Commercial Grade LCD - why?
Posted on Sat, October 31, 2009
Cheap prices on consumer grade LCD TVs have helped drive record growth in digital signage, it has also created headaches for digital signage integrators trying to provide the best solution for an application. Every week we run into a customer that just put the latest 1080P, HD LCD in his/her home at a ridiculously low price from Best Buy and they don’t understand the price difference.
A study from Pacific Media Associates found that less than 40% of the monitors in corporate boardrooms were commercial grade and that over half of the companies surveyed were just planning to purchase their next flat panel from Wal-mart or Best Buy. While a company can get away with putting a consumer grade product in a boardroom since they likely only use it a few hours a day, taking the same strategy can be a costly mistake with digital signage intended to run longer hours.
The main issue with consumer displays is they are designed to run 4 to 6 hours a day verses 16 to 24 for most digital signage applications. Commercial grade displays from leading manufacturers such as NEC Display Solutions are designed to dissipate heat and use higher grade components to act more reliably during the more intense usage. As a consumer grade display continues to run it gets hotter and hotter thus increasing the likelihood of failure.
When (not if) you encounter a failure, this is where the real difference between commercial and consumer grade comes to the surface. With a consumer grade product you typically get a 90 day warranty but in most cases if you read the fine print the warranty is void when you use the display in a commercial setting. A commercial grade product typically comes with a 3 year warranty and with some manufacturers that includes on-site service.
If you would like to learn more about the comparisons between commercial and consumer LCD products please visit the links below:
Pro AV Magazine
NEC White Paper
The Right Creative Touch Can Make Great Digital Signage Content
Posted on Fri, October 30, 2009
If you give IT control of your digital signage you could end up with 3 square boxes on a plain background, but the integration to your local data from spreadsheets, databases, and websites will be amazing. If you give marketing control the design will be beautiful but you might be lacking integration from live data components. When you use creative design services from a digital signage provider you can get the best of both worlds by combining live data sources with a visually stunning design that can stop viewers in their tracks and keep them coming back time after time.
At Rise Display our creative designers to a truly amazing job, if you want a fresh look to your digital signage take a look through our library of designs in our examples library when you have a few minutes. At a minimum you can get some new ideas on how to make your displays more appealing.
Digital Directory Display at Northeastern University
Posted on Thu, October 29, 2009
The new digital signage system at Northeastern University has multiple components from a 2x2 video wall, digital signage showing events, and digital directory displays. Historically printed signs or the white stick on letters were used for building directories, but as the cost of digital signage continues to drop and software advances why would any new building not go digital.
Think of the benefits:
1) unlimited flexibility to change the look and background
2) the ability to incorporate news and weather
3) if you reassign rooms no need to reprint
4) wow factor - impress visitors
5) for important events direct traffic
These are just a fraction of the reasons so if you are building a new building and you are thinking static, think again. And if you are thinking digital signage, go one step further and think interactive digital signage, because users are becoming more savvy and they are expecting your displays to be touch enabled.
University of Tampa installs Tri-color LED ticker display
Posted on Thu, October 29, 2009
The University of Tampa recently installed a 14 foot long tri-color LED ticker in their college of business. The scrolling ticker is located in the hallway and designed to attract attention to the finance lab where students work in simulated market conditions. The Rise Ticker is unique in design because the “smarts” are built in thus allowing the university to simply connect the LED display to their network and update it via the internet - no dedicated computer is required. From the web, professors at University of Tampa can easily type in welcome messages to visiting donors or potential new students along with hand selecting the stocks and indexes they want to show.
The LED ticker is simply the best way to create a financial atmosphere and attract attention for students and donors alike at the college of business.
Digital Signage Example Gallery
Posted on Wed, October 28, 2009
One of the most common requests I hear from clients is for photos of installations. While they aren’t always easy to get, we push our installers and sales team hard to make sure they have cameras with them and get photos whenever possible to show digital signage in action.
We have been steadily improving our website over the past few months and we now have over 500 images of actual installations and content examples for visitors to browse through. If you have a moment visit our Examples section and send us feedback, or better yet if you are an existing Rise client and have a great picture you would allow us to share please email it to us at sales@risedisplay.com.
Dead or Alive - Digital Signage still gets attention
Posted on Wed, October 28, 2009
An important part of digital signage is monitoring your network to ensure the content is showing properly. On a recent trip to San Francisco the hotel I was staying at had 6 elevators each outfitted with 17” LCD displays running content to ensure everyone was entertained. One of the displays was showing the infamous blue screen of death for the entire week. Too bad the content provider’s software probably hadn’t alerted them to the issue so they could simply go reboot the computer.
On a positive note when I did have the opportunity to ride in that elevator with the dead screen we had something to talk about during those awkward rides. Those conversations with complete strangers reaffirmed for me that people actually pay attention to digital signage because everyone noticed it had been down all week. Dead or Alive the display still attracted attention.
Outdoor Enclosures improve the Game Day Experience
Posted on Mon, October 26, 2009
Normally I wouldn’t consider a TV digital signage, but since we provided over 50 industrial grade outdoor enclosures by ITS to the Kansas City Chiefs for their stadium renovations I will make an exception. During Sunday’s rainy game at Arrowhead against the San Diego Charges there seemed to be more fans in the concourse watching the strategically placed LCD TVs then in the stands getting soaked. While the intention of the LCDs was to ensure you never miss a play while grabbing a hot dog at the concession stand, during inclement weather these displays (and enclosures) make the game day experience more enjoyable.
