Digital Media Displays

Walk before you run

Friday, August 20, 2010 by MediaServices

- By David Trounstine -

Some of our clients don't have the in-house expertise to create, manage and deploy their own content. That's why our team exists. In fact we have some clients who completely rely on us for everything that is shown on their digital signage network. As the economy has forced many of us to tighten up our budgets we are starting to enable these clients take on some of the creative work in an effort to help keep them in the black throughout these tough times. The process is tougher than you might think, but it all comes down to taking small steps toward the goal.

Charles Fleharty, MediaTile's Director of Content Development and one of the engineers behind the new Human Kiosk with 4G VideoPresence, in conjunction with our portal engineering team created a fantastic web-based application that we call Composer. Simply put is is a content editing tool that allows a user to change pre-built templates to include relevant and up-to-date information without the use of a cumbersome and expensive set of digital design tools.

Using Composer our clients can create great looking content with a few simple steps, all within their web browser. The templates can be custom built to the needs of a client. They can include a number of very cool dynamic functions such as RSS display, time & date, and even weather. All parts of the template can be animated, and when the user makes changes to the text or imagery the animation is preserved.

We met recently with a client who uses interactive content to engage their users and provide them with current event information relative to the local area. It would be very development intensive to provide them with a "template" version of this touch screen application, so instead we suggested moving some of that content out to an attractor screen. Allowing passers-by to see the content, and be encouraged to learn more by interacting with the touch screen.

We are pushing forward with the next version of the software as I type this, and the new features will really make the template approach shine. I highly recommend that our clients check it out, and if you aren't a MediaTile client consider making templates that work for your system to aid you in achieving your design goals.

Scotts Valley Market improves community ties and promotions using digital signage

Monday, July 19, 2010 by Leah Kane

(Today's Guest entry comes from Mike Foster, CMO and Co-Founder of MediaTile)

It is always very satisfying when you can help local businesses do a better job of building community ties, while at the same time improving their product and service promotions. Our local supermarket chain, The Scotts Valley Market, has deployed a digital sign above their deli counter – in one of the highest traffic areas of the store with good dwell time.

Their goal is to augment existing promotions, while also informing shoppers of all the community activities that they are involved with, including Chamber of Commerce events, such as the upcoming art and wine festival. They also run local weather and a national news ticker to keep shoppers engaged and entertained while waiting for deli orders. It’s great to see that digital signage has become such a common and well understood medium. This is right in line with the recent Arbitron study, which estimated that 155 million adults in the US remember seeing a digital display each month.

I’d also like to point out that one of our resellers, Vivid Digital Concepts (www.vividdigitalconcepts.com) is in the business of setting up digital-signage network operator franchisees who deploy and operate their own community-based and owner-operated chain-wide networks. So...if you’re thinking of getting into the business, they are a terrific starting point. And because it’s a MediaTile cellular and web-based solution, the only infrastructure you need on-site is a power outlet (that’s my shameless plug!).

Planes, Trains & Automobiles: a mid-pilot digital signage review

Monday, June 28, 2010 by Chuck Gose

For the next few days, I'm traveling across the New England area with a client of ours who's been piloting digital signage for the past three months. They looked to MediaTile to help them augment and improve their employee communications efforts.

This is the halfway point of the pilot so it was a good time for me to travel around with the project manager. We'll be traversing by planes, trains and automobiles (one of my favorite movies) to make it all happen. What's particularly cool about the visits is that we are sitting down face-to-face with employee groups to solicit their feedback on what they think of the technology and NOT just walking around looking at the displays.

One of the challenges this company has faced over the years was caused by numerous acquisitions. Employees at these specific sites do not have any specific or noted loyalty or ties to the larger corporate brand. Their hope was communicating dynamically through digital signage would improve their internal branding efforts.

The way the MediaTile approach works is the larger corporate entity can embed their messages on screens everywhere whilte still granting local control to communicators. It's one of the few vehicles that can be corporate, regional and local - all at the same time - each with their own control and input.

We're also going to find out which messages resonate more than others, which messages have a larger impact, and which messages are more engaging. We want to hear what the employees really think. The goal is to to determine if this technology is improving communication to their field force.

