Forum set for August 9-10, 2010 in San Francisco

SAN JOSE, Calif., --AOpen, the world-leading small-form-factor (SFF) computer system manufacturer and digital signage solution provider today announce their yearly AOpen Forum 2010 in San Francisco, CA, where the leading digital signage solutions and platform provider will be showing off a host of new green computing solutions along with various demonstrations from their partners. This year’s theme will focus on green computing solutions in the various ecosystems through digital signage, home entertainment, retail, education, and healthcare. AOpen’s Alliance Channel Partners (ACP) and Alliance Vendor Partners (AVP) will gather together August 9-10, 2010 for this two day event.  Through the joint forces with different AVPs, AOpen generates more solutions and offerings for their customers to fulfill the demand from various market segments.  Keynote speakers feature Intel, Panasonic, Kingston, Cisco, C-Nario, Azuyo, and iSign Media.  The forum will also have a session focusing on enabling greener procurement and operations.

About AOpen

As the pioneers of ultra small form factor (uSFF) components and customizable platforms, AOpen America, Inc. (http://usa.aopen.com) remains in the wheelhouse with its strategic alliances, setting the standard for vertical market solutions via Mini-ITX platforms that provide open architecture versatility, next-generation technology and unmatched value through huge energy cost savings and readiness compliance with ENERGY STAR and EPEAT. While remaining as the true leader in uSFF components and platforms, AOpen also provides a complete array of digital solutions.  AOpen drives Innovation Economy Technology™ (I-ET) in socially responsible, green IT solutions for offices, homes and mission-critical applications.

 

 

MONTREAL — X2O Media, a full-service provider of software, network management, and content services for professional digital signage applications, today announced a new Microsoft® PowerPoint® add-in that greatly simplifies the content creation process, allowing users to build their own wayfinder maps for corporate facilities, campuses, airports, public venues, and more.

With the new wayfinder add-in, users of X2O's Xpresenter™ digital signage platform can easily import floor plans and create digital, interactive wayfinder maps — with start and end points and animated directional arrows that indicate the path — directly inside PowerPoint and publish them to the X2O network. The maps can include a video or an image for both start and end points, and on-the-go signage viewers can even e-mail directions to themselves directly from the interactive screen.

"Our wayfinder maps have been an extremely popular feature in a number of X2O networks, from hotels and conference centers to casinos and airports, and we are glad to now offer this cost-saving tool to our customers on a mass scale," said David Wilkins, X2O Media's President and CEO. "Xpresenter users are already creating a wide variety of graphics and other content for their networks with our PowerPoint-based Xpresenter Template Maker authoring module, and now they can easily create these wayfinder maps as well, saving content managers considerable time and reducing the need to learn new tools and applications."

X2O Media's Xpresenter is an end-to-end platform designed to make creating, managing, and distributing broadcast-quality digital signage content on networks of all sizes available to all. Xpresenter's patented authoring module allows Microsoft PowerPoint users to produce compelling graphics that incorporate animations, smart objects, video clips, and real-time data sources — all without ever leaving the PowerPoint interface.

More information about Xpresenter and other digital signage solutions from X2O Media is available at www.x2omedia.com.

About X2O Media

X2O Media is a full-service provider of software, network management services, and content services for professional digital signage and corporate communication applications. The company offers a wide variety of software solutions for digital signage and interactive networks of all sizes. X2O's award-winning Xpresenter™ provides an end-to-end platform for the creation, management, and distribution of content at broadcast quality, and at a fraction of the time of other solutions. In addition to technology, X2O offers content design, acquisition, management, distribution, and monitoring services for digital signage networks. More information about X2O Media is available at www.x2omedia.com.

All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

 

 

Rhombus Services, a turn-key solution provider of installation and deployment services, recently introduced a “Project Financing Program,” this new program facilitates immediate launching for digital signage, kiosks, and retail fixture projects.

“During these difficult times we see many of our future partners projects delayed due to uncertainty and complete financing alternatives.  We are trying to do our part to help these projects get off the ground. ” said Jeff Metzger, executive vice president.

The “Project Financing Program” offers 60, 90, or even up to 120 day terms for projects (vs. industry standard net 30 days terms).  These terms are available for the hardware, software and other services required deploying large projects.  The Project Financing Program will be available for qualified customers with good credit and for approved new projects between July 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. Customers qualifying for the program may include retailers, network operators, resellers and integrators.

Rhombus Services, in collaboration with its partners, provides the full range of services required for the successful deployment of digital signage, kiosks, and retail fixtures in venues including retail, hospitality, health care and restaurant.

