As face-to-face interaction becomes less of a priority in the marketplace, organizations of all types are reconsidering the ways they communicate with their customers. In many cases, they’re incorporating large-format displays to accomplish the task.
July’s D=SIGN Power Hour panel addressed multi-display & video wall content creation with moderator Paul Fleuranges of the Digital Signage Federation. Experts Daniel Hurtado of Userful, Digital Signage Creative Director Jim Nista, and Bryan Meszaros of OpenEye Global.
Display signage for retail qsr is the highest capital cost (aka big potato), albeit by themselves low margin
Selling those though often means selling a bunch of “small potatoes”, many with much higher profit
As Haynes sums it up — Recurring SaaS CMS revenue is the gift that keeps on giving.
Excerpt:
If you are active on the software side of digital signage, you’ve undoubtedly seen Samsung evolving its MagicINFO software from a low or no-cost add-on for small jobs to a full-featured enterprise platform that competes against pure-play CMS software companies.
LG has also had a product called SuperSign in the market for more than a decade, and that display manufacturer is also now marketing a full-featured product. The interesting wrinkle with LG is that it is touting a turnkey solution for QSR that includes built-in capabilities like queue management, open API POS integration and back of house workflow solutions.
It’s called SuperSign QSR, and it LOOKS like it is all in-house, as opposed to partnerships with third parties that specialize in things like queue management.
BenQ debuted its ST02 Smart Signage Display Series aimed at hybrid meeting spaces. Also, its new DVY Series video cameras are shipping and include the DVY21 1080p webcam, the DVY22 4K camera and the PTZ-based DVY23 camera. They are also available as a smart videoconferencing bundle with the ST02 meeting room display series.
BenQ’s DVY Series cameras are USB and include an 88-degree field of view, omnidirectional microphones with noise suppression and automatically adjust to lighting conditions. The USB 3.0 DVY22 4K is a 126-degree, wide-angle conference camera for midsize meeting rooms with 4x digital zoom, AI-powered auto framing and dual-stream support features.
Built for AV systems, the DVY23 is a 1080p PTZ conference camera with 20x optical zoom; an option of USB 3.0, HDMI, 1GbE with PoE and 3G-SDI video outputs; RTSP and RTMP streaming support; an array of control ports, including RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 and LAN; and remote controls to ensure compatibility with any existing control protocol utilized in the room.
The 4K UHD ST02 Series displays combine BenQ’s signage, display and collaboration technology, including InstaShare 2 wireless presentation systems, Device Management System (DMS), Account Management System (AMS), OPS slot, digital signage and whiteboard features. The displays are compatible with mainstream videoconferencing platforms, including Zoom, Google Meet, Teams and Cisco Webex.
BenQ has a smart bundling deal as well located here.
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FAIRFAX, VA – Nov. 18, 2021 – AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 AV Experience Awards. This awards program recognizes the innovative integration of content, space, and audiovisual technology to enrich experiences.
“We are witnesses to incredible AV experiences every day, as we work, play, and interact in the world,” said Joé Lloyd, Senior Director of Communications, AVIXA. “The winners of the AV Experience Awards are the creators of those experiences, breathing new life into art, education, collaboration, and so much more. Congratulations to the 2021 winners for elevating the craft of AV.”
In the spring of 2020, LuminArtz teamed up with Pamela Hersch, a local video artist and technologist, to create “Light Up the Night” at the Wenham Museum in Massachusetts. To continue celebrating local history while allowing for social distancing, the team created a 30-minute projection mapping exhibit on the exterior of the museum, featuring stunning visuals celebrating childhood, connecting generations, and honoring heritage. The exhibit was powered by Sharp NEC Display laser projectors, and while each projector provided 10,000 lumens, the outdoor nature of the project required an even higher level of brightness. This was achieved through a stacking configuration, which allowed three projectors to focus on the same area to increase the brightness of the image. The installation was also livestreamed on Facebook and Instagram to help connect the community during the time of restricted personal and physical connection.
