News

Black Box's iCOMPEL digital signage now on government's GSA schedule

May 7, 2009

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Black Box Corporation, a provider of voice communications, data infrastructure, and product solutions, has announced that the U.S. government has added its iCOMPEL line of digital signage appliances to its General Services Administration (GSA) schedule.

The addition of iCOMPEL to its GSA Schedule 70 means government institutions can more affordably set up attention-getting digital signage in areas frequented by employees and the public. 

"We're very pleased that government clients will now be able to more easily procure this unique ‘out-of-the-box' hardware/software solution," said Mario Calabro, Black Box multimedia products manager. "As our commercial users can attest, there's not an easier and more cost-effective way to create compelling digital signage than with iCOMPEL. And whether it's a local library or municipal building, a state DMV office, or a VA hospital or other federally run facility, there's no better way than digital signage to provide real-time info to staff and visitors and alert them to emergencies."

Showcased at the recent FOSE expo in Washington, D.C., and featured in USA Today, the iCOMPEL family of browser-based, networked digital signage appliances gives users the features and functionality typically found on very high-end systems. "You get professionally designed layouts, easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools, and a whole host of other advanced content-management and scheduling features," Calabro said. Plus, there are no ongoing expenses, all the software is included, and updates are free — which is perfect for administrators who may have room in the budget now but are seriously unsure about funding down the road. This is digital signage that's truly future-proof, a prudent investment for all government buyers."

The iCOMPEL system is ideal for single offices or multi-site, multi-state agency deployments. Government administrators can have one unit in one location or thousands of units playing different content around the country or around the world. The system even supports changing content ad-hoc at the display.

Users can play stored and live media in multiple screen zones, combining 1080p video or live TV with scrolling text, photos, flash, and HTML and RSS media. It works with MPEG, AVI, QuickTime, and PowerPoint media, as well as JPEG, GIF, and TIFF images, and WAV and MP3 audio.

Black Box is a qualified GSA supplier, which means government agencies can save money and procurement time with pre-negotiated GSA pricing on iCOMPEL and other products and services. The company accepts all government purchasing cards.