network (CDN) – Akamai – that ensures that the storage and delivery of media assets in the cloud is quick and of the highest quality. The Haivision Video Cloud features the ability to automate the delivery of content to websites, mobile devices and tablets, along with social media syndication.
Core components of the Haivision Video Cloud include:
A Video Content Management System (VCMS) that automates the gathering and publishing of live and on-demand content and integrates publishing workflows, file transcoding, media management and viewer-based analytics within an intuitive user interface
Haivision’s flagship live cloud transcoding engines support adaptive streaming formats with KulaByte, pay-per-use automated cloud transcoding with HyperStream Live and 24/7 linear cloud transcoding services
Easily configurable video micro-sites with Haivision’s Site Builder, to present video content in customized media webpages
Content delivery powered by Akamai’s industry leading content delivery network (CDN) for storage and transport
Planar Releases 3D BIM Models of LCD Displays and Video Walls
This week Planar Systems announced that 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) models of select Planar large format LCD displays and video walls are now available free through the Autodesk Seek web service.
Autodesk Seek allows architects, engineers and designers to easily find, preview and download 3D models of Planar displays. They can then incorporate these models into their building plans without having to create the models themselves.
3D BIM models of three Planar product families are now available from the Autodesk Seek online content library, a web service that supplies free BIM models from a wide range of building product manufacturers. The models include Planar Mosaic architectural video walls, Clarity Matrix LCD video walls and Planar UltraLux Series large flat panel monitors. Each of these BIM models provides data-rich drawings and product specifications that accurately depict the displays and their options within Autodesk Revit, a market-leading 3D design platform.
Sony surprised everyone at NAB with aggressive pricing for its 4K (3840×2160) TVs — the Bravia XBR-55X900A (55") and the XBR-65X900A (65") are $4,999 and $6,999, respectively. They will start shipping on April 21st.
Starting today, six Sony Store locations (Century City, Calif.; Costa Mesa, Calif.; Houston; Las Vegas; New York and Palo Alto, Calif.) will be the first to feature the XBR-55 and 65X900A 4K TVs, offering consumers in-store demonstrations of 4K and enhanced (translation: upscaled) video.
This summer, consumers of Sony's 4K UHD TVs can purchase the FMP-X1 4K Media Player bundled with 10 feature films and video shorts in true 4K resolution for $699. In the fall of 2013, users of the same 4K Media Player will be given access to a fee-based video distribution service offering a library of 4K titles from Sony Pictures Entertainment and other notable production houses. The feature films included with purchase of the 4K Media Player are Bad Teacher, Battle: Los Angeles, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Karate Kid (2010), Salt, Taxi Driver, That's My Boy, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Other Guys and Total Recall (2012).
To coincide with the availability of Sony's new 4K Ultra HD TVs, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is also bringing to market a lineup of "Mastered in 4K" Blu-ray Discs.
The 4K TVs include Wi-Fi, upscaled inputs, two pairs of 3D glasses and use what Sony is calling Triluminous displays with X-Reality PRO and Motionflow XR960 technology.
Deadline to Enter Visix's Expression Awards is April 30
Entries for Visix's Expression Awards for digital signage content are due April 30, 2013. The company is giving out one People's Choice and three Judges' Awards for the best digital signage designs created using a Visix software application. Winning entries can be from small or large organizations, and can be created by professional designers and communicators, or by students, administrators and HR assistants.
A winning entry:
Uses original, clever and appealing design
Communicates the message clearly
Shows an understanding of the target audience
Is optimized for the digital signage medium
Includes a call to action
Expression Award winners will receive:
An Apple iPad
A mounted, personalized Expression Award
Recognition in Visix's e-newsletter and press release announcing winners
Winning entry featured on Visix websites and Facebook page
Visix Offers Free Webinar on Auto-Updating for Digital Signage
Auto-updating digital signage content is the most time efficient option to provide up-to-the-minute, relevant information to an audience. Visix will teach you how to leverage it during a 30-minute webinar that will feature:
Show traffic cameras, building renovations and more through graphic links and web page messages
Display current weather and forecasts from NOAA for one or more US locations
Purchase AccuWeather Premium Weather to display frequently updated current conditions and forecasts for one or multiple locations across the globe
Purchase the Visix news service or RSS News to display news feeds from almost any RSS 2.0 URL
Show event information for rooms and/or locations using a text file or Event Adapter
Display data using custom Flash modules
The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 25 at 2:00 p.m. eastern time and will take about 30 minutes.
