News

Campus digital signage on the tour at EDUCAUSE higher ed conference

October 29, 2013

Digital signage provider Visix Inc. exhibited its campus digital signage solutions at this year's EDUCAUSE annual conference in Anaheim, Calilf., earlier this month, according to a company announcement. Visix demonstrated the latest version of its AxisTV digital signage software, interactive wayfinding designs, meeting room signs and a host of other new products, the company said.

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association with a mission to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, and the annual conference offers a member-driven program that focuses on providing tangible value through educational seminars, networking and exhibits, the announcement said.

"This year at EDUCAUSE, we're showcasing the benefits of our technologies through the various products and services we have to offer," Visix Chief Sales Officer Trey Hicks said before the conference. "We have over 700 campuses using our software, and EDUCAUSE has proven itself as the best venue for us to build relationships with higher education IT specialists from existing client campuses and to build new relationships."

AxisTV version 8.3 is the latest release of the company's flagship digital signage software application. Recent enhancements to the content management system include animated layout backgrounds, hot spots and full screen kiosks, mobile module and advanced alert reporting.

Animated backgrounds allow clients to choose either a single video loop or a series of videos to add sophistication to screen designs and draw attention to playlists, the company said. Hot spots on interactive screens offer player actions — such as stop or reboot — or allow switching to full-screen kiosk applications such as room booking, queuing management, interactive wayfinding and point-of-sale systems.

The Mobile Module option allows clients to publish content to smartphones and tablets by publishing to an HTML5 Web page. The software's Alert Notification feature allows users to supplant scheduled content on the entire system or on selected media players. Reporting provides visibility into historical alert incidents, as well as ongoing alert incidents.

Visix also showed its new RoomBoard, a touchscreen wayfinding solution that shows room availability, allows scheduling at the screen and integrates with the company's MeetingMinder meeting room signs.

The RoomBoard is a custom-built interactive design with the client's logo, colors and map. Room availability is instantly discernible with available rooms in green and busy rooms in red. Room availability is fed by a scheduling application, and a hot spot can be incorporated to launch either Microsoft Exchange or EMS, allowing viewers to schedule rooms right at the RoomBoard. Point-to-point directions and event schedules can be included, or content blocks can play back standard playlists.

Learn more about digital signage in education.