About Rhombus Services:

Rhombus (www.rhombusservices.com) is a network of more than 3,500 skilled technicians covering all of the USA and Canada. With extensive experience in field project process management, Rhombus provides manufacturers and retailers with a reliable and trustworthy partner in implementing:  National Rollout Installations, Field Service, and Preventative Maintenance.  Rhombus provides one point of contact (available 24 hours a day) and delivers reliable reporting with services tailored to individual customer requirements.

(Taipei, Taiwan) Lanner Electronics, Inc. an ODM manufacturer of embedded IPCs has just announced our newest digital signage platform, the LEC-7900D. The LEC-7900D is our newest top-of-the-line player, which boasts triple video out, Nvidia graphics, and the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. Additionally SCALA, digital signage software provider, has approved the LEC-7900D to be used in conjunction with their software.

Internally the LEC-7900D utilizes the NVIDIA MCP7A chipset and the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. The MCP7A chipset delivers stunning graphic output, capable of displaying 2 streams of video on 2 Full HD displays, all with low power consumption and minimal CPU overhead.

Enabled to handle both standard and high definition video streams, the LEC-7900D comes with HDMI, DVI-D and dual VGA video-out ports. This allows great flexibility in deployment and multiple on-the-go solutions. Other communication ports include 4 x USB 2.0, LAN, Stereo Line Out and dual RS-232 COM ports.

The LEC-7900D has been approved by SCALA, an international company specializing in Digital Signage Software. SCALA engineers work with their customers to deliver tailor-made signage applications, ranging from stand alone digital posters to completely interactive systems. The LEC-7900D earned approval only after months of rigorous testing, to ensure 100% compatibility to the SCALA experience. Having SCALA's stamp of approval allows our end customers to confidently buy the LEC-7900D, knowing there is compatible software that they can purchase.

The LEC-7900D has the Intel socket P CPU slot, which can support the Intel Core 2 Duo or Celeron M processors and up to 4 GB of dual channel RAM. It comes with SATA connections, Compact Flash drive and a 2.5" hard drive bay. Expansion is offered through Mini-PCI and Mini-PCIe slots. As all Lanner IPCs, the LEC-7900D is compatible with both Linux kernel 2.14.6 and above, along with both Windows XPE and Windows XP 32-bit & 64-bit.

Lanner's experience in industrial computer design is just a couple months shy of 25 years. This experience gives Lanner a unique edge in terms of stability and longevity. The LEC-7900D has gone through extensive shock, vibration and temperature tests. It can safely operate between -10o and 55o Celsius.

The LEC-7900D is available for sample orders immediately. For more information or to request a sample, visit us on the web at:http://www.lannerinc.com/Digital_Signage_Platforms/LEC-7900

About Lanner

Founded in 1986 and publicly listed (TAIEX 6245) since 2003, Lanner Electronics, Inc. is an ISO 9001 certified designer and manufacturer of network application platforms, network video platforms and applied computing hardware for first-tier companies. Lanner's expertise also extends to include driver and firmware support, enabling customers to optimize hardware and software communication to achieve faster time to market. With headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan and branches in the U.S. and China, Lanner is uniquely positioned to deliver custom technical solutions with localized, value-added service. Lanner is an Associate Member of the Intel Embedded and Communications Alliance, a group of companies committed to developing modular, standards-based solutions based on technologies, processors, products, and services from Intel.

ABERDEEN, NC- - Meridian Kiosks, a leading provider of self-service solutions, announces the appointment of Nick Van Wyk as Chief Executive Officer.  Van Wyk will be responsible for driving Meridian to the next phase of its development and integrating the recent acquisition of King Products and Solutions.

Van Wyk has an extensive background in technology.  Most recently he was a senior executive responsible for Global Operations at Red Hat. 

According to company founder and former CEO, Chris Gilder, "We'd be hard pressed to find a better fit for Meridian than Nick.  His vast experience in creating channels and business operations will help take us to the next level.  From the moment we gave him a tour of our facilities, it was clear that he understood the vision and the opportunity."

Van Wyk echoed Gilder's observations about the opportunity.  "Chris and Christa Gilder have built a company that is at the forefront of conceptual design and are recognized for the quality of their products and flexible manufacturing capabilities."

In an economy that is slow to recover from the recession, Meridian is growing.  According to Van Wyk "Companies are looking for a new way to empower their customers and employees.  Self-service offers the ability to expand services to meet the increasing demands whilst improving quality."

Van Wyk adds, "This interlink between people and technology is a rapidly growing space. To address this burgeoning market, we are collaborating and partnering with industry leaders as well as strengthening our operations."

Gilder notes,  "We've been fortunate to have an ever-increasing customer base.  We needed someone with Nick's experience and stature in the industry to help us meet this demand and grow the business properly as we do."

Meridian has a 12-acre campus in Aberdeen, North Carolina where Van Wyk will be based. 

