Digital Signage Failure
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.
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
Why NOT to use Stolen Data on Digital Signage
Posted on Thu, November 5, 2009
To further expand on my posting from yesterday on Content Design: Balancing Live Data with User Messaging I took this picture at a hotel in Florida with digital signage that was borrowing content from the web.
While it may be hard to see in the picture, it was equally as hard to see in person. Instead of paying for licensed data that the client could use software tools to properly format to ensure it looked good with their content design, they choose to embed a web component designed to be viewed on your desktop at very close range and was virtually impossible to read on the LCD screen. I was very disappointed to see such a high class facility, use such rudimentary software to create digital signage.
The devil is in the detail with content and if you cheap out viewers will notice your digital sign for the wrong reason.
Shouldn’t all Directories be Interactive?
Posted on Tue, November 17, 2009
I noticed this directory recently in the Atlanta airport. Great display, nice enclosure, sharp content BUT it wasn’t interactive. Over a 10 minute span I watched at least a dozen people try to touch it to get more information. Think of all of the missed opportunities to communicate with viewers looking for more information.
The greatest part about interactive content is you get hard data at the end of each day, week, or month. Instead of guessing if people are viewing or using your digital signage - you know because you can track what they touched. You can take this data and look for trends to help improve your content design and how you communicate with the audience.
Free advice: If you are going to put up a directory make it interactive because your audience expects it.
Installation Advice
Posted on Mon, November 23, 2009
You can buy the most expensive screen, the best media player, the coolest software, and build exciting content but if you put the display 20 feet in the air and no one knows it exists all you accomplished was to spend a lot of money.
Free advice - if you are going to invest in digital signage remember location, location, location.
