I’m amazed at how light and thin the Samsung LED screens are compared to the LCD screens. We just purchased several Samsung SA300 screens for the office.

Although they do come with a price, they are so much easier to install and configure.

Here’s some information of the screens: (source: http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/consumer/computer-peripherals/monitors/consumer/LS23A300BS/XK/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=specification&subsubtype=series-3-led):

Display

• Screen Size: 23″(16:9)
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• 250cd/? Brightness
• Contrast Ratio: Mega DCR (Static 3000:1)
• 5ms Response time
• Viewing Angle(Horizontal/Vertical): 170?/160?
• 16.7 Million Color Supported

Features

• Support Eco Saving, Multi Screen S/W, MagicAngle, MagicBright3, MagicColor, Off Timer, Magic Tune, Customized Key, Image Size, DVI with HDCP
• Compatible with Mac
• Cabinet Color: Black

Stand

• Use Simple stand

Monitor equipped with Samsung’s unique color engine and White LED-backlight (WLED), has higher color accuracy requirements, color temperature and brightness. The new monitors’ highest response time is 5ms and also features MEGA DCR technology, which enhances dynamic contrast 5,000,000:1 in textural images. Diversified “Magic” functions allow you to extend its viewing angle so the screen always appears as if viewed face-on.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products

This week we posted a blog about 3D screens. A few hours after the post we were bombareded with emails from companies who manufacture 3D glasses. I guess 3D glasses are a consumer product and it’s something that most people would not carry with them. It doesn’t make sense to have a 3D screen in a public environment because no one would be carrying 3D glasses. There are 3D Screens out in the market that does not require the 3D glasses and these are the products that we will be seeing in the near future. We ask our readers what they think about 3D screens.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products

Just for laughs, here is a picture of what you can do to cool down a FANLESS digital signage embedded player – you add an external FAN:

On a serious note, we did notice that temperature had an impact on CPU performance on a FANLESS embedded player so although there are some advantages of using a fanless system you may want to check whether CPU performance is more important for your requirements.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

Our showroom screens

Last week I had a brief discussion with one of my colleagues about the confusion between Landscape vs Portrait content and the extra effort required to maintain content on these two types of layouts. In a digital signage network with screens in both landscape and portrait orientations, it can be quite confusing for the content creator who maintains a large network of screens. On a landscape screen you create landscape designs and for portrait screens you create portrait designs. Well, I mentioned to him that most administrators of the digital signage network may not be able to easily distinguish the difference especially if the network group of a digital signage screens are a mix and do the clients really understand the extra effort (may even cost) required.

There are some digital signage solutions that are just able to automatically rotate and crop the content so that it fits on the screen no matter if it’s landscape or portrait but in the case where your digital signage system doesn’t have this feature, what do you do? To solve this issue you need to have two sets of designs or templates – one in landscape and then one in portrait.Then, when scheduling the content the administrator needs to work out which screens will use the landscape content and which ones will use the portrait content. If you have more than 20 screens with a mix of landscape and portrait screen this can be a very tedious task. I guess if you have setup your screens to be within a group e.g Landscape screens, Portrait screens then this task may be easier but at the end of the day does your network require both screen orientations? If not, I would say stick with one type of screen orientation to minimise administration and design efforts.

As digital signage solution providers we provide consultancy services and help them understand the benefits and pitfalls of maintaining a digital signage solution.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog Products

Does anyone know or have seen a small digital signage player that is able to support HD (dual core) videos and can fit between the screen and the wall?

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

Have you ever tried to install a screen at a specific location and had to go through the hassle of installing a power point and video cables? Apparently you will no longer run into this issue in the next few years as manufacturers will be releasing wireless monitors that charges the power and also transmit video using wireless technology.

There are many benefits in using this technology and some of these are:

• Reduce installation costs for both power and video cabling – no more cables dangling from the screen
• Ability to install screen in any given location and have the freedom to change the location

I dont know how the quality of  the video is going to be like since there are a number of factors that affect the quality such as interference and distance. But from the video it appears that you need a wireless USB dongle to be attached to the laptop.

Have a look at the Fujitsu screen which was showcased during the CeBIT 2011 and it might available in 5 to 10 years (you may need the infrastructure to run the wireless power):

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products

This weeks video is a product that is quite interesting.

