• Additional RS-232 command support
• DDC/CI command support for brightness, contrast, RGB color, input sources and more
• Additional video mode support
• Additional panel timing support
• Improved video mode recognition
• Improved HDMI sync detection
• Support for custom panel timing programming by users
• Various bug fixes

In part this app was done for fