Volume 6, Issue 11 — November 25, 2014

What do Las Vegas, Orlando, Sydney, Taipei, Dallas, New York City (three times), San Diego, Denver and about 95 airports in between have in common?

Me.

Those are the cities I visited this year. And next year is already gaining steam. At least six cities in the U.S., and two in Europe. I could be that guy in the United commercial that all the people body surf to the end.

I have been to conferences, summits, mixers, sessions, meetings, panels, workshops, breakouts and just about every other kind of way to get people together in large and small groups. Every single trip had a purpose. I spent more trips in brand new settings and shows that I did in familiar places and convention centers.

And it has been a blast. I did a nice amount of talking and presenting, but I spent more time listening and learning, especially in those situations totally unfamiliar to me, places where people I don’t know had things to say I have never heard about the industry I manage. It was fantastic.

Based on the last 12 months, I guess that as an executive director I should come up with trends or predictions for next year. However, there are some very smart people who do this quite well. Ken Goldberg is one. Go read his. I do.

Instead of talking about what will happen next year, I’ll share two things I learned this year:

This is a human industry. We tend to get lost behind our computers and our networks. We communicate, consult, sell, and speak through iPads and mobile phones, email and excel sheets. In the past year, I have met more new faces than I can ever remember in a 12-month span. I love being an evangelist not only for this association but for the industry. I have talked about every organization and show anywhere near this space. And I have learned a ton.

One of the very first things a member asked me in January was to help him find all the other members near his home office. He wanted to visit them. Nice.

If there is a trend here, it’s that more business will get done in person. And that’s a good thing.

The second thing I have learned is that TSA PreCheck is the most amazing invention since the aeroplane. Anyone reading this right now who has TSA PreCheck should be shouting an “Amen!” You know what I’m talking about. 6:00 in the morning? Line going from the detector to the curb? And you breeze through with your shoes and belt on.

As we roll out of 2014 and put on our new diapers for 2015, let’s not forget that this is still a very human industry. Handshakes, eye-to-eye contact, and engaging conversation go a long way in getting things done.

And sign up for TSA Pre Check. Just do it. You’ll thank me.

The 2014 Toshiba LEAD conference in Dallas was great, and we’re glad rAVe could come and cover it again this year. It was my first time venturing into the strange world of Managed Print Services (MPS) and seeing how Toshiba ties AV into its business model. For those unfamiliar with this gathering, the show is primarily aimed at end-users, as well as dealers who are bringing end-users to check out Toshiba’s end-to-end total product and service offerings.

Besides reaching out directly to the end user (but still also selling to dealers), Toshiba is making custom service a priority as part of the total package. The company emphasizes it’s incorporating many different patents and acquired businesses in order to better create interesting DS packages. For instance, Toshiba bought a company with a custom POS system that will tie more closely into dynamic digital signage displays. If a store is having a run on scarves, the signage can change pricing or make suggestions on related products. They are now also diving into the world of so-called ‘big data’ with companies that deal with analytics from all the hardware Toshiba is placing. They seem to want to move from being sellers of hardware to using hardware as a portal to sell complex — and probably profitable — services.

One kind of un-intentionally funny moment came at a digital signage educational session for the end-users. The point they were making was along the lines of: “Researching, buying, installing and configuring all the components of digital signage is SO complicated. If only there was SOMEBODY you could hire to help you with a project like that. How about Toshiba!?” In our world, the obvious answer is: an integrator! Duh. But Toshiba is doing an admirable job of reaching out to the end-user crowd. The company’s also taking an interesting tactic with keeping relationships with AV designers and integrators — it’s offering a pilot program for AV designers and integrators to sell the Toshiba hardware and services themselves using the integrators’ own resources, while (presumably) giving Toshiba some kind of cut. It all seems to be part of Toshiba’s odd, but open plan to sell in-channel and direct at the same time.

Toshiba is definitely making the move away from straight hardware sales and moving towards service. I’m not sure it is to the extent of IBM, but maybe a bit of a hybrid. Considering that cloud services market is crazy competitive right now, that seem prudent. I think the service can be a good deal for end-users, and if that model becomes more pervasive among manufacturers it will be interesting to see how the overall market reacts in the long run.

