Bally Technologies buys CoolSign unit from Planar
Posted on | November 17, 2008 | No Comments
Bally Technologies purchases Planar Systems’ digital signage division to expand offerings
Bally Technologies Inc. said Monday that it purchased Planar Systems Inc.’s digital signage division in order to broaden its offerings.
Terms were not disclosed.
Bally, a casino equipment maker, said it will use the CoolSign networked or standalone digital displays to send various messages to customers. The displays will work with Bally’s iView display manager, which allows casinos to show messages on the main screen of electronic casino games, on top of games, in overhead displays and in picture-in-picture scenarios.
The deal allows Planar to keep ownership of the CoolSign unit and its products for use with all sectors but gaming.
Shares of Bally Technologies shed 21 cents to $16.97 in morning trading.
(Source: CNNMoney.com)
Delphi Display Systems, Inc. Installs Digital Signage for L.A. Kings at Staples Center
Posted on | November 13, 2008 | No Comments
PRESS RELEASE
COSTA MESA, Calif., (BUSINESS WIRE) — Delphi Display Systems, the leader in rugged digital signage solutions, today announced they have deployed a digital dasher board for the Los Angeles Kings 2008-09 season at STAPLES Center, replacing a section of traditional steel and plastic dasher board that surrounds the playing surface.
“Delphi is very pleased to provide a robust digital dasher board solution for the Los Angeles Kings organization that leverages Delphi’s proven capability of integrating latest-generation digital video technology into harsh environments that require high reliability,” said Ken Neeld, President and CEO of Delphi Display Systems, Inc. “This solution provides next generation video technology that can withstand not only the rigors of professional hockey, but will also provide a reliable venue for delivering fresh marketing content and advertising tailored to the LA Kings target audience, and to do so in a way that is becoming an expectation for fans today.”
“The LA Kings have taken this important step forward with Delphi to advance the marketing and promotional offerings with our sponsors,” said Luc Robitaille, Kings President of Business Operations. “Delphi has a great deal of experience with unique and digital signage solutions, and working with them allows us to introduce an integrated way to address this priority as well as take our fan experience to the next level. We are very pleased to work with Delphi and their technological expertise for our sponsors while maximizing value and, at the same time, minimizing impact on operations at STAPLES Center.”
(Source: Marketwatch.com)
Virgin Megastores Increases Revenues, Store Traffic With Cutting-Edge Digital Marketing Solutions From Epson
Posted on | November 12, 2008 | No Comments
PRESS RELEASE
Three Years of Digital Marketing Promos Yield Measurable ROI
LAS VEGAS /PRNewswire/ — Epson, a leading supplier of value-added point of sale (POS) solutions, announced today that Virgin Megastores, its showcase customer, has recapped the results of its three-year in-store digital marketing solutions rollout. After driving as much as 35% more traffic to under-visited areas of the store with its original pilots, Virgin proceeded with a variety of in-store digital marketing projects designed to drive revenue for entertainment-focused promotions. Virgin estimates that the Epson digital marketing solutions have increased revenues in selected areas by as much as 50%, significantly increased store traffic, and provided a solid return on investment. Virgin’s multi-store implementation demonstrates the clear financial benefits that strategically deployed digital marketing solutions can bring to bottom line store profits.
Epson digital marketing solutions draw customers in and invite them to become part of the dynamic Virgin Megastores brand experience. “Over the past three years, Epson’s solution has paid for itself many times over, and you can’t put a price tag on wow factor,” commented Ken Donham, senior manager of visual merchandising for Virgin Entertainment Group. “Our technology savvy customers want to be entertained and they expect interactive technologies in the store. Epson’s solutions deliver, and we keep it interesting by changing up content — every store experience is fresh and unique.”
Virgin Megastores has deployed various Epson digital marketing solutions over the past three years, including interactive floor projection, projection onto giant film strips, wall projection, digital banners and large-screen projection, in various locations including the West Coast flagship location at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, New York’s Times Square and Downtown Disney, Florida’s largest music and entertainment store.
(Source: PRNewswire.com via Epson)
Capital One Bank - Network Rollout (600 branches)
Posted on | November 12, 2008 | No Comments
Yet another of the large US retail banking networks goes digital…
Word on the street is that Capital One, who operate a retail branch network of roughly 600 locations primarily in New York, Texas, and Louisiana (a geographically disparate combination of the former Hibernia and North Fork banks purchased by Capital One over the past few years), are in the process of deploying digital signage on a network-wide basis.
As seen in a grand re-opening photo above, we understand that screens will be located primarily behind the teller counter, and will display a mix of Capital One promotions along with the omnipresent information feeds (news, weather, etc.). In New York, where North Fork had liberally deployed LCD screens playing network news in ATM vestibules, street-facing windows, and waiting areas in addition to teller counters, we would (logically) expect the use of digital signage to be more pervasive.
