By John Marshall
This installation at a Smokin’ Joe’s pub in Florida shows the innovative use of digital displays.
In industries ranging from healthcare to hospitality, video is the communication medium of choice and visual displays are the infrastructure of choice to maximize the impact of video, whether the content is a corporate video in a company’s lobby to impress visitors, or an overview of a complicated medical procedure to help surgeons save a patient’s life.
Companies, healthcare systems, government agencies, hospitality organizations, and many other industries have recognized the potential of video walls. MarketsAndMarkets, a research organization, forecast spending on video walls will jump from $4.12 billion in 2013 to $18 billion by 2020, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 23 per cent.
Because video walls represent an investment in time, budget, and resources, it is important the configuration and content of video walls fit specific needs of the organization. Some of those needs will be very concrete, such as first responders monitoring their facilities, organizations monitoring their company’s performance and operations, or perhaps more artistic, such as brightening up a lobby with a video wall filled with bucolic photos and videos.
Four fabulous applications for video walls
High bandwidth availability and more affordable network equipment have made it possible to leverage the use of higher quality videos and images to engage audiences. From there, video walls and multi-purpose visual displays have become an attractive alternative for a wider range of applications than ever before. Visual displays generally fall into one of a few categories: lobbies, to reinforce an organization’s brand; dashboard visualization, to manage key performance indicators (KPIs); and collaborative environments, such as conference rooms. The following are four innovative applications along with their role throughout a specific organization.
- Retail reality
There is a significant amount of research undertaken when retail store managers organize products on the shelf and where they are located in store. Given the profit margin of a typical supermarket, for example, hovers around one per cent, optimizing the store layout can mean the difference between profit and loss.
On the other hand, retail stores can leverage the use of video walls and displays to direct foot traffic to specific areas with certain products, to increase their profits. Chain stores can replicate the same model, and ensure maximum profit, across all their stores. (Hint: a centrally managed solution significantly simplifies this approach, especially when updating content simultaneously across all the video walls).
- Burgers and beer underwater
Bars and restaurants are continuously challenged by how to keep current patrons coming back, attracting new customers and keeping people in their establishments longer.
Creative video walls are an important solution to help bars and restaurants thrive. They offer a compelling atmosphere and can spark no end of conversations.