What’s interesting to me is to observe how integral a role digital signage is playing in bringing about this next generation of sporting venues. The economics of spectator sport complexes has changed dramatically. In these newer facilities, you would have a hard time going anywhere that wasn’t within eye-shot of a digital screen. Believe it or not, 30 years ago the Jumbotron next to the scoreboard was the only screen in the entire place. Now we have screens at the concession stands, in restaurants, in seat backs, in the causeway, in VIP hospitality suites and even in the bathrooms. And those grainy Jumbotrons have been replaced by LED screens measuring hundreds of feet across. This is clearly an enormous opportunity for the digital signage industry.

No doubt the proliferation of digital displays in sporting venues has revolutionized the spectator experience. But beyond this obvious development, I believe that digital signage has opened up a huge opportunity for stadium owners to generate additional revenue by hosting events outside their core sports. These new venues now host corporate functions, private receptions, other sporting events and even community events. A BIG reason this is now possible is that signage is no longer static. With the flip of a switch, every screen in the stadium can change over to reflect another corporate (or team) identity. The chameleon-like ability of these new venues to reinvent themselves to accommodate additional teams and organizations gives near-limitless possibilities to the number of and types of events a stadium can host.

There’s no turning back — every new sporting facility will be built for visual impact, and designed with digital signage at the core of the fan experience. Fans will enjoy a much richer experience in the stands, and stadium owners will enjoy new revenue streams with a dramatic increase in outside events they can host.

This column was reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association and originally appeared here.

1. How relevant is the content to your objectives? Many digital signage administrators starting out use lots of “eye candy,” that free or low-cost content floating around on the Internet. Sure it looks nice, but does it actually help you communicate your objectives? No. What it does do is help drive readership (see point #3), but that should only be one ingredient for effective digital signage. Your issues and objectives should directly drive most of your content.

2. How easily can you create and display the content? Once you’ve identified what your important objectives are, who’s going to develop the content? Someone needs to own it to make sure there’s fresh, relevant material on a regular basis. These admins need software that’s easy to use and lets them post content quickly. Or they can access turnkey but issue-related content.

3. Will people actually read it? If they don’t, what’s the point? For example, posting an Excel spreadsheet with dozens of rows and columns won’t cut it. You need to pick an important piece of data and focus on that, perhaps by creating a chart illustrating the point. Make it applicable to their jobs: If they’re on the factory floor, show them production metrics, not sales or profit numbers. And at least 25 percent of your content should be non-business stuff, such as news, sports, weather and trivia.

Answering these three questions will get you well on the way to an effective digital signage system that really works. Whether you’re searching for digital signage or already have a system installed, a little thought about content creation goes a long way.

This column was reprinted with permission from the Digital Screenmedia Association and originally appeared here.

Today it would be difficult to find an integrator that has not tried the dynamic digital signage business but there are few of us that continue to focus on this exciting and profitable vertical. The reason most integrators have gone back to doing what they knew best is because they tried dynamic digital signage and lost money in their first or maybe even their first few attempts – so they walked away from or turned a blind eye to this growth market because they lost their shirt in their initial experiences. Well, it’s time to jump back on the bike and this time take the training wheels off.

The market has matured and the tools are so much better than 10 years ago, but the opportunity to lose your shirt still exists unless you see this market for what it is. Today it is so easy to purchase digital signage content management software or even find software online that is free to use. This makes it even easier to make critical mistakes by not fully understanding and embracing all the variables that come with every digital signage project. There are over 300 plus dynamic digital signage software management packages and they are not equal, and it is still necessary and essential that an integrator ask critical questions in the discovery phase to identify the needs so you can match the needs with a digital signage content management software package that will serve.

This is a vertical that requires the company to check all the boxes and be willing to embrace new skills or partner with those that can bring those skills to the project. Dynamic Digital Signage is AV integration on steroids and requires so much more than tradition AV integration. To be profitable a successful practitioner must recognize all the essentials and have the discipline to work through the details of every element. Please take a look at the simple graphic created years ago by my friends Alan and Jonathan Brawn, which outlines the absolute essentials that must be included in the process — every time.

Digital media guru Lyle Bunn says that, “Taking advantage of the growth in digital media investment means never losing site of the business value that it is intended to deliver and being a lead force in helping end users to get the benefits. ROI, Return on Investment, and TCO, Total Cost of Ownership, are the most important acronyms in digital place-based media.”

So come and learn how to properly navigate the process and to be able to take advantage of this dynamic growth market — and learn how to be profitable doing it!

