Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows information, advertising, entertainment, or any other messages. Digital signs such as LCD, LED, plasma displays, or projected images can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores and corporate buildings.
Advertising using digital signage is a form of out-of-home advertising in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs with a common goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times. This is often called "digital out of home" or abbreviated as DOOH.
The benefits of digital signage over traditional static signs are that the content can be exchanged more easily, animations can be shown, and the signs can adapt to the context and audience, even interactively. When implemented correctly, digital signage also offers superior return on investment compared to traditional printed signs.
Displays
Displays may be LCDs, plasma screens, LED boards, projection screens or other emerging display types like living surfaces or Organic LED screens (OLEDs). Other, less traditional technologies for digital signage exist, such as 'holographic displays', water screens and fog screens. However, these are typically used for smaller one-off installations rather than large networks.
Rapidly-dropping prices for large plasma and LCD screens have led to a growing increase in the number of digital signage installations. Another price-related benefit that is allowing a larger group of businesses to install digital signage is the increasing availability of newer LCD and plasma display brands in the market. Many locations have opted to forgo more expensive brand name displays for more affordable displays from less well-known companies.
A recent study completed by Digitalsigns.com and Projective Marketing LLC shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between price and the display size. The same study also shows that there is a significant relationship between price and brand name. These two variables account for 77% of the price in displays.
Link: http://digitalsignage.com/images/downloads/ds-misas%201.pdf
Stand-Alone Digital Signage
Stand-Alone Digital Signage consists of LCD displays with integrated media players, or ad players that run on flash memory cards. They are the most cost-effective method of providing digital signage. With sizes ranging from 7 inches to 46 inches or more, these ad players can be easily integrated into a point of purchase display, mounted to a rack or wall, or hung from the ceiling. All content is loaded onto a flash memory card that is easily installed in the ad player.
A few benefits of stand-alone players include ease of use, reliability, and security. Technology advances that allowed integration of a media player into an LCD chassis have provided products that are inexpensive and simple to use. Load images and videos onto a memory card, put the card in the player, and plug it in. That’s it. No external computer, DVD player, or media player is required. Stand-alone digital signage is extremely reliable because there are no moving parts to fail. All content is played from a flash memory card (think digital camera). Most manufactures make their devices secure with a security door that is locked or screwed shut, so store clerks, shoppers, or children cannot change settings or unplug the sign.
Additional benefits include interactivity and a much lower cost for setup and maintenance. With stand alone units it is very easy to add pushbuttons or touch screen interaction and place the displays on or above shelves. This allows customers to get some quick information to make a purchase decision without feeling like they are being “sold” by a clerk. Also, the cost of stand-alone digital signage has dropped drastically in the last year, so adding video interaction can be less than half of what it cost in 2008. No network to set up, no software to purchase, and no hard drives or DVD players to fail. Choosing stand-alone solutions over networked solutions can save $3,000 to $5,000 per screen when you compare the total cost of implementation. Updating the message is as easy as loading a new memory card in each sign. How many flash memory cards can be purchased for updates if $25,000, $250,000 or more is saved by omitting a network?
Networked Digital Signage
Networked Digital Signage refers to installing a computer network connecting a series of digital signage displays. The video (and possibly audio) is distributed to the displays through a series of wired network connections or wireless connectivity through the use of wireless adapters.
Digital signage networks can either be closed or open to the web, which will affect how the content on the screens is updated. For closed networks without Internet access, updates need to be done locally through USB sticks, DVD drives or other 'onsite' updates. Open networks with Internet access can be updated remotely and stream data from other Internet sources such as RSS feeds. The availability and type of Internet access depends on the location and client. The ability to update content quickly and remotely is the major advantage of a networked solution.
Digital signage networks are expensive. In fact, the primary reason why most business owners and managers decide not to invest in a system is the price. In other words, it's not the ROI, the functionality, or flexibility that stops them. It's the money they need to spend up front in order to deploy the system.
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