Digital Signage Blog » kiosks

Digital Signage Klips: oovie kiosk

DigitalSignageBlog — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:00:07 +0000

Renting movies has become so much easier especially when you have a oovie kiosk. I saw one at a petrol station and thought to myself what a “great idea”. Basically, the kiosk allows you to rent the latest dvd movies and the process is really simple. All you do is select the movie from a touch screen at the front of the kiosk and then process the payment using your credit card. You then collect the DVD and return it the next day. The price of renting the DVD is $2.99 and it needs to be returned the next night by 9:00pm. I’m not sure what the late fees or charges are but according to their website you won’t pay any more than $36.00

I would be very interested to see how the inside of the kiosk looks like. My guess is that these systems are centrally managed by a content management server at head office and whenever there’s a new release the server pushed this out to each of the kiosks. The kiosk probably has an internet connection and a DVD burner which burns the movies onto the DVD. It might even have a DVD printer to print the covers. This is a quite interesting and innovative kiosk and digital signage solution.

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Post tags: Content Management Server, Credit Card, Digital Id, Digital Movies, digital signage, Dvd Movies, Guess, Internet Connection, Kiosk, kiosks, Klips, Late Fees, New Release, Petrol Station, Renting, Signage Solution, touch screen

The launch of ABC 24

DigitalSignageBlog — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:19:44 +0000

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched the 24 hour news channel on the 22^nd July 2010 at 7:30pm and I was there to witness the launch. It was a great event, the atmosphere was exciting.

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!

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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

Digital Signage Klips: Advertise Me snaps for 2010

DigitalSignageBlog — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:00:54 +0000

At the end of last year we asked our readers (http://www.digitalsignageblog.com/2009/12/04/klips-share-your-digital-signage-snap/) to send us digital signage Klips so we can share with the rest of the world. We decided to kick off the year with our own Klips that we’ve taken whilst being out and about. You can view these here http://tweetphoto.com/user/advertisemeAU and make sure you follow us in twitter (http://www.twitter.com/advertisemeAU) so you can receive our latest updates. Let’s review some of these digital signage Klips and implementations:

	I noticed this whilst waiting in line at the cinemas. The screen in portrait mode was next to other static lightboxes which nicely blended in with the surroundings. The screen was positioned right in front of the exit door which should have captured the attention of people exiting the cinema room but I noticed that not even one person looked at the screen. The screen was also right next to the bin which I think was strategic. From what I could observe, only the people standing in line waiting to enter the cinema room noticed the screen.
	This got my attention as soon as I walked past the window. The screen was installed in an enclosure that looked exactly like an iPhone and was surrounded by Christmas decorations that looked like a Christmas tree. Was very effective but it would have been better if it was a touchscreen so that it could simulate a real iphone.
	This was quite an innovative and unique design. Unfortunately, the video wall which had 8 screens were all turned off. There were also other screens displaying advertisements located in that structure.
	The virgin kiosks were different, in a sense that there were screens located at the top of the kiosk which was displaying the same content as the kiosk screen. I like the idea that you could purchase and download music files to your USB stick.
	I noticed this Britney Spears perfume stall when I was in Myers. Quite a number of people were just taking photos of this and hence the reason it was brought to my attention. I somehow managed to take a photo of the screen at the exact time when the digital content was the same as the static poster. Try to spot where the screen is located.

So there you have it. We’ve started the year with various digital signage Klips and implementations and we look forward to receiving more digital signage Klips from our readers – email the images to info@digitalsignageblog.com. Please note due to the large number of Klips we receive, we cannot post all of these so we would also like to apologise in advance.

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Post tags: Advertisements, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Tree, Cinema Digital, Cinema Room, digital signage, Implementations, iphone, Kiosk, kiosks, Lightboxes, Portrait Mode, Reading Cinema, Rest Of The World, Screen Caption, screens, Surroundings, Touchscreen, Unique Design, Victoria, video wall, Waiting In Line

Weekend Fun: Virtual Keyboard

Danny Hsueh — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:00:55 +0000

The other day during a digital signage client install, we were asked the question, “is there a keyboard we can install at our kiosks without it being ripped out every couple of weeks?”.
I’m not sure if this is a possible solution, but it is definitely on the right track.