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Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Blog Video, Digital Signage Polls

You’ve seen these at retails stores, venues, restuarants, lobbies and propably you’re looking at one right now. They are everywhere and the popularity of these screens are growing at a tremendous pace. Yes, we’re talking about the Panasonic Plasma screens. Panasonic this year launched the 20 Series screens and they also included the release of 42″ and 47″ LCD screens.

In this post (one of many) we will showcase some of features of the Panasonic Plasma screens. Most of this information can be found on the Panasonic website or their brochure.

MODELS

Firstly, lets look at the two of the latest models of the Panasonic Screens:

PH20W – these are high definition screens with the SLOT 2.0

PF20W – the main difference between the PF and PH is that the PF is a FULL HD (1080p^) plasma displays and uses NeoPDP* technology.

*NeoPDP technology is a newly developed cell structure, an innovative drive technology, a new discharge gas and a revamped panel that has four times luminous efficiency compared to their 2007 models.

^1080p means that the screen will deliver a moving picutre of 1080 lines for sharp and clear display of fast-motion images.

SIZE

The size of the Panasonic Screens range from 42″ to 103″. You can purchase one of the following size: 42″, 50″, 58″, 65″, 85″ and 103″.

ENVIROMENTALLY FRIENDLY PANEL

The Panasonic products are more friendly to the environment. All plasma display panels are mercury and lead free. The display panel also offers a long life of up to 100,000 hours under normal operating condition. This basically equates to 11.42 years if the screen was left on 24/7.

NATIVE CONTRAST

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

Undoubtedly the smallest digital signage player we’ve seen on the market – the size is 105(W) x 26(H) x 83(D) mm
. The Spinetix [pronounced as "spenetix" or something like that] player is one great little unit and we’re currently testing and reviewing the product so watch this space. Apparently the unit has lifetime warranty!!!

Here’s some pictures of the unit.

Digital signage player spinetix front

Digital signage player spinetix back

Here’s the specs of the unit:

Digital Display Compatibility
Aspect ratio 16:9, 16:10, 4:3 (horizontal & vertical)
Video output 50/60 Hz: 720p (1280×720), XGA (1024×768), WSVGA
(1024×640), WVGA (768×480), 576p (720×576), 480p
(720×480), SVGA (800×600), VGA (640×480), EDID
24/25 Hz: 1080p (1920×1080; only for semistatic content)
Video connectors HDMI (incl. digital audio), DVI via adapter. VGA (DB15 HD
connector). Simultaneous use of HDMI and VGA possible
Media Format
Description language SVG Tiny 1.2+ (Scalable Vector Graphics)
Media synchronization SMIL 2.1 (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language)
Still image formats JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG
Supported video codecs Up to SD resolution: MPEG-4 ASP, MPEG-2, MPEG-1,
H.264, MJPEG, Microsoft VC-1 (Windows Media Video 9)
Supported audio codecs MPEG audio layer 1/2/3 (MP3), ITU G.711, G.722,
G.729,PCM, Microsoft WMA, Real Audio
Media container formats AVI, WMV/WMA, VOB, AIFF, OGG, WAV, MOV (Quicktime)
Streaming media protocol MMS, RTSP, RTP, SDP, HTTP; Uni- & multicast
Import filters provided for Flash 9, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, BMP, TIFF,
XPM, WBMP, PNM bitmaps
Scripting language PHP5, JavaScript, ECMAScript
Content scheduling iCalendar (RFC2445)
Graphic Effects Engine
Graphic effects language SVG Tiny 1.2+
Vector graphics primitives Rectangles, polygons, paths with lines, elliptical arcs and
Bezier curves, text areas, linear and radial gradients
International text support Unicode standard compliant with bidirectional text support
Font file formats TrueType and OpenType
Animation capabilities Color, gradients, transparency level, audio volume, motion
along a path, translation, scaling, rotation, clipping
Animation modes Discrete, linear, paced and spline interpolation
Specialized Applications
Kiosk applications Touch screen, keyboard/joysticks/gamepads/mouse, HID
I/O devices via USB 2.0 or user defined serial port, with
touch screen calibration
Event management Real-time event communication for triggering content
changes on-demand
Time synchronized Millisecond accuracy, for unconstrained
video wall configurations
Streaming Video and audio streaming compatibility, including
live TV streamers
Network
Connectivity Ethernet 10/100 Mbit/s (RJ-45), IEEE 802.3u, 802.3x
3G connectivity through USB modem stick;
Protocols DHCP or fixed address; IPv4; IPv6;
Remote configuration HTTP(S) configuration server, password protected
Content administration WebDAV server, password protected
Other protocols SNMPv1/v2c, NTP, Zeroconf
Content updates Pull mode, push mode, server based

