There are two basic  free tools that we use to remotely manage our digital signage solution – (this is when we use the Microsoft Windows Operating System), Remote Desktop and VNC:

Microsoft Remote Desktop

The first tool is the built in Microsoft Remote Desktop. This needs to be enabled in your Operating System by going to Control Panel – System – Remote Tab and click “Allow Connections from Computers running any version of Remote Desktop” for less secure connections or “Allow Connections only from computer running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication” for more secure connections.

We generally use this tool on the server. The advantages of using this is that it’s slightly faster than the second tool. There is also an option to connect your local drives to your remote pc which is great for transferring files.

VNC

There are several flavours of VNC (http://www.realvnc.com/) This software tool provides remote control of your digital signage player and basically allows you to see and interact with your digital signage software across any network. The one we use is called tightvnc (http://www.tightvnc.com/) and it is free for personal and commercial use. For managing the players, we recommend using this tool rather than remote desktop since it does not lock the remote PC.

For both tools, you’ll need to make sure you have the relevant ports enabled on your firewall.

With VNC there seems to be a limit to 8 characters for the password but either way both tools are highly recommended.

Category: Digital Signage Techie

We recently helped one of our clients with implementing digital signage at their exhibition booth. As part of our digital signage exhibition package we included the following:

• Hardware rental of the LCD Screen, Stand and Digital Signage player
• Transportation of the goods to and from the exhibition hall
• Installation of the system and removal at the end of the event
• Template Design
• Management and Monitoring of the digital signage solution – we were able to monitor the system remotely and make the relevant changes if required

During this exhibition, we introduced an innovative way for the exhibitor to manually switch content with a push of a button. The idea was that on quiet periods, the exhibitor will push a button and the screen will display specials to draw more attention to their booth.

In addition, we also integrated Social Media (Facebook) with digital signage. The company’s Facebook page with the number of Fans was displayed.

We know how stressful attending and participating in exhibitions are, so let us take care of your digital signage needs whilst you take care of more the important taks.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Case Study

advertise me is your one stop shop for all your digital signage needs and solutions. Whether you need a digital menu board or an enterprise digital signage system, Advertise Me will be able to deliver a solution that will meets your budget and needs.
Advertise Me is a leading digital signage solutions provider and are able to supply digital signage displays from leading manufacturers, lcd/plasma/led screens, video walls, touch screens, digital signage players, digital signage software, digital signage servers, digital signage interactivity, digital signage hardware and accessories such as video extenders.
Advertise Me has completed digital signage installations at the major capital cities (Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne) and can pretty much cover all the states in Australia.
So for your next digital signage solution, contact Advertise Me on 1300 880 005 or contact info@advertiseme.com.au or click here to request a quote.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

advertise me has showcased their digital signage solutions at the Digital Signage World 2011. The event was held over two days (9th & 10th June 2011) at Hall 1 at Darling Harbour Exhibition Center Sydney Australia. The Digital Signage World 2011 is the second digital signage event that has been held in Australia and is the only dedicated tradeshow and conference for the digital signage industry and included seminars from key speakers and exhibitors.

Advertise Me was one of the many exhibitors at the event which included large companies such as Sharp, Fujitsu and Netcomm. During this exhibition, Advertise Me stood out from their competitors by demonstrating the use of Social Networking tools such as Twitter and Foursquare to communicate real time information on the screen. The setup of their stand was also unique which incorporated the use of a video wall(2×2 47″ FULL High Definition LCD Panasonic screens) to demonstate different applications for digital signage. Here’s the setup:

The digital signage software that was used for delivering and distributing the content to the screens was PADS Professional developed  by a Netherlands based company called Net Display Systems. Net Display Systems has thousands of installations in multiple market sectors from transportation, corporate and government to hospitality and retail.

The PADS Professional software was installed on the Shuttle XS35 – one of the smallest and powerful PC we’ve seen on the market. The unit has an atom processor with an NVIDIA ION graphics chip set and is able to play Full HD videos without any issues. In actual fact,  we played a number of Full HD Videos at the same time and didn’t notice any lag. For convenience, the unit can be mounted on the back of a screen with a Shuttle VESA mounting kit.

