display alliance news 7.9.2010

LCD monitors in the military.
Joe of General Digital Corporation gives use some requirements of LCD monitors in the military. He says, by necessity, most equipment used by the armed forces must, at a minimum, be rugged, portable, and lightweight. As LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays) are much smaller, lighter, and more power efficient than CRTs (Cathode Ray Tubes), they are a natural choice for most military applications. In the confines of a naval vessel, armored combat vehicle, or Army transit cases carried out onto the battlefield, LCD monitors can easily display critical information with a smaller footprint. Often, the military requires specialized characteristics, such as NVIS (Night Vision Imaging Systems) and NVG (Night Vision Goggles) compatibility, sunlight readability, enclosure ruggedization, or any number of contemporary or legacy video signals all of which GDC develops in their technology. Read the full article here.

BlueStar announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement with iSIGN Media Solutions Inc.
The agreement allows Bluestar to distribute iSIGN's patent pending interactive software technology. The embedding of iSIGN's software into AOpen's digital engines has created what the company calls the world's first multifunction digital engine/media player, capable of providing content management for digital signage, Bluetooth message broadcasting and data logging of consumers' mobile device responses into a single unit. The iSIGN IMS software will consist of three different solutions, Premium, Deluxe and Ultimate that range in price from $75 to $320 per month at the end-user level, making location-based interactive proximity advertising to mobile devices measurable, accountable, flexible and affordable. Read the full article here.

NEC Display Solutions of America launches 46” and 55” additions to it’s E-series commercial LCD displays.
NEC Display Solutions of America, a provider of commercial LCD display and projector solutions, has announced the addition of two new models to its E Series, the 46-inch E461 ($999) and 55-inch E551 ($1499). The new models offer full high-definition 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate setting, increasing the clarity of movement and reducing image blur. Additionally, the E461 and E551 include built-in features, such as an ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner, 12W stereo speakers and detachable swivel stand. With power consumption as low as 210W and full connectivity, including 4 HDMI inputs, analog RGB, composite video and S-Video these new E Series models provide professional performance and a sleek appearance to digital signage users in both corporate and specialty environments. Read the press release here.

Digital Signage software company earns $380,000 in first round funding from an incubator program.
Sourced from Screens.tv, ScreenReach, which is developing an XML-based technology to allow mobile phones to control content on screens ranging from TVs and PCs to billboards and kiosks, joined the first 13-week session of The Difference Engine. The Difference Engine is a startup incubator, similar to TechStars in the U.S., which provides seed funding of £20,000 ($30,000) in exchange for an eight percent equity stake, and access to mentorship through 13 intensive weeks. The firm says its technology, ReachXML, will allow “a single person or many thousands to interact in a variety of ways with content including games, instant-purchasing posters, quizzes, polls, interactive media tours [and] real-time voting”. Read the full article here, at Screens.tv.