Storage
Internal storage 2GB solid state
External storage Flash drives and hard disks via USB 2.0 port

Physical Specification
Size 105(W) x 26(H) x 83(D) mm
4.13’(W) x 1.02’(H) x 3.27’(D)
Weight 190g / 6.7 oz
Power supply 5V DC, typ. 0.4A (2W)
Power supply input 100-240V 50-60 Hz, max input current 0.6A
Operating temperature 0-40ºC / 32-104ºF; 10-90% RH
Storage temperature -25ºC to 45ºC / -13ºF to 113ºF; 10% to 90% RH
Real time clock Min. accuracy 1 minute/month free running, battery
backed
Serial RS232, up to 115200 bauds, mini-jack 3.5mm
Analog audio output Line level, stereo, mini-jack 3.5mm

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Reviews

We just received  news that Flypaper Studio, Inc, has released version 3.3 of  the Flypaper digital signage software. According to Flypaper:

“The latest updates and new components included with this version support the growing demand in digital signage for faster, better quality content with a focus on touch-screen interactive experiences. The newest multi-touch features, including the ability to slide, swipe and flick at all components on a screen, allow companies to do cooler things with digital signage, and do them more affordably and in significantly less time.” continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Reviews

digital signage stands are now becoming more popular and last week we had the opportunity to open our 42″ LCD advertise me stand so I thought I’d blog about it. Firstly, let’s look at the enclosure of the stand. The outer shell of the enclosure is made out of black aluminum and inner shell  is made out of iron. There is also a 6mm tampered glass at the front of the enclosure and this makes is look very professional. The only bad thing is the reflection. continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Reviews

Today, we received our new HD camcorder – the Sony HDR-XR520V. We can’t reveal too much what our plans are but all we can say is that you’ll probably see more High Definition Video on our blog and most of our other websites.

We haven’t had enough time to play with it yet but so far we are quite impressed with the quality and features of the unit. Some of the features are:

• has a massive 240GB internal hard drive
• has a Exmor R technology on a 1/2.88-inch CMOS sensor (I’m not sure exactly what this means but I’m guessing its good to have)
• has a built-in GPS mapping system
• a special Active Mode image stabilization enhancement feature
• at the top of the unit also has a Sony accessory shoe which can be used to connect a microphone to it
• + too many other features that it will take too long to list.

Here’s a picture we took of the Sony HD camcorder by using our Nikon D60 Digital SLR Camera:

Sony HDR-XR520V

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

Samsung LED 55" HDTV Image Source: www.samsung.com

Say goodbye to LCD and Plasmas screens and let’s make way for the latest LED screen technology. You may have already started noticing that prices for LCD screens and Plasma screens have been dropping in the past few years and one of the many reasons for this is the introduction of the next screen technology “LEDs”. Now, your typical LED billboards have been around for quite some time now but now screen manufactures are developing screens for the home and for commercial purposes.

So today, we thought we’d look at some of the features of the Samsung LED HDTV and in particular the UN55B8000 (55″ 1080p LED HDTV). Firstly, you’ll probably have already noticed by the description that the screen is 55 inches – yes it’s big but also it’s ultra slim (1.2″ deep). The other great features about this unit is that it is environmentally friendly – it uses 40% less power consumption than the traditional LCD screens.

Samsung LED HDTV Content Management Image Source: www.samsung.com

The other additional features is that it is Internet@TV capable, meaning it allows you to receive content via Yahoo!®, Flickr®, and other online TV Widgets on screen (would this be good enough for digital signage???). USB 2.0 Movie: Multi-Media Center makes it easy to watch movies, browse photos and listen to music on your TV. But wait, there’s more! Just say you feel like playing a game of chess or cooking instead of watching TV. Samsung Series 8 LED TV’s Content Library Flash feature lets you do just that. Enjoy hours of built-in entertainment features, then personalize it by adding content that’s available online. And downloading is easy. There’s so much you can do with te Series 8 LED TVs.

