Photo courtesy NEC Display Solutions
In a recent webinar, Richard Ventura and Michael Ferrer of NEC Display Solutions discussed a variety of ways new digital signage deployments can stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
Their presentation on October 11, 2012, was titled ‘The evolution of digital signage: Are your installations unique enough to capture attention?’ Much like how traditional ‘static’ posters have sometimes given way to liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in the past, so too did Ventura and Ferrer suggest standard single-screen installations are now coming up short in certain deployments. To compete with other visual attractions, display manufacturers like NEC, audiovisual (AV) integrators, content management software (CMS) developers and digital signage consultants are all working to come up with more creative, ‘head-turning’ options.
“Display technology is continuing to develop, but ultimately, the requirements of a project—including the goals of its messages—will drive its uniqueness,” says Ventura, director of sales for vertical solutions. “Content is primary and hardware is secondary.”
They cited such examples as interactive signs, both indoors and outdoors; store window deployments for passersby; screens installed in unusual places, including outdoor trash receptacles; multi-panel video walls for retail, education and other vertical markets, particularly in non-standard configurations; and large-scale video projections for more immersive results.
“Video walls are the fastest-growing segment in the industry,” says Ferrer. “It is no longer unique to see a 4 x 4-panel array, but now there are also screens mounted in portrait orientation, curved ‘wrap-around’ video walls, screens installed at multiple depths, video archways, interactive applications and custom backdrops for TV newscasts, among others. A video wall is like a digital canvas.”
“Projections are still needed for extremely large-scale displays, where you can’t put in video walls because you don’t have a load-bearing system,” says Ventura, “or to project images on the ground or along the curvature of a wall.”
In addition to projections and video walls in hotel lobbies, hospitals, retail stores, banks, airports, trade shows and command-and-control centres, Ventura and Ferrer put a particular emphasis on the growth of outdoor digital signage deployments.
“Outdoor now is where indoor was five or six years ago,” says Ventura, pointing to examples like drive-thru menu boards at quick-service restaurants (QSRs). “The LCDs have to be protected within enclosures to survive cold, heat and other elements, but this means screens can now be implemented in applications that were once considered ‘hands off.’ So, outdoor deployments are becoming more prominent. Many are even interactive, with today’s need for touch.”
Indeed, one key to engaging busy passersby is to give them more reason to dwell at a digital sign.
“Interactivity is really the next step,” says Ferrer. “Whether it’s touch, gesture-based or a quick-response (QR) code, any way to interact is better than a system you just look at for seven seconds or so.”
