The reason why I was there was because I worked on getting the backend IT infrastructure working for their studio automation system and various projects relating to ABC 24. I have worked on this project for over 7 months and it was a busy time but I’m so glad to see the results of this hard work. More importantly I was exposed to the “Broadcast World” and the Broadcast systems and have learnt how to integrate the IT world to the Broadcast world and vise versa.

The Studio for the 24 hour news channel is viewable to the general – it’s located on the ground floor of the Ultimo building in Sydney Australia. Like many other television stations, there is a glass window which allows the public to view the studio whilst it’s live. In the studio there’s your typical reporter desk, cameras (what’s unique about these cameras is that it’s all controlled via a computer system), lighting, LCD and plasma screens (there are two massive 103” plasma screens) behind the reporters desks. There is also a control room next to the studio and it’s amazing – there’s lots of screens, complex audio and video systems and this is the “brains” (where everything gets controlled) of the studio.

Just next to the studio, there is a kiosk area where the general public will be able to relax and browse the ABC website –  in particular the News section. I was involved with configuring and setting up these PC’s and it looks pretty good. Here’s a picture of the kiosks.

To add on top of all this work, I was involved with the setup of the web streaming service so that the general public can view the ABC 24 news channel online via their website, or Iview and also on the iPhone. What a great service!!!

As you can clearly see, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is moving forward with technology and focused with ensuring the Australian public receives the best service by being able to update the public with the latest Australian and International news no matter when and where they are. Well done ABC!

© AdvertiseMe.com.au for Digital Signage Blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: 7 Months, Abc, Abc News, Abc Online, Abc Website, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Automation System, Brains, Broadcast Systems, Broadcast World, Computer System, Desks, Glass Window, Hour News, International News, iphone, Iview, Kiosk, kiosks, Launch, plasma screens, Streaming Service, Sydney Australia, Television Stations, Video Systems

In the past two months advertise me has been busy providing the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) with an innovative digital signage solution for their new concept shop in Westfield’s Bondi Junction.

The new ABC shop opened its doors on 15 May 2009 with a fresh new look but more importantly it introduced digital signage.

The three main reasons for introducing digital signage to the ABC shop were:

1. to draw additional customers into the store;
2. to increase overall sales; and
3. to showcase some of the other broadcasting services that the ABC provides e.g. ABC news, ABC TV, ABC radio and the ABC website.

Advertise Me understood the significance of what the ABC wanted to achieve and ensured that the digital signage solution that we provided was not only able to meet the requirements of the ABC but could also be easily adapted to other ABC shops.

The Digital Signage Solution

From a visual perspective this is what the Advertise Me’s digital signage solution looks like:

But to really understand how the digital signage solution was tailored to the ABC requirements is to understand the audio and content challenges faced in the integration of digital signage with ABC’s audio and visual equipment. This is because providing a digital signage solution is more than just connecting a PC to a display screen.

The Audio Challenge

The ABC required that the digital signage solution enable it to switch audio between songs, store announcements, advertisements, ABC radio and audio from live ABC news.

This meant that the Advertise Me’s audio solution would require the overhead speaker system to be connected to an audio switching tool that allowed the switching between the CD player, the digital signage player and the set top box.

The result was a digital signage solution that ensured that live ABC news, product videos, advertisements, announcements, music and much more was heard in the ABC shop.

The Content Challenge

The ABC required that the digital signage solution to easily manage content from one central location.

This meant that the Advertise Me’s content solution would require a dedicated Content Management Server to house the content and playlists.

The result was a digital signage solution that ensured that all content scheduling was performed at ABC’s head office with the use of a PC software tool to schedule the playlists in a calendar view so that staff could easily manage the content. The digital signage solution also ensured the ability to display live ABC TV, in store advertisements, RSS news and products by using zoning.

In addition, the digital signage solution enabled the ABC marketing staff to update content, schedule items to display on the screens and manage the overall solution from one central location without having to physically be onsite.

Results

Advertise Me’s digital signage solution met the ABC’s technical requirements and has already resulted in an increase in the number of customers walking into the store and an increase in overall sales.

© AdvertiseMe.com.au for Digital Signage Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: Abc News, Abc Radio, Abc Shop, Abc Shops, Abc Tv, Advertisements, Audio Solution, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Bondi Junction, Broadcasting Services, digital signage, New Abc, News Abc, Overhead Speaker, Signage Solution, Speaker System, Store Announcements, Ticketer, Visual Perspective, Westfield