In terms of price… it’s not so bad, it’s actually only US$3,999.99 (who uses 1 cents these days?). Anyways, if you’re intending to capture your audience using the best picture quality – bright and clear images then look no further… LED is the way to go.

We would love to review this product when it hits Australia, so if someone from Samsung wants us to review the product send us an email to review@advertiseme.com.au

With the features of the Samsung LED UN55B8000 HDTV, what are your thoughts about using this as a digital signage player?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

We all knew this was going to happen and it eventually did. Coca-cola has released digital signage vending machines which are interactive. Here’s a video to show you what we mean:

And here’s a video of someone actually using the vending machine… I like it how he had to press the right arrow several times before it scrolled to the right and it also has the Pay Pass payment option (I haven’t really seen this been used in Australia):

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Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Blog Video

It’s the weekend and thought I’d share an exciting and fun video clip – you’ll be also surprised as well.

We previously talked about how the iPhone can be used as a digital signage player (there’s already a few companies out there who have created an application on the iPhone) but now how would you like to be served by a humanoid robot with an iPhone attached to it’s head? Watch the funky video and we’ll discuss later:

In the examples in the video, the humanoid robot with the iPhone attached as it’s head, can be used to:

• wake you up – morning!!! maybe even give you a hug or a slap
• entertain – it’s a dance machine…shake it’s robo booty
• teach it new tricks and moves – next thing you know it will start imitating your moves
• and if you’re nice to it… it might even make you a coffee (just kidding – ummmm may be it is possible)

BUT more importantly it can interact with YOU – think about it from a sales and marketing perspective and you’ll start realising that this robot can be used to attract more customers into your store and even possibly serve it’s customers (stick your own photo image as it’s head ). The screen itself can be used even to promote sales, products and specials whilst it’s dancing around entertaining it’s customers (yes it’s  digital signage after all). And yes…. I’ve said it before… the possibilities seem to be endless with the future of mobile phones as digital signage players.

So that’s our weekend fun for this week and we all hope you’re having a great weekend.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Blog Video, Digital Signage Ideas, Digital Signage Weekend Fun

Image Source: www.apple.com

This may sound a bit ridiculous but has anyone thought about using your Iphone as a mobile digital signage player? I mean lets think about this, if people can use the Iphone to watch movies and video clips why can’t it be used as an integrated digital signage player. The unit can be easily connected to the Internet and it also has a touch screen so really its perfect for interacting with your intended audience. With the sheer number of Iphone users out there, setting a digital signage network can be easily established.

All we need now is a digital signage Iphone application… and my guess is that someone is already developing one.

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Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

I came across this video and thought I’d share this with the rest of the digital signage community. It’s about an upcoming product from Nanolumens that will make screen installations a lot easier and potentially more affordable (I question this statement as most new technologies are generally more expensive).

Have a look at the technology yourself and let me know what you think.

If you had one of these screens, where would you install it?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Featured Post

Just recently I read an article about the upcoming Microsoft Xbox Motion Sensor that allows the users to control games with our bodies. Unlike the Wii, this means that you do not have to hold anything to interact with the console and game.

This new product is being called “Project Natal” and is basically a sensor for the Xbox 360 which tracks movement, listens and executes commands from the console… don’t know what I’m refeering to? then watch this trailer from Youtube:

If you’re from the digital signage industry you’re thinking to yourself “The future of Digital Signage interaction?”. If you’re like me, when something catches your attention you start brainstorming on how this can be applied to the digital signage industry.  If I was working for Microsoft I would recommend and provide directions to the management team to push this product out to businesses to use as a digital signage console…. and not just a gaming console. Let’s think about this, most digital signage players out there in the market are using desktop PC’s, embedded PCs or some form of a PC – fundamentally that’s what the Xbox 360 is – and soon it will have a sensor. In my eyes,  I can potentially see this used as a digital signage player and not just a gaming console.

In the past, many top digital signage gurus predicted that the next “big thing” in digital signage was going to be interaction and guess what…. they were right.

