Up-market bowling venue Lucky Strike Lanes has deployed BrightSign media players to deliver high-quality video artwork to complement its trademark cocktails, private lanes and sophisticated menu. BrightSign Network Management enables art displays and promotional messages to be coordinated across North America.
Lucky Strike wanted to display static and video artwork in a new way and update it regularly to keep the venue fresh and appealing. The goal was for each artist’s work to be shown in the highest quality resolution for eight to 12 minutes per day, seven days a week in Lucky Strike locations. Effective management of the visual projection and playback, as well as its timing and scheduling, was also a key requirement.
Digital signage integrator ITMIS was enlisted to design and implement Lucky Strike’s vision. ITMIS has been in the A/V and IT-integration business for many years and has implemented a number of digital signage projects; however this is its highest profile digital signage implementation so far. The company selected BrightSign media players to deliver content in four prominent Lucky Strike locations: Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Bellevue, Wash.; and Hoboken, N.J.
According to ITMIS’ CEO Thomas Martino:
“We first came across the BrightSign players after a very positive experience with Roku’s Netflix product. We selected BrightSign for this implementation specifically because it’s so easy to install, configure and extend. The outstanding video quality was also a key factor; as was the intuitive remote content-management solution.”
There are four BrightSign units in each of the four locations and each location supports two 20 x 12-foot HD projection screens delivering artwork directly to the bowling lanes, a 20 x 12-foot 3D HD projection screen delivering the highest quality video art to a the luxury private bowling room and a fourth 50-inch plasma display playing promotional infotainment in the entrance lobby. These digital signs are designated as ART1, ART2, LUXE and ICON, respectively. In addition, the four BrightSign units are connected to an AMX distribution system which allows Lucky Strike to selectively distribute the artwork to all the televisions in the lounge/bar areas via strategically located touchpanels.
Image display in BMP, JPEG and PNG formats enables the network to handle the variety of formats supplied by contributing artists. BrightSign models can also play MPEG-2 and -4 High-Definition videos at up to 1080p resolution, via component or HDMI outputs. High-definition still-image modes provide versatility and reliability, making BrightSign the ideal solution to show artists’ works at their best.
Networking features available on BrightSign provide an affordable and uncomplicated solution to update content from a remote location. ITMIS installed the on-site network infrastructure by simply connecting BrightSign units to the Internet and creating a central and secure Web server running BrightSign Network Manager to network all 16 installed displays. Using Web-based technologies, Lucky Strike can easily log onto its account with BrightSign Network Manager from any Internet-connected PC, to quickly and easily update content at each remote location.
By creating networking groups named ART1, ART2, LUXE and ICON, it was simple for Lucky Strike staff to manage content in individual digital signage locations at each venue. For instance, all signage in entrance lobbies are on one network group called ICON, so that when new content is sent to the ICON group, it updates all locations simultaneously with identical content. This ensures promotional messages are coordinated efficiently.
ITMIS gave Lucky Strike full training in the use of this secure Web-based application. As a result, the client is freed from the burden of infrastructure administration, but management of the artwork and promotional projections is completely under Lucky Strike’s control.
With network-managed digital signage, Lucky Strike can run its ever-changing lane-side art exhibition throughout the whole of continental North America, coordinated from wherever an Internet connection is available. Lucky Strike is bringing art and advertising to a growing and appreciative audience in its upscale boutique bowling alleys.
