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• Dynamic Digital Signage
• Key Market Sectors
• Installation and hardware

Installation and hardware

A digital sign consists of a player and a screen - doesn't it? In simple terms, yes - but what player and what screen? And how are they connected? This page discusses some of the options.

Players

There is a wide variety of computing devices out there that describe themselves as media players, and they are good at the job they were designed for. This does not mean they are the answer to your requirements.

The first question in choosing a player is: how many digital streams will it need to manage? A standard desktop PC fitted with a suitable graphics card can handle two streams, whereas many of the new generation ultra low cost PCs only handle one stream. ULCPCs also tend to use hard non-rotating memory - like your memory stick - which has significant storage limitations; your content and playlists will determine how much memory you need in a player.

You don't need a PC that runs like a bat out of hell to be a Media Player but it does require some thought. It also requires a good graphics capability.

Graphics capability

One of the lowest cost items in the whole set-up but the one that can ruin a good digital signage idea, something we know from experience. Typically, image scaling and image wipes are performed by the graphics unit. The amount of work it performs is determined by the screen resolution and the content. A typical screen resolution in the field today is 1024 x 768 pixels but as HD become more common, resolutions are climbing to 1920 x 1080 pixels. This means your graphics unit has to work over twice as hard just to stand still.

And what is it processing? If it's just a series of images and text with simple wipes, maybe some crawling text - no problem. But if it's trying to scale and/or rotate an HD movie clip or two at the same time then it's going to get hot.

Screens

Size does matter: it is important to pick the right screen size for the application - and bigger isn't always better.

Displaying your message is what digital signage is all about so choosing the right display medium is crucial. Screens range in size from just a few inches for mounting on supermarket shelves up to one 30-stories high in Dubai. One US company is using Scala to deliver content to Wi-Fi photo frames in people's living rooms.

Just as important when selecting screens is where they will be positioned - inside or outside, in direct sunlight or a dark restaurant or club. There are screens for these locations, including industrial grade for more rugged environments - even beer-can-proof! You can also get film for screens that make it simple to remove graffiti.

Interactivity

There are a variety of ways in which what is displayed on a screen varies with the environment. A simple example is the use of a touch screen, allowing viewers to change what is displayed, say by accessing a website, calling up house or holiday details or getting directions from here to there on a map. Depending on location and application, this is one area where industrial-grade screens probably need to be considered.

Another interactive application - but passive in this case - is where a camera is connected above the screen to monitor the audience. Software is available that can count the size of an audience, determine the mix of male and female, even the age demographic. Imagine how you could use this information to tailor your digital signage displays in real-time.

Bluetooth and RFID offer scope for passive interaction (is that an oxymoron?), allowing you make direct contact with the viewer.

Kiosks

Kiosks bring interactive digital signage to the individual, providing a self-service technology to streamline transactions and enhance customer service. Interactive kiosks can take a number of forms, such as touch screen product displays, interactive mall directories, and employee HR info stations; some are multiple purpose, combining say a product catalog and gift registry for customers and a job application point for prospective employees. Kiosks are found in a growing number of industries: retail, automotive, education, food service and banking. Increasingly, multi-channel retailers are deploying these self-service devices to help customers choose products in the store or order out-of-stock items.

Projectors

There are applications where projectors offer a better performance option over screens, such as creating a large image display inside a big building, or projecting directly onto a shop window or a hanging perspex plate. You can even make the shop window interactive, allowing passers-by to interact 24/7.

Cabling

Getting your digital stream of information from the player to the screen can be very simple. Increasingly, screens are including the player eliminating this simple connection. But what if you want to stream that content to several screens, or the screen is some distance away from the player? Maintaining high-fidelity signal quality over almost any distance in the presence of all sorts of electrical and electronic noise (electro-smog) requires careful planning and design.

There are various basic options: VGA or HDMI cabling are OK but only over short distances without amplification ; video over CAT5 and video over wireless are becoming widely available, allowing signals to be carried further without amplification - even without cable - but not everybody is happy with end-signal quality.

Networks

Player/server interconnectivity also has options. If your digital signage network is totally in-house then the building LAN is probably fine. If you are delivering your message to different sites - or using Scala as a Service then the Internet provides the infrastructure. The rise of 3G data networking offers the ability to remove another cable from the player, making installation simpler - but don't expect to distribute very high volumes of content quickly.

Installation

As the above suggests, there may be more to digital signage than just a screen and a player. Direction works with experienced power, signal and data cable installers to make sure that its content is displayed to the best effect.