Lets imagine this scenario:

• You walk into a clothing store and you’re having trouble picking a dress for the night out with the girls.
• Now like in the example in the trailer, you walk up to the dsx (digital signage xbox) and you contact your best friend to get advice on which dress you should wear.
• In the application, you have the virtual product catalog of all the dresses available in the store.
• The application takes a picture of you (measuring your body size, height etc) and you start trying out the different dresses (virtually).
• Along the way you and your friend discuss whether the dress is suitable or not.
• When you found some of the dresses both of you like  you add it to you’re favourite list.
• You then press the “TRY” button or say “Let me try these” and the shop assistant brings in the dresses for you to try.
• All the transactions and  information end up being recorded online so that the next time you visit a store that has the dsx you can retrieve this previous information.

This is one of the many applications I can see working for the digital signage industry and I can’t wait till we trial one of these units.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Blog Video

This week, our team thought of doing something different from our usual postings – we decided to open up the NDSP-500 digital signage player and give you a brief look at what’s inside one of these players. The video is not of the greatest quality but it does give you an idea of the components inside a typical digital signage player and what connections are available. So here’s the video:

As you can clearly see, the unit is small… it’s smaller than half of an A4 paper. With this particular unit, there are several connectors at the front:

1. RS232 – this is usually to provide serial communications with another device. It can be used to control and manage an display screen – that’s if the screen supports RS232.
2. Secure compartment to store the SD card – it’s also a quick way to easily swap out the SD card without having to open up the box

At the back of the unit you will notice the following connectors:

1.Video output:  the unit has these typical connections – S-Video Output/Composite Video and Audio, DVI, and VGA.

2. Video Input: Composite Video and Audio. With this particular unit you will be able to connect a video input source such as a DVD player, Foxtel, CCTV camera etc.

3. S/PDIF – for great audio quality

4. LAN port which support 10/100 Mbps

5. Two USB ports for connecting USB Storage

6. Power plug to connect the power supply. This power plug was different from other digital signage players we’ve seen in the past. It basically has a connector which allows you to twist and screw the power cable to the power plug.

Inside the player, all you will find is a circuit board, a frame for a small hard disk and several cables. As you can see from the video, you will not find a fan inside the player – this makes the unit very quiet when it’s turned on.

Would you like to see more videos? Let us know what you’ll like to see and we’ll try to get it done.

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Blog Video

Do you have a digital signage player that does not support Powerpoint presentations but only flash? Don’t throw the player out yet because we’ve got an easy solution for you.

There are many software tools available on the market that is able to convert your traditional ppt files to flash but one that we would recommend is Flashpoint from Flashdemo (http://www.flashdemo.net/ppt2flash.html). The software costs US$89.00. There are a couple of demos on the website to show you what the software is capable of doing and they also have a free trial version.

So, rather than redesigning your powerpoint presentations for digital signage compatibility, have a look at Flashpoint – it may save you several hours worth of work.

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Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Reviews

We were recently approached by an insurance company asking whether we had a solution that could easily integrate digital signage with their Sharepoint system, so we thought we might as well share this information with everyone.

Well, you may be thinking “What is Sharepoint?”. Sharepoint is actually a Microsoft Content Management System which allows business to collaborate and share information quickly and easily. Think of it as a website portal which can be used to store files, events, contacts, tasks, forms and most importantly information. Here’s a video tour of Sharepoint:

Now some companies may want to use digital signage as a communication tool and target information to staff and if this information is already centralised in the one location, SHAREPOINT, then how would you integrate your digital signage solution with this?

From our experience and based on products we have used in the past, if your digital signage player/software is able to display RSS compatible feeds then you have a system that is able to be integrated with Sharepoint – in particular the latest version 2007. With Sharepoint 2007, there is a neat feature which allows content, events, contacts, tasks and information to be displayed as an RSS feed. This is particularly useful as you don’t want to manually update the content on your digital signage player. Once you have the RSS feed, you can easily modify and display this information on the digital signage screens.

For the more advanced digital signage players and software, if your system is able to connect to the Microsoft SQL server that stores all the data, then your solution will be able to connect to the database and grab the relevant data to be displayed on the screen. As an example, if one of your clients used Sharepoint to schedule company outings and important company events then we would be able to deploy a digital signage solution which dynamically uses the RSS feed from the Sharepoint server and display this on the digital signage screen located in the main foyer. This will help remind employees of upcoming company events.

Hopefully this post has provided you with better ways on how to integrate existing systems with digital signage.