The top left hand screen demonstrated the use of Twitter, Foursquare, News and Weather feeds, and the ability to show real time video (USB Camera) as an input source.

The top right hand screen demonstrated the use of Advertise Me’s custom built SMS solution. This digital signage solution enabled visitors to select a music video clip from a list by texting a code to a mobile number. According to the company, this application can be used with any digital signage software that can be connected to the Internet and it’s use can be applied in any industry. Advertise Me also used this solution to distribute the PADS demo key via SMS.

The bottom left hand screen played marketing videos and was also used to demonstrate the PADS software. This allowed Advertise Me to answer and show the user how easy the system is to use.

The bottom right hand screen played an image slideshow demonstrating the use of digital signage in different industries such as hospitality, education, retail and the corporate sector.

Facial recognition, hand and SMS interactivity were some of the innovative technologies being showcase at the exhibition and it is anticipated that businesses will soon adapt to these new technologies in Australia.

Advertise Me would like to thank their sponsors for their help and assistance:

• Net Display Systems
• Shuttle/Altech
• Panasonic
• Visual Sounds
• Squeak.com.au

Here’s a few more photos of the expo:

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

The Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Newcastle has implemented a digital signage solution  to help communicate information (course timetables, date/time and important notices) to students. The 50″ Screen is installed on a professional and sturdy stand that is located near the front entrance hall of the building. One of the main reasons why the screen is positioned in portrait mode is due to space – it was envisaged students would accidentally bump the screen if it is located in landscape. However, we supplied the University with a versatile stand that allows the client to easily rotate the screen in  either landscape or portrait.

Here’s a few photos of the installation:

About The University Of Newcastle

Sector leader in providing opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds.

Over 40,000 students including onshore, offshore and distance education.

Expanded into the Newcastle city centre on a campus accommodating business, law and creative arts students. Planning underway to establish education, humanities and social sciences disciplines in the city.

Home to the best engineering and health faculties in the country relative to size.

Even stronger health and medical research capabilities through the new state of the art Hunter Medical Research Institute building.

Increased reach across the region and overseas through expanded online program delivery.

Established infrastructure and support systems that provide one of the best student experiences in the country.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Case Study

If your business provides an end to end digital signage solution, have you thought about which type of network switching infrastructure you should use for your digital signage solution? Basically, in the networking realm there are two main types of switches, one is managed and the other is unmanaged. What does this mean? Well, for an unmanaged switch you don’t need to administer or make any configuration changes – you power it up and connect your cables and that’s it, it will work. The only downside with this is that you don’t get the extra features like being able to remotely or locally manage the devices and use additional features e.g VLANs, Quality of Service, Security etc.  Many small to medium business would most likely use an unmanaged switch because it does not require additional resources and man hours to complete the setup. In this case, it means that connecting the digital signage players and servers to the network is simple and straight forward.

However, based on our experience working with large corporations they are most likely to have a Cisco or HP managed switches. To be honest working with this infrastructure can become very troublesome in some ways. Especially if the company uses VLAN tagging and manually disables each port. This means the installer needs to co-ordinate and rely on the IT network administrator to make the necessary changes on the networking switches. If it’s not done correctly or in a timely fashion, it could mean that the installer has no way of testing the digital signage players.

In my opinion, unless you need the additional features mentioned before I would personally just use an unmanaged switch – the overall solution becomes cheaper as well. As part of advertise me‘s services, we design and supply all the necessary infrastructure to build an enterprise digital signage solution that includes the networking component.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

Take away stores are fast adopting the use of digital menu boards rather than static poster or light boxes. The advantages of moving to digital is quite obvious but let me summarise them again:

• You can quickly and easily update prices on a digital board rather than spending more money to print the posters
• Use animation to grab attention. A video clip of the food is more enticing than a static image.
• Schedule the food menu based on the time of the day. E.g. Breakfast for the morning, lunchtime for the afternoon and dinner for the evening.
• Easily manage and update the content yourself rather than relying on a designer. Once you have the template designed, all you need to do is just update the content. The process of changing the content has now become so much easier.
• It’s now more affordable!!!!

Now this week, we assisted a Pizza Take away store with the implementation of a digital signage solution.3 screens were installed behind the front counter and 1 near the front. The front screen is used for specials whereas the 3 behind the counter is used to display the menu. The solution is simple but most importantly affordable – this was the main criteria for the business owner.

