Article

Retail, casino gaming driving growth of 3D digital signage

Recent installations from T-Mobile, Samsung show that all signs point to the third dimension.

June 29, 2009

The digital signage market has seen a lot of action in the 3D space this spring. With a strong 3D presence at Digital Signage Expo, Screen Media Expo Europe, and most recently, InfoComm, what was once considered a "novelty" technology is proving its worth in the marketplace. And some very large companies are taking notice.

Earlier this month, T-Mobile in the Czech Republic announcedthat it had implemented 3D digital signage screens in two of its Prague stores as part of a pilot project. The 46-inch screens, provided by Spatial View, will feature original 3D content produced by global ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, designed to engage viewers and drive sales at the point of purchase.

Provision's 3D display on top of the Samsung Tocco informational kiosk.

And two weeks ago at InfoComm, Magnetic 3D announced the launch of its 22-inch Enabl3D screen, which Magnetic president Tom Zerega said is designed for the gaming industry, particularity the slot machine market.

A rise in 3D signage

Spatial View screens at Prague T-Mobile stores.

"I see the U2 3D movie as one of the breaking points in 3D technology. They did a great job in publicizing what 3D can be and with the 3D technology itself," said Jason King, director of sales and marketing for Spatial View. "A few years ago, there was a thought that ‘oh no, 3D is back. Here are the 70s again.' But I think with the dawn of the technology, now people are saying ‘Wow, this is not just a gimmick anymore. This is something that can really give me an immersive experience.'"

The benefits aren't just for the consumer either. Curt Thornton, CEO of Provision, said he experienced some staggering sales uplift numbers after the implementation of 3D digital signage.

"We're seeing documentable sales uplift from10-30 percent. We also have data where we've seen sales uplift up to 91 percent, because products were advertised in 3D," he said. "Of course, results may vary."

What is 3D digital signage?

This can be done in one of two ways. The more primitive of the two is the parallax barrier, which is a fixed barrier with a foil mounted between two pieces of glass, and then paired up exactly with pixels. Lenticular is a barrier with edged grooves which split the light, magnifying different images when viewed from different angles. 

Zerega said that parallax barrier technology has been around for awhile, but increases in the use of LCD screens for digital signage is resulting in more use of lenticular technology.

"Parallax barrier lens is like putting a screen door in front of the LCD screen," Zerega said. It's disruptive to the images and no matter what you do, you're always decreasing the resolution of the monitor and the brightness and clarity of the image. When you use lenticular, you are losing a smaller amount of resolution."

The future of 3D

Though it seems interest as risen exponentially in the past six months, those in the industry still think 3D has further to go before it goes mainstream.

"I don't think we have reached a tipping point yet where everyone knows about 3D digital signage and has to have it," Zerega said. "I don't think that moment is too far away, though. There needs to be a major installation out there in the next, say, 12 months. Then this will be a mainstream technology that everyone is talking about."