If I have any updates or revelationsalong the way, I'll be sure to share them.

Variety is the spice of the National Restaurant Association Show #nrashow

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 by Chuck Gose

I've never had the chance to attend the National Restaurant Association Show so yesterday was my first time. Our digital signage technology is tucked away in the AT&T booth (#5666) in the Technology Pavilion.

32" Digital Sign in a Box on display at the National Restaurant Association Show

Yesterday I was pleased and surprised at not just the sheer volume of attendees looking at digital signage for to improve communication with customers (including menu boards) but more importantly the variety of companies. There was everything from smaller "mom and pop" restaurants looking to jazz up their customer communication all the way to some of the largest food retail chains in the country.

But some of the best conversations I had was with colleges and universities, who are looking to use digital signage for menu boards and share nutritional information but to also have the signage in place for crisis communication if needed.

All in all, those I talked to liked MediaTile's approach to digital signage. They liked the simplicity of our Digital Sign in a Box (32" on display), as well as the robustness and ease-of-use our software provides. Clearly, this was not their first exposure to signage and past hiccups seemed to be the complexity of installs. We simply don't have that.

I heard over and over, "We just want it to work." Ours works.

HumanKiosk gets some love from Digital Signage Today

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 by Chuck Gose

Earlier this week, our award-winning HumanKiosk was given a pat on the back from Digital Signage Today. The article highlighted how new technology will change engagement through digital signage.

Keith Kelsen authored this article and is also the author "Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage – Content Strategies for the 5th Screen." Pulling a bit from the article, Keith writes:

I am always impressed by the impact of technology on media and then the impact that will have on us as viewers and media creators: Even how we define "viewer" is in flux right now.

Looking back at the technology advances of the last year and where these may lead us, we can see where "viewer" will become "participant" in the near- and long-term future.

In the near term, displays have delivered on the HD promise, but where do we go from here? What about the connected technology that creates a whole new form of engagement?

When I speak about connected technology I am talking about multilevel, multidynamic, multidimensional connections. These areas have and will create largely new, connected display systems that will transform our viewers into engaged participants.

In one type of connected displays, we have a digital signage network that allows us to change content, update ads, and receive feedback in what I call "Linear Connectedness."

With our HumanKiosk, there is true two-way interaction and communication with the viewing party. Not only are they able to interact with the content, but they have the ability to provide real-time feedback. Very powerful stuff.

For those attending NAB this week in Las Vegas, the Human Kiosk is on display in the Verizon Wireless booth (#SU8502). Check it out.

MediaTile technology on display at #Kioskcom in the Walsh Wireless booth (#314)

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 by Chuck Gose

The exhibit hall doors opened just a few minutes ago for Kioskcom & Digital Signage Show. If you happen to be here today, stop by the Walsh Wireless booth (#314).

They have on display a very cool and practical application of our cellular digital signage for the retail space. The unit is a free-standing display that would allow a retailer to embed digital signage inside a portable display. Walsh and MediaTile partnered with In-Store Experience to create this product.

We provided the digital signage technology. Walsh Wireless provided the cellular broadband capabilities. And In-Store Experience contributed the physical structure. Great example of a partnership coming together to create a viable product for retailers.

But stand doesn't need to be confined to just retail and consumers. Thinkn about how this could enhance employee communications if you're looking to showcase information. Or for visitors to a venue. The opportunities are endless but the technology is here.

MediaTile, Walsh Wireless and In-Store Experience

Digital Signage Content Strategies Summit: Day 2 in Review #DSContent

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 by Chuck Gose

Wow. You know when you go to conferences and you may not get much out of them but you're still overly complimentary? This is not the case at all. Day 2 of the Strategy Institute's Digital Signage Content Strategies Summit was awesome. And those aren't just my words, but the feedback from other attendees.

Aside from being a consumer myself, I don't have any experience in the retail world and truly am not aware of the challenges they face in the digital world. After yesterday, color me enlightened. Just follow the hash tag #DSContent and you can see all of the messages I shared from the @MediaTile Twitter account.

