Digital Signage is a visual representation of information on digital media (displays, video walls, steles, etc.) located in public places. Equipment that makes it possible to use this technology with maximum efficiency is very popular in Pakistan. Digital Signage systems are used by 11.7% of the surveyed companies. This is almost double what it was two years ago, down from just 6% in the 2013 study. While the penetration rate of other systems focused on the use of video in a corporate environment, such as video communications and video conferencing, is growing very slowly, in the case of Digital Signage, there is a very significant increase.
AN EXAMPLE THAT CAN EASILY DESCRIBE HOW DIGITAL SIGNAGE WORKS IN A SHOPPING MALLS
In order to compare the Digital Signage (DS) solutions on the market and help our readers – potential customers of such solutions – with their choice, we have prepared a fictitious task, the essence of which is to deploy a corresponding system in a 10,000 m 2 shopping center to present various information and showing ads. All the details of our task are presented in the sidebar “The Task”. Although a fictitious shopping center (SC) was chosen as the site for the deployment of the DS system, the requested solution can be successfully used at other sites.
Deploying a DS system is a complex project, the implementation of which has to take into account many important nuances: from choosing display tools and determining the optimal architecture to developing a content strategy and preparing information for playback in the system.
A TASK
At the facility – in a shopping center with an area of 10,000 m 2 – it is necessary to deploy a Digital Signage system to present various information to visitors and display advertising. Given the difficult economic situation, the customer is interested in the system providing a quick return on investment. Appropriate calculations are welcome.
Display tools (the customer asks to recommend specific product models and comment on the choice of technologies used):
- 25 panels (displays) with a diagonal of 40–55″;
- 1 standard size 2×2 or 3×3 video wall made of 40–55″ panels (size at the discretion of the supplier);
- 1 LED panel for outdoor installation (size at the discretion of the supplier).
Main functionality (specify features and implementation method):
- supply and output to displays in a given (configurable) sequence of information of various types: video files, audio files, images, text and tables, Web site pages, etc.;
- Broadcasting on displays of external TV programs and reference information (exchange rates, weather forecast, information about traffic jams, etc.);
- flexible setting of the schedule for issuing information;
- The ability to create broadcast zones, up to a separate display: for example, so that a store or other tenant can broadcast their own content on a nearby panel.
INFRASTRUCTURE
It is assumed that the distance from the server room (where servers with local content are located and where external content arrives) to the most remote display does not exceed 150 m.
Specify the equipment necessary for the implementation of the Digital Signage system and its competitive advantages:
- transmitters
- receivers
- content players
- switches
- video wall forming tools
- Other.
The customer would like to use the Gigabit Ethernet local area network available at the facility to deliver content to the display facilities. Is it possible? If not, please provide information on the need to upgrade the local network or build a new network for the functioning of the Digital Signage system.
The choice of information display formats is one of the most important tasks. According to Alexander Pivovarov, Head of Digital Signage Solutions at Auvix, “large formats” are the most relevant and promising for such projects: floor totems with large displays, video walls, custom designs based on LED screens. DS recommends a simple rule of thumb when choosing where to place displays: digital structures should be placed where you would (or already are) placing light boxes and printed banners.
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The content creation and management system is perhaps the main element of Digital Signage. As Alexander Borisov notes, at the moment, the various systems do not differ much in terms of their main capabilities, and almost all products on the market will cope with basic tasks. In order to choose the right solution, it is necessary to have a more detailed understanding of the future process of managing the DS system being created, as well as take into account the nuances – for example, the convenience and friendliness of the control interface, the number of actions required to create playlists, the availability of online statistics of the content being played, and operational monitoring of the system.
