There have been a number of blogs and articles recently considering the differences between consumer TV’s and commercial monitors for use in digital signage. Many interesting points have been raised and argued but to jump to the conclusion it seems very clear that for a lot of professionals there remain important differences despite the relentless pace of development in consumer products.
So what are these differences:
- Reliability was a significant issue with some commentators questioning how this was validated. Also in this context it was pointed out repeatedly that the warranty on consumer models does not support commercial use.
- Power supplies were identified as a primary issue affecting reliability. Indeed in the Integre we use over spec’d high quality power supplies with the option of dual supplies with power balancing and fail-over protection.
- Inputs & connectors: There is no question that many consumer models have a reduced number of video signal inputs, this is the sort of restriction that affects complete system design so it is quite understandable that a good choice of signal inputs was identified as important.
- Temperature and Air-flow management: Consumer TV’s are designed to be used in landscape mode for a limited number of hours a day at ‘room temperature’. The expectations of commercial display systems usually go well beyond this.
- RS-232: It was interesting to note that this was raised as an issue, see our earlier blog re RS-232 lives on.
- Remote monitoring and control: This is not a possibility with consumer models that stop a long way short of what is possible with commercial units, for example control and monitoring of fans, backlight, runtime, on/off and a myriad of other diagnostics.
- Panel options: Many commercial applications require high bright panels, something that is simply not an option on consumer models.
- Quality of electronics in the sub-assemblies: We can vouch for the fact that components vary greatly in their specification which in turn will affect their reliability and longevity.
Furthermore with the introduction of 3D (with glasses) and connectivity increasingly focused on other consumer devices the chances are that the differences between consumer and commercial models may grow rather than reduce.
Stock video can be an incredible resource for creating digital signage content. There is a lot of it, it is easy to access and easy to use – prices vary. A quick search on the web for stock video websites produces many results but one we use regularly is iStockPhoto which offers both stills and video.
So if for example the requirement is to make a menu board for a restaurant there is a huge selection of relevant video clips available, this is quickly apparent with a search of a couple of sites using the word ‘food’: Artbeats gave 1,601 clips as a result and iStockPhoto gave 11,401. A purchased clip can be used to create a video background with either a fixed or changing menu display in the foreground – this is an easy exercise in video editing software.
There are certainly many topics covered by stock video, for example searches for video on topics such as dinosaurs or 17th century gave a respectable number of results for each.
One final point – always check the usage license. Even royalty free video is likely to have usage conditions.
It came as a pleasant surprise recently to see AV professionals commenting in a forum state a preference for commercial monitors with RS-232 over alternative consumer models lacking RS-232.
Here at Digital View we have made great use of RS-232 over the years and continue to do so with standardized command sets and various utilities, for example:
- All our media players can be fully controlled by RS-232 commands and can equally send out RS-232 to other devices. This can be data or instructions and allows for remote device monitoring and control. In addition powerful and innovative interactive systems can be created.
- The DV LCD interface controller range has a significant RS-232 command set giving access to the extensive range of functions available.
It can sometimes be hard to explain the possible benefits to users, it is a bit like the rather unhelpful ‘your imagination is the limit’ promotional line – indeed, that is the challenge. One of the more common uses we see is to make custom button sets so a single button executes a number of commands. Another is for communication of monitoring data and our own DisplayMark digital signage display and temperature monitor is a good example.
At times it has looked like RS-232 was going away, certainly seeing it vanish from the consumer market was ominous. It is reassuring the professionals still understand and seek the benefits.
Just see how digital signs inspired this troupe to put on a show, it’s brilliant.
I like this because I think it reminds us why we enjoy graphics in the first place. Well designed content makes us watch because it’s fun. It’s simple.
What do your customers think about your product or service?
Was the restaurant to warm/cold/just right? Should there be more accessories available? Was the waiting time too long? Are the facilities clean? Will you return?
Enable customer feedback – the VideoFlyer is an incredibly cost effective way to poll customers and can combine both information gathering and digital signage type promotion in a single easy to use package. Five straightforward steps:
1) Using any touch screen VideoFlyer (10″ or 15″ display size) or add a button bar to a standard VideoFlyer (10″, 15″ or 21″).
2) Create appropriate videos or still images and organize using DV Studio.
3) Deploy in-store.
4) Collect data.
5) Analyze and report.
Looking at each of these in more detail…
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LCD panels are a progressive display technology and even though LCD TV’s may accept interlaced video the electronics inside the display have to convert this to progressive. Interlaced originated in the the dark ages of the CRT and low bandwidth. Today bandwidth is available and the display technology is progressive scan. Rather than explain the differences here very good explanations can be found on Wikipedia: Progressive, Interlaced.
The Digital View recommendation is that when creating or encoding video, eg for digital signage, choose progressive. So choose 720p rather than 720i, 1080p rather than 1080i. As mentioned above, interlaced can be used if necessary and Digital View products all do a really excellent job with interlaced video but it is legacy technology support.
As a final note there are considerations for filming in progressive mode that require an understanding of the appropriate techniques, for example panning needs to be either very slow or fast otherwise jerking or image shear can appear. Alternatively tracking an object while panning can be fine as any artifacts in the background will be less noticeable. Filming at 50 or 60fps will likely be better than at lower frame rates. A bit of trial and error quickly illustrates the point.
Trying to set up a simple, good quality digital signage system or menu board in a store or restaurant can seem a little daunting at first. There are many subscription based digital signage systems out there, but what if you don’t want to pay monthly fees? I want to share a few ideas with you about how you can make sure you get the right setup for your needs.
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Train station platforms and airports around the world bear testament to the value of digital signage in transport. The attraction is clearly the shear volume of people even if the demographics are broad. Read more…
We’re very excited about an installation of monitors that Alfacam have built using Digital View technology. Using our powerful LCD Controller board, the SVH-1920, and the HD-2000 and IP-50 accessories, Alfacam have deployed these custom monitors in their OB trucks during the World Cup just as they did at the last Olympics. This is enabling them to drive LCD panels to display the feeds coming in from the games. Read more…
Everyone should be familiar with the video technique of traveling across a map used in movies like Indiana Jones and documentaries similar to the example shown here.
This can be a great way to start a documentary clip for a museum exhibit or other digital signage project such as a promotional video in a travel agency and it is very easy to create. While a couple of software packages such as Road Trip Effects (Mac/PC) from Sol Robots provide dedicated tools the latest version of iMovie (Mac) includes a very simple and intuitive function that was used to create the example above.
To access it in iMovie simply select the Maps and Background browser in the iMovie main page as indicated in the picture here. Select a map style and drag it to the project window. A dialog box may open otherwise double click on the video in the Project window, this will allow you to set the duration and other settings.
Note: Digital View does not endorse, support or guarantee any 3rd party products mentioned on its blog.