Below are a few pictures of the implementation:

Digital menu boards can be implemented with the most simplest solution e.g. using a Screen with a built in player or for a large retail chain it can be a network of digital signage players with Content Management Servers.

It’s only a matter of time before we will see all menu boards going digital. So if you’re interested in a digital menu board have a look at this special package.

Category: Digital Signage Case Study, Featured Post

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

Last year we noticed a number of companies launching their audience measurements tools as part of their digital signage solution. The solution normally consists of a digital screen, server, digital signage player and a webcam. By using the webcam, the software tool detects and counts the number of people who are looking at the screen. For some solutions, it can even go beyond just tracking this number and determine what gender and age the person that looked at the screen was.
You may be asking yourself, “Do I really need this solution?”. If you’re a marketing or advertising company then yes, this information is critical. Using raw data and number to present to your advertisers will make a compelling reason why they should advertise on your screens.

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Category: Digital Signage Blog News

We were proud and honoured to have been involved with the implementation of a digital signage solution for Bach Real Estate.

About Bach Real Estate

Bach Real Estate was established by Le and Nina Bach in a quest to provide a personalised and genuine level of service to vendors, buyers, landlords and tenants alike in the residential property industry.

After years of running their own successful businesses, it has always been Le and Nina’s intention to get into the property industry. Through their own experiences in dealing with various real estate agents in buying and selling properties, they saw that there was great room for improvement in the standard of delivering property services.

After a few light discussions on the ordinary services provided by real estate agents, serious research was conducted to establish if there was such a gap in the industry. This was the driving force that led the establishment of Bach Real Estate – to fill the gap in the quality of services that exist.

Bach Real Estate’s mission is to provide integrity in their services – that is being Committed in doing what they say. In working with their clients, they are Determined to understand the needs and achieving the Results that the clients want.

The requirements

Being a young and innovative business, Bach Real Estate wanted to stand out from their competitors and use the latest digital technology to their advantage whilst being very conscious on the environment. Instead of using the traditional static paper based property listings at the front of their office, Bach Real Estate engaged advertise me to install a digital signage solution that would engage and attract attention from people walking past. The solution needed to display property listings, advertisements and marketing materials.

The solution

The solution we provided is simple, affordable and scalable. Two 46″ LED screens with a built in ad player was installed at the front of their office and this solution allows the business to eventually expand to an enterprise network down the track.

The ad player allows the business to play videos, text and images in zones or as a full screen. What makes this solution different is the ability to have PIP (Picture in Picture) as one of the zones and also gives the ability for an external video source (using HDMI, VGA, Svideo) to be connected to the screen.

In addition, the ceiling poles were customised to suit the location of the screens.

We wish Bach Real Estate all the best with their business and their future ventures.

Here’s some fun and interesting images of the opening day:

Category: Digital Signage Case Study

Looks like there is another job posting for the digital signage industry. This job is based in Denver Colorado and its for a Senior Product Line Manager. According to the website getdigitaljobs.com the employer is Harris Digital Signage and this is the job post: (If you’re interested visit the website here)

Harris Digital Signage is looking for an experienced and technical Senior Product Line Manager to manage Harris? Digital Signage solution and products. In this role, you will be a member of a dynamic team with a start-up mentality to innovate and drive the direction of the Harris Digital Signage Solution for Digital-Out-of-Home networks. If you are a highly motivated individual with a proven track record and looking to bring innovative solutions to the market, you don?t want to miss this great opportunity. 

While managing a team of two product managers, gather, prioritize, and document solution requirements and validate value proposition 
Lead cross-functional team in concept development, new product introduction and lifecycle management for Harris? Digital Signage solution 
Communicate and refine solution requirements with development team, and successfully guide product design, implementation, testing, and maintenance. 
Analyze market and business trends, and develop solution requirements and roadmap plans to deliver to future market needs across a variable set of target verticals 
Manage cross-functional relationships for the development of new products – including working with engineering, manufacturing, finance, and operations. 
Participate on relevant standards committees and help to ensure product compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements 
Accountable for program metrics, including roadmap development, schedule, cost analysis, pricing analysis, product forecasting, product quality, and customer satisfaction 
Present technology, product, and roadmap to key audiences, including customers, partners, and internal groups. 