The day was a good balance of what the possibilities are with digital technology along with many of the obstacles that still exist. Here are a few of my observations...

Kevin Flatt and Mark Renshaw, Leo Burnett and Arc Worldwide, showcased the future of what digital can be in the retail world, using a great analogy of who's driving the bus. Apparently agencies are the drivers who know where they want to go but often get lost and NEVER ask for directions.
Paul Flanigan, The Preset Group, led a panel of Michael Twitty, Unilever Americas, and Jim Lucas, Draftfcb. The information spewing out of Michael was amazing. I practically couldn't type fast enough about how brands are viewing digital in the consumer packaged goods world. This will lead to future blog posts.
And we finally had our first Foursquare mention with Stephen Randall, LocaModa. Stephen did a great job showcasing how digital signage and social media content can play quite nicely in the same sandbox. His point that "you must view that your digital signage message has a range of 20 miles, not 20 feet," really hit home with the audience.
And then there is Bob Stowe, Wendy's. Bob added an important element to the conference, highlighting the challenges faced when working with large corporations. Many wonder why quick service restaurants have been somewhat slow to adapt to digital signage. Bob outlined all of the players that get involved and the challenges with each. Though I don't think he'll be getting the key to the city of Detroit anytime soon. He mentioned that one of their stores stays open 24 hours solely due to security concerns. Yikes.
Rudy Dearborn, MGM Mirage, outlined the history that his casino has had with the technology along with some of the unique content challenges. What was peculiar is that they use Mac Minis to drive displays and had to have custom mounts built, along with a custom digital signage software application. BUT they do a great job of utilizing existing resources and data to keep content fresh and relevant.
And last but not least, our very own Simon Wilson and David Ozer, iPOWOW!, presented on the importance of getting instantaneous viewer feedback of what they are seeing on the screens. The audience didn't appear to be a big hunting crowd, so the example of how Hunter Specialities is using touch-screen technology in endcaps to promote their products. All kidding aside, the digital signage has given them a 30% sales uplift. That's no laughing matter.

So, all in all, a great show. But during the networking lunch, one of the attendees asked me how much of our business was in non-retail. Quite a bit in fact. He was curious why there was no attention paid to corporate communication networks.

I told him that's my challenge. That's why I do what I do. That's my crusade.

Who's watching me now?

Thursday, February 25, 2010 by Sean Michael Kelly

Here's an example of a digital signage promotional campaign gone awry at a local veterinary hospital:

Someone clearly spent some marketing budget on a digital sign that they intended to promote their product at the shelf for an up-sell opportunity in the waiting room. Naturally I am instinctively drawn to see what is being promoted by whom and how in a scene like this, but I was disappointed to find the unit powered off - you can see the rectangular supply laying atop the counter without a power cord.

While there are any number of plausible explanations for this scene, I was immediately stricken by some distinct possibilities that afflict other electronic sign options. The first (most obvious and common) was that the unit was unplugged by an employee of the facility or their cleaning service and it simply was not plugged back in. In truth it could be any reason, but regardless, it boils down to two questions: why was it unplugged, and why hasn't anyone noticed?

To the former, sometimes it's simply that the additional power outlet was needed for something else. But sometimes it's more sinister: employees are annoyed by the audio, or "feel bad" about leaving it running when they close up shop for the night. Through its native remote management and scheduling automation, the Mediacast System addresses these issues by permitting the display network operator to make adjustments to volume levels as well as to schedule operational hours so that the display visibly turns itself off, thus lessening the temptation for employees to pull the plug on the unit.

(As a side note, while the appropriateness of audio in content is always a consideration for effective business communication in any given deployment, if audio is necessary, it is best to follow-up with the employees at the establishment to ensure that it is not irritating which could leave a lasting, negative impression of your brand!)

Another possibility is that the content became out-dated - perhaps there was a recall on something being promoted, or the product was discontinued, or there was some other rights issue with the media... any of a dozen reasons that the media has to stop playing, and now. For other electronic sign platforms, there is no way to remotely manage the content at all; they require an operator to physically come to the site and change out a memory stick or disc, etc. So until they can come out to the site to change out the media, when it comes to issues like those mentioned, their only recourse is to pull the power.

