- By David Trounstine -
Our partnership with Alcatel/Lucent and 4G VideoPresence has been mentioned several times in our blog now, but I just wanted to give the design team perspective.
4G VideoPresence is two-way video conferencing software for your digital signage network that will allow customers to connect directly to a specialist at the point in time that they have a decision to make. There has already been a lot of buzz around it, and we have interest from a number of different vertical markets.
With 4G delivery of content is going to become much less restrictive. "Store and forward" will be an option, not a requirement, as full HD video and interactive content will be able to stream to any enabled consumer electronic device. We are talking real time user interaction with Internet based content, and instant feedback to content providers.
Real time interactions draw users in, they also provide extremely useful information because it can be contextual and relevant. Using 4G to drive these real time interactions means they can happen anywhere at anytime, without the need for complicated infrastructure.
Bi-directional video chat is only the beginning... we have much more to come, so stay tuned!
(Today's Guest entry comes from Mike Foster, CMO and Co-Founder of MediaTile) 
On my morning commute, I couldn’t help but draw the analogy between the business value that 4G brings to the digital signage market with flying cars. A strange thought, true, but while stuck in traffic, I began to ponder the problems LAN and Wi-Fi networks present to digital signage as being similar to roads and infrastructure, and how 3G and 4G completely eliminates these barriers.
LAN and Wi-Fi networks, like roads, limit where you can go, and are costly deploy and maintain. If you’re relying on LAN and Wi-Fi “ip-roads” for digital signage, you can realistically only deploy signage where ip-roads currently exist, create your own ip-roads at a significant cost, face long-term ip-road maintenance fees, and continue to deal with ip-road traffic, especially during rush hour. Even if you’ve got sophisticated network management gear, you might be able to create a special commute lane and manage traffic, but again, you’re dealing with lots of costly infrastructure.
3G and 4G networks, like flying cars, allow you to go (deploy) wherever you want; you won’t be dealing with all the other traffic on the road, you have the ability to go as fast as the bandwidth allows – as fast, or even faster, than the traffic below. Sprint’s 4G network delivers 3-6 Mbps download rates, plenty to get your media to its destination quickly and securely. And even from a security standpoint, you’re not subject to having to “park” your player on an ip-road, where it can be seen and potentially broken (hacked) into. You’re on your own private and secure 4G road in the air. For these and other important advantages of 3G / 4G digital signage, please check out this whitepaper from Digital Signage Today.
Unlike 4G services, which are now in more than 30 markets and growing, the promise of flying cars is still a ways off, but getting closer. You can learn more about the first commercial flying car or visit Terrafugia and even put your $10,000 deposit down for an early order!
(Today's Guest entry comes from Mike Foster, CMO and Co-Founder of MediaTile) I was delighted to see that our new 3G/4G Cellular-based Digital Signage Whitepaper has made the Top10 list of downloads at Digital Signage Today. It’s great to see that there is a ton of interest in 3G and 4G based digital signage solutions, and that interest continues to grow among resellers and customers.
Recently, I’ve attended and demonstrated our 4G-based solutions in Sacramento, at the Government Technology Conference, and at a Sprint 4G Launch Event in Kansas City, and was overwhelmed by the newfound interest. I believe that 4G is truly a “disruptive technology”, and it has the ability to change the networking landscape as we have come to know it. High-bandwidth networks no longer require a tethered network access point.
For everyone interested in how 4G wireless broadband networks will affect the digital signage industry, please visit Digital Signage Today and download the new, and just-released version of the “3G/4G Cellular-based Digital Signage” guide.
Here’s what contributing editor Richard Slawsky, of Digital Signage Today, had to say about the impact that 4G will have: “Although 3G networking provided a breakthrough for digital signage, 4G is expected to be the ‘tipping point’ for a new generation of wireless digital signage deployments, as it eliminates any remaining variance between hard wired, high-bandwidth networks.”
(Today's Guest entry comes from Mike Foster, CMO and Co-Founder of MediaTile)
Sprint has included our 3G/4G cellular digital signage as a key element in their public 4G road-shows, the first of which is in Kansas City this week.
Our
HumanKiosk will be prominently featured in Sprint’s 4G Retail solutions “vignettes”, showcasing the live, 2-way video chat using our
MediaCast SaaS content management system and 4G Video Presence technology. With 10x more bandwidth over 3G networks, 4G eliminates any remaining variance between hard-wired, high bandwidth networks while providing all the advantages of a cellular solution: more secure, more flexible, easier to deploy, higher reliability and linear scalability. I’m excited to be in Kansas City as this 4G road-show kicks off.