Qualifications: 
* Undergraduate degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field. 
* 5+ years of technical Product Management and/or technology marketing experience with 2+ years in a supervisory capacity 
* 5+ years of expereince hiring, managing and developing a great team 
* 5+ years of expereince in delivering products and services in a high growth environment 
* 5+ years of expereince with technical concepts, managing tradeoffs and evaluating opportunistic new ideas with internal and external partners 

Preferred Additional Skills: 
* MBA and/or advanced degree highly desirable 
* Proven analytical and quantitative skills; ability to use hard data and metrics to back up assumptions, recommendations, and drive actions 
* Strengths in problem solving, issue-resolution, ability to work in a deadline-driven work environment, attention to detail, and ability to multitask 
* Ability to work cross-functionally across many internal teams 
* Prior experience in Digital Signage, DOOH is preferred

Category: Digital Signage Jobs

This month, we successfully completed a digital signage project for Sherwood Public High School. Firstly, here’s a little history of the school:

Sherwood Ridge Public School opened its doors to students for the first time on 28 January 2004. At this time the school had 8 mainstream classes between Kindergarten and Year 6 and 2 support classes.

The founding Principal of Sherwood Ridge is Mrs Jan Marshall.

In the weeks following the school’s inception, students, parents and teachers came together to give birth to: four sporting houses – Air, Fire, Earth and Water; three core values – community, respect and learning; and the school motto “From Each Their Best”.

Requirements

The requirements for this project was quite straight forward and these were:

• Installation of 50” commercial grade screen in the Administration foyer
• A digital signage player to display a range of content types including images, videos and text
• The installation and configuration of  the screen, bracket, cabling and digital signage player
• Audio Speakers in the Administration foyer
• Initial template creation
• Onsite Training
• Technical Support

The Solution

The solution we provided the school consisted of the following:

• Dell PC with dual VGA output
• PADS Digital Signage Software
• Panasonic 50″ Plasma screen
• Venturi wall bracket
• 2-Port USB KVM to control two PC’s by using the same keyboard, mouse  and monitor
• Logitec Speakers
• VGA extension cable

We provided the school with a standalone solution that enabled them to use the same PC to control, schedule and display the content and at the same time share the keyboard,mouse and monitor. Since the PC had two VGA outputs, one was connected to the local screen (used for managing and scheduling content) and the extended second output to the Panasonic screen (display the content). This setup is quite complex because the video configuration of the second output was setup as an  extended screen. This meant that the PADS Viewer (a component of the PADS software) which displays content had to automatically launch on this extended screen. How did we do this? It was simple, the PADS application allows you to enter the X and Y co-ordinates of where the viewer will be launched. Here’s an example, the horizontal position of the viewer screen is 1440 (since the horizontal size of the primary screen is 1440) :

As a result, the digital signage solution was used as a tool to communicate messages with kids, teachers and parents through images and information. Below is a few pictures of the install:

[Show as slideshow]

Digital Signage in the Education sector in Australia is now becoming more popular and more affordable so why not talk to us so we can show you how you can achieve your digital signage goals.

Category: Digital Signage Case Study

This week we want to share with you another great Panasonic product we use for our digital signage installations. It is the Panasonic Embedded player ETX1312C1000 which can only be used with Panasonic Plasma screens with the Slot compartments. These units come with pre-installed Windows Embedded XP or Linux and are just like any other ordinary PC’s except that they allow you to hide these in the actual screens. The current unit only has 1GHz processor which can sometimes videos with scrolling ticketers to lag, although we’ve heard rumours that there is an new model being released which has much higher CPU specs. The embedded player actually takes up two slot compartments so you need to be aware of this.

continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Reviews, Featured Post

Last month we were engaged to install the digital signage Solution for the UNSW (University of New South Wales) Western Sydney Clinical Studies in one of the major hospital in NSW.

The South Western Sydney Clinical School (SWSCS) was established in 1990 and it is unique to the UNSW city clinical schools in that it embraces multiple campuses, allowing access to a broad and diverse range of health care services delivered to a large (approximately 800,000 people) and diverse population.