From day one the Mediacast System has provided a purely remotely managed store-and-forward content distribution method with the assumption that our customers have better things to do than constantly visit their display locations to change media. Using the web-based Mediacast Digital Signage SaaS, you upload your content to the portal, then remotely distribute it to the Internet-connected display network - take control without stepping foot into the remote sites.

The other nagging question is why, after several months (and missed opportunities) of sitting like this, has nobody noticed that the display is offline? The answer in many cases is: because nobody is watching. The Mediacast system provides a flexible alert notification system that dispatches emails to selected individuals if a display goes offline. The idea is to dispatch a technician or other field representative to the site so as not to prolong a simple problem.

The automated monitoring also keeps an active status on the displays so that even if the email is missed initially, operators logging into the portal system on a regular basis as able to see displays that have a problem.

(As an annecdotal side bar, we once had a display go offline for a customer running a network in a major consumer electronics retailer at the end-cap of one of the aisles. The assigned technician phoned up the appropriate department and inquired about the unit; when the store employee checked on it, they found that another employee had disassembled the end-cap display and was preparing to install a different vendor's display in the same location. This turned out to be miscommunication internally on the part of the retailer and the end-cap was properly restored, but it shows the value of expedient response; had the materials been boxed up and sent off to the back of a warehouse in a busy environment like that, they might never have been located and recovered.)

As you can see, it is only a matter of time before this vendor's counter top becomes general purpose storage because the dead screen doesn't look like it needs to be visible. The only thing I'm left wondering is how much time is needed for the sorry thing to finally decompose and disappear like so much dust in this otherwise quiet and solemn environment.

Digital Pricing Marquee

Monday, February 22, 2010 by Sean Michael Kelly

It doesn't require a miracle or a fortune to produce a great, professional looking marquee like this for your establishment:

If you break it down to its basic components, it's really quite simple. There are three screens operating independently. Each screen plays one set of pre-canned content. In the scene above, the left and right screens may be rotating through concession promotions as well as video snippets of coming attractions. A little bit of motion is all it takes to draw the eye up here. The center screen is displaying current offerings and pricing information.

By linking the pricing information and the promotions together into, effectively, a single electronic sign, the viewer can't help but notice your promotions - focused messaging will improve communication for consumers by centralizing viewers' attention to a single place where you know you've got it.

At this point you may be thinking that the various forms of content rotation are all well and good, but what about when it comes time to update the pricing information? This may be one of the most significant points of hesitation to adopt digital signage content since the display needs to be easy to update for facilities managers. The MediaCast system can accommodate this in either of two ways: data managed within the management portal, or data managed externally on your own web server.

By creating the content which displays pricing information in Flash, you can get a unique blend of text and graphics and even have potential for animation here - careful not to overwhelm this particular display however as it needs to be useful for your most scrutinizing viewer. One thing that Flash is particularly well suited to is integrating data from multiple sources into a single view. Your Flash programmer can assemble a view that pulls data from an XML file and display it as directed. Then it just comes down to data management.

For data management, you can maintain a simple XML file on your management PC and associate it with your Dynamic Flash content in the MediaCast system. When you update the file and upload it to the portal, the updated data will be pushed out to the display automatically. Or if you'd prefer to centralize the management of the data on the portal, you can store the XML data right inside the properties of the Dynamic Flash asset itself within the portal and forego the need for maintaining a separate file.

If maintaining the data through the MediaCast portal is not well suited to your business operations, you also have the option of publishing the XML on your own website with a secret URL. Your programmers can create your own web based data editor which generates the XML file; simply add the URL to the XML as a "URL File" for your Dynamic Flash on the MediaCast portal.

As a URL File, the MediaCast system will poll it for updates every 15 minutes. When a change is found, it will update the data and push it out to the displays that need it without any additional adminsitrative effort - this way your employees can maintain your display data within your own, controlled administrative system and never need to log in to the portal after the initial setup - that's the beauty of Digital Signage SaaS!

