An Introduction to Digital Signage

As I shift to include more news on digital signage from the advertising perspective, I thought it would be nice to share some insight and basics from Impart Media who has over 20 years of experience in the dynamic media industry and recently partnered with Seesaw Networks to Accelerate Market Penetration for Digital Signage. Under my blogroll and links are several resources that have much more knowledge available on Digital Signage-I find blogs to be one of the best sources for unreleased information and for networking with-in the industry. Enjoy!

An Introduction to Digital Signage
Purpose
Impart Media Group, Inc. (www.impartmedia.com) has developed a powerful platform called IQ that
enables the building and managing digital signage (and information kiosk) systems. However, digital
signage is a fairly new concept, and requires an understanding of several key concepts to help ensure
success. The purpose of this white paper is to introduce the concept of digital signage, explain who can
benefit from a signage installation, and outline the steps needed to get started with a digital signage
project.
What is Digital Signage?
Digital signage is a name given to any number of methods used to display multimedia content in public
spaces. Alternatively known as dynamic signage, electronic signage or narrowcasting, networks of digital
signs have been deployed across numerous retail chains, banks, airports, and corporate headquarters to
deliver informative and entertaining content to captive audiences and passers by. In its most basic
implementation, a digital sign consists of a playback device (such as a computer, VCR, flash or DVD
player) connected to a display.
Depending on the application, the display might be a small LCD screen, a large plasma display panel, a
rear projection display, or even a video wall composed of a number of connected screens. With a
number of affordable options available, anybody with a message to send to their out-of-home audience
can benefit from a digital signage installation.
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The concept of out-of-home messages is not new. Billboards, window treatments and point-of-purchase
displays are widely used for out-of-home advertising, while bulletin boards (both traditional and
electronic), flyers, faxes, memos, and email have been used to send corporate communications and
educate employees for decades. However, true dynamic signs first came into popular use with the
advent of in-store closed circuit television networks in the 1980s. With the widespread availability of
affordable VCRs, retail stores and corporate headquarters were able to play back pre-recorded content
to their patrons and employees, providing timely information and entertaining content.
Soon, closed circuit networks would be augmented (and in some cases, supplanted) with affordable
TV/VCR combination units for smaller displays, and projection screens and video walls for eye catching,
large format presentations. With satellite distribution, it even became (relatively) affordable to syndicate
the same content to thousands of sites at once.
In recent years, several factors have combined to make digital signage a more powerful, eye-catching,
and affordable display medium than ever before and contributing to its widespread adoption. Key factors
include the nearly ubiquitous availability of high-speed Internet access, new large format displays like
plasma screens and LCD panels, and new compression formats that can compress large amounts of
content into small file sizes.
A modern digital sign adds several additional components to the traditional setup described above. The
controller, typically a powerful computer or media playback appliance (IQ Box), uses a digital connection
to deliver a crisp output signal to a digital display, like a plasma screen or LCD panel. The playback
device uses a digital storage medium (such as a hard drive or solid-state flash disk) to store digital
content locally, ensuring smooth playback. In many cases, the device can be remotely managed over the
Internet to allow for content updates, schedule changes, and compliance or uptime audit reporting.
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In its simplest implementation, a digital signage installation includes:
1. Internet Protocol (IP), Broadband Data Connectivity (via ethernet LAN, WLAN/Wi-Fi, Satellite
Datacast, xDSL, Cable Modem, WiMAX, 3G Cellular,).
2. A Media Playback Device or PC with removable media (DVD or Compact Flash card)
and/or local, hard disk drive read/write storage.
3. A Display (e.g. a television, plasma display, LCD panel, LED, DLP projector,…).
Even the smallest digital signage networks can benefit from remote management. Aside from offsetting
the costs of producing, replicating and distributing VHS tapes or DVDs, Internet connected signage
devices provide network administrators with the ability to closely monitor playback, ensuring that the
desired content is being displayed, and system uptime. Delivering content over the Internet ensures that
the content arrives and is displayed according to the proper schedule, eliminates errors in shipping and
handling, and removes reliance upon on-site personnel to change tapes or DVDs (since these individuals
are typically not very motivated to perform such tasks).
Additionally, compliance-reporting gives network owners a complete record of what every screen has
displayed. Finally, user-friendly management tools (e.g. IQ Producer) mean that people throughout the
organization – from advertising and creative services to operations and general management - are
empowered to change content and generate reporting metrics. Other remote management functions give
network operators the ability to status monitor and perform near real-time adjustments to every display’s
playback schedule, enabling real-time marketing experiments, emergency announcements, and even live
content feeds.
What Kind of Digital Signage Should You Use?
Choosing the right digital signage technology depends on the intended application. For example, a digital
signage application for internal corporate communications would probably benefit from large, eye
catching plasma displays placed in common areas such as cafeterias and break rooms. Depending on
the size of the deployment, the network owner might opt for either local or remote management. On the
other end of the spectrum, a manufacturer looking to improve their point-of-purchase advertising displays
might choose to employ small, lightweight LCD panels in conjunction with traditional product displays in
an aisle or endcap fixture, managing the content centrally via a web-based interface. Of course, budget
constraints must also be taken into consideration.
Digital signage applications that require large displays have a number of options to choose from,
including rear projection TVs, LCDs, plasmas, DLPs, LEDs, wall projectors, and traditional CRTs.
Smaller signs are typically either small LCD or CRT displays.
Touchscreens are available for virtually any sized display, and can add an interactive component
(e.g. IQ Interactive) to an otherwise non-interactive display medium. Finally, though many digital sign
networks start modestly, it is important to plan for the future. A network of a few screens may be easy to
manage by shipping and swapping DVDs or Compact Flash cards. However, if that network grows to 25,
50 or 100 screens, this type of content management becomes much more cumbersome.
Additionally, features that may not seem relevant during the early stages of a deployment might prove to
be essential later on. For example, the ability to add or delete a piece of content on short notice might not
seem important to a small sign network owner until the necessity arises, often at the insistence of a large
advertiser. Similarly, other business opportunities may rely on advanced features like real-time
scheduling or live content insertions.
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What’s more, the availability of turnkey, hosted digital signage software can actually make it cheaper to
deploy the initial systems with full remote management capability - providing a solution that is affordable
for today and scalable for tomorrow.
Remote management tools like the IQ Producer and IQ Link allow signage administrators to control
media players located in remote networks via the Internet, even when the players are behind firewalls
and other perimeter security devices.
Achieving Success with the Right Partnership
When embarking on a digital signage project, you may wish to consult with Impart for services in various
areas. For instance, financing companies can help spread the up-front expense of the display hardware
and infrastructure over a multi-year period, so your company only pays an affordable monthly fee.
Similarly, skilled partners (e.g. Impartners) are available to assist in ad sales, IQ Ads, system design &
deployment, installation, content authoring, IQ Streams, and onsite service support.