The SWSCS is centered at Liverpool Hospital (600 beds), a principal tertiary referral hospital for the South Western Sydney Area Health Service (SWSAHS). An active teaching and research programme is also run at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital (400 beds; the second principal referral hospital in SWSAHS) and at Campbelltown and Fairfield Hospitals, as well as a number of other facilities.

Requirements

The requirements for this digital signage project were:

• The large screens needed to be in portrait rather than landscape
• Screen needed to be mounted against the wall
• Display different content including websites, timetable, presentations, images, RSS uni news etc.
• Needs to be scalable and flexible
• A dedicated CMS server hosted at the main Hospital Campus
• Players needed to be embedded in the screen since there was no space to store these

The Solution

The solution we provided the University consisted of the following:

• CMS Dell Server
• PADS Digital Signage Software
• Panasonic Screens with embedded players
• Adtec wall bracket

As usual we worked with local staff and the IT network engineers to connect the players to the UNSW network. We’ve got more screens and players to install but for now have a look at the some of the below photos

[Show as slideshow]

Category: Digital Signage Case Study, Featured Post

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 continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Klips

digital signage is one of the most cost effective ways to market your restaurant or store. We were recently engaged to provide and install a cost effective solution for Thai Riffic (obviously a Thai restaurant) based in Randwick Australia.

Although the requirements were very simple (to display images with transition effects) we delivered a solution that was simple and easy to use but most importantly one that had value added benefits.

Uploading content to the player is easy. The store owner needs to open up a locked compartment on the side of the screen and plugs a USB dongle into the port. The player automatically synchronises the content from the USB port to a CF card. Once the synchronisation completes, the store owner just removes the USB dongle and closes the compartment. Yes it’s that easy!!!

continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

I was in Canberra Australia on the weekend and noticed a very clever and innovative kiosk/digital signage solution that I’ve never seen before. Basically, it at a 24 hour dry cleaners service. It’s an automated machine with a small touch screen that allows you to drop off your dry cleaning and pick them up at a later time. The whole point of having this is for convenience – how many of us don’t have the time to drop off our dry cleaning during business hours? There two compartments, one to drop of your clothes and the other to pick up the clothes. My understanding is that the clothes are dry cleaned during the day and are hanged on an automated hanger so all you need to do is enter your receipt number and it will automatically position your clothes to the pickup shaft.

dry cleaners kiosk digital signage

dry cleaners kiosk digital signage 1

I really haven’t seen it in action so the above is just a guess based on what I saw. Has anyone else seen any innovative kiosk or digital signage solutions?

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info

digital signage is now becoming more popular in retail stores and now it’s a good time to install one in yours. Whether you’re a small retail store or a large retail chain, we’ve done it all. We’ve helped and provided our customers with simple and standalone digital signage solution for a single store to building a digital signage network for a large corporate retail chain.
There are many, many digital signage products in the market and what we do different is to provide our clients with a cost effective solution that meets their needs. We have tested many solutions and we basically recommend the most effective solution that meets our clients requirements. Whether its a digital signage player, an all in one digital signage system, a display screen or content, we can help businesses in the retail industry.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info

Are proof of concepts a thing of the past? When we first started in the digital signage industry it was quite common for us to prove to potential clients that the solution they were getting met their requirements. The only way we could prove this was to setup a “proof of concept” – this is were we setup a trial and install the system for free and the client gets to test this for a period of time.
This gives the client the opportunity to test the waters and determine whether the solution does what the client wants. At the same time it gives the client the opportunity to iron out some of their concerns and issues. At the end of the proof of concept the clients decides whether they rollout or continue with the solution. For the vendor they must do whatever they can to ensure they satisfy the client and win the clients business. Generally, the vendor must subside the cost of the hardware, software and professional services costs – so in reality it’s like a gamble.
As a digital signage solution provider we research the market and select products that exactly meets the clients requirements. A happy customer = a happy business.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

I recently thought of an idea (it’s probably out there already) to integrate digital signage and Skype (I’m sure you know what this is…. if not this is basically a computer application which allows you to make voice or video calls over the Internet).

After all digital signage is a communication tool and what better way to communicate with each other by using Skype. Here’s an example of what needs to be done and can be achieved:

1. Install a digital touch screen at a booth (maybe at a busy shopping centre)

2. Install the advertise me digital signage solution

3. Design the relevant templates and content

4. Install a web cam and connect this to your digital signage solution

5. Install the skype application

6. Install an internet connection

7. Develop the digital signage application which lists companies customer call centres

How to use it?

8. You look for Advertise Me (for example) in the directory list because you want to speak to a sales representative about a product you are about to purchase

9. You touch the “call Advertise Me” button and the system starts establishing a skype session to Advertise Me

10. A representative at Advertise Me receives the call and you have a video conference and start chatting away about the products. The Advertise Me representative may even show you how the product can be used etc and directs you to the nearest retail store.

11. Once you end the session, the digital signage application plays relevant content (product info, sales, discounts) from company you just dialed. Or this can also be displayed during the video call.

12. After a certain idle period of time, the digital signage application defaults back to a playlist displaying ads etc.

So there you go, that’s an idea I just came up with. Maybe if we have time we can actually make this happen, or if you want it straight away we can make this happen for you.Obviously we’ll need to get permission from Skype but I’m sure they too would want this to happen as well.

What do you think about this idea?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Ideas

When it comes to protecting your investment, physical security should be considered for any digital signage installation. Whether its for outdoor or indoor purposes, enclosures are the best form of physical protection. We previously touched upon some of the other security considerations in two of our previous posts called “How secure is your digital signage solution?” and “Secure your digital signage solution – here’s why“.

Enclosures are primarily designed to protect the display screens from:

• the environment – direct sunlight or extreme weather can cause damage to the screen
• theft – fortunately we haven’t come across this situation but I’m sure others around the world have experience this
• physical damage – vandalism is quite common in public areas continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info

Here’s a picture I took of a takeaway store that clearly had a problem with their digital signage solution:

Digital Signage Screen Failures

But what’s interesting is that they at least had a backup plan – ie. static posters.

So, what do you do when your screen fails?

We previously talked about this in another post called “Why Digital Signage Can Work Against You”

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info

Sometimes being a digital signage solution provider can be a tough and challenging job. Not only do you have to represent the company you’re selling the product for but you’re also consciously looking after the best interest for the client and here’s a typical dilemma:

One of our clients requested a feature to a digital signage software component which wasn’t that much of an issue except we required the services of the digital signage software company and there was a cost associated with this feature (the client was happy to pay for this). But all this came with  a little  unanticipated catch – the client was required to upgrade to the latest version of the software before the modification patch would work. Many of us might be thinking,  “That’s easy, there’s no harm in doings so as the latest patch will resolve and fix previous bugs”…. Ummmmmm…. WRONG!!!

By upgrading the software we found quite a number of bugs and spend quite a number of hours investigating and then reporting the issue to the manufacturer whilst the client had to workaround the problem. Fortunately, we provided the client with a test environment and didn’t upgrade the development system with the latest software.

I’m not sure whether many of you have experienced this but upgrading to the latest version can actually introduce new bugs. What’s worse is that a considerable amount of time can be spent investigating the issue and the  time for this may not be chargeable – who do you charge for this type of work…. the client who has already paid for a working solution ? or the digital signage company who supplied the dodgy software?

This is a tough one and I’ll like to hear from anyone who has been through this experience.

So there are a few lessons that I have learnt from this:

1. ALWAYS make sure you test the upgrade or software patch on a test unit or environment

2. ALWAYS back up your content or system before applying any patches as you’ll  never know the state of the unit after the reboot

3. PLAN for any changes you make to the system and carefully provide detailed rollback plans in the event the change failed

4. TRUST and have some faith that the developers have done their testing but acknowledge that they cannot test all the different scenarios

5. Make sure you charge someone for your work or include this as part of your Maintenance and Support costs… or even better get the manufacturer to conduct intensive testing with your configuration before applying any patches or upgrades

6. IF IT’S NOT BROKEN LEAVE IT AS IT IS… sometimes making a simple change can break the entire system… but if you’ve done the above point 2 & 3 correctly then this shouldn’t be an issue.

Have you been in this situation? Tell us what you think.