If you don't know any Flash programmers but still want to take advantage of exciting digital signage content like this we've got your back. MediaTile offers creative Media Services with specific digital signage content expertise and can efficiently produce a custom presentation to your specifications!

Digital Signage Gets the Green Light in Amsterdam (#ISE2010)

Thursday, February 11, 2010 by Leah Kane

Today's guest post is provided by Nick Powley of b2m Consulting in the UK, who has extensive experience in systems integration, and content distribution & management...

Every now and again something dramatic happens that really catches your eye, and during last week's visit to theIntegrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam, I really had my eyes opened! Now, those of you who know Amsterdam are probably off on an entirely wrong track already...but here I’m talking about big bright and very eye-catching displays.

The theme of this year's show appeared to be, "How Big and Bright Can We Make Our Display to Really Get Noticed?" Those of you who visited the show and did so without dark glasses may have come away with an LED-induced tan. Whilst every exhibitor seemed to be competing for the most innovative, and sometimes obscure way to deliver their message, the recurring theme was undoubtedly digital signage, or as one exhibitor had written over their booth, Digital "Sinage"...how appropriate, given the location.

Sadly, even though it was nearly impossible to find a space in the show where you could avoid seeing those magic words, "digital signage," many exhibitors appeared to have lost their way when it came down to content and message. Things got even more interesting when one stopped to discuss signage solutions with potential vendors, who, without even asking about the application or what might be required, were happy to launch into wonderful technical block diagrams with ftp file servers, message handling servers, interrupt and backup devices, as well as a plethora of content management and creation tools...Oh! My head hurt, and not just from the retinal burn.

Stepping back for a moment and enjoying one of Amsterdam’s most expensive treats (exhibition coffee), I mused on why digital signage vendors still insist on focusing on hardware. Sadly, too many have come from a highly technical background and still believe that the only way to impress customers is to talk about file types/protocols and server architectures. Having now spent several years working in the sector and seeing good, bad, and ugly solutions, I believe passionately that the simpler the offering, the easier it is to understand and use, the more likely it is to be a real business benefit and not a millstone.

Surprisingly, finding simple solutions can be an incredibly complex process, and often suppliers can only offer a piece of the puzzle. Frequent enquiries at the show for a complete solution yielded responses from "Yes, we can do everything, apart from installation," through to "No, we only provide the software so you can use your own hardware." It would be wrong to imply that companies cannot offer complete solutions- of course they often can- but the route to enlightenment can be long and tortuous without a competent guide to lead the way.

As an independent consultant in the signage sector, I should declare that my current enthusiasm lies with the simple and highly effective offering from MediaTile. From the very first day I met with MediaTile in Las Vegas in 2007, I knew my life as a systems integrator was about to get a whole lot easier. "Digital Sign in a Box" seemed almost too good to be true, but three years on, I still find the offering hard to match in what has become a very competitive and confusing marketplace for vendors.

So as a veteran with some 25 years of trade show appearances, I can offer a few small pieces of advice when you're on the floor:

• Go with a plan and be prepared to change it!
• Keep your eyes open for new and exciting offerings.
• Don’t get drawn onto the rocks by the sirens with big distractions.
• Be inquisitive and dig beneath the surface to see if what glitters truly is gold.
• Bring a lot of cash if you want to eat/drink at the show.

If what you want from your digital signage is "Wow Factor," then visit Las Vegas' strip and be wowed. If, however, you need a global solution that's easy to manage and deploy, and provides great return on message, then focus on "keeping it simple" - and stay away from the bright red lights!

Nick Powley
b2m Consulting - UK

Elite Racing opens its doors to IMIS attendees

Thursday, December 3, 2009 by Chuck Gose

Last night, I had the privilege to attend an Open House that Elite Racing put on in Brownsburg, IN. The open house was held in conjunction with the first ever International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS). This is a show for drivers, owners, teams, dealers and industry professionals.

So why was I there? MediaTile is a proud sponsor of Elite Racing and Jason Meyers. Though the show was downtown, many attendees made the trek to Brownsburg to see inside Elite Racing's shop. Now I'm not the world largest racing fan, but it's hard not to be impressed with a shop like this one.