BARTKRESA studio created an 8-foot, cube-shaped sculpture that artists could projection map as part of a socially distant projection arts festival. The studio held a 7-week virtual workshop with 50 participants from 18 countries to compose the content for the animated show for the sculpture Hako. During the remote video workshops, BARTKRESA studio utilized virtual backgrounds as one of the methods for participants to collaborate. The participants prepared their virtual backgrounds by using their designs of Hako. This created excitement and motivation for the participants as they were able to see the progress of designs via their virtual backgrounds. The result was a transformation of Hako into a 360-degree projection-mapped art piece that showed a simple shape in new, inspired ways.
Crayola IDEAworks: The Creativity Exhibition is a sprawling 17,000 square-foot interactive experience that premiered at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute in early 2021. This marks the brand’s first-ever traveling exhibition, which focuses on tapping into the innate talent and ingenuity of its participants. Upon entering the experience, visitors choose an avatar and scan their RFID wristband to capture their interactions throughout the more than 25 exhibits for a completely personalized experience. Participants answer questions, collect badges, create solutions, and solve challenges that showcase their creative style.
Located in the Area15 complex in Las Vegas, Omega Mart is an interactive art installation created by Meow Wolf, featuring contributions from over 300 artists. It begins in what is ostensibly a supermarket, leading to a network of media-rich spaces and storytelling that comments on consumerism and corporate culture. The adventure is open-ended and self-guided.
The Port of Vancouver Discovery Centre serves multiple arms of the Port Authority, offering a space that converts from visitor Discovery Centre to education centre, to town hall meeting space, to event venue, and at times, all in the same 24 hours. Eos Lightmedia helped transform the Port of Vancouver Discovery Centre into a highly flexible space through the integration of interactive panels, projection mapping surfaces, digital informational kiosks, and broadcast-quality equipment.
Grandscape, built on more than 400 acres in Dallas, Texas, features entertainment, restaurants, residential, and office space. Electrosonic and Barnycz Group collaborated to design and integrate engaging and visually stunning multimedia displays that inform and entertain Grandscape’s retail space visitors. This is accomplished with a 43-foot tower made up of 4,000 LED video tiles, a 35-foot kaleidoscope created with 432 LED tiles, and a projection-mapped fountain.
Award entries were submitted by various team members involved in the project, whether project originator, creative or technology agency, or the customer. This includes brand agencies, experience design firms, AV consultants, designers and integrators, AV manufacturers, and others.
With the support of like-minded industry organizations across the globe, including the Association of Luxury Suite Directors, Hospitality Technology Next Generation, and European University Information Systems Organization, the AV Experience Awards program provides promotional support to project award finalists and winners in targeted vertical markets.
AVIXA is the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association, producer of InfoComm trade shows around the world, co-owner of Integrated Systems Europe, and the international trade association representing the audiovisual industry. Established in 1939, AVIXA has more than 20,000 enterprise and individual members, including manufacturers, systems integrators, dealers and distributors, consultants, programmers, live events companies, technology managers, content producers, and multimedia professionals from more than 80 countries. AVIXA members create integrated AV experiences that deliver outcomes for end users. AVIXA is a hub for professional collaboration, information, and community, and is the leading resource for AV standards, certification, training, market intelligence, and thought leadership. Visit avixa.org.
Gable shows up in many projects that we see albeit digital signage as a rule. They did project in Colorado for Simon Outlet Malls around the corner from us. The Colorado sun in the afternoon can be quite the blinding heat. Visual Solution Provider might be good description. Gable uses AcquireDigital for wayfinding kiosk software in instances.
In Brief:
Prefaced with industry in the midst of radical change
Typical AV intergrators contrasted with ad companies like JCDecaux and Clear Channel
Telling stories and create emotion piggybacked fine pitch LED screens
“Fourth Screen” idea with TVs, PCs, Mobiles and now digital signage
Influencing consumers at the point of decision (the continued hunt for hard ROI continues…)
Loyalty programs with touchscreen offers to interact
About the Writer
Stephen Gottlich is the Senior Vice-President of Innovation and Strategy at the Baltimore visual solutions firm Gable. Gable works with some of the world’s leading organizations, real estate developers, architects, and builders, providing visual solutions that attract, connect, engage and direct people to properties, buildings, places, and spaces through the integration of architectural and graphic elements that include signs, digital displays, audiovisual, media and lighting.
