Evoluce ITSO sensing technology

ITSO (Integrated Through Screen Optics) Sensing Technology developed by Evoluce on their 47" HD LCD. Full story here.

D.A. News 6.3.2010

Digital signage connecting students and faculty in universities across America.
A Pennsylvania university has installed digital signage that allows departments to distribute custom content to nearby screens. West Chester University (WCU) has also integrated its emergency alert and campus text notification systems into the network's software platform, allowing alerts to override content on all screens in case of emergencies. The network currently includes 22 displays in 13 campus locations, and the project continues to expand. Scala's software is also in use at Utah Valley University in Orem and the University of Florida in Gainesville, among other institutions. Full article here.

10 Ways Digital Signage could benefit your business.
Richard N Williams of Armagard gives us some insight into the importance of digital signage in the business place today. From creating additional revenue by charging advertisers to display on your digital signage to increasing customer impulse at the point of sale, these 10 points are well worth the read.

Digital menu boards interfacing with point of sale systems.
NRA-2010- Jennifer Litz of www.digitalsignagetoday.com speaks with the director of products and training in North America for Micros. Pincelli reiterates the importance of a digitally suave POS company. Micros is staying cutting edge by realizing the benefit of order confirmation screens, paying with a mobile phone application, updating information from a centralized location and the interfacing of digital menu boards with their POS systems through their Simphony software. Micros is using NEC 40" and 42" frame less LED monitors in their digital menu board application. Watch the video and read the full article here.

Ad-funded signage network to be deployed on 4000 buses in Mumbai within 2 years.
Dubbed Visual Interactive Transit Entertainment System, its network features content including live news, horoscopes, Bollywood gossip, trivia, and cooking tips as well as bus information and ads. Complementary material can be downloaded to passengers’ mobile phones via Bluetooth. Full article here.

Provocative use of digital billboard to curb aggression in Netherlands.

A digital billboard equipped with a video camera display will broadcast live video of the public in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Edvertise developed this solution to "highlight the issues surrounding public apathy to violence against paramedics and other public service employees." Full article here.

D.A. News 6.2.2010

Caltron Industries, announced today the release of its new FBT-1042O line of  affordable LED backlight open-frame monitors for digital signage.
The LBT-1042O LED monitors provide users with maximum functionality thanks to numerous inputs (DVI, composite video, S-Video, BNC), along with serial/USB touch interfaces. Today’s flat-panel LED technology gives solution providers and integrators a wider range of choices while offering cost and energy-efficiency. The LBT-1042O LED monitors are available immediately for standalone or OEM usage. Full article here.

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D.A. News 5.28.2010

Samsung Electronics announced Monday it plans to invest 26 trillion won (USD 22.53) in manufacturing facilities and research & development (R&D) this year. Full article here.

Research recently commissioned by Amscreen and Digicom to understand patient receptivity and responsiveness to the Amscreen digital screens in the Healthcare environment has proved that these screens and their content form a noticeable and much-appreciated part of the surgery visit experience. Full article here

In 2009, Riverside Worldwide and Riverside Canada retained the Woah!! Media Group to design and develop a digital billboard powered viral sales lead generation system—that would create online, mobile & offline buzz for the Toronto & Montreal stops of the Zinedine Zidane Friendship Tour. Full article here.

Taiwan-based HannStar Display and Sintek have jointly gained orders for touch panel orders for Hanwang Technology's recently launched Hanvon brand 10.1-inch tablet PCs, the TouchPad B10 and B20, according to market sources. Full article here.

The board of directors of AU Optronics (AUO) on May 27, 2010 approved plans to jointly set up a high-efficiency solar cell plant in Malaysia with US-based Sunpower. Full article here.

Noventri will be showcasing a green technology used for digital signage, digital reader boards for hotels and digital menu boards for restaurants at the Go Green Energy Conference hosted by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. Noventri plans to demonstrate how the SF-100e digital signage player player can benefit local businesses and our environment. The SF-100e is a digital signage player designed specifically with the green aspect in mind. Besides its miniscule use of electricity, the product saves energy in the sense that it is manufactured locally, therefore eliminating the excessive use of fossil fuels for shipping. Full article here.