It was cool to see our digital signage technology on display, amidst all of the cars and other racing equipment. Really goes to show how quickly and easily our cellular digital signage can be put in place. The team takes it with them to the tracks and uses it engage, entertain and improve communication with passersby.

I am admittedly the world's worst photographer, but I did snap a few shots of the interior of Elite Racing's shop. It was a neat event to be a part of and hope the photos do the event justice.

Spotlight on Digital Signage Association

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 by Leah Kane

Those of us who find ourselves spending most of the work day online (in one capacity or another) are aware of the power and effectiveness of social networking - but just as important is the power of traditional networking. Industry organizations such as the Digital Signage Association (DSA) provide like-minded professionals an industrious and business-neutral forum for education, networking and advocacy.

The DSA brings together vendors and users alike- everyone from display manufacturers, resellers and distributors, to content creators and network operators across all vertical markets. Members and sponsors (including MediaTile) work together to move the industry forward, share best practices and business opportunities, and increase awareness about digital signage.

Whether you're a brand manager, a corporate communications manager, or a display vendor, the Digital Signage Association has an event, a whitepaper, or a behind-the-scenes initative designed to grow your deployments and ensure your success.

We wanted to give a shout-out to the DSA for everything they do and for giving us a voice. Check them out, or better yet:

Cellular Digital Signage + Banks: A perfect union

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Leah Kane

Today's guest entry is contributed by Pegi Patwardhan.

(Pegi started as an advertising executive in 1998 at a b2b technology agency, responsible for all media used in the marketing mix (online, email marketing, direct mail, magazine, events). Her focus has always been finding ways to shorten the sales cycle for her clients - and has found MediaTile an excellent vehicle for making that happen.)

Banking and digital signage together makes sense. Customers have a need to know and
learn about their finances. The bank team needs to have current information.
MediaTile has recently added another chain of banks to its list of happy clients. (Due to confidentiality agreements, I can't name the bank yet).

What I can talk about is why they chose to go with MediaTile. Corporate headquarters was looking for a way to deliver specific, targeted messaging to each of its branches, while maintaining consistency in its branding effort. They also wanted to offer their customers more of a professional experience. Multiple POP displays and printed materials were cluttering branch lobbies and surfaces; by switching to MediaTile, they were able to update their lobby with a sleek and professional, modern look.

Overwhelmingly, banks cite their concern for security as the number one reason not to use digital signage in their facilities. The security of the bank's network is paramount. However, MediaTile's built-in cellular networking feature eliminates the need to tie into any on-site infrastructure, insulating the signage network from sensitive customer data.

What can digital signage bring to banks? It can personalize and support core knowledge for everyone who visits. With MediaTile, banks can also educate customers on their other products and service offerings in a fresh and enticing way. It can offer relevant and timely advice. It can reassure everyone, with up to the minute information. That is the service, the value and the purpose of digital signage.

Digital signage that's "more than meets the eye"

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by Chuck Gose

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.

Adobe MAX Conference

Friday, October 9, 2009 by MediaServices

-By David Trounstine

This week Adobe held their yearly design and development conference, Adobe MAX. Many cool demos were displayed and some great new info about the next iteration of flash was discussed.

In an effort to unify the devices in our lives under a single standard, Adobe has evolved Flash into a very powerful production, delivery, and display platform. Other programs like Cold Fusion and Flex Builder give developers the tools necessary to create seamless experiences for users across a whole sea of consumer electronics.

Demonstrations on netbooks, smart phones, touch screens, and more showed the ability for Flash to improve communication and enable businesses to spread their content far further than ever before.

While there was no clear cut demo of digital signage at the MAX show it was pretty clear that the DOOH market would see huge benefits from the improvements being made to Flash and it's companion tools. The performance improvements to video playback alone are astonishing, and will surely make Flash one of the more popular next-generation players for HD and interactive content.

Using an HP TouchSmart screen one presenter played HD video (which looked amazing), he then simply tapped the screen and up popped an information overlay providing the user with current time, weather, relevant content relating to the video and more. This type of interface empowers the user to make choices and receive content based on trends in which they are taking part, and reduces the perception that they are being "spammed" with irrelevant information.