Interactive Building Directory Content
Posted on Sun, October 25, 2009
In many of the new buildings being constructed today interactive digital signage is becoming a requirement. Instead of paying a person to sit behind a desk and direct traffic companies are using technology to efficiently allow visitors to search for the appropriate person and have it draw them a map to that department. When the display isn’t in use it provides a great source to share information such as the weather, headline news, or details about the property management firm or the “green” features of the building.
The graphic in this post illustrates an example of a design produced by our creative services team to show how live data can be integrated into the design to make the building directory interesting and engaging.
Sales Rep verses Touch Screen - who wins?
Posted on Fri, October 23, 2009
While attending a small conference for universities I noticed the LCD touch screen was the more inviting options for attendees in comparison to speaking with a sales person. During a 4 hour stint in the booth I collected 8 business cards and had some nice conversations, but during the lunch break I stepped away for 30 minutes and observed our unmanned booth from a distance. During that 30 minute stretch I noticed at least 10 people that had been walking around stop and play with the technology. The display was inviting and fun to play with allowing users to look through pictures of digital signage installs, experiment with way-finding, and view celebrity profiles on our mock donor wall. With a sales person in the booth attendees were apprehensive about using the touch screen because that means they would have to answer questions, but when no sales person was present it made the booth a completely different experience. Lesson learned - send more technology and less sales people to tradeshows and make sure the content is designed to capture contact details for people that want to learn more and let it run all day including after hours - who knows what type of person may come by and engage with the technology.
Day 1
Touchscreen 10
Salesperson 8
Financial Management Association (FMA) in Reno, NV
Posted on Thu, October 22, 2009
The 2009 annual conference for the Financial Management Association is underway at the J.A. Nugget Casino in Tahoe-Reno, NV. If any faculty from your business school is attending please have them stop by booth 108 to say hello and take a look at our 8-color LED ticker display showing current market updates for the Dow 30 stocks. Attendees can also play with our 46” interactive LCD display showing the new interactive donor wall and way-finding system for universities.
Why isn’t this display a touch screen?
Posted on Wed, October 21, 2009
I attended a trade show in San Francisco a few weeks back at a Marriott. Upon entering I saw a handful of digital displays in free standing enclosures that looked very inviting showing the events for the week. While checking in (no more than 2 minutes) I observed at least 5 people walk up and try to touch them - and nothing happened. You could see the frustration on their face as they wanted more information from the display and they didn’t want to wait for the whole list to cycle through.
With the advancements of personal devices such as iPhones our expectations have evolved to expect all displays to be touch screens and when they aren’t we are disappointed. Even my flat screen TV at home is full of fingerprints because my 6 year old expects everything to work like an ipod. When he sees a show he wants on the guide he walks up and touches the screen.
If you are considering digital signage consider going the next step and making your signage an interactive experience. It may be a little more expensive but instead of telling a story you are now creating a two-way conversation with your viewer.
OU’s new trading lab uses video wall with ultra thin bezels
Posted on Tue, October 20, 2009
Student’s at OU’s Price College of Business now have a state-of-the-art finance lab to simulate the workings of a real life trading floor on campus. To help create the atmosphere the finance faculty worked closely with Rise Display to incorporate a 8 color LED ticker along the back wall to show the latest market updates of the DOW 30 stocks with their corresponding company logo along with a couple of 46” LCD displays to show the latest news and market information. At the front of the room is a 2x2 LCD video wall using the latest technology from NEC Display Solutions with ultra thin bezels (only 7.3mm between each screen) to create the main focal point of the room.
UT’s fans get the real score with stadiums new LED 8-color ticker
Posted on Wed, October 14, 2009
On a busy Saturday at University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium, diehard Vols fans are now being treated to more than great sports action. With the addition of a new LED ticker inside the stadium’s prestigious West Club, patrons can keep an eye on all the other games that day with up-to-the-minute scores scrolling by.
Inside the West Club, the new Rise Display 60-foot, curved LED 8-color ticker is clearly the centerpiece. Scott Carter, Director of Capital Support for Neyland Stadium, knows all too well the importance of connecting with Vols fans, especially those donors and supporters who are members of the new, exclusive West Club. Of the Club’s 450 seats that overlook the west sideline, goal line to goal line, 430 of them are movie theater-style chairs under cover, with cushion seating and cup holders. Patrons, who enter through a private concourse, are treated to gourmet food and enjoy pre-game festivities. From a private patio overlooking the famous Vols Walk. Club members get a birdseye view of teams as they walk from a central point on campus into the stadium. These fans are also elite supporters of UT’s athletics, and the university knew they needed a unique centerpiece that would draw these enthusiasts together inside the new part of the stadium.
“We can customize when we have groups or philanthropic endowment events and can target that group, thanking them and welcoming them to the West Club,” said Carter, who controls messaging using Display Wire, Rise Display’s web-based software. Display Wire includes a live sports data feed, which provides real time sports scores. “We can use it for wedding receptions and functions too, tethering those messages welcoming those people. Having the flexibility and freedom to tailor and customize messages on there and then have real time scores as well has been nothing but complimentary from everyone.”