Mike White is owner of Multi-Media Solutions Inc., an experienced A/V Integration company involved in more than 100 digital signage installations. White is an experienced speaker on digital signage at national and international shows and conferences. He has served four years on the InfoComm Board of Directors and was instrumental in the formation of the InfoComm Digital Signage Pavilion and Education Showcase. He served six years on the board or directors of USAV Group and led its digital signage initiatives.

“The product shift from interactive whiteboards to interactive flat panels continues to make waves in the industry, though has yet to percolate through all countries, says Colin Messenger, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “IFPD volumes are significant, accounting for 29 percent of all displays sold, with a number of product launches at ISTE likely to spur on further growth.”

Asia Dominating, USA Subsiding

Asia continued to post strong growth in Q3 with an increase of 2 percent YoY, while China continued its ascent, with more than half of all world sales.

US sales again decreased. One-to-one learning programs continue to develop apace in the US, with the introduction of common core assessments in 2014 acting as a stimulus for many districts. This major movement towards one-to-one, including internet infrastructure, diverts funds and focus away from front-of-class displays.

EMEA Strong Performance

EMEA performed above last year’s results, helped by the second phase of the FATIH project in Turkey; Futuresource projections show that this will account for over one third of all sales in EMEA this year.

In the UK, interactive flat panel displays accounted for 57 percent of sales, taking significant market share away from interactive whiteboards and triggering faster value growth.

The Global Perspective

The latest round of Futuresource research shows that the total display technologies market of interactive whiteboards, interactive flat panels and interactive projectors will exceed 1.3 million devices by 2019. However, the adoption rates of these three products are very different by country and by region — Futuresource has compared all three technologies in 67 countries.

“In 2013, seven million tablets were purchased by schools across the globe and this has contributed to increased competition for education budgets,” says Messenger. “However, the scale of the corporate space presents a number of alternative opportunities. Moving forward we see the corporate market as the fastest growing sector for interactive displays, increasing to more than 20 percent of total sales by 2018, with the growth coming from more developed markets like the USA, UK, Germany and Sweden.”

The Interactive Displays Quarterly Market Track is a comprehensive service based on sales-in data from vendors. The service covers interactive whiteboards and interactive flat panels in education and corporate sectors. For more information contact Andy Watson at Futuresource via andy.watson@futuresource-consulting.com.

Christie Twist and Christie Twist Premium are ideal for live theater and events, projection mapping, trade shows, large classrooms, corporate boardrooms, museums, house of worship, casinos and entertainment facilities and more. For more intricate projects – including flight simulators, virtual caves and domes Christie Twist Pro delivers unlimited arbitrary placement points for even greater accuracy. When purchasing Pro or Premium, customers can buy a dongle to attach to a PC running Twist software or license individual projectors and eliminate the need for a dongle.

Christie Twist technology also provides networked projector control by allowing the user to launch a virtual remote from within the twist software with all the functionality of standard Infrared remotes.

Here are the three versions:

Christie Twist
Maximum Projectors – 6
Control Points – Up to 81 Grid control Points
Brightness Uniformity – No
Auto Blending (Wallpaper) – No
Auto Blending (Field of View) – No
Arbitrary Point Placement – No

Christie Twist Premium
Maximum Projectors – 18
Control Points – Up to 87 Grid control Points, including six arbitrary points
Brightness Uniformity – Yes
Auto Blending (Wallpaper) – Yes
Auto Blending (Field of View) – No
Arbitrary Point Placement – Maximum 6

Christie Twist Pro
Maximum Projectors – Unlimited
Control Points – Up to 1,500 arbitrary or grid control points
Brightness Uniformity – Yes
Auto Blending (Wallpaper) – Yes
Auto Blending (Field of View) – Yes
Arbitrary Point Placement – Yes – Unlimited

All details are here.

The global large-screen public flat-panel display (FPD) market is rebounding after declines in 2012 and flat growth in 2013. According the NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly FPD Public Display Shipment and Forecast Report, the market is expected to grow 14 percent in 2014 and 27 percent in 2015, as economies gradually recover from the global economic downturn.

“Strong growth of LCD display shipments will offset the rapid decline of commercial plasma display production,” said Ken Park, senior analyst of Korea technology market research for NPD DisplaySearch. “In order for traditional plasma display companies to stay in business and remain relevant in the marketplace, they have shifted their production from plasma to LCD, or they have contracted with others to manufacture and sell LCD public displays. Since their relationships remain strong in certain vertical markets, these companies continue to focus sales efforts in these core areas. This strategy will help increase LCD shipments.”