Have you seen any innovative digital signage integrations?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog Products

If you’re starting a business in the digital signage industry and are in the process of writing a business plan there are several areas that I would focus when writing your business plan and these are listed below:

1. CLEARLY STATE THE ROI - Your investors and the client will want to know what their ROI is. Based on the fact that you’re new to digital signage you may not have these figures available. There are several websites on the internet which may provide you with these numbers but my recommendation would be to engage the client to run a trial (for a fee or for free). During this trial you can use various measurement tools or devices to obtain your data. For example, the client may want to know how many people looked at the screen and purchased the product displayed. In this case you can use an audience measurement tool which tracks the number of faces that looked at the screen. One great thing about these tools is that it can help you also track demographic information. You can then correlate this information with the digital signage player logs and the retail management system logs.

In the past, we have been asked whether installing digital signage increases the number of customers walking into the store. The only way to determine this is to compare and track how many people walked into the store before installing digital signage and after. Some stores may already have some measurements tools to track this eg. people counter (uses infrared light to determine how many people entered the store) if they don’t then it may be worthwhile to install one.

2. NEED MONEY TO START YOUR BUSINESS – If your investors decide not to proceed with supporting you financially and your client is still keen to go ahead with your digital signage solution then you may want to consider leasing the equipment through a finance company. Have a read of this article about leasing vs purchasing outright vs rental:

http://www.digitalsignageblog.com/2008/07/20/digital-signage-purchasing-outright-vs-leased-vs- rental/

3. SWOT – All business plans should include the SWOT analysis i.e. clearly analyse your business Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and clearly understand where your business may stand in the current market condition. Keep in mind who your current competitors are and how difficult it might be to enter the market. Also keep in mind that a number of existing businesses who are in the video/audio industry are merging into the digital signage industry. These companies will already have existing clients so it will be difficult to win these clients if you don’t have the relevant experience or portfolio.

4. SCALABLE SOLUTION - if you don’t manufacture your own equipment then you will need to clearly state in your business plan what services or equipment you will be providing. You will need to look for a digital signage solution that is scalable, affordable (also one that will make you a profit) and one that reduces administration costs. A centrally managed solution is the perfect choice for your clients needs.

Browse through our Digital Signage Portal Products pages to get more information about what are some of the products available in the market.

5. GET HELP IF YOU NEED IT – Partner with high profile digital signage manufacturers who can guide you and assist you with winning the projects. Do this even before you execute your business plan. Getting your foot in the door is always hard and working with an existing and experienced business will provide you with that extra support.

6. ROI FIGURES – In the ROI include potential advertising revenues figures from manufacturers. In your business plan, you will obviously do your maths and provide figures and number of how much your business will be earning, even if it’s making a loss in the first couple of year. Sometimes you may have to clearly draw the line and decide when it’s best to pull out from the business but generally, the first 5 years is always the toughest and most businesses fail in this period.

7. UNIQUE – are you providing anything unique in the current digital signage industry? If you are, then your business plan should clearly revolve around what additional benefits your product/solution/service will bring to the industry. Otherwise, the competition will be quite rough with existing established businesses.

Hopefully these points helped you in putting together your business plan.

Do you have anything further to add to this list?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

If you’re looking for a large LCD screen with an ultra thin screen bezel then the upcoming NEC Multisync X451UN will be perfect for your next digital signage wall. In a previous post we talked about how to create a video wall using existing equipment or purchasing specialised hardware such as the NEC Multisync X451UN. Now, the actual screen has a bezel of only 7.3mm and it can be connected to form a 10×10 screen configuration to fill up a space of almost 645 square feet (that’s approximately 60 square meters). This is perfect for locations such as Movie Theaters or any location that needs a large screen area, however it does come with a hefty price – US$6000 and will be available sometime in April.

Some of the additional features of this screen are:

* 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
* 1,360 x 768 WXGA native resolution
* 700 cd/m2 brightness
* 3,000:1 contrast ratio
* 3-year parts and labor warranty
Source: www.slashgear.com. For more additional specs visit the website.

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Read more interesting news

Category: Digital Signage Blog Products, Featured Post

Reviewed By: Advertise Me

Price Range (RRP): AU$700 – $900 (depending on the exact hardware requirements)

What’s black, compact, fast, affordable and can be used for almost any industry environment?
It’s the Synrax Onyx Mini.