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Post tags: bluetooth keyboard, digital signage, itech, kiosks, Laser Keyboard, Possible Solution, Virtual Keyboard

Advertise Me interviews Steve from Symon

DigitalSignageBlog — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:00:53 +0000

This week we were lucky enough to speak with Steve from Symon and here’ s the interview:

advertise me:	Hi Steve, thanks for joining us for this interview – I know you’re a hard man to catch with your busy schedule.
Steve:	I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you.
Advertise Me:	Firstly, how did you hear about our digitalsignageblog.com?
Steve:	We monitor a wide range of resources and thought leaders in the industry and Digitalsignageblog is one of those that we monitor.
Advertise Me:	Now, please tell us a little bit about how Symon started with digital signage, and what was the inspiration behind the business?
Steve:	Symon is visual communications solutions company. We have been creating systems for managing the delivery of digital content to electronic displays for almost 30 years. We started by providing real-time system statistics to LED boards in data centers, then evolved into providing real-time agent activity statistics to displays in contact centers, then evolved to providing employee information to displays in corporations (e.g. conference rooms, cafeterias), then expanded into hospitality, health care, education, etc. The inspiration behind the company was to build the systems that would deliver information to people in a way that is easy to understand and then intuitive to act upon.
Advertise Me:	What kind of solutions does your company provide?
Steve:	We provide the hardware, software, services and content for supporting an end-to-end visual communications deployment. We like to say that we power the visual communications eco-system, which we classify as many solution-types (e.g. digital signage, kiosks, wayfinders, video walls, etc) combined to work in harmony for the purpose of creating a clear and measurable value proposition for our clients.
Advertise Me:	What makes Symon‘s products and solutions so different from other companies?
Steve:	The thing that makes us different is that we design, develop and produce all components of a solution. All of the content management/delivery hardware and software are of Symon‘s creation and we take accountability for the customer’s entire ownership experience. This means our customers have one company to hold responsible for all products and services within a deployment. We design it, produce it, sell it, install it and support it. If anything breaks or doesn’t work, our customers have “one neck to chock.”
Advertise Me:	In one of our recent digitalsignageblog.com post, we talked about “Using your Iphone as a mobile digital signage player?”. We understand that Symon has recently released such a product. Tell us a bit about this product and why your company decided to release such a product.
Steve:	Our product is InView Mobile. InView Mobile is a media play application for smartphones that retrieves and plays interactive, multi-media content that is based upon the location of the user. The purpose of InView Mobile is to provide digital signage viewers with additional information in a fashion that cannot be obtained through a traditional digital signage viewing experience. In the InView Mobile-enhanced experience, Viewers are encouraged to download and launch the InView Mobile application. Once launched, InView Mobile queries a Symon-hosted content management system to acquire and deliver a mobile version of the show currently playing on the screen. InView Mobile goes one step further in that it presents an interactive, touchscreen version of the big screen’s non-interactive show. All of this is managed through one content management system. We chose to create this product because digital signage has one big problem: It can’t quantify what people do once they’ve looked at a screen. InView Mobile gives us a platform to begin addressing this.
Advertise Me:	There are quite a number of people who believe that the Iphone should not be used a digital signage player, what do think about this? Are people not realising the true benefit of mobile marketing and mobile interactivity?
Steve:	Our customers sure think it’s a good idea and that’s all that matters to me.
Advertise Me:	Can you please share with us one of Symon‘s latest digital signage deployments/projects?
Steve:	Each month, Symon signs many new accounts. These new accounts represent marquee brands in corporate, hospitality, education, gaming, health care, etc. We have almost 8,000 customers representing 80% of the Fortune 100 and almost 70% of the Fortune 500. Look at almost any large company and there is a good chance that they will have a Symon system somewhere.
Advertise Me:	Do you have any advice for people who are planning to start a business in the digital signage industry?
Steve:	Don’t, unless they have a compelling angle that someone hasn’t thought of already (and please don’t let it be some new idea for an ad model). The competition is too great. The start ups can’t compete on the big deals and its tough to make a living off of a lot of little deals. In the five years I’ve been associated with this business, I’ve seen too many companies fail and there aren’t a whole lot of the survivors that are making money. The big guys will thrive, the little guys will have a tough go of it. I could write a book on this subject, but suffice it to say, you’ve got to have scale to win and a startup does not typically have enough resources to get scale.
Advertise Me:	This is our final question. What do you see as the next “BIG THING” in digital signage?
Steve:	Mobility. Interactivity.
Advertise Me:	Steve, thanks for taking part in this interview and we hope to speak to you again in the near future.