Double screen Wayfinder
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Gable deploys twin screen mall kiosk — From Sixteen:Nine –The retail-centric solutions company Gable has deployed an interesting double display in an Ohio shopping mall that uses one screen for navigation and directory lookup, and a second for DOOH advertising.The company, based in the Baltimore area, says the display unit is the first of its kind, and I can’t say I’ve seen something like this. I HAVE seen mall displays in the UAE that had a big DOOH poster display and a much smaller display kind of flanking it. But this is a BIG landscape mode display set up in a drafting table orientation, with another, equally large display in portrait mode above it.
The display is at the Polaris Shopping Center in Columbus, Ohio and the units are running UK-based Acquire’s wayfinding and signage system software. Gable gets its screens custom-made in China by a longtime partner.
Transparent OLEDs by LG used in the Citizen Watch store near Herald Square in NYC. Noted on AVNetwork
Excerpt
Shopping during the pandemic shifted consumer behaviors to an online storefront. Building upon what consumers liked about the online experience, creative teams and retail brands are enticing shoppers back to physical stores. Technologies delivering immersive in-person experiences that combine the info-gathering power of the internet with the excitement of being able to touch and try a product have ushered-in the next-level shopper.
The new Citizen Watch shop in a major Herald Square department store in New York City, recently installed one of the first consumer-facing augmented reality product display cases. Leveraging LG Transparent OLED technology, the new retail display overlays mesmerizing high-impact digital visuals onto a watch display case to pull the viewer in as it showcases the real watches behind the graphics.
A 360-degree Product Examination
The innovative retail project is the brainchild of Citizen Watch with Pac Team Group, Luminary Design Co. and LG Business Solutions, each of which brought unique interests, requirements and expertise to the project.
Denver 12/15 – The kiosk association KMA recently served as media sponsor for InfoComm and AVIXA. Following up on that KMA is an association sponsor for the upcoming DSE 2022 digital signage tradeshow in Vegas in March. KMA also will be a participating exhibitor with a 10×20 booth #6906.
Craig Keefner, manager of the Industry Group said, “Interactive digital signage projects have been increasing every year from large wayfinding to spectacular convention center signage to smart city deployments to drive-thru menu boards. Half of the rfps in the our space are digital signage related. Expanded our coverage and involvement in signage only makes sense for our sponsors. We are happy to follow the lead of other respected groups such as Peerless-AV,Sixteen-Nine and TSI Touch in supporting this specific next generation digital signage tradeshow that our industry deserves.”
DSE has been the leading event for the digital signage industry for 15 years. Questex acquired the assets in early 2021, and will build on that legacy as the preeminent event and digital platform for the digital signage industry, showcasing innovations in technology, market applications and creative educational content.
Questex will combine its capabilities and experience as the leading information and events company focused on the experience economy with input from the industry including past sponsors, exhibitors and attendees to deliver an updated and renewed DSE for the industry going forward.
With an increased focus on reaching key end-user markets for digital solutions and experiences, DSE will harness other audiences and platforms in hotels, hospitality, travel, healthcare, entertainment, education, sensors and communications technology and more.
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From Sixteen:Nine and Dave Haynes — Korean University Uses LED-embedded Building Glass With Near 99%+ Transparency
Excerpt:
This is a video of architectural glass with embedded RGB LEDs that still offer 99%+ transparency – in this case at a university building in South Korea.
There may well be engineering, supply, and cost reasons why architects and building engineers say this sort of thing is not feasible, but it certainly seems there is “next big thing” potential for this technology for the digital signage and building design industries.
Conventional LED cabinets block views, and if a designer goes with the mesh LED products out there, the mesh grids that contain the LEDs and wiring are noticeable – particularly from the non-illuminated rear.