Popstar Networks SaaS based digital signage software provides Cinema Scene Marketing proven performance for bandwidth-intensive digital media network of 350 displays in more than 120 locations.

OLATHE, Kan.--Cinema Scene Marketing, one of the nation's leading providers of in-lobby media and promotions, announced today it is extending its strategic partnership with Popstar Networks to provide digital signage software and digital media services in support of the company's growing Digital Media Network, now exceeding 350 displays within more than 120 theater locations nationwide.

Leveraging the Popstar Networks Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery of digital media products, along with extensive network services understanding, Cinema Scene is effectively distributing eight terabytes of media-rich data annually from one central location. 

"Major Hollywood studios and corporations of all types rely on us to reach and interact with consumers every day through our digital signage network," said Joe Ross, Managing Principal of Cinema Scene Marketing. "Our relationship with Popstar Networks allows us to meet this need by speeding content development and effectively delivering bandwidth-intensive media to specific locations across the country. Ongoing use of Popstar Networks digital signage software and digital media services gives us confidence to know we can continue our growth by delivering highly relevant content to even more theaters and theater-goers."

Through the partnership, Popstar Networks combines SaaS based digital signage software, networking services, hardware design, and overall technical support for the Cinema Scene Digital Media Network.  Using the Popstar FrontStage™ content management solutions suite, the Cinema Scene Digital Media Network delivers a variety of digital signage solutions, including Cinema Scene's TrailerVision™ product playing enhanced studio movie trailers, living posters and corporate advertising. 

"Cinema Scene Marketing continues to demonstrate a solid understanding of how to effectively reach movie-going consumers using an extensive digital signage network, and we are certainly very pleased to play such a strategic role in their success", said Tom Reed, President and CEO of Popstar Networks.   "We believe the expertise and energy of our collective team will continue to push the boundaries of powerful in-theater marketing," he said.

Cinema Scene Marketing, headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, is an industry leader in driving theatrical promotions for major studios and corporate sponsors.  Cinema Scene's in-lobby promotions generate memorable brand exchanges with highly desirable entertainment consumers.  The Cinema Scene Digital Media Network provides advertisers the opportunity to entertain movie audiences via next generation media platforms in an organized network of cinemas covering key U.S. markets.  More information can be obtained at www.cinemascenemarketing.com.  

Popstar Networks, Inc., headquartered in Olathe, Kansas, is the developer of the Popstar FrontStage™ Digital Signage Platform, combining digital media technology and creative content development experience with a steadfast commitment to customer service. Popstar works with clients to develop the right digital signage strategy and solution for their - point-of-presence - (POP). Popstar's digital media products and services, including passive, interactive, creative and mobile solutions are engaging audiences in a variety of market applications, including healthcare, QSR/Fast Casual, entertainment and retail markets across the U.S. and Canada. For more information, please visit us at www.popstarnetworks.com.

AOpen Certified System Builder Program Now Helps System Builders Deliver World-Class AOpen Platform Solutions to Customers of All Sizes with New Technical and Marketing Resources

SAN JOSE, Calif., — AOpen, the world-leading small-form-factor (SFF) computer system manufacturer and digital signage solution provider today, unveiled the AOpen Certified System Builder Program, a new program designed for system builders that sell AOpen platform solutions. The AOpen Certified System Builder Program provides unique benefits for system builders, including pre-sales technical support, targeted training programs, and new and improved marketing tools.

“Our new Certified System Builders Program is a great opportunity for systems builders to increase their value-add with our platform solutions, said Dale Tsai, President of AOpen America.  “This new program will provide the necessary certified education and technical enablement resources for our channel partners to rapidly customize their solutions for a time-to-market advantage.”

AOpen Certified System Builders worldwide will have access to benefits including:

•    Industry-leading support from a dedicated AOpen team – including Field Applications Engineer (FAE), Business Development Manager (BDM) and engineering services support

•    Sample evaluation and interaction with AOpen R&D team

•    Quarterly technology workshop or training

•    Business opportunities through joint force with AOpen for nationwide project roll-out

•    New marketing programs and sales tools designed specifically to help system builder partners capitalize on the market opportunity of AOpen platform solutions

More information on the AOpen Certified System Builder program is available at http://online.aopen.com/online/opennews/eBlast/Programs/Official_AOpen_Certified_System_Builder_Program.pdf

About AOpen

As the pioneers of ultra small form factor (uSFF) components and customizable platforms, AOpen America, Inc. (http://usa.aopen.com) remains in the wheelhouse with its strategic alliances, setting the standard for vertical market solutions via Mini-ITX platforms that provide open architecture versatility, next-generation technology and unmatched value through huge energy cost savings and readiness compliance with ENERGY STAR and EPEAT. While remaining as the true leader in uSFF components and platforms, AOpen also provides a complete array of digital solutions.  AOpen drives Innovation Economy Technology™ (I-ET) in socially responsible, green IT solutions for offices, homes and mission-critical applications.