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

I spend quite a lot of time on my blackberry to  perform certain tasks (besides reading emails) for my digital signage work. So this weekend I will share with you some of the free applications I use on the blackberry. Here’s the list in no particular order:

	1. Viigo – this is a RSS reader application with a nice intuitive interface. I use it to read most blog entries related to digital signage (and of course I’ve added the http://www.digitalsignageblog.com/feed to the list… don’t forget to do that as well). You can download Viigo from the Application Center on the blackberry or you can download it from here: www.viigo.com
	2. WordPress for blackberry – I use this to type some of the digital signage blog entries whilst on the go. I found it a bit hard to navigate on the Blackberry Storm (it was not designed for the touchscreen and surepress technology) but it does the job. You can download wordpress for blackberry here http://blackberry.wordpress.org/
	3. Nav4All – this is an awesome application that is basically like the navman but free…well until 1-1-2010. It is a mobile phone navigation application which gives you turn by turn instructions. I use this when I have to travel to unfamiliar locations for meetings etc. The website has a whole list of mobile phones that it supports so head over there now to download it. http://www.nav4all.com
	4. GPSed – this is an application that maps your tracks and photos. I use it for both tracking when I go running and also for tracking locations where I saw digital signage solution installs. Great little application and it’s free. http://www.gpsed.com/
	5. BBFileScout – a file browser for the blackberry. There are times whereby I have to send files and photos to our clients so this is a perfect solution for browsing files. You can download the application from here. http://www.emacberry.com/bbfilescout.html
	6. Twitterberry – the twitter application for the blackberry. We use this to update our twitter status http://www.twitter.com/advertisemeAU I also find it hard to navigate using this application as it wasn’t designed for the Blackberry Storm. You can download this application from here: http://orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/
	7. Core applications – Finally, there’s the built in apps like Youtube, the camera, emails, browser etc that we use and there’s always Facebook – I don’t think anyone can resist from installing this application if they have a facebook account.

There may be others which I haven’t used before. Let me know if there’s any other application which I should use for my digital signage work.

Category: Digital Signage Weekend Fun

If your digital signage solution is not implemented correctly it may work against you. Let me explain…

On the weekend whilst walking past a busy street I spotted across the road a real estate company with several LCD screens located at their front window. This is what I saw: (excuse the quality of the pictures but it was late at night and I was using my blackberry):

Digital Signage Screen not working

Digital Signage Faulty Screen

Digital Signage Faulty Screen

Now, in Australia quite a number of real estate agencies have moved away from using the traditional static posters for displaying their property listing and have implemented some form of a digital signage solution (visual display screens or touchscreen technology).

What I was most surprised about this particular installation and setup was that 1/3 of their screens was either turned off or had a fault with the LCD unit. Does this mean that 1/3 of the properties were not displayed? How would the property owner feel knowing that they are potentially losing interested buyers.

So what I have learnt from this situation is the following:

1. If there’s a hardware fault fix it immediately

2. Always have a backup plan – don’t be afraid to revert back to the old method of using traditional posters when required

3. Use a mixture of digital signage solutions and traditional posters

4. It looks unprofessional and embarrassing for both the digital signage solution provider and owner if the solution fails

5. You will definately lose customers if the problem is not rectified in a timely manner

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info

It’s another weekend and for this particular post we’re going to look at a fun and innovative digital signage solution in Taoyuan Airport. Basically, as you’re waling down the duty free alley in the Taoyuan airport Terminal 2, you will notice that an advertisement follows you. I’m not sure whether the ads as targeted specifically based on the gender or characteristics of the person walking past but do you find this too intrusive? Have a look at the video:

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Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Polls, Digital Signage Weekend Fun

I’m not a big fan of travelling, so I haven’t really been around to all the different parts of the world but for those that have here’s my question to you:

What is the most effective digital signage solution you’ve ever seen?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News

It’s been a while since we last distributed our digital signage newsletter but our excuse is… we’ve been busy. I know it’s a lame excuse but we’ve been seriously inundated with businesses contacting us for quotes, responding to emails and we’ve also been involved in digital signage installations.

