Scala Digital Signage Web

Researchers at Cornell are investigating carbon fibers for use in electronics, and one of the highlighted uses is in tiny, highly-efficient display projectors that could be built into devices as small as mobile phones.

This technology is a long way off, but it would be really interesting to see how such projectors could be applied to digital signage. Certainly a greater variety of display sizes, form factors, and capabilities will only increase the ubiquity of dynamic signage networks... even to the point that the signs are no longer recognizable as such.
Tags: digital signage | narrowcasting | Scala

Another example of the power of Scala digital signage has gone live at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. 16 Scala IC3 Players, a Network Manager, and a Designer are all working in concert to provide a display network capable of informing visitors depending on time of day and location.

Additionally, use of scripting and predefined templates allows for simple text entry to spawn instant messaging for use in emergencies or special occasions.

Check out the news release for more details.
Tags: digital signage | narrowcasting | Scala

Many people are familiar with their local watering hole, and no doubt some of those establishments are known to have televisions placed in a prominent position so that patrons imbibing their favorite brew can enjoy the game that's currently airing. But when there is no football, baseball, or other sports scheduled on live television, we all know what happens: regular programming comes on. Frequently we are drawn to glance at the television screen, but with the loud sounds of the bar overcoming the television audio, we can't tell what's going on. Sports programming can be comprehended without the commentators, but the evening news is quite difficult even with closed captioning.

What this situation is begging for is a predominantly visual mode of communication, with sufficient audio equipment to allow sound to be heard when appropriate. Digital signage based on Scala is a perfect fit here, and Scala reseller Ya Mogu located in Brazil understands this completely. Ya Mogu has implemented a bar signage network across 6 bars in the Conversa Fiada Botequim bar chain.

According to the case study, content in the network takes full advantage of the bar environment while neutralizing the downsides of a pure television approach, using content including:

• Bar original content (events, promotions, local messages)
• Outside ads (custom made for the screens)
• Generic content (animations, sports, art)
• News (real-time feed from local JB Online, part of local communication group Jornal do Brasil).
• Interactive content (quiz, event photos)
• TV programming (Brazilians can't live without their weekly football)
• Musical clips: through a partnership with EMI, some of the bars are equipped to receive audio, and musical clips are inserted in the loop. At other times, the system controls ambient sound.
• Specific content for employees during non-commercial hours.

Even in today's day and age, as you can gather from the previous post in addition to this one, we're seeing television deployed where digital signage makes much more sense. As the industry grows and becomes more well known, there is little doubt these opportunities for improvement in our communication will be more fully explored. Perhaps digital signage is not purely about advertising, but more generally about a highly effective and efficient communication medium adaptable to many uses and contexts.
Tags: digital signage | narrowcasting | Scala

I recently attended a balloon festival. The event was surprisingly fun, especially considering the extreme heat of the day being quenched by an army of marketing booth folks handing out free samples of iced tea and energy drinks.

In the evening, the mass inflation began, filling the sky with hot-air balloons which flew directly over the crowd and into the distance. Balloons were shaped like soda cans, a large eagle, a dog, and even a pair of bees.

An enlightening talk was given about the ins and outs of operating a blimp. I learned that the advertising on most blimps are simply decal jobs- and that they typically cost thousands upon thousands of dollars to change. There are blimps being developed that support large PC-driven screens on the surface of the blimp itself, much larger than the scrolling LEDs that we see mounted on blimps today. As this new technology is improved and hopefully becomes cheaper, we could see it deployed on other lighter-than-air craft.

But what really leads me to relate my experience in this venue was the van parked near the event entrance. A large crowd immediately drew everyone's attention. Turns out, this van was giving out free candy!

As the line grew longer and longer, a captive audience was created. The van took this into account, and had a television screen mounted in the side playing video content. All was well except for the fact that there was a VCR running the screen, which ran out of tape and had to rewind in order to queue back up. An attractive and informative blue screen kept the captive audience up to date with its REWIND << indicator, so that we knew that we would be watching the same video over and over.

A simple InfoChannel installation could have made this situation much, much better. Imagine this van with a large LCD instead of a smallish CRT. There would be less internal space taken up in the van, and a larger viewing area for your dynamic sign on the outside. An InfoChannel-powered digital sign could constantly vary the content, without pausing for a tape rewind. If you wanted to make a big splash, the digital sign could be made interactive based on any of a number of inputs.

I'm sure everyone appreciated the free handouts, but the video presentation was likely quite unmemorable (except to a digital signage enthusiast, I suppose) despite the long wait times to reach the front of the line. Even beyond that, I surmise from watching Unwrapped that since candy manufacturers are big on interactivity in their foods, their marketing folks could have come up with a very creative and successful promotion using InfoChannel's kiosk capabilities.
Tags: digital signage | narrowcasting | Scala