[related] Just as rapidly as demand for digital signage is escalating, the technology itself and how it’s being used is evolving. Gary Feather, CTO for NanoLumens, a provider of LED display solutions for dynamic digital signage applications, talked to Commercial Integrator about the specific ways in which digital signage is progressing.
For digital signage providers — including AV integration firms selling, designing and supporting digital signage applications for customers – there are four areas that are evolving in significant ways, according to Feather.
Think ‘End-to-End’ Digital Signage Applications
Digital signage has moved into video systems. It’s no longer just about shiny images and wow factor. The use of digital signage has matured, according to NanoLumen’s Feather.
Communications and presentation of data is now video the likes of which “you’d expect from a high end commercial source,” he says.
“Integrators need to now focus on an end-to-end system that supports that type of video quality.”
Think about the Environment
Video displays don’t exist in a vacuum. Like most installed technology, they’re performance is affected by their environment.
When installing solutions, Feather recommends that system designers think more about the environments in which the solutions are to be placed.
“We all know that from video display perspective, at home a well-lit room can lead to a bad image. Adding that capability and support for the consumer is the same as adding it in the commercial industrial space,” he says.
Think about Video Resolution vs. Application
As demands grow and expectations rise, system designers can do a better job of targeting the right video resolution for the viewing distance in a particular application, as well as considering the content support.
In some cases you don’t want too much pixel density, yet you don’t want to little, Feature says. “Make sure you’re giving the right value to the customer so this message is communicated and supported.”
Think about Revenue
The final area that AV integrators need to consider more going forward selling digital signage is in using the solutions as revenue generators, according to Feather.
Along those lines, he says it’s important to understand how the consumer – whether it be somebody in a public space or a transportation facility – is enjoying and interacting with the digital signs. He expects there to be an “explosion of new technologies” related to interactive digital signage over the next “two to five years.”
Watch Gary Feather of NanoLumens discuss these topics in the video above.