I'm a big fan of the Flash platform, and use it for a huge amount of the work we do here at MediaTile. It seems that the updates to come will finally provide us the tools we need, and the performance required, to produce content and products that will truly revolutionize the marketplace.

RSS/MRSS

Monday, September 28, 2009 by MediaServices

-By David Trounstine-

Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, and many other social networking sites employ RSS as an alternative method of delivering their data to consumers. This structured data can easily be leveraged on a digital sign to supply viewers with up-to-date and personally relevant information.

But you don't need to be a social networking jockey to leverage the power of this file standard. XML based data transfer is an established method of communication between databases. However, the structure of the XML is important and RSS provides a standard that is widley accepted, simple to understand, and easy to display.

A company can leverage RSS to improve communication with employees or consumers at multiple touch points through out their day. In fact, many digital signage and digital picture frame manufacturers are using RSS to feed their screens and connect consumers to their website through consistency.

To enhance their RSS feeds and enable users to include their photos in a feed, Yahoo! developed an extension to the RSS architecture allowing media files to be associated with a particular story or RSS entry. This new format is called MRSS, or MediaRSS.

The structure is very similar to RSS except there is an additional chunk in the XML called a "media" node. This node contains a various meta data for the piece of media such as author/publisher, file size, length, etc. The addition of this node allows MRSS to associate many pieces of media with an individual RSS entry. RSS 2.0 only allows for 1 embeded media item for each RSS entry. MRSS provides a simple and open method of passing information and media from one system to another, and has begun its integration into the world of digital signage because of the versatility, compatibility, and expandability that it offers.

Digital signage content is most effective when it is relevant and personal. Simple solutions are often overlooked, but in the case of RSS and MRSS we should pay close attention. The number of available data sources will grow exponentially because of this technology, and providing your target audience with personalized content will be very simple.

H.264/MPEG4 (AVC)

Monday, September 14, 2009 by MediaServices

- By David Trounstine -

H.264 (or AVC, Advanced Video Codec) is a video compression codec that is efficient, high quality, and pervasive. Many mobile devices used to display video rely on this codec because despite the small file size it generates, the quality is extremely high. In fact, Blu-ray technology uses H.264 to fit several hours of content onto high definition DVDs.

While H.264 may not be new to the world of digital signage it has never been accepted or offered up as an industry standard, which is unfortunate. It offers many benefits over other codecs, such as very small file size, high quality images even at low bit rates, and broad user acceptance/understanding. It is also natively supported by many, if not most, software video players so it can be adopted with relative ease.

For video based digital signage content, my recommendation is to use H.264/MPEG4 compression at a resolution and bit rate that fits your system. The video files created by MediaServices are always 1280x720, 30FPS, 3MB/s and I must say the quality at such a low bit rate is very well maintained.

The Importance of Being ‘Metricable’

Friday, September 11, 2009 by Simon Wilson

The Importance of Being ‘Metricable’: Monthly viewership of digital video displays: estimated to be 155 million adults in US.

No more rough estimates, no more compiled data from disparate networks, no more industry hyperbole. Last month Arbitron published an independent research report that for the first time took a scientific, measurable approach to assessing actual viewership of DOOH networks. My thanks go to Diane Williams of Arbitron, who has completed and published a research report that states more than two thirds of the US population over the age of 18 took note of a digital sign in the past month. According to her report, this means close to 155 Million US adults a month are taking notice of this medium.

This report certainly received good press and social media coverage when it was published but it struck me that this report’s importance has been under-estimated relative to the validation of the digital signage industry, the power of targeted relevant video as a communications medium, and the importance of being ‘metricable’.

Prior to its release, the only “industry” figures being widely used to size our industry were derived from an aggregation of network operator deployments, based upon estimates of the both the number of deployments and the traffic at those locations. These are not defensible metrics by today’s standards.

