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Tightrope releases software bridge to its next-gen Carousel digital signage platform

Tightrope Media Systems announced it will unveil the full beta version of its next-generation Carousel 7.0 digital signage platform at the Digital Signage Expo next month in Las Vegas. With an eye toward availability in the second half of 2016, the company has made available an interim software release, Carousel 6.6.

February 23, 2016

Tightrope Media Systems announced it will unveil the full beta version of its next-generation Carousel 7.0 digital signage platform at the Digital Signage Expo next month in Las Vegas. With an eye toward availability in the second half of 2016, the company has made available an interim software release, Carousel 6.6, which incorporates pertinent software enhancements requested by Carousel systems integrators and end users. Both versions will be on display at the Tightrope Media Systems booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center during DSE.

"Carousel 7.0 will be the primary focus at Digital Signage Expo, and we will demonstrate an array of new features and user benefits that mark a great leap forward in speed, responsiveness and customization; the latter removes virtually all limitations for integrators and software programmers," said Eric Henry, VP of signage solutions for Tightrope Media Systems. "For our existing customer base, we will also show improvements in 6.6 that users can take advantage of today. These enhancements will improve the overall user experience and set the stage for the major leap forward of Carousel 7.0."

The new features incorporated in Carousel 6.6 deliver substantial improvements in system control and schedule-based events:

• Channel selection for each media player from the central Carousel server dashboard;
• Automated channel changes similar to dayparting in broadcast TV, providing fresh content to suit a specific audience or atmosphere based on time of day; and
• The ability to turn monitors on and off based on a pre-determined schedule, saving energy and reducing electricity bills over the long term (previously only possible through a separate application).

The new user-friendly control applications of Carousel 6.6 will also apply to the Carousel 7.0 release alongside a host of advanced features, including a single-page Web application that accelerates the content creation and management process. In previous Carousel versions, the system reported each newly saved changed back to the central server. Carousel 7.0 eliminates all two-way communication over the network until the final stage, ensuring lightning fast response on even the slowest networks as users create, schedule and manage content.

Additionally, Carousel 7.0 offers a streamlined content workflow that moves the user through the progression of content creation and scheduling in an automated manner. This eliminates the multiple tabs and windows that slowed the learning curve for inexperienced users, and cuts the workflow time by up to 50 percent for experienced users, the company said. A new fully responsive design will further streamline the Carousel experience by automatically resizing the user interface on any desktop, tablet or smartphone.

For systems integrators and network programmers, Carousel 7.0 offers a set of APIs for interoperability with third-party systems. According to Henry, this enhancement extends the already data-rich capabilities of Carousel software to systems where API integration was previously not possible, such as point-of-sale systems in retail stores and restaurants.