Giant LED video scoreboards at Gillete and M&T Stadium

Giant LED video scoreboards may be coming soon to a stadium near you. Daktronics Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of electronic scoreboards, programmable display systems, and large screen video displays using light emitting diode (LED) technology has begun installation of two, large-scale, high-definition LED video scoreboards at Gillette Stadium. Daktronics has similarly implemented large-scale LED scoreboards in numerous professional and college athletic facilities across the country, such as Gillete Stadium shown above. Full article here.

iPad Teardown Video

Milliamp gives us an insider's view of an iPad teardown, showing the reverse engineering of Apple's new iPad product.

Merel Technologies Launches Cool Touch Surface Tables

Merel Technologies was founded in June of 2009 and is a provider of interactive multi-touch tables called the mTouch. The mTouch is a fully interactive multi-touch table which allows multiple users to simultaneously interact with virtual objects using their fingers through gesture recognition. The interactive tables are self-contained units that combines unique hardware and software technology. Merel Technologies focuses on innovation, customer satisfaction, affordability and quality. The mTouch is designed to take the place of a traditional coffee table or walk-up kiosk and provide businesses with a innovative and creative way to showcase or market their companies’ products or services.

D.A. News 5.27.2010

ASI recently announced that it has created an extensive offering of turnkey digital signage solutions to address the market’s interest for easy-to-use digital signs. Full article here.

LG is partnering with fashion retailer Topshop to supply a range of commercial display screens to support the retailer’s latest high profile launch — the Kate Moss Summer ’10 collection. LG says its continued investment in the latest digital signage technologies is driven by the belief in its importance to the future of retail. Full article here.

Minneapolis-based Rear Window Media is pioneering a new kind of digital signage placement, and the company’s name says it all. Rear Window Media is deploying digital signs in the rear windows of cars in Minnesota and Texas, and is looking to move into other markets as soon as possible. "We are tying to market it as a safe alternative to digital billboards, because it encourages drivers to keep their eyes on the road." Full article here.

French network operator Futuramedia experienced a 40% increase in turnover on its pharmacy network in 2009. Mr Taieb, CEO of Futuramedia told us “Our media, close to brands and products in retail outlets, is the last point of contact before the act of purchase. There is no waste, and the impact on the consumer, ready to buy, is maximum. ‘Sell-Out’ Reports made both by merchandisers and by the IMS Institute clearly demonstrate and average increase in sales of between 20% – 30%”. Full article here.

Taiwan-based optical glass processing service provider G-Tech Optoelectronics (GTOC), a member of the Foxconn (Hon Hai) Group, plans to establish a 6G production line and expects to finish installing equipment by the third quarter and start mass production in the fourth, according to company chairman Tony Chung. The company expects to enter large-size panel businesses such as cutting, coating and reinforcement, at the 6G plant, said G-Tech, adding that large-size products should bring more contributions to its revenues helping to boost profits. Full article here.

The cost of LEDs used as light sources in pico projectors is expected to drop by 10% in the second half of 2010, and Taiwan-based LED players expect to enter the supply chain for built-in pico projectors for handsets, according to market sources. Full article here.

Chinese digital out-of-home giant Focus Media Holding beat analysts’ expectations in the first quarter thanks to rocketing ad sales on its LCD screen network. Revenue from advertising on the LCD screens was up 46 percent compared with the same period a year earlier – recovering better even than Focus’s Internet advertising business, where revenue grew 32 percent. Full article here.

DA News 5.25.10

Through a program called TENQ ('tank"), water coolers featuring built-in display screens are available to secondary and vocational schools across Europe.

Subway is looking for a solution where they can attract more customers to their site and show time-sensitive promotional material. Ben Mapstone IT Manager at Subway mentioned, "When we heard all the sign content was managed online and was delivered over the Internet we had to see how this worked, We arranged an introduction and demo of the system and were amazed at how easy it was to configure, use and manage”.