There are products that apply a transparent film to glass – some of it is better than others. And the thing with films is they can peel, crack or discolor with time.
But if you can put the LEDs right into the architectural glass – for things like the curtain walls at major buildings and venues like airports – that gets really interesting. I don’t think the brightness is there, however, to make these pop in full daylight, which is why you see a lot of transparent LED project videos and images shot at night.
This project uses specialty glass displays from GSMATT, which is a Korean tech firm. It went in via a UK firm, adi.tv.
Interested to hear from others if they think LED in building glass has a big future, or if there are practical reasons that might restrict the types of applications and adoption.
Several industry contacts have been telling me, going back months, about a very cool project in Dallas that they were part of … but didn’t have permission to officially promote.
That’s changed, and the formal word is out about a new-ish downtown Dallas destination venue that’s been dubbed the AT&T Discovery District. The four-block development is a bunch of things, among them a hub for all kinds of displays and experiential content.
The global design firm Gensler was commissioned to dream up and execute the project by AT&T, Montreal’s Moment Factory was engaged to come up with the experiential content plan, and SNA Displays won the deal to manufacture and put in some 12,000 sq. feet of LED displays, across more than a dozen different screen set-ups.
DALLAS, TEXAS—Technology and media giant AT&T has built a new downtown Dallas destination venue known as the AT&T Discovery District®. The four-block development, “where tech, culture and entertainment combine to create unique experiences” according to The District’s website, includes a network of indoor and outdoor digital display and lighting assets that can be synchronized to create multi-sensory experiences.
AT&T Digital Signage Photos
SNA Displays was selected to provide more than 12,000 square feet of digital canvas for the massive development. In total, SNA Displays manufactured, supplied, and installed more than a dozen LED video displays and 100 million pixels for the city’s new landmark destination.
Global design and architecture firm Gensler provided design, architectural, and project management services for all aspects and phases of the project. Gensler worked closely with AT&T to carefully curate and manage a diverse and world-class lineup of digital artists to produce unique content featured across all LED video displays, in addition to designing and producing various content capsules themselves.
High-end LED display technology was installed in three key locations within The District: The Plaza at AT&T Discovery District, the AT&T Experience Store, and the AT&T Headquarters Lobby. All displays are part of a digital network of seamlessly integrated media elements that enable immersive take-over moments of lighting, audio, and creative video content, made possible by an intricate content and platform management system engineered and implemented by Moment Factory.
THE PLAZA AT AT&T DISCOVERY DISTRICT
The Plaza at the AT&T Discovery District has an open lawn for the community, water features, the iconic Golden Boy statue, twin media trellises with kinetic color-changing LED lighting and premium audio, and The Globe, a 3D LED light sculpture that represents the AT&T brand.
AT&T Digital Signage Photos
The focal point of The Plaza is The Media Wall at AT&T Discovery District, a massive 104-foot-tall, 8,700-square-foot exterior LED screen from SNA Displays that wraps around the high-rise at the corner of Akard and Jackson streets. The LED spectacular was built from SNA Displays’ EMPIRE Exterior line of display products and features a 6.67 mm pixel pitch, meaning the screen includes more than 18 million pixels. SNA Displays supported the AT&T team during city planning meetings and helped with technical details during the permitting process. The Media Wall, which is mounted on the building façade just above the entrance to the AT&T Experience Store, is 84′ wide and curves around the building with an extremely tight 5’4″ radius, allowing the screen’s breathtaking video content to flow around the building smoothly and seamlessly.
The Media Wall features a resolution sufficient for two 4K displays stacked on top of each other with room for additional content. With an overall resolution of 4,752 pixels high by 3,840 pixels wide, The Media Wall is one of the largest displays of its pixel pitch in the United States.
AT&T Digital Signage EXPERIENCE STORE
AT&T Digital Signage Photos
The AT&T Experience Store includes three LED display assets: two flat-screen displays and a floor-to-ceiling, LED-wrapped circular pillar.
