Article
Screen Expo: more than just big screens
Innovation and future tech converge in one of digital signage's hotspots.
February 11, 2008
To view a slideshow from the Expo, clickhere.
LONDON —The entrance to London's Olympia convention center was clouded by a caravan of London's signature black taxi cabs as Screen Expo Europe opened its doors. As the cars pulled away, they revealed a bustling crowd of digital signage professionals seemingly pushing to get into the hall.
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An overview of the show floor in Olympia's National Hall. |
In a country where digital signage is arguably more advanced than anywhere else, Screen Expo allowed visitors to see real-life examples of last year's exhibits in deployment on the way to the show, then see the future technology once inside the hall.
The U.K.'s acceptance of digital signage, or "screens" as they are better known in Britain, has helped the show draw an international exhibitor base. This year brought many companies from the U.S. and continental Europe, as well as exhibitors like TruMedia for Israel and GenR8 from Australia.
The show itself has been very successful in its three years of existence. Mark Pigou, show director, said the show had about 3,300 visitors this year. The show was co-located in Olympia's National Hall with the Retail Business Show, but Pigou said that Screen Expo is getting large enough to become its own entity in the near future.
The show's exposure to deployers and digital signage professionals made it a formidable venue for some companies to make announcements. Broadsign was one such company who took advantage of the targeted audience.
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Broadsign had a strong presence at the show with a title sponsorship and a sprawling two-story booth. The company also made headlines with announcements about the acquisition of Navori International S.A., a closed network of 17,000 screens, and a deal with U.S. Virgin Megastores and eVision.
Netkey also took the opportunity to announce a new global value-added reseller and channel partner program that the company launched while at the show.
"We are looking to forge long-term relationships with leading organizations that can specialize in delivering digital signage to multiple industries using Netkey software," said James Dougherty, vice president of channel development for Netkey. Dougherty recently joined Netkey to manage the new program.
Here are some other companies that made news at Screen Expo:
DT Research was exhibiting its new DS1500 and DS1700 interactive digital signs, part of the company's WebDT line of digital signage products. The two integrated displays are set to be on the market by the end of this month, said John Ochoa, director of business development for DT Research. The company recently landed a contract with AirMedia to deploy potentially 15,000 screens in Beijing for the upcoming Olympics.
Attendees could use their hand to digitally paint images at OM Interactive's booth. The company specializes in gesture-based signage and had both window and floor-mounted examples on hand. Oded Levanon, VP of sales for OM, said that the technology is based on infrared light, so cameras can detect human movement even through opaque surfaces.
Hughes was on hand, demonstrating its HughesNet network capabilities and total digital signage solutions.
"There were a lot of suppliers showing point solutions such as software, screens and brackets, but what impacts the customer most is the whole solution," said Simon Cockayne of Hughes. Cockayne was also disucssing with attendees the company's acquisition of Helius in December.
HughesNet has over 20,000 customer sites in the U.K. including the entire Tesco TV network, which it has been running for four years. Cockayne also said that Hughes had landed a contract with the U.K. National Lottery to operate 27,000 screens.
Pixel Inspiration, a Manchester-based company, got attention with its "I Love Pixels" campaign, which Barry Bugg, client services director, said was just in time for Valentine's Day.
"Screen Expo is really good for the U.K. screen market," Bugg said. "In here, content is the big difference. Everyone has screens."
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Remote Media's Kevin Goldsmith opens up a 65-inch outdoor display. |
TruMediawas counting its visitors, literally. The company was demonstrating its iCapture tool, which records audience views from up to 20 feet away. On the top of TruMedia's screen was an ad, while at the bottom of the screen was a live recording of the people looking at the screen. Also in the screen layout were graphs of the audience demographic, which were being updated in real-time based on recorded viewers.
"Now that there are large companies advertising with digital signage, there has to be a figure of measurement," said Geroge E. Murphy, CEO of TruMedia. "It really is the brands themselves who are pushing for a metric."
TruMedia also showed the iCapture PROM proactive merchandising system, an extension if audience measurement, in the Scalabooth. The iCapture PROM detects gender and age and tailors advertisements based on who it registers viewing the screen.
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Wututu's audience measurement setup. |
AMX practically demanded views using HD graphics engine on a 65-inch LCD as well as a wall of four 46-inch NEC LCDs. Damon Crowhurst, director of market development for AMX, said that the company doesn't focus on video but rather on high-end graphics.
By only using moving graphics, AMX is able to have 10 megapixel content, resulting in a much crisper image than standard HD video. Crowhurst also said that the 10 megapixel graphic content saves time and space, taking up 1/15th of the space required for HD video.
EnQii, who recently completed a signage deployment at the London Eye, showcased the companies proprietary WHEN network on several different screen applications. One was a subscription model for a health club, and another an in-taxi screen for France's Taxi Bleu company. EnQii also showed in-salon screens for those waiting for services which show entertainment content and beauty care ads.
"It's basically like Cosmo on a screen," said Stephen Allen, vice president of operations, EMEA.
Espirit Digital is a well-known name for digital signage in London; in 2005 the company launched networks in the London Underground rail network that consisted of 23-inch screens lining the escalators. At Screen Expo, the company announced that it has plans to have a total of 20 of London's Underground stations outfitted with the network by the end of 2008.
Espirit also launched its StreetBright Panel, a 65-inch LCD portrait-mounted panel that emits an above-standard 3,500 cd/sq. meter and is also LED backlit. The StreetBright is designed to be used for retail and outdoor applications where screens are usually washed out due to direct sunlight.
State of the Art Digital SignageTradeshowsContent Design and AestheticsDisplay TechnologyHardwareCustomer ExperienceBroadsignDigitalSignageToday.comGenr8 Digital MediaHughesNanonationNetkey, Inc.Pixel Inspiration Ltd.Remote Media
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