It is believed that New Ground, the venerable bank-focused retail design and merchandising firm, will provide software, content, and integration services.
(Source: Teller TV)
Yankees take Cisco out to their New Ballpark!
Posted on | November 12, 2008 | No Comments
It’s been a big day for news at Cisco. In addition to our ASR9000 launch, we unveiled an extra special new customer in New York this morning.
Amid a sea of flashbulbs and camera shutters, Cisco CEO, John Chambers and sports practice VP, Ron Ricci, joined New York Yankees executive vice president, Hal Steinbrenner and COO, Lonn Trost for a press conference in Manhattan at which we announced that the new Yankee Stadium, set to open April 2009, will be outfitted with state-of the art Cisco technologies.
A new Cisco connected sports technology called StadiumVision™ will be central to the fan experience at the new ballpark. In addition to broadcasting live game footage, StadiumVision will be capable of simultaneously providing up-to-date sports scores, Yankees trivia, news and weather via more than 1100 IPTV monitors throughout the stadium. At the conclusions of games, these monitors will allow the Yankees to direct patrons to the nearest exits and provide up-to-the-moment traffic information.
StadiumVision is one of a host of technologies from Cisco that will make the new Yankee stadium the most technologically advanced game-day experience in baseball. In addition to StadiumVision, the new Yankee Stadium will feature premium luxury suites outfitted with touch-screen Internet Protocol (IP) phones that will allow fans to order concessions and Yankees merchandise for delivery to the suite. The new stadium has also been designed with an eye to the future. It will be equipped to support future fan use of mobile devices for ordering concessions from their seat, viewing instant replays or chatting real-time with other friends inside and outside the Stadium.
You can watch the press conference here or get a video tour of the new stadium here.
(Source: The Platform - Cisco)
Digital Signage Expo Announces Digital Signage Expert Program To Debut as Part of Pre-Conference
Posted on | November 12, 2008 | No Comments
PRESS RELEASE
Atlanta – Digital Signage Expo (DSE), Interactive Technology Expo (ITE), and Out-of-Home Network Show (OOHNS), the digital signage, interactive and out-of-home network industry’s premier international conference and trade show and the only place where digital signage and interactive technologies are exclusively showcased all in one place, will present a pre-show certification program for digital signage executives.
The one-day Digital Signage Certified Expert (DSCE) Program will be offered on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 as one of a variety of pre-conference education options. The program is being offered by Digital Signage Expo in cooperation with the Digital Signage Experts Group, a subsidiary of the Brawn Consulting Group (BCG), and will be facilitated by Alan Brawn, BCG principal and co-owner. (Curriculum objectives and course content summary available at www.digitalsignageexpo.net reference “conference details”).
The Digital Signage Experts Group is dedicated to providing education and certification programs for the complex digital signage industry and the technologies driving it. The newly created Digital Signage Experts Group is an impartial and agnostic standards body offering DSCE certification to the industry as a whole. The DSEG Program is the industry-wide culmination of advice from a council of manufacturers, distributors, software providers, and content creators. There will be a technical version and a sales version of the certification.
Chris Gibbs, President and COO of ExpoNation, LLC, the producer of Digital Signage Expo said, “We are delighted to present this certification program at Digital Signage Expo ’09 because our mission is to promote the growth of the industry through education. DSE is where people come to learn what they need to know about existing and new technologies and how to move their respective organizations into the digital communications age. We respect the fact that people come to DSE to do business and cultivate the expertise they need to safeguard the investment they have or are about to make, and we work hard to offer cutting-edge programming that provides that experience.”
Digital Signage Expo, Interactive Technology Expo, and Out-of-Home Network Show will be co-located at the Las Vegas Convention Center for an even bigger exposition to run February 24-26, 2009. To exhibit or attend any of the three shows, contact Chris Gibbs at (770) 649-0300, ext. 17, or for more information, visit www.digitalsignageexpo.net.
(Source: Techwhack.com)
Samsung Introducing Brightest Outdoor Display — A 2000nit 70-inch LCD panel
Posted on | November 11, 2008 | No Comments
PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE) — Looking to brighten the out-of-home advertising market, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world’s largest provider of thin-film transistor, liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), today announced that it has developed a 70-inch diagonal, “super bright” LCD digital signage panel — the brightest panel in the world to be mass produced.
Samsung’s new 2000nit LCD panel is one-third brighter than the previous brightest digital information display (DID) display (1500nit) and has been designed to optimally accommodate the tremendous range of lighting conditions affecting outdoor displays.
The new Samsung DID will be available for use in digital signs for transit centers, bus shelters, museums, and for the outside of retail centers, to replace less noticeable poster advertisements.