We had the privilege to be one of the first companies to review this product. Below is our findings but before we start with our product review here’s the product specifications.

Product Specs

The unit offers the following features:

• Intel Mobile Processor 2.0Ghz Single Core or Dual Core (you can almost run any software application with this processor speed)
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (can be upgraded to 2G if you need to run memory intensive applications)
• High Definition Output via HDMI – (great feature to have if you need high quality video output, especially if you’re deciding to use this for digital signage or multimedia applications. It also has the standard video connectors such as VGA and S-Video)
• HD Audio via Optical SPDIF – (great for capturing your audience using sound)
• 6 USB ports (2 at the front and 4 at the back. Just think of how many USB devices you can connect to the unit)
• Storage Options (the unit supports SSD compact flash cards, IDE and SATA HHD. This is pretty standard these days but it’s definately good to have the flexibility to choose your own storage device)
• Ethernet Port (the unit supports 1Gbps speeds. Once again with this speed, the unit is ideal for streaming high quality video over the network)
• 212mm x 126mm x 62mm Enclosure (It’s small…in terms of size, the Onyx Mini is almost the same size of a DL envelope. Here’s a picture to prove it)

Performance

For the digital signage industry, the Onyx Mini meets the video and processor performance requirements to run almost any high definition video or digital signage application. We tested this by playing a sample 1080p high definition file (the video was downloaded from the Microsoft Site – WMV HD Content Showcase) through Windows Media player and we didn’t notice any lags or freezes. The CPU utilisation didn’t even hit the 100% mark. Here’s a video to prove it:

We also used a trial version of PerformanceTest by passmark.com and ran several performance tests, and here are the results. The unit received a passmark rating of 343.8. Visit passmark.com for further details about this rating.

Our verdict

Bad

• We couldn’t find anything bad about the unit except that the fan noise was quite loud. In any case, this is something minor but we did find out from the vendor that the noise was actually related to the size of the air holes on the side of the unit.
• Another minor issue was that the unit had no labels at the front to indicate which button was the power and reset. It took us a while to figure this out.

Please note that the vendor will address both of the above issues in the next batch of units.

Good

• The Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset video graphics card supports dual screens – this is quite handy to have especially if you intend to run a solution which requires you to drive either the same or different content to two screens. It also allows you to position both screens in different layouts. I love this feature!



• It can be used in almost any industry, whether its the digital signage, medical, home (great for media centers or desktop pc), retail business, KIOSK, and the list goes on.
• You can install and manage your OWN operating system – not limited to a particular manufacturer or system application
• Has very good ventilation – we left the unit on for several days and the casing never got “too hot to handle”
• We like this unit and we have decided to include it in our product range so that our customers can benefit

If you want us to review your product, contact advertise me via email: review@advertiseme.com.au

About Synrax Australia

Synrax Australia Pty Ltd was established in year 2002 initially as a local distributor of embedded computing components, providing the services in Australia and New Zealand. Since it’s inception, Synrax’s dedication to provide quality reliable products was rewarded with great responses from our clients. This helped our company to grow rapidly and establish ourselves into the market despite its young history.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products, Digital Signage Reviews

digital signage are electronic displays that are installed in public spaces. Digital signs are typically used to promote products, entertain, inform or advertise. Major benefits of digital signs over traditional static signs are that the content can be modified without effort, animations can be shown, signs can adapt to the context and audience. Digital signage advertising is a form of out of home advertising in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs, typically with the goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times. Digital signage offers superior return on investment compared to traditional printed signs.
Digital signage has really taken off in the past few years, and is becoming a popular way to reach consumers.
Illusion Screen is the product that has changed projection technology forever. Enabling the delivery of video and data replacing traditional printed signage. Allowing the provider and retailer the opportunity to literally speak to and/or interact with their prospects on the sales floor, directly influencing purchasing decisions. Digital Signage opens the door to presenting the right message at the right time, to the right audience.

For more product information visit the digital signage portal.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

Depending on your exact requirements, there are several ways to create a video wall (a series of screens set up in a matrix configuration).

Some people might not be aware of this but most commercial grade screens already have this video wall function built in.