To read more interviews click here: http://www.digitalsignageblog.com/category/digital-signage-interview/

About Symon

Symon Communications is a 29 year provider of in-venue visual communications solutions to over 7,500 customers globally, including 80% of the Fortune 100.

About Advertise Me:

Advertise Me is a privately owned Australian company specialising in all aspects of digital signage solutions.

Our team of highly skilled professionals is able to introduce innovative ways for businesses to communicate with their intended audiences for a variety of purposes including informing, educating, entertaining and selling.

You can expect us to:

offer the most affordable and cost effective solutions tailored to your specific business needs.
provide you with concise and accurate information and will ensure that you understand and are comfortable with our proposals.
strive to make our clients happy and successful.

We have partnered with a number of key reputable organisations and will continue to build further partnerships to deliver the most effective solutions for our customers.

Visit our website at www.advertiseme.com.au for more information.

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Post tags: Activity Statistics, Busy Schedule, Cafeterias, data center, Digital Content, digital signage, Electronic Displays, Hard Man, hardware, Hardware Software Services, Health Care Education, interview, iphone, kiosks, led, Measurable Value, Real Time System, services, software, Solutions Company, symon, System Statistics, Time Agent, Value Proposition, Video Walls, visual communications, Visual Communications Solutions

Hot discussion topics on the Digital Signage Portal Forum

DigitalSignageBlog — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:14:28 +0000

As you can see from our Twitter feed, this week we have been heavily involved with forum discussion on the digital signage portal forum. We believe in generating “good” karma through helping others in the digital signage community.

The current hot topics are:

Player & Screen resolution compatib…
I’ve got a player that outputs (via dsub) resolution at most widescreen ratios ie. 1280×720, 1360×768, etc.

My issue is with most, if not all, LCD TVs nowadays their tech sheets don’t support most widescreen ratios, with a lot of them displaying only 1360×768.

What will happen if the designers create their templates for 1280×720?
Will the TV crop it, show scroll bars, flicker?…

Has anyone used Digital Signage SaaS?
I was wondering whether anyone has used or is currently using Digital Signage SaaS? Could you please let share your experiences of what you’ve encountered when using this type of a solution…
Directional Speakers
Has anyone integrated directional speakers with their digital signage technology. We are interested to know how these systems work and whether they are worthwhile and cost effective equipment to include in a digital signage solution.

What are the most common industries using directional speakers?
Using Blue Ray technology
Has anyone come across digital signage players with Blue Ray technology?

Are storage size and HD quality the only advantages of using Blue Ray technology?
Wayfinding KIOSKs
Wayfinding KIOSKs are becoming more popular in shopping centers. Today, I was walking around a major shopping centre and noticed how wayfinding was integrated with digital signage… or is it the other way around?

If you have the time, or is able to help some of the other members with their questions then head over to the digital signage portal forum and start posting (registration is required)!! We hope more members of the digital signage community is able to participate in various discussions and contribute towards helping others.

Have you registered on the digital signage portal? It’s FREE. Click here to register.

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

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Post tags: blue ray, forum, kiosks, player, portal, resolution, SaaS, screen, speakers, wayfinding