News

ScreenScape turning any TV into digital signage

Working with Dell, ScreenScape Networks has launched a new plug-and-play device and supporting software platform that the company says "turns any TV into a digital sign," the company said.

September 24, 2014

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada-based ScreenScape Networks has launched a new plug-and-play device and supporting software platform that the company says "turns any TV into a digital sign," aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of starting and operating a digital signage network, according to a company announcement.

ScreenScape Connect uses business-grade smart devices as simple media players. Running specialized software, the devices plug into the back of any TV with an HDMI port, and can be updated, monitored and managed over the Internet using ScreenScape.com, the company said.

The first hardware solution certified for ScreenScape Connect is the new Dell Wyse Cloud Connect, an ultra-compact device designed for enterprise-class thin client computing.

"The days of expensive PC-based media players and complicated technology deployments are numbered," ScreenScape founder Mark Hemphill said int he announcement. "Getting a screen connected is now simply a matter of plugging a smart device into an HDMI port and allowing that device on your local area network."

According to the announcement, ScreenScape Connect makes it possible for retail marketers to send pre-configured devices out to their locations by courier, and have a digital signage network set up with branded content just by asking local managers to plug the devices into any TV, including those that are already up on walls.

"These days you see HD TVs everywhere — including in the store fronts, in the lobbies and in the waiting rooms of most businesses," Hemphill said. "ScreenScape Connect gives business owners, or the industry partners they represent, a flexible way to take advantage of place-based media, at a dramatically reduced cost."

ScreenScape Connect devices can be updated by Wi-Fi and managed remotely using a cloud-based content management platform. A Cloud Connect device is included, at no upfront cost, with each extended ScreenScape Connect subscription. Together the Connect solution bundles the device, software subscription, support and training into a turnkey solution with a monthly fee.

According to the announcement, retail chain Source for Sports, which has more than 150 stores across Canada, already has plans for ScreenScape Connect.

"Many of our stores have used ScreenScape for some time. While they have always liked the software and what it can do for them to lift sales and engage with customers, for many the cost of the equipment has been a sticking point. ScreenScape Connect is a different story," said Paul Lavigne, the company's director of marketing, in the announcement. "Many of our stores already have plenty of screens they can use. That means it costs them nothing to take advantage of this program. If it's easy for our store owners to participate, that means the program will grow. With their support, we will begin to introduce this new marketing channel to our suppliers."

Hemphill said that devices such as set-top boxes and HDMI media sticks have been finding their way into the digital signage market in recent years, but quality has been an issue and adoption rates have been slow, in the announcement. "Consumer entertainment devices are great for watching Netflix at home, but they aren't engineered or optimized to stand up to the heavy use and often sophisticated demands of professional digital signage applications. That's why we're thrilled to be working with Dell, a name brand we all associate with high quality, business-ready hardware."

Certifying the Cloud Connect and launching the new platform is the result of an "intensive" year of research and development by ScreenScape, the company said.

"In order to deliver a solution suitable for professional digital signage, with features like remote monitoring, bandwidth optimization and traffic shaping, and advanced security, we had to get closer to the metal," Hemphill said. "This meant working with the engineers at Dell Wyse to optimize the hardware, the firmware, operating system and the application software. The result is a happy marriage of hardware and software that is designed for a single purpose — to turn any TV into a ScreenScape digital sign."

On the same day that it officially introduced ScreenScape Connect, the company also announced that it was revamping its partner programs to open up new partnership models. As part of that, for the first time in its history ScreenScape is introducing a new reseller program that offers qualified distribution partners an opportunity to buy devices at a wholesale discount for use in their own product lines or as part of their own value-added solution.