When designing the store, AT&T sought ultra-fine-pitch LED technology that would allow visitors to explore a range of immersive experiences, including interactive, limited-time pop-ups. All LED screens in the store are from SNA Displays’ BRILLIANT Interior line of display products, each employing a narrow pixel pitch of 1.92 mm.
The two LED walls are 8’10” tall and 15’9″ wide (1,404 pixels by 2,496 pixels). Unwrapped, the circular column LED canvas measures 9’7″ high and 17’9″ wide (1,521 x 2,808 pixels).
AT&T HEADQUARTERS LOBBY
The design concept for AT&T’s 37-story global headquarters, which has over one million square feet of office space, was to create a modern media lobby with a one-of-a-kind, floor-to-ceiling fusion of architecture, multimedia content, and technology.
The AT&T Lobby consists of eight LED-wrapped rectangular columns and the Media Box, a large three-sided video wall that serves as the lobby’s focal point. The LED columns vary in height throughout the lobby and can be synchronized with the Media Box and the location’s expansive LED ceiling “veil,” a diffused lighting feature from the second story which visually connects each of the lobby’s digital elements with color.
The Media Box is 13’3″ tall and 60’4″ wide with a resolution of 2,106 pixels by 9,568 pixels, giving it more than 20 million pixels.
AT&T Digital Signage Photos
Given the close proximity of walk-up visitors in the lobby, the Media Box and digital columns were also built with 1.92 mm pixel pitch technology from SNA Displays’ BRILLIANT Interior product line. In total, the lobby video technology includes more than 70 million pixels and 3,000 square feet of LED canvas.
The content featured in the lobby is one-of-a-kind and designed to create unique moments of immersion into the AT&T brand, accented by strategically placed audio that surprises and delights visitors and employees as they navigate their way through the space.
SNA Displays worked closely with Gensler throughout the AT&T Discovery District’s development. SNA Displays coordinated with YESCO and Barnett Signs to install the huge Media Wall. Additionally, the Beck Group provided general contracting services and oversaw the installation of the AT&T Lobby and AT&T Experience Store’s LED displays. A host of content creators have provided video and animation work for The District’s video display assets including Ari Weinkle, BOLT, Core Creative Labs, DixonBaxi, Float4, Maaambo, Moment, Factory, MUCH Creative, Reel FX Animation, Refik Anadol Studio, Sila Sveta, and Universal Everything.
ABOUT SNA DISPLAYS
SNA Displays brings creative visions to life by building high-end digital displays as vivid and dynamic as the imagination. SNA Displays employs a team of SNAPros™—engineers, skilled project managers, systems experts, installation managers, and support staff—whose mission is total project satisfaction.
SNA Displays is headquartered in Times Square and has worked with clients to design and build some of the largest and most recognizable digital spectaculars in the world. Discover how Dreams Live Digitally® at snadisplays.com.
ABOUT GENSLER
Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm, with more than 50 offices worldwide. The firm’s collective expertise covers aviation, hospitality and mixed-use developments, workplace interiors, and office towers to education and sports venues, retail, community spaces and residential, as well as Digital Experience Design. Gensler designs resilient buildings and spaces in which we live, work and play, with an emphasis on connectivity, wellness and social equity. For more information, visit gensler.com.
ABOUT BECK GROUP
Founded in 1912, the Beck Group is a team of designers and builders that offers architecture and construction expertise. For more information, visit beckgroup.com.
ABOUT YESCO
Since 1920, YESCO has produced custom signs, lighting, and other display systems for businesses of all types and sizes. For more information, visit yesco.com.
ABOUT BARNETT SIGNS
Barnett Signs is a family-owned sign company that started in 1971. They offer design, permitting, fabrication, installation, and maintenance services. For more information, visit barnettsigns.com.
Schumacher Homes Interactive Showroom is now a reality. Alveni deployed multitouch 43” 4K screens with motorized mounts to comply with ADA standards and cloud-based content management system to create a digital interactive environment so homebuyers can design the home of their dreams!