Sprint has accelerated their marketing efforts around 4G, and is now offering 4G services in more than 30 US markets. We are very excited about the 4G opportunity, including the soon to be released 4G LTE platform from Alcatel/Lucent and VerizonWireless.
4G networks could very well be a tipping point for the entire digital signage industry, accelerating deployments and enabling new market opportunities. If you’d like to know more about the impact that 4G will have on digital signage, please visit Digital Signage Today and download the newly updated version of the "3G/4G Cellular-based Digital Signage" guide. This guide includes the latest 4G information and commentary by carriers, users and integrators.
(Today's Guest entry comes from Mike Foster, CMO and Co-Founder of MediaTile)
For everyone interested in how 4G wireless broadband networks will affect the digital signage industry, please visit Digital Signage Today and download the just-released version of the “3G/4G Cellular-based Digital Signage” guide. As the CMO and Co-Founder of MediaTile I’ve been working closely with Digital Signage Today for the past three years to create these “Cellular” guides to explain both the technical and business advantages of using 3G wireless broadband as the fundamental network for digital signage deployments.
The new guide includes the latest 4G information and commentary by carriers, users and integrators. With 4G now available in more than 27+ US markets from Sprint, and 4G LTE technology poised for release by end of year, this guide is a must-read for digital signage network customers, operators, deployers and vendors alike.
Here’s what contributing editor Richard Slawsky, of Digital Signage Today, had to say about the impact that 4G will have: “Although 3G networking provided a breakthrough for digital signage, 4G is expected to be the ‘tipping point’ for a new generation of wireless digital signage deployments, as it eliminates any remaining variance between hard wired, high-bandwidth networks.
Cellular and SaaS-based Digital Signage solutions have finally come of age. Over the past quarter, I’ve attended
CES,
Digital Signage Expo 2010,
The Digital Signage Show,
KioskCom, and
NAB, and it was clear that cloud computing is definitely on everyone’s radar. And most everyone is seeing the silver lining of this solution – the inherent reliability, simplicity, scalability and security that it provides.
Customers, strategic partners, vendors, and managed service providers are much clearer on the pros and cons of a cloud-based digital signage solution. The beauty of 3G, and now, 4G cellular and SaaS solutions is that the network naturally scales to support more media players as they are deployed while providing the built-in reliability and security. Unlike client-server architectures and LAN-based solutions, computing in the cloud is "off premise" and "off network", enabling network operators and vendors to allocate increasingly more of their time to be focused on the content running across the network, as opposed to running and maintaining the technology behind the digital signage network.
Interested in learning more about Cellular and SaaS? I penned an article that was featured in the latest issue of Digital Signage Magazine; look for the special supplement, "
Wireless Networking and Content Delivery."
Keeping it Simple,
Amazed. Thrilled. Ecstatic. Proud.
Just a few words to describe our response to the HumanKiosk
winning the first place award for emerging technology in the enterprise mobile marketing and advertising category at the
International CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas.
The
HumanKiosk is more than just digital signage. We truly believe it will revolutionize the relationship between brands and customers. 4G cellular technology can deliver a live two-way conversation, helping customers get questions answered immediately and resolving many pain points for brands. The HumanKiosk can directly and immediately improve communication between customers and brands. It takes content for digital signage and make it LIVE.
For those who aren't familiar (I wasn't), the CTIA Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards program celebrates and promotes the most innovative wireless products and services in the areas of consumer, enterprise and network technology.
Each year, nearly 300 applications are submitted and reviewed by a panel of recognized members of the media, industry analysts and executives. Products are judged on innovation, functionality, technological importance, implementation and overall “wow” factor.
So considering all of this, you can imagine our enthusiasm over the recognition.
As a child of the 80s, I labeled myself a G.I. Joe man, but I did watch the Transformers every day (this was of course Transformers pre-Megan Fox) and even had a few of the toys. Though I'm still a bit peeved that I never had the original Optimus Prime. That wound is still fresh.
The cartoon's beginning had a catchy little tune that went a little something like this:
The Transformers, more than meets the eye,
The Transformers, robots In disguise.
Last week, MediaTile announced a new
digital signage product that, too, is "more than meets the eye." Though to disappoint a few, it's not a "robot in disguise." Nor will it wage a battle against the Decepticons.
We call it "
the Human Kiosk." Essentially it allows to consumers to interact with a digital display and connect with a real person on the screen. Now I'm not a retail industry expert, but I am a consumer. I think this is pretty cool. It would enable a retailer or brand to provide consistent support for their products whether or not they had a real person on site.