The Arbitron report is a truly significant event: to be able to have an independent audit of the estimated viewing population for digital networks – and of course the number of 155m is very high. This goes a long way to giving our industry the credibility it deserves, and continues to build the trust of buyers. Hats off to Arbitron and Diane’s research for inverting the methodology for the model and driving it from a viewer perspective rather than a general network estimation based on traffic flows. Defensible metrics are important for the industry - are there others out there?

Keepin' it Simple

The Resolution, Resolution

Thursday, September 3, 2009 by MediaServices

- By David Trounstine -

"Image resolution describes the detail an image holds"~ Wikipedia ~

When creating digital signage content the quality of your imagery will have a significant impact on the target audience. Any given media asset must be created to best utilize the platform on which it will be displayed, and digital signage is no exception. The perceived quality of an image is primarily based on the resolution of the asset and the system that will display it. When discussing resolution two forms of measurement are commonly used; Pixel Resolution and Spatial Resolution. I will give you a bit of technical detail on these measures and the situations in which each is relevant.

When we describe an image as "three megapixels", we are literally saying that image is comprised of about 3 million unique pixels. This is represented in width-by-height dimensions as 2048 x 1536px (3.15M). So the image has 2048 pixels in the X-axis and 1536 in the Y-axis. This is referred to as Pixel Resolution or Pixel Count, and represents the total number of pixels used to make up this asset.

The Spatial Resolution of an image refers to the number of pixels across a given unit of length (i.e. an inch). However, Spatial Resolution is dependent upon the system in which the media asset is being viewed be it a computer monitor, TV screen, or magazine. Each system will utilize pixels differently, and any asset made for display in that system will have to be adjusted accordingly to maintain a high quality appearance. In a general sense spatial resolution can also be thought of as pixel density, while pixel resolution is equivalent to pixel volume(or area).

If you have a 30" monitor that has a pixel count of 1920x1080 and you want to make an image fill the screen. You should create an image that is 1920x1080 pixels. This is where many people will then ask, "What DPI do you need it to be?". The answer is, it doesn't matter. It can be 1 DPI or 1,000,000 DPI the image will fill the screen either way. The monitor will map each pixel in the image directly to a pixel on the screen. Therefore the image will appear sharp and well defined, and will be 30" in size.

If you take that same image (1920x1080px in size) and send it to your printer it will print to about 6.5" x 3.5", a far cry from the 30" image produced on the monitor. This is because most printers produce images that are 300 DPI(PPI), meaning that every inch of print space will contain 300 pixels. (1920px / 300dpi = 6.4in and 1080px / 300dpi = 3.6in)

Designers who have worked in multiple industries know that an image designed for the web will rarely contain enough data to be printed, although it may appear extremely sharp and detailed when viewed on a computer monitor. Similarly, content for digital signage may contain assets from web, television, or print projects, but ultimately should be rebuilt to meet the recommended specifications of the hardware. So, when you are designing for digital signage you must know the Pixel Resolution of the displays and make your best effort to use assets that do not require any up-sampling (increase in pixel density). Doing this will ensure the best possible image quality.

Are your employees being "messaged to deaf?"

Friday, August 28, 2009 by Chuck Gose

Video is a great storytelling medium. Wait, let me rephrase that. If done right, video is a great storytelling medium.

This point is demonstrated perfectly over at the Messaged to Deaf blog, which by the way is now my new favorite blog name. In her latest post, Harriet Meth shows off two different video treatments for a new Coca-Cola vending machine. Ironically enough, the machine being called the Freestyle uses a digital signage touch display and touch-enabled content to dispense pop (or soda or whatever you call it where you live).

Read the post (How slick should your video look) and tell me which video you think is more effective. They vary greatly in style, length and (perceived) quality.

So when you're creating videos to supplement your digital signage content, think about your employees and use these two examples as guidelines. Bad videos are just like other bad pieces of content -- people will ignore them AND the medium.

Harriet provides some takeaways at the end of the post, but the one that rings truer and truer (especially in the age of social media) is that videos must be engaging and authentic. I would add the word "sincere" to the list. A glossy corporate approach rarely cuts it today. So before you message your employees to deaf, think about what you're doing to your coworkers.

Give them something to pay attention to.