Figure 1: Worldwide Public Display Shipment Forecast by Technology

Within the market for large-screen public displays, the interactive white board (IWB) sector is expanding, due to increased governmental investments in education. With the forecasted growth rate of 50 percent, IWB shipment volume will reach approximately 650,000 units in 2015. While the primary market drivers are large government-backed education projects in China and Turkey, Japan is also rumored to begin a second tender for a major education investment.

Starting in Q2’14, shipments of monitors and notebook PCs used in business environments exceeded expectations, due to the ongoing PC refresh cycle and continued Windows XP migration. “The business PC market has lately been outperforming the consumer market,” Park said. “If this trend continues as forecast, we can expect to see a positive effect on the digital signage market.”

Other factors contributing to renewed growth in the public display market:

• The introduction of ultra-narrow-bezel (UNB) panels from Samsung and LG Display in 2014 eroded the premium price for UNB displays and reinforcing video wall market expansion
• The expansion of low-cost entry-level public display models in 2015

“Rising industry expectations, more aggressive business targets, soaring education tenders, and macro-economy improvement in emerging regions, public displays are attracting more attention in the display industry,” Park said. “In addition, increasing average screen sizes will contribute to more revenue growth, even though unit sales are still small, compared to other products.”

After extracting the two channel audio signal, the original fiber optic signal is re-transmitted to maximize the optical budget for long distance transmission. Additionally, the buffered fiber optic loop-throughs feature output reclocking to reshape and restore the timing of the digital signal. The audio extractors are compatible with FOX II Series transmitters and receivers as well as FOX Series matrix switchers, distribution amplifiers and DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, VGA, VGA/YUV, and AV extenders. The modular PowerCage FOX II AEX 104 and the compact FOX II AEX 108 are designed to provide easy access for discreet audio signal processing and routing.

Here are the details on the FOX II AEX 108 and here are specs on the PowerCage FOX II AEX 104.

BenQ’s series of dual-sided signage panels include four 55-inch displays (DH550C, DL550C, DH550F and DL550F) that use commercial-grade panels for 24/7/365 applications and provide the ability to display content from both sides of the panel. Providing both horizontal and vertical installation options, the  displays can be mounted to walls and ceilings in both indoor and outdoor settings — aiming to replace traditional light-box advertisements with electronic information displays. Featuring brightness levels between 450 and 700 nits, the lightweight displays, which measure less than 25 mm thick, make the product family an extremely flexible advertising solution that remains both aesthetically attractive and easy to install.

BenQ’s 28-inch BH280 and 38-inch BH380 bar-type displays feature a slim design to deliver content in any setting such as buses and subway cars, restaurants, government offices, post office counters, banks, convenience stores or exhibition spaces. Featuring an ultra-bright 700 nits (BH280) or 800 nits (BH380), an average life of 50,000 hours, and a Smart Light function that allows flawless viewing even in environments with ambient light, the duo becomes the market’s most reliable choice for any of today’s portrait or landscape digital signage applications. The panels accept DVI and VGA inputs.

The TL320F, TL500F, TL650F and TL320C transparent displays feature a dual display function, the solutions allow consumers to observe both on-screen advertisements and actual products encased inside the transparent boxes — creating a display for retail showcase windows, museum exhibitions, and other environments. Available in 32-, 50- and 65-inch models, the displays can also be custom-built to fit any product placement requirement. Equipped with multiple inputs including USB ports (TL320C) for easy media and system integration, the panels provide audio through two built-in 2W speakers for a full-on interactive experience that truly captures the attention and imagination of passersby.

Here’s the entire line.

eyevis

All of them can be integrated into a video wall configuration with looping or distributed signals with or without a processor. In then video wall mode, four single signals can be depicted on one screen. These can be four full HD signals or four Ultra HD signals. Thus, the large-format displays offer an alternative to a conventional 2×2 video wall with four single displays. Here an ultra HD display can definitely save costs because just one power supply and one wall mounting are needed; on top also the bezels can be omitted.