And what's even more amazing is that it will all operate wirelessly (aside from a power plug) through the new 4G/LTE cellular networks. This is where
ngConnect comes in. We partnered with them on the Human Kiosk. 4G/LTE has the bandwidth for on-demand video whereas the current 3G networks just can't do it well (if at all in some cases).
This takes cellular digital signage to a whole new level and changes the game for what retailers and brands will be able to do.
What will this new and improved bandwidth do for corporate communication? That's yet to be seen but I have a feeling we'll be there.
And I couldn't close out the post without including that jazzy Transformers intro. Enjoy.
We at MediaTile are PSYCHED to announce the first "HumanKiosk" prototype. This is an interactive, two-way video conferencing mechanism, enabling consumers and retailers (among others) to communicate directly with one another, in-store- no middle man.
Imagine the possibilities - you're in the store, comparison shopping, you have a question but the store staff doesn't know anything more about the product you're holding than the info which appears on its packaging. No problem- connect to a product expert and have a face-to-face conversation via HumanKiosk.
The excitement surrounding the HumanKiosk release is that it is based on ng Connect's 4G/LTE technology. (LTE = Long Term Evolution). If you're unfamiliar with ng Connect, it is a program "conceived and founded by Alcatel-Lucent, bring[ing] together infrastructure, device, application and content companies to create an end-to-end ecosystem with all the resources and expertise required to rapidly deliver next generation services and applications to service providers, enterprises and consumers. " (quoted from the ng Connect website...)
4G essentially is 3G on steroids. It has the bandwidth to support live and streaming video uploads/downloads - and to support the increasingly interactive nature of successful digital signage deployments.
Every retailer and brand manager hopes to improve communication with its consumer- traditional advertising is limited in this regard. HumanKiosk takes digital signage to another level of relevancy- it provides a purely interactive experience and accomplishes what pre-recorded content, whatever the medium, cannot hope to achieve.
Check it out- we can't wait to hear your feedback!
MediaTile is the world’s first provider of
cellular digital signage. Having graduated from 1X and EVDO we have been providing 3G-based networked digital signage since 2005. Naturally we are continuing to push the envelope by working with variants of 4G. The promise that significantly increased bandwidth will create major new market opportunities and applications for network operators is a driver of innovation for the whole industry - in turn providing for improved interactive and relevant content on screen.
As with any new technology however, there are different schools. In the case of 4G, LTE (Long Term Evolution) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) are taking center-stage in the race for hearts, minds, regional roll-outs, and partnerships. However, the technology that wins out will not be the big story of tomorrow. The real story is how ubiquitous broadband wireless access will change the lives of consumers, traveling professionals, and small business owners, not to mention how it will facilitate a huge swathe of new or extended business applications as they are unshackled from fixed networks.
4G will add a whole new level of experiential and contextual-based content including on-demand videos to Cellular Digital Signage. 4G is therefore certainly an exciting business prospect for network operators – enhancing their ROI by delivering greater content impact with far less on site infrastructure. Certainly Houston Spencer, Alcatel-Lucent’s VP of Solutions and Marketing seems to agree following their
LTE Focus Conference in Amsterdam last week.
But is 4G Digital Signage the Killer App to get 4G across the chasm? Or is our industry a supporting player to other products and applications from other industries that may instead catapult 4G wireless broadband to widespread deployment? In other words 'will 4G make Digital Signage or will Digital Signage make 4G?
Keepin' it Simple
Many of the people I talk to are intrigued, and even at times a bit confused, about how MediaTile is able to effectively use cellular technology to network digital signage. It's completely understandable because I was once one of those doubters.
To help ease the confusion, we produced the "
How to Network Digital Signs with Cellular Technology" guide with Digital Signage Today. Though we don't share with you our "11 secret herbs and spices," the guide provides a great synopsis of our technology. It walks you through:
- the basics of digital signage networks and connectivity options
- information on the various cellular networks (1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, GSM, CDMA, EVDO, etc)
- the cast of carriers
- a variety of digital signage uses and markets
- the business advantages of using cellular networks
But it's the last bullet where our advantage really kicks in.
You'll read how, in many cases,
cellular digital signage is more cost effective than using a native LAN or Wi-Fi. Internal communications professionals know how frustrating it can be when you have to rely on someone else internally to manage your networks. But with cellular, you simply do not have those worries.
I highly recommend downloading the guide if you're curious if digital signs can benefit your
employee communications.
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