AOpen Alliance Vendor Program Now Helps Software and Solution Developers Deliver World-Class AOpen Platform Solutions to Customers of All Sizes with New Technical and Marketing Resources

SAN JOSE, Calif., — AOpen, the world-leading small-form-factor (SFF) computer system manufacturer and digital signage solution provider today, unveiled the AOpen Alliance Vendor Program, a new program that provides software and solution developers with technical resources, support and tools to develop and sell applications for AOpen platform solutions. The AOpen Alliance Vendor Program provides unique benefits for software providers, including pre-sales technical support, partner loaning/seeding programs, and new and improved marketing tools to help grow your business and differentiate your company from the competition. This program is designed to support any software vendor that develop and sell applications compatible with AOpen products. 

“Our new Alliance Vendor Partner Program is an integrated partner framework that recognizes your company’s commitment and growth to our partnership and the markets we serve, says Dale Tsai, President of AOpen America. “  This new program will provide the necessary tools and resources for our vendor partners to expand their market potential, grow their revenues and accelerate their profitability.”

AOpen Alliance Vendor Partner Program includes the following benefits:

•    Application development support with access to technical resources

•    Access to a business development manager and sales-related tools and resources

•    Partner loaning/seeding program for tradeshows or product evaluations

•    New marketing programs and sales tools designed specifically to help system builder
 partners capitalize on the market opportunity of AOpen platform solutions

More information on the AOpen Alliance Vendor Program is available at http://online.aopen.com/online/opennews/eBlast/Programs/Official_AVP_Guidelines.pdf

About AOpen

As the pioneers of ultra small form factor (uSFF) components and customizable platforms, AOpen America, Inc. (http://usa.aopen.com) remains in the wheelhouse with its strategic alliances, setting the standard for vertical market solutions via Mini-ITX platforms that provide open architecture versatility, next-generation technology and unmatched value through huge energy cost savings and readiness compliance with ENERGY STAR and EPEAT. While remaining as the true leader in uSFF components and platforms, AOpen also provides a complete array of digital solutions.  AOpen drives Innovation Economy Technology™ (I-ET) in socially responsible, green IT solutions for offices, homes and mission-critical applications.

1.    Please describe your company’s primary product or service.

Ucentrik’s software solutions deliver a “face-to-face”, interaction with bi-directional video, audio and rich screen collaboration with a robust back-end (CRM, CMS/LMS, surveying and scheduling) for customizable data-tracking and reporting.

 Ucentrik enhances the kiosk and digital signage experience with the delivery of live, interactive consultation - connecting customers with subject matter experts enabling organizations to influence customer purchase decisions and provide clients with an exceptional service experience anywhere a kiosk or digital signage can be placed. , The solution is also accessible online, creating a seamless service experience from retail or public locations and from homes or offices.

The solution has been deployed for sales, service, support and learning in the financial, healthcare, OEM, retail and telecommunications services. All deployments are supported by our professional services department.

Now, what does that actually mean to you?

Let’s say a customer is looking to purchase a smart phone …. they walk up to the kiosk, push a button, connect instantly to a sales agent, who they can see and hear, and who can see and hear them. Through the use of 2-way screen sharing /control and annotation tools, the sales agent can deliver a consultative sales process, showing any type of information that can be displayed on a computer screen or on live video, for example, walking the customer through a live simulators, product comparison charts, billing plans, 3rd party reviews and so on, zooming in or highlighting the key points…the agent can complete the process right through to purchase and print a receipt for the customer directly from the kiosk.

Essentially, we help you broaden your reach by providing access to subject matter experts across a wide geographical area without having to staff, train and support employees across multiple, diverse locations. Increase your sales, improve service and support, differentiate from the others and provide an exceptional support alternative to your self-service offerings.


2.    What makes your company unique?

Truth be told, the interactive live consultant kiosk market isn’t overly crowded, but even so, we do have some differentiators from the others who provide a “conferencing kiosk solution”.

• A customizable “backend”. Our solution is incredibly robust and versatile  with a complete CRM, CMS/LMS, scripting, surveying and scheduling for customizable real-time data-tracking and reporting
  
• We offer  accessibility from kiosks, digital signage and online (integrated into a website) which enables both a seamless user experience and a cost reduction in staffing because the same “resources” can take calls from multiple touch points
  
• Intelligent call routing drives calls to the appropriately skilled resource  for multi-lingual support and services for multiple product/products lines
  
• The solution is hardware agnostic, the kiosk software can be deployed on existing hardware and doesn’t require an investment in expensive infrastructure
  
• Turnkey, Firewall Friendly, Low-Cost Solution
  
• We offer both BTF and SaaS deployment options
  
• Ucentrik has over 5 year’s continuous deployment of live consultant kiosks, making it the industry leader.