Complete 4K Display Lineup:

• EYE-LCD-3150-QHD-LD — Resolution: 3.840 × 2.160, Diagonal: 31,5‘‘ (ca. 80 cm), Brightness: 450 cd/m², Contrast: 1.000:1
• EYE-LCD-5800-QHD — Resolution: 3.840 × 2.160, Diagonal: 58‘‘ (ca. 147 cm), Brightness: 450 cd/m², Contrast: 5.000:1
• EYE-LCD-6000-QHD-LD — Resolution: 3.840 × 2.160, Diagonal: 60‘‘ (ca. 152 cm), Brightness: 500 cd/m², Contrast: 5.000:1
• EYE-LCD-8400-QHD-LE — Resolution: 3.840 × 2.160, Diagonal: 84‘‘ (ca. 213 cm), Brightness: 500 cd/m², Kontrast: 1.400:1
• EYE-LCD-8500-QHD-LD — Resolution: 3.840 × 2.160, Diagonal: 85‘‘ (ca. 216 cm), Brightness: 500 cd/m², Contrast: 3.000:1
• EYE-LCD-9800-QHD-LD  — Resolution: 3.840 × 2.160, Diagonal: 98‘‘ (ca. 248 cm), Brightness: 500 cd/m², Contrast: 1.300:1

All of them can be found here.

NEC Display

The X841UHD display also comes with NEC’s SpectraView Engine, a custom-designed color processor, and connectivity that includes every analog or digital port on the market.

NEC’s published feature set:

• Native resolution of 3840×2160 at 60 Hz
• S-IPS LCD panel in tandem with 500 cd/m2 maximum brightness and 1400:1 contrast ratio
• 10-bit color performance
• Full metal chassis with integrated temperature sensors and fans
• A multitude of digital inputs provides highly flexible connectivity
• Full software support (NaViSet Administrator, PD Comms, SpectraView, MultiProfiler and NEC Display Wall Calibrator)
• Reduced power consumption with LED edge lighting
• Landscape and portrait modes for installation flexibility
• Built-in dual 10-watt speakers

The X841UHD display will be available later this month for $16,999. More information is here.

The Arrive InfoPoint system provides the ability to reserve rooms remotely via web, Office 365, Microsoft, Exchange and Google Calendar in advance. It comes pre-embedded with the Arrive InfoPoint Edition software application that supports scheduling, notes feature and ability to incorporate custom logo options for complete room reservation management. It also seamlessly integrates with other ARRIVE products such as the Arrive FacePoint and works as a stand alone application (AIP-SA-800) or with the Arrive Edgeless Media Server (AIP-ID-800).

ARRIVE is distributed in the US by Liberty AV Solutions and in the rest of the world, you can get it here.

Gridcast helped design and develop one of the largest indoor LED display implementations within the Canadian retail industry for fashion retailer, Holt Renfrew. The application has been described as a one-of-a-kind digital canvas or façade wall that reflects the unique architectural styling envisioned in the re-design of Holt Renfrew’s store location at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto. Gridcast’s vision for the project was to create a living architectural piece.

See a YouTube video about the installation here.

Background

The purpose of the display is to garner interest among shoppers walking by, evoke a positive reaction among them, and thereby entice them to enter the store.

Gridcast was tasked to come up with the best possible solution to create this architecturally integrated display. The company went through a proof of concept to benchmark technologies against one another in a simulated environment and test them to find the most suitable technology solution fit for the job.

Gridcast ended up partnering with Nanolumens, a custom LED display technology provider, and Dot2Dot, an exclusive Canadian distributor of Scala content management software. The display stands at the front of Holt Renfrew’s redesigned store and consists of six columns of seamless LED panels, each column measuring 29 feet high by 4 feet wide. The layout design provides Holt Renfrew with a digital canvas to display digital content on each individual column or content spanning across the entire façade.

Challenges

Due to the sheer size of the display, there were a number of challenges Gridcast had to overcome. This included developing content on a large scale and finding a technology with a wide enough viewing angle and one that has the ability to compete with the ambient lighting conditions within the mall. As well, it was important for Gridcast to ensure that the application was installed in a safe and secure manner.

Solutions

In order to overcome these obstacles, Gridcast put together a list of criteria and requirements to help ensure the success of the deployment. Gridcast then simulated the environment within the company’s internal lab, setting up and testing the selected technology. To evaluate effectiveness, Gridcast used the criteria list as a guideline to follow allowing the company to clearly see what worked best. Simulating the environment helped Gridcast prevent any foreseeable issues that had the potential to arise during the actual installation.

Results

The unveiling of the display helped augment Holt Renfrew’s reputation as a destination place within Yorkdale Mall because it has proven to be such a powerful and impactful statement piece. As a result of the deployment, Holt Renfrew witnessed an increase in shopper traffic in and around the store as well as an increase in sales.

This case study is reprinted with permission from the Digital Signage Connection and originally appeared here.