TouchSystems Adds Multi-Touch Display to the V Series Lineup
TouchSystems continues to grow its budget-friendly line of displays with a multi-touch 32” display.
The V 32, based on NEC’s V322, features an improved mechanical design, resulting in a slimmer depth. The display features built-in rather than rear-mounted speakers. It also offers expanded connectivity through digital loop-through and DisplayPort. Finally, it boasts an Open Pluggable Specification slot, which offers seamless integration with NEC accessories and third-party components. The display can be integrated with either DST (single touch) or infrared (multi-touch).
Specs include a pixel pitch of 0.51 millimeters, a brightness of 340 cd/m2, a contrast ration of 2000:1 and a native resolution of 1366×768.
rAVe Founder Gary Kayye to Serve as a Judge for 2013 DSA Industry Excellence Awards
rAVe founder Gary Kayye will serve as a judge for the 2013 Digital Screenmedia Association Industry Excellence Awards, which honors the best self-service, digital signage and mobile technology deployments across all vertical market segments.
Entries could be entered in the following categories:
Technology:
Digital Signage
Self-Service/Interactive Kiosk
Mobile
Vertical market:
Corporate Communication
Digital Out-of-Home Campaign
Entertainment/Gaming
Financial Services
Government/Education/Non-Profit
Healthcare
Restaurant/Food Service
Retail
Travel/Hospitality
Other (industry not listed above)
Additionally, judges will award a Screenmedia Integration Award, which best demonstrates the integration of two or more technologies, as well as Industry Deployer of the Year, given to an individual person from an end-user organization and Network Operator of the Year, which is given to a company.
The winners will be announced at the DSA Symposium on May 9 in Dallas, Tex.
The Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA) will produce a Digital Screenmedia Symposium May 9-10 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas.
Topics to be addressed include:
Staying ahead of the consumer
Omni-channel customer engagement
How to rethink digital screenmedia: in-store and out
QSR and fast casual: turning dining digital
Integrating screenmedia into store design
Mobile integration
Speakers include:
FK Funderburke, Director, Immersive Experiences, SapientNitro
Leah Gentry, Director, Content, Social and Design, Sprint
Ignaz Gorischek, VP, Store Development, Neiman Marcus
Kyle Jeffrey, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Associate/Design Director, Gensler
Along with education, the event will afford attendees with plenty of opportunities for networking. One session, called the “Brain Exchange” will give attendees the option to participate in the roundtable discussion of their choice and exchange ideas with peers.
The event will also include an evening dinner party at Austin Ranch, which is adjacent to the Hilton. During the evening event, winners of the 2013 DSA Industry Excellence Awards will be announced.
The DSA Advisory Board will hold its biannual meeting on the morning of May 9 before the Symposium begins.
Creative Solutions Produce Bold, Colorful, Dynamic Content for Chesapeake Energy Arena
The Chesapeake Energy Arena has undergone renovations this past year, adding eight new types of digital signage displays consisting of 10 projectors, 36 MicroTiles and 166 flat-panels. Their purpose includes sponsor advertisement, marketing messages and directional information. Earlier renovations included a new HD video board to enhance the in-game entertainment.
BACKGROUND
The Chesapeake Energy Arena is home to the NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, but also hosts concerts and other first-class events throughout the year. Content is set on a two-minute loop with 8-, 10- or 12-second animations that rotate throughout the event. The objective of these boards is a combination of informing our customer base, promoting our brand and upcoming events, as well as sponsor advertising.
CHALLENGES
Three main challenges were faced in the beginning phase of the project. Due to the size of a few of our boards, creating animation-heavy content proved to be too laborious for the machines. Constantly looking for solutions hindered the workflow and the overall efficiency of the creative process.
Preparing content for play-out became the next challenge. The system Oklahoma City Thunder uses requires individual movies for each monitor in the display wall. For example, one display wall is composed of 22 monitors meaning 22 movies for each message.
Due to storage constraints coupled with the file size of the animations, finding the best codec for the system became another challenge.