“We developed this DID panel to jump out and call to you anywhere it’s used, making a statement of rich, vivid imagery that passersby can’t help but appreciate,” said Scott Birnbaum, vice president, Samsung LCD Business. “Advertisers, outdoor media companies, cities, universities, hotels and malls will be thrilled with this super bright, super-sized display that will command the most regal of appearances when the weather is dismal or even on a very bright summer day,” he added.
The new Samsung “super bright” DID panel generates four times the brightness of a typical LCD TV today, and comes with a unique brightness control feature that allows outdoor advertisers to lower the brightness level at night to the level of a conventional HDTV.
(Source: Marketwatch.com)
Sharp intros 52-inch PN-S525 / 65-inch PN-S655 pro LCDs
Posted on | November 11, 2008 | No Comments
From engadgetHD …
For times when traditional LCD HDTVs just can’t cut it (digital signage applications come to mind), Sharp is dishing out a new pair of professional displays to handle the task(s). Up first is the 52-inch PN-S525, which boasts a Full HD panel, 1,800:1 contrast ratio, 6-millisecond response time, 176-degree viewing angles and a bevy of inputs including DVI-D, component, RS-232C, HDMI and Ethernet. The PN-S655 sports an expansive 65-inch screen and features DFE (Dual-Fine Engine) technology, a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 420 cd/m2 brightness and all of the inputs mentioned on its smaller brother. Lastly, the slightly tweaked PN-S525P ($10,795) and PN-S655P ($14,225) will be shipping this month with an integrated protective acrylic overlay for high traffic areas, while the S525P / S655 will sell for $4,550 / $6,459.
(Source: engadgetHD and BusinessWire)
IH/M&RS Announces Editors’ Choice Award Winners
Posted on | November 11, 2008 | No Comments
An innovative air conditioner took Best in Show.
The 93rd annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show wraps up today in New York. What are the crowd-pleasers for 2008? Selected from 150 submissions, 10 new products take home Editors’ Choice Awards this year, and one product earned the coveted Kenneth F. Hine Best of Show Award.
Products were recognized in the categories of décor, essentials, luxury, restaurant and technology. Green innovation awards were also bestowed for each category.
Winners were selected based on four criteria: innovative product design; how a product answers a particular industry need; creative use of material or construction; and development or use of a new technology.
(Source: Interior Design)
STRATACACHE ActiVia for Media Available as a SaaS Digital Signage Solution
Posted on | November 10, 2008 | No Comments
PRESS RELEASE
Dayton, OH –(PR.com)– With the overall digital signage market expected to grow from $641 million in 2008 to nearly $1.4 billion by 2013*, STRATACACHE announced today that its award-winning digital signage solution, ActiVia for Media, will be available as a comprehensive Software-as a Service (SaaS) offering beginning January 1, 2009. This expanding area of the STRATACACHE business provides users with an affordable, highly flexible solution for powerful OOH and in-store digital marketing.
In a SaaS business model, users access a hosted ActiVia for Media server cluster via a “per month per player” contract, with STRATACACHE technical support services included. As a SaaS solution, end users do not need to manage a server, content distribution, or a database—they can focus on the message and not the medium.
The ActiVia for Media SaaS model will be hosted out of a new STRATACACHE data center in North America and AT&T data centers around the globe. Through the end of the first quarter 2009, STRATACACHE will offer a special competitive trade-up program for current users of legacy digital signage solutions to support the launch of this new ActiVia SaaS offering.
“Offering ActiVia for Media as a SaaS solution provides significant benefits and efficiencies without the complexity ordinarily associated with launching a digital signage network,” said Louie Hollmeyer, STRATACACHE VP of Marketing “This option facilitates a quicker time-to-market, reduces deployment costs, and eliminates maintenance and software upgrade fees. We are launching this service to fill the void that will be left by several current digital signage SaaS offerings leaving the marketplace.”
ActiVia for Media is a highly optimized, web-accessible solution for digital marketing and merchandising that combines STRATACACHE’s patented content delivery platform with state-of-the-art digital media technology. With multi-layering features, dynamic data sources and new interactive capabilities, a single ActiVia cluster can manage the digital signage lifecycle for networks containing up to 250,000 concurrent devices.
Customers can now purchase ActiVia through a variety of arrangements that best suit their strategic objectives, including SaaS, perpetual license, or as a managed service via STRATACACHE or STRATACACHE partners worldwide.
Companies interested in the STRATACACHE ActiVia SaaS solution for managing digital signage networks should contact STRATACACHE at http://www.stratacache.com/saas.php.
*According to ABI Research’s Digital Signage Market Analysis, October 2008.
(Source: PR.com)
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