We recently posted in our forum what people wanted to see in our newsletter and one of our digital signage portal members suggested we should discuss about issues installers face during digital signage rollouts. So thanks to Jon for your feedback, we always value everyones feedback but more importantly we take action!

Lets quickly summarise some of these issues and recommendations:

Physical Security – we have talked about this in the past in one of our blog entries titled Does your digital signage solution pass our security checklist? point number 7 – If you can’t recall what was discussed you can read the article and refresh your memory. Just make sure you physically lock your monitors to prevent thieves from stealing the units.

Use smaller pipes/brackets for monitors -Jon advises the following: “when hanging monitors from ceiling joints, that some companies are using very heavy pipes to hold the monitors. The monitors are getting lighter and lighter and a pipe that is heavier than the monitor is not necessary. Cutting back the size/weight of the pipes can still hold the monitors, reduce costs for shipping and cutting them to length is much easier as well”.

Use pre made Cat5E cables – it makes it easier for installers. “That way you can just connect to the box in the ceiling and to the back of the monitor instead of having one long cable that runs from the PC or rack straight to the monitor. This also helps with replacement of cables, so you don’t have to run an entirely new cable, just replace the bad one and drop it thru the pipe.”

Be green – try to help the environment and try to use equipment that does not need power. For example, there are several Video extenders in the market that do not require power. Some are hard to find but let us know if you run into trouble.

Backup plans – always have a backup plan and NEVER rely on just 1 single supplier. Make sure you have a backup plan for everything, otherwise if you hit a wall during your installation you will still be able to get the job done.

Costings – From jon’s professional experience: “One of the cost saving measures I use for my clients is flat rate billing. It includes travel, time on the job and materials used. There is a little more cost if there is a concrete ceiling as opposed to a tiled or drop ceiling. This way everyone involved knows the costs up front and there are no suprises on the back end for the client” Once again Jon, thanks for your tips. We have created a forum thread on the digital signage portal forum, so that you can all discuss this further. Click here to continue the discussion.

To read past newsletters click here.

Want to automatically receive the newsletters? Join the digital signage portal.

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

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

I just finished reading an article from TechDirt and was shocked to find out how much the yearly licensing fees are for playing music in a nightclub or a restaurant. Here is a short extract from the article:

“It wants to increase licensing fees in a 120-seat restaurant to $19,344 a year — up from $125. Small cafes would be slugged with a 4729 per cent yearly increase from $124 to $5860.”

Source: http://techdirt.com/articles/20090615/0329305236.shtml

For those digital signage businesses who provide their clients with a digital signage solution that plays music in the background, have you considered what legal implications are involved and what the licensing requirements are? Even if your client has paid for the music clips or videos!

In Australia, retail stores that play music – whether from the radio, purchased CDs, computers, digital signage are required to pay a licensing fee otherwise it may be considered breaching copyright laws and eventually be fined thousands of dollars.

Now we all know that music can set the mood and atmosphere in your store, nightclub, restaurant or cafe but did you know that you may have to pay a licensing fee for playing music in your business environment or anywhere in public areas? Basically, if you play music in your store you need to have a PPCA public performance license to play protected sound recordings and an APRA public performance license to play musical and literary works. For more information about this visit https://transactions.business.gov.au/BLIS/musiclicence.aspx

All I can say is, just make sure that if you’re running a business or if you’re installing a digital signage solution with audio for one of your clients make sure you mention these licencing requirements to your client otherwise they (or possibly your business) may end up paying a hefty fine – so don’t risk it.

After thinking about this situation, do you believe a license is required for playing videos of unsigned artists playing original songs from Youtube in your store or business environment?

Feel free to submit your answer as a comment.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that because these artists are unsigned (i.e don’t have a label) the PPCA, or APRA won’t be paying them one cent so why should you pay for the license fee if all you’re playing is songs from these unsigned artists. For example, here’s one of my favourite Youtube R&B groups called LEGACI playing an original song. Keep it up boys.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog News, Featured Post

digital signage At Its Best!!!

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:

Digital Signage Behind the Counter to show promotions

Digital Signage Live ABC News and RSS News Ticketer

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.

Digital Signage promoting JJJ by streaming audio and ABC streaming news

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.

Digital Signage displaying product releases

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.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Events, Digital Signage Blog News, Digital Signage Case Study