Vasco Travel has included digital signage as part of its new turn-key franchise package. Branded as Vasco TV, the network has several roles: to feature a variety of videos and images to attract shoppers to the agency; inform them of the latest vacation deals; promote Vasco’s participation in the HBC Prime Points loyalty program and Deferred Payment Plans; and display advertising from preferred suppliers. Dynamic content, such as vacation hot-spot weather feeds, is also being shown to entice shoppers into booking the vacation of their dreams. Read the full article here.

Shipments of large-size LCD panels with LED backlights are forecast to reach 276.7 million units in 2010, up 134.9% from 117.8 million in 2009. Usage of LED backlighting is soaring due to its substantial advantages compared to the older CCFL technology, including slimmer design, reduced weight, lower power consumption and mercury-free attributes for a greener, more environmentally friendly solution. Read the full article here.

Launch of new LED-backlit models and replacement demand are expected to boost LCD TV sales in the second half of 2010, and vendors and channels will step up promoting 42-inch sets, prices of which will drop, the sources noted. Full article here.

The government of Brazil and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) have identified display technology as a key component of their plan to encourage high tech investment and manufacturing. Full article here.

Some Thoughts On The iPad Widget Business

TechCrunch reported today that Scala has funded ($2M) Thinking Screen Media to build out and promote their FrameChannel (widget) service for the iPad.  Press releases usually tell you just enough information to get the marketplace thinking, and Scala’s release wasn’t any different.  Here’s a quote:

FrameChannel intelligently streams the timeliest content from the selected channels, so users can always view the very latest information as they move through their homes.

Instead of reading between the lines and attempting to divine what’s coming next, I am going to attempt to fill in some of the gaps in the marketplace that services like FrameChannel could fill.

First, start with the off perspective that the iPad is a $499+ fully integrated, personal digital signage unit that does other computing things as well.  Second, calculate the distinction between a website, an application, and a channel - all optimized for a slick wireless, handheld device that has a pixel resolution of 768 by 1024.  If there is a distinction between a website, an app, and a channel, Thinking Screen Media has to educate us.

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I need to build a customer base. I need to build a customer base. I need to build a customer base.

If you wake up every day and tell yourself that you need to build a customer base, then you have the wrong strategy in mind.

The Internet is a value delivery machine.  People use the Internet to obtain valued entertainment, information, knowledge, services and products.

Search engines are mechanisms that measure the ability to deliver value.  The more value that a webpage or website delivers, the higher it will rank on a search engine’s index.

Google (via AdWords) even measures the value of the advertisements it places.  Ads that deliver less value (less click-throughs) cost more per click (to the advertiser) than competing ads that deliver greater value.

The mantra you have to hold in your head is:  I need to deliver value.  I need to deliver value.  I need to deliver value.  On the Internet…nothing else really matters.

about Bruce Warila

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Stimulus Money For Display Technology Projects

It is common knowledge that there is US Government stimulus money available for those willing to pursue it. Yet how can you get a share of this money without spending half your life wading through a myriad of government agencies? I have been involved in two government grant programs over the past five years and both grants were well worth the effort, however the process for each program took over a year to complete.

I recently came across a company that can help called Safety Vision located in Houston Texas. They not only make display products, they offer a link to government websites and Safety Vision is willing to help you fill out the paperwork needed to secure funding (pertaining to onboard video display solutions).

5 Hints When Choosing a Display

The marketing team and project managers have done their job. Your Company has a slick new product on the drawing board that offers more features than your competitors at a third of the price. Now all you need to do is integrate a display to act as the “face” of this product. You want the biggest, clearest robust display there is on the market and still stay in budget.

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Build To Order Monitor

I recently came across this information that I thought was simple, direct and helpful when building or buying a monitor.

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NEMA Ratings

Sample of NEMA Ratings

NEMA 1
Type 1 enclosures are intended for indoor use primarily to provide a degree of protection against contact with the enclosed equipment or locations where unusual service conditions do not exist.

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