For example, the Mitsubishi screens have an RGB input and output port. See the below image:

In order to set up a 3×3 video wall with the Mitsubishi screens, all you would need to do is “daisy chain” all the screen in the following video arrangement:

1. Connect the video RGB output port of Screen 1 to the RGB input of Screen 2

2. Connect the video RGB output port of Screen 2 to the RGB input of Screen 3

3. Connect the video RGB output port of Screen 3 to the RGB input of Screen 4

and so forth.

Alternatively,  there are several other ways of achieving the same result. There are devices out in the market which perform the same function. Below is a short list:

1. Stretcher – this device stretches your monitor among four DVI or VGA screens without the use of software

For information about this product, visit our online shop at the digital signage portal.

2. Xpander – Expand Your Desktop up to 32 VGA Screens with Video Overlay Support

For information about this product, visit our online shop at the digital signage portal.

To discuss this topic further, visit the digital signage portal forum.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

The much anticipated iPhone 3G will be on sale on the 11th July 2008. I know quite a number of people who have already placed an order for this unit or are in the process of placing an order. The iPhone and many of the other Apple products are quite innovative devices and we are very interested to see how many digital signage companies will be investing and researching at ways of integrating their digital signage solutions with these iPhones. We won’t be surprised if Apple makes their mark in the digital signage industry in the next couple of months.

Now, if we look at some of the features of the iPhones there are many obvious reasons why companies will be looking at integrating the iPhones with digital signage:

• 3G Speeds & Internet access – faster access to the Internet means faster upload and download speeds. So if you’re a digital signage network operator it would mean that staff will be able to manage the digital signage network from almost anywhere. If you’re a content provider, you will be able to take a video or picture and upload the file in real-time.

• Camera and photos with GPS- the iPhone 3G has a cool feature called geotagging. By using GPS and geotagging, almost any iPhone user will be able to become a mobile content provider for the travel industry. Just image you’re on holidays in Sydney and you take a photo of the Opera house and upload this image to Flickr. A content provider does a search for Opera house and because your photo has been tagged with sydney someone may end up using your photo -maybe even for a commission.
• Itunes and wireless networking – I guess digital signage operators may be able to leverage both of these technologies and enable the public to interact with the digital signage network, how you may ask… well I can’t reveal all my ideas in case we use this for our own digital signage technology.
• App Store – my guess is that many application developers will build a small applet to enable interaction between the digital signage network and the iPhone

I can’t wait until I get a hold of the iPhone and see how useful this device will be in the digital signage industry.

I hope that after you read this post, your mind is ticking with new ideas… just like mine!

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

For your light reading, here’s a few digital signage Books we’ve found on Amazon :

[amazonify]0240809769[/amazonify] [amazonify]0240810414[/amazonify]

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

On a daily basis, we filter through the many email emails we receive from digital signage vendors who approach our business with their digital signage products and services.

In order to expand our audio and video extention product range, we have decided to partner with SmartAvi. SmartAvi are now also blog contributors of this digital signage blog and we look forward to building a strong partnership with them.

About SmartAvi

SmartAVI manufactures and markets DVI extenders, video extenders, video switches, digital signage, kvm extenders, and ir extenders. SmartAVI DVI extenders extend DVI over CAT5 and fiber optic cables. SmartAVI’s video extender solutions are unique because of their long experience in the computer industry. It is this technology expertise that allows SmartAVI to give their customers flexible and unique video swicthes at very competitive prices.

SmartAVI specializes in audio and visual extension, switching and routing. SmartAVI’s products enable DVI extenders, VM extenders, Video extenders and video switches for audio and visual configurations.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products

We’ve reviewed a lot of different digital signage Players out there, one that definitely sticks out is the SMP-WEB Digital Signage player. It’s a web-based dedicated digital signage player supporting full-screen HTML/Flash/JPG, HD (high definition) video, and streaming video playback. It can also support landscape and portrait presentations.

However the true advantage of the SMP-WEB Digital Signage Player is the ease-to-use control panel, absolutely anyone can manage the content on these players and best of all it’s real-time! All these features make this player one of the most flexible multimedia presentation.

Some of the drawbacks we’ve identified are minor but things such ask not being able to schedule the playlist based on date/time or the absence of a power button can be annoying. Other than that we think it’s a great product.

For more information on the SMP-WEB Digital Signage Player visit our Digital Signage Portal or contact Advertise Me who can discuss an appropriate Digital Signage Solution.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Blog Products