3.    What is your marketing philosophy for the self-service industry?

For starters, that offering live service from a self-service “device” isn’t as contradictory as that might sound, in fact, we believe that offering live service from a kiosk/digital signage is an ideal complement for self-service solutions as it offers easy access to live advice and support when it’s needed, from where it’s needed – the customer doesn’t have to abandon the kiosk and go off in search of help if they need to interact with an actual human being. The benefits of our solution are completely aligned with the goals of self-service: reduce staffing requirements, lower costs all while providing the customer access to fast, efficient and intelligent service, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will complete their “transaction” right from where they started.

4.    What other business sectors do you operate in?

Our communication and collaboration software also enables remote support and service, online meetings and e-learning.

5.    Give a brief history of the company

Ucentrik has over 5 years continuous live consultant kiosk deployment and over 9 years of continuous web deployment.  We entered the market by facilitating the delivery of online training and support services through our proprietary application.  The type of results we achieved for clients was outstanding (here are a few: service up-sell - 300% increase, product market share - 60% increase, feature adoption - 60% increase, customer churn - 35% reduction, support cost - 16% reduction, net promoter score - 75% - 87% increase, top box customer satisfaction – 95%, survey completion - 35% increase).

Over the last several years, we have evolved from delivering service to end-users ourselves and have focused instead on licensed technology deployments supported by our professional services, and staffed by customer or third party call centers. Our solution has enabled our clients to deliver an exceptional customer service/support experience, increase sales, reduce returns/churn and differentiate themselves in the market.

6.    Why did you join the Digital Screenmedia Association?

Learning, exposure, networking, leads, partnerships….we’ve been running live assist kiosks for over five years, but there has been limited awareness of this type of solution in the self-service industry. We think the market is ready -and in fact looking- for these types of complementary solutions and we want to make sure that they know we’re out there.  We’re also keen to learn more about the industry itself, both to better understand who can benefit from our solutions and how best to implement them.

7.    What do you like about our industry? What are some of the challenges?

Not to put too fine a point on it, self-service often meets people’s needs, providing them a fast and efficient way to way to get what they want. We’ve always put the customer’s needs first and foremost in all that we do – it’s fundamental, if you have satisfied customers, you have loyal customers and the solid foundation for a successful business. So, if it makes customers happy, it makes us happy.

One of the challenges is convincing users that self-service is better; while adoption for things like ATM’s is broad now, that wasn’t always the case, but people saw a compelling reason to use them – 24/7 availability and shorter wait times. For some self-service deployments, that compelling reason is not as apparent and simply replacing live service with a self-service option can be seen as poor substitute unless the benefits are made very clear.

An additional challenge is that sometimes the technology just doesn’t work that well or isn’t intuitive, what at first seems like a way to save time doesn’t seem that way for long if doesn’t work or takes too long to figure out how to use.

 A self-service option only is sometimes not enough, people want to be able to have a live, face to face interaction with a real person – the reality is you can’t do everything with a self-service option and sometimes, people want that human reassurance that what they’re about do or buy is in fact the right thing for them, and frankly, it’s hard to get that reassurance from a machine.

Which brings me back to what we like about this industry, our solution is ideally suited to help overcome these challenges!

8.    What does the future hold for your company’s success in the self-service industry?

Good times ahead!  Seriously, we expect tremendous growth in this industry over the next few years. We’ve moved past evangelizing and are now finding more and more companies looking to enhance their self-service offerings with live assist. Everyone is always looking at ways to increase sales and improve service while managing costs, so that’s certainly not a new objective, but the idea of doing it through remotely through live assistance is new.

We also see a lot of customers looking to improve the ROI on existing deployments and with a hardware agnostic, flexible solution we see opportunity there as well. 

9.    What is your title?

Manager, Content & Communications

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, – Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall has adopted CAYIN digital signage solutions as the major public information system at most strategic spots. CAYIN’s system empowers more than 50 LCD screens, including eight sets of multiple screen video walls, and provides the most effective marketing platform for all event organizers.

CAYIN’s digital signage solution won customer confidence at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2008 when the exhibition unprecedentedly expanded its scale to the newly opened Nangang Exhibition Hall. To bridge the communication among different exhibition halls, CAYIN Technology sponsored digital signage players at main entrances and some selected strategic areas.