SOLUTIONS
Two solutions for creating content for the larger boards were found. The first solution consisted of breaking the animation into three main regions. Then those regions were synchronized to make the full animation. The second solution, which was found to have more upside, was to build the animations half-size. This created a more efficient design process for many reasons.
To prepare the content for play-out, templates were created in After Effects to streamline the process.
Finding the best codec for the system involved trial and error. Based on the contraints faced, WMV worked the best.
RESULTS
The new digital signage program provided a lift of over $1 million of incremental sponsorship sales. The dynamic nature of the platform, allowing for customized and fluid messaging, enhanced the advertiser value and is driving opportunities to add more boards throughout our venue. Additionally, it provides a canvas for institutional messaging that is consistent with our brand attributes — bold, colorful, dynamic and real-time content that is tailored to the event. Finally, the opportunity to drive event attendees to specific points of interest, concession stands, merchandise kiosks, etc. has improved the guest experience as well.
This case study was reprinted with permission from the Digital Signage Connection and originally appeared here.
So, that's rAVe DS [Digital Signage] for this month! Remember, we are here to HELP the AV market penetrate the DS market. In 2012, less than 20 percent of the DS market was 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 percent 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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A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I've been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don't think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue, which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe [Publications] has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition.
Everything we publish is Opt-in — we spam NO ONE! rAVe ProAV Edition is our flagship ePublication with what we believe is a reach of virtually everyone in the ProAV market. rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA and launched in February 2004, is, by far, the largest ePub in the HomeAV market. We added rAVe Rental [and Staging] in November 2007, rAVe ED [Education] in May 2008 and then rAVe DS [Digital Signage] in January 2009. We added rAVe GHGav [Green, Healthcare & Government AV] in August 2010 and rAVe HOW [House of Worship] in July 2012. You can subscribe to any of those publication or see ALL our archives by going to: https://www.ravepubs.com
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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.
Much has been said of the benefits digital signage offers marketers, but don’t forget the personal context in which digital signage viewers will likely see your message.
I just read 
Redesigned from the inside out, the new Philips EL Series of LED edge-lit LCD panels includes some unique features. One, called Failover, allows the sign to keep playing digital signage content even if the network fails because it's smart enough to automatically kick in when the primary input fails and switch to a different one. Simply select a primary input connection (e.g., primary = DisplayPort) and a Failover input connection (e.g., Failover = HDMI, DVI, VGA) and you're ready.
Visix has launched a brand new website for its newest digital signage content management application APPOINT. The site is optimized for audiences seeking affordable digital signage solutions for K-12 schools, small businesses, local franchises, clinics and more.
Haivision today announced the launch of the Haivision Video Cloud, which simplifies the complexity of live and on-demand video workflows by providing an end-to-end media platform. Haivision’s online video platform provides a complete solution for companies to engage their audiences with dynamic media content, regardless of network or device.
This week Planar Systems announced that 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) models of select Planar large format LCD displays and video walls are now available free through the Autodesk Seek web service.
Sony surprised everyone at NAB with aggressive pricing for its 4K (3840×2160) TVs — the Bravia XBR-55X900A (55") and the XBR-65X900A (65") are $4,999 and $6,999, respectively. They will start shipping on April 21st.
Entries for Visix's Expression Awards for digital signage content are due April 30, 2013. The company is giving out one People's Choice and three Judges' Awards for the best digital signage designs created using a Visix software application. Winning entries can be from small or large organizations, and can be created by professional designers and communicators, or by students, administrators and HR assistants.
Auto-updating digital signage content is the most time efficient option to provide up-to-the-minute, relevant information to an audience. Visix will teach you how to leverage it during a 30-minute webinar that will feature:
TouchSystems continues to grow its budget-friendly line of displays with a multi-touch 32” display.
rAVe founder Gary Kayye will serve as a judge for the 2013 Digital Screenmedia Association Industry Excellence Awards, which honors the best self-service, digital signage and mobile technology deployments across all vertical market segments.
The Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA) will produce a Digital Screenmedia Symposium May 9-10 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas.
The Chesapeake Energy Arena has undergone renovations this past year, adding eight new types of digital signage displays consisting of 10 projectors, 36 MicroTiles and 166 flat-panels. Their purpose includes sponsor advertisement, marketing messages and directional information. Earlier renovations included a new HD video board to enhance the in-game entertainment.
