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Digital menu board basics, Part 3

In the final part of the series, we look at the do's and don'ts of digital menu board installation.

November 25, 2008 by Scott Sharon — CEO, START

Many of the digital signage suppliers have made no investment to enter the industry and simply contract everything out. If they sub everything out and have no value to add to your project, you will be paying extra and receive delayed and poor service. Be careful with someone that tells you they do everything. Make sure the supplier you choose will be around for a while and can back up their warranties. Also, make sure the warranties are backed up by the original equipment manufacturer and will be honored if your supplier disappears or defaults.

Designing your digital signage system requires the cooperative effort of your marketing department and the IT department. It may be best if driven by marketing with the assistance of the IT department. First, you should understand all the capabilities of a digital system. This may require at least a small test. When you have a good idea of what you want the system to do you can design the system and set up a plan with objectives and goals.

A test is a waste of time and money unless you have a proper plan with clear objectives and a method of measuring success. When you have a good understanding of what you want your system to do then you can design it. Without at least some minimum specifications and guidelines before you send out an RFP the proposals you receive will be so different you can not make accurate cost comparisons. If you are not very careful the lowest priced system will end up costing the most.  

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Major components of a digital menu board system

The major components of a digital menu board system are hardware (screens and computers or players), software, content, method of connection and implementation.

Hardware: The price of screens and computers change very quickly. If you do not have  good specifications you may end up with low quality screens that won't last long or do what you expect from them. As an example, your supplier may get a great deal on some outdated models but will have to switch hardware on future purchases. Try not to purchase a technology that may not be continued for long. Many people still use plasma screens although LCD screens are now more popular. I am starting to hear some major screen manufacturers state they will no longer manufacture plasma screens. Make sure the screens and computers are industrial grade made to run 24/7 for up to five years. You can get warranties for that long.

Make sure all screens have the same or similar specifications. As an example at some time in the future you may have screens on the wall behind the counter for your menu board, a screen on the side wall, one on the counter, on a drink dispenser, in your dining area, in the drive-thru, a pre-sell board and even an LED message center on your main street sign. Where you can, make sure they all have the same aspect ratio and similar enough specifications that all your content will run on any screen. It will save on your content cost and help keep your image consistent. 

Outdoor digital boards: Regardless of what you hear there are very few companies that know how to manufacture outdoor digital signs that can be seen in the sunlight and will last. Some companies that have been supplying outdoor LCD screens for years still have serious problems with them. Due to the brightness and protection from the environment required the cost is usually about twice that of the same size and type indoor screen. New screens with LED backlighting that adjusts to the ambient light are best but may also be the most expensive. 

Software: Software is used to create content, download content, manage and schedule content, play content, record how often and when content is played, to monitor the health of your system and to alert service people when there is a problem. Most digital signage companies have their own software but usually don't have all these features. You should test several to see which you think would serve you best and is easiest to use.

There are many available and most of the major software companies will license their software to other suppliers. An important factor in selecting a software provider is how many systems they have deployed in the field. Many small companies do not have enough personnel or resources to support their own software. It requires a staff of people to support a help desk, solve problems as they surface and to keep the software updated. You won't know what changes you may want when you install a system. It should be adaptable to new technologies.

Content: What your customers see on the screens is most important. Many digital signage companies supply their own content but it may be better to contract with a company that specializes in digital content, especially for animated content.

It is possible to eliminate all the middle people and operations. The content can be created by your own people or by your agency. It can go straight from them to the boards. All paper or printed graphics can be eliminated and all the processes in the middle. Your software should allow you to do this. There is also software available for repurposing graphics to produce animated or moving graphics, although it requires a high level of skill. If your graphics don't engage your customers and call them to an action you will loose the value of a digital system (or any system).

Connectivity: This is where your marketing people need to let the IT people step in. I am a marketing person and don't have enough expertise to give advice in this area. I will just identify the important components to understand and share some of my experience.

The most popular method of connection world wide is through the Internet. I have observed very few problems with this type of connection and it may be the lowest cost. There are several other ways to connect such as satellite and narrowcasting that would be better if you are doing live content, very large files or live training on your system.  Even if you use very little video, animation or other large files it may be best to use a multi-port switch to manage your band width.

Most of the customers I have worked with on digital menu boards start out stating they want to use a wireless connection within the store to save the cost of running cable and/or to keep the displays portable. Almost every one of them ended up using a cable connection because of security concerns and it is a more reliable connection.

One of the most common problems I have observed occurs when the system is turned of intentionally with a switch, or unintentionally during a power failure, while content is being downloaded to the computer that runs the screens. To avoid these problems all system shut downs must be managed or controlled. This is usually done with a large enough battery back up to allow the download to complete before the system shuts down.

Most of the proposals for digital menu boards do not include the cost for adequate battery backup or for a multi-port switch to manage downloads. The major reason, other than just not knowing you should, is these items can be expensive and when prospective customers review bids they just do not know to look for these items. That's just one of the reasons the lowest bid can be the most costly in the long run.

Implementation: I don't know any digital signage company that has employees to install digital signage roll outs. I have learned it is best to use trained installation management companies. There are several you can choose from.

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