CAYIN’s digital signage system even broadcasted the whole opening ceremony live, including the President’s speech, via Internet and satellite. The exhibition hall manager was impressed by the high quality and stability of CAYIN’s digital signage solutions and decided to proceed to full deployment of the digital public information system.

The manager of Nangang Exhibition Hall aims to provide the most up-to-date facilities for all event organizers to present attractive images and convey timely information to attendees. Reducing operation costs and increasing efficiency at work are also two main objectives of this project.

Thirty-six CAYIN digital signage players are used to control more than 50 LCD displays (32”, 42”, 47”, 52”, and 65”) located at the entrances, outside meeting rooms, and along the main passageways.

The most unique part in this project is the video walls at six entrances. To completely meet the diversified sizes of six entrances, the installer uses both portrait and landscape LCD screens. They are incorporated with a mix of CAYIN SMP-WEBDUO and SMP-WEBPLUS digital signage players, to compose different combinations, such as 1x3, 1x5, 1x6, and 1x9 video walls.

“In this project, one SMP-WEBDUO media player, cooperated with a DVI repeater, is used to outstretch multimedia contents across maximum 1x8 LCD screens,” said Mr. Ravel Chi, Vice President of CAYIN Technology. “Its powerful capabilities to support dual displays and to define screen resolutions are two key elements that contribute to the successful deployment.”

Nangang Exhibition Hall also adopts CAYIN xPost to schedule and manage meeting room digital signage. Each meeting room is equipped with one 32” LCD screen outside the room right beside the door. Administrators can easily arrange all events in xPost’s meeting room booking system, and screens outside meeting rooms will show the right event information automatically based on pre-configured schedules.

Nangang Exhibition Halls has hosted more than 20 international exhibitions since this project was completed in June, 2009. Both event organizers and exhibition hall managers are satisfied with the performance of the new public information system.
All content is provided by event organizers to promote exhibitors’ new products and/or activities, such as seminars, press conferences, training courses, etc. Broadcasting live opening ceremonies and onsite activities live is also a great option to get attendees involved.

CAYIN SMP-WEB series players support most popular multimedia codec and file formats, such as HTML web pages, Flash animations, image slide shows, and high-quality videos, providing event organizers with a variety of choices.

Management also becomes easier. Administrators of the digital signage system can manage all media players via network from their offices on the 5th floor. Content and playlists can be controlled centrally by a CMS-Performance server, located in the control room.

In case an abnormal situation arises, administrators can monitor the functioning status of the digital signage network via SuperMonitor and start troubleshooting immediately. They can also help to generate playback reports for even organizers to evaluate the performance.

Nangang Exhibition Hall in Brief

Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall (TWTC Nangang) is Taiwan’s largest trade-show venue. The two-level exhibition hall occupies an exhibition space of 45,360 square meters. Eight purpose-designed meeting rooms, located on the 4th and the 5th floors, are equipped with two permanently installed interpreter booths. Construction began in March 2005 and finished in March 2008. The new exhibition hall hosts many famous events, such as COMPUTEX TAIPEI, TAIPEI CYCLE, TAITRONICS, etc. and provides a premium platform to connect worldwide buyers and suppliers.

Wincomm WTP-8865-15O is used perfectly as a HMI of recycle system outside of supermarket
 
Hsinchu, Taiwan,– Are you confused with how to arrange collection of your wastes for recycling in supermarket? You may be interested in this application story.
 
One of Wincomm customers used Wincomm’s outdoor kiosk solution – WTP-8865-15O as a HMI installed at the entrance of supermarkets with its waste recycling software to smartly categorize the wastes according to their composition. This recycle machine can enhance end user and supermarket to meet the mandatory recycling laws or container deposit legislation effectively & efficiently.
 
The recycle machine is a custom-made device with built-in speaker, weight scale, IC card reader and the Wincomm WTP-8865-15O outdoor kiosk. When the customers of the supermarket touch the machine to select the codes of recyclable goods, it shows the recycling category on screen and the speaker will tell the user, too. Besides, the users are awarded bonuses, credits, or discounts from the supermarket by member IC card. That motivates users to collect more recyclable waste.
     
Why Wincomm WTP-8865-15O? Wincomm has been widely offering its outdoor kiosk solution for many applications. The unique outdoor kiosk design of WTP-8865-15O can be operated in the wide temperature range of -25°~55°C. The most unique design of WTP-8865-15O is the 100% prevention of moisture condensation. This comprehensive feature of WTP-8865-15O allows the machine from cold to warm environment without moisture inside LCD screen.
 
Wincomm’s leading features of condensation  
 
For WTP-8865-15O, we deliver the best performance for outdoor kiosk application. Base on the outdoor design, the WTP-8865-15O is integrated with Atom N270 1.6G CPU and 945GSE chipset , 7H hardness and the anti-UV treatment on the surface of touch, and the whole set IP65 fully sealed to against water and dust infringement. With 1,600 nits optical bonding sunlight readable touch screen, auto brightness and smart thermal control design, and the min-PCI-e expansion for Wi-Fi supporting, Wincomm WTP-8865-15O can meet all kinds of weather condition of outdoor environment
      
About Wincomm

Wincomm is one of Taiwan’s leading manufacturer of industrial computer and embedded computer products. Wincomm designs and develops all in one panel PC, large size all in one digital signage system, rugged box PC and embedded software products for a broad range of industries and applications. Wincomm aims to provide hardware and software integrated solutions for the most variant environments such as industrial automation/ human machine interface control, digital signage / infotainment Kiosk, and medical computing.

Founded in 1993, Wincomm is an ISO-9001 certified company and located in Science-Base Industrial Park (SBIP), Hsinchu, Taiwan. Overseas sales offices are in USA and Japan.
 

Castle View Enterprise Academy was established in September 2009 as one of five schools in Sunderland as part of the "Building Schools for the Future" project. The City of Sunderland Council (co-sponsor) and Northumbrian Water, the Academy's lead sponsor, invested £17 million to build an Academy that specializes in Business, Enterprise and ICT.

Project objectives and scope

Castle View had a wide range of requirements from their ONELAN digital signage system including:

•     A cost effective means of delivering information to visitors, students and staff
•     Provision of live TV across the IP network for both broadcast material and local   events within the school
•     Recording to provide video on demand resources for learning
•     A video on demand library
•     The ability for teachers to create online learning resources.

With the Academy vision of being a regional leader in ICT, digital signage forms a critical part of this. Its flexibility, ease of use and dazzling displays are a new and innovative technology for this school and many of its staff and students. There was no technology quite like it in the original school prior to the rebuild.

Digital signage content strategy

Castle View wanted to use the digital signage to display a range of information including adverts for school clubs, results of House competitions, birthday messages, display of televisions channels during breaks and lunches, behavioral league tables and event details.

The network comprises 11 ONELAN Net-Top-Boxes: 1 NTB 610 publisher and 10 NTB 510 subscribers. One of the key aspects of the project is the installation of two OmniServers. With the OmniServers, staff not only have an "off air" recording solution but also the ability to link into the digital signage network. This provide the screens with live TV feeds for news and educational TV channels across the network infrastructure without the need to run additional RF cabling, thereby keeping additional costs to a minimum.

End user feedback

Many schools and Academy's across the country will testify that it's logistically very difficult and slow to get messages across to a large number of people in a short space of time. Castle View is no exception and the adoption of ONELAN digital signage has dramatically changed this for the academy. Now, a wide range of information including messages, audio & TV program's, updates and alerts can be easily disseminated to all of its students and teaching staff quickly without having to print endless posters and memo's and manually distribute.

"Staff and students are constantly knocking on my door asking if new things can be uploaded and many have commented on how much better it is to have a system that is eye-catching and gets their message across. In my role as Marketing and Content Administrator, the time saving aspects of this system are invaluable. I would strongly recommend this system to any business that wants to take itself forward in the way of signage and getting their message across." Gavin Willis, Marketing and Content Coordinator

ONELAN develops network appliances for standalone and end-to-end Digital Signage network solutions. The Net-Top-Box is a multimedia, multi-zoned solution capable of Touch Interactivity. With a browser based user interface, the system is fully multi-lingual and capable of displaying both stored media and live media e.g RSS feeds, web pages and broadcast TV or locally streamed video. Further members of the product family cater for Enterprise network management and integration with external data sources.

ONELAN's NTBs are now installed in a wide variety of organizations such as retail, schools, hospitals, and government buildings, as well as some well-known corporates such as Vodafone, Virgin Holidays and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

ONELAN Ltd is based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Visit www.onelandigitalsignage.com for further details.

Launch of THE SCREEN USA draws the cream of the American digital signage industry to New York...


NEW YORK, The Screen Forum USA’s kickoff Breakfast Briefing served up the top tier of digital out-of-home advertising specialists for its transport focused half-day session titled “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”.

Jointly hosted with the Digital Screenmedia Association, the event was held in the fine surroundings of The Crosby Hotel in the fashionable downtown SoHo district of Manhattan.  Booking a 100 seater screening room for a launch event might have seemed a little bullish - but The Screen’s reputation (built up in Europe over the last few years) proceeds it, for the venue was absolutely brimming with the great and the good.

Hovering over the pastries and coffee cups were decision makers from the mass transit authorities and big outdoor companies, key consultants and creatives, and an interesting selection of vendors from both Europe and the USA.

The main draws on the day were Rich Ament, Senior Vice President at CBS Outernet and Eric Bottema, director of Kinetic’s Aviator North America.  They were ably supported by Denise Macdonell of Harris Corporation and Lou Giacalone, ex-of-Titan and founder of software provider Coolsign.

Rich Ament talked about CBS’ high profile digital outdoor sites all across New York and how transport is the platform on which they intend to build their whole digital strategy.  Not surprising given Eric Bottema’s comment that the equivalent population of the whole USA is on the move through the country’s airports every year.  A fact not missed by the world’s brands and advertisers, who are already spending over $500M on media aimed at air passengers.

Harris were keen to show that they were the organization to talk to - referring to case studies of cutting edge technology on moving vehicles in Raleigh.  It all added up to a lot of potential for media development - but it still left CoolSign’s Lou Giacalone wondering where the money to build the infrastructure was going to come from.  For him, the industry was still struggling to persuade media owners that the industry could install and manage these network cost effectively.

The sessions were peppered with fascinating Q&A - and top-and-tailed with good opportunity for more detailed conversations and networking.

Hat’s off to Digital View and Magenta for persuading The Screen to bring its magic to the USA.  According to compere Bob Michaels (CEO of Magenta Research and Executive Committee Member of The Screen USA), this is to be the first of many such educational and networking events, ‘Watch This Space !’

The Screen will be posting videos of the presentations to its website. To find out more about The Screen visit www.thescreen.org.

About The Screen

Established in 2006 in London, The Screen is an independent group dedicated to the ongoing development of the digital signage industry. Its members include representatives from all aspects of this rapidly growing medium, and its events aim to promote best practices across the industry through the sharing of expertise and thought-leadership. For more information, visit www.thescreen.org.

About Digital Screenmedia Association

The purpose of the DSA is to advance the growth and excellence of the global digital signage, interactive kiosk and mobile community through advocacy, education and networking. For more information, visit www.digitalscreenmedia.org.

Media player and digital signage solution provider giant AOpen and digital display mounting and mobility products manufacturer Ergotron offer joint solution for improving solutions for the medical industry

San Jose, CA and St. Paul, MN – AOpen, the world-leading small-form-factor (SFF) computer system manufacturer and digital signage solution provider and Ergotron, a leading manufacturer of digital display mounting and mobility products, today announced a joint partnership for delivering solutions to their combined reseller base for customers.

According to Dale Tsai, President of AOpen America, “Ergotron’s expertise and ergonomically designed products provide an integral part of successful medical solution deployments, particularly in the healthcare and education sectors.  Ergotron’s innovative display mounting solutions greatly enhance the viewing experience of millions of end users around the world and we are excited about the partnership.”

“With our companies’ mutual focus on ease-of-use and mobile productivity, AOpen’s rugged, small form factor media players are an ideal complements to Ergotron’s broad portfolio of point-of-care mobility products,” said Steve Reinecke, Sr. Global Director, Healthcare & Education Industry at Ergotron. “We look forward to a close relationship to ensure customers that any deployment built around our products is optimized for any environment.”

About AOpen America

As the pioneers of ultra small form factor (uSFF) components and customizable platforms, AOpen America, Inc. (http://usa.aopen.com) remains in the wheelhouse with its strategic alliances, setting the standard for vertical market solutions via Mini-ITX platforms that provide open architecture versatility, next-generation technology and unmatched value through huge energy cost savings and readiness compliance with ENERGY STAR and EPEAT. While remaining as the true leader in uSFF components and platforms, AOpen also provides a complete array of digital signage technologies for streamlined, end-to-end solutions in consumer-grade environments and provides scalable technologies ranging from cost-efficient nettop media players to their Digital Engine™ and XC Mini flagship lines.  AOpen continues to drive Innovation Economy Technology™ (I-ET) in socially responsible, green IT solutions for offices, homes and mission-critical applications.

About Ergotron

Founded in 1982 by VESA FDMI standard author and visionary Harry Sweere, Ergotron is a global manufacturer of digital display mounting and mobility products, headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with sales efforts in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, and Singapore. Ergotron’s products have been improving the human interface with digital displays for over 25 years. Our history of innovation and passion for differentiation is evidenced in over 37 patents and our growing portfolio of award winning products for computer monitors, notebooks, and large flat panel displays and T.V.s Ergotron products enhance computing wellness, improve workplace productivity and create business process efficiencies, wherever and whenever they’re used. Incorporating Ergotron’s Constant Force lift and pivot motion technology, wall and desk mount arms, stands, mobile carts, pivots and vertical lifts require less effort to achieve more ergonomic motion, improving the user’s experience when viewing any digital display for work or entertainment. For more information on Ergotron or our products, please visit Ergotron.com or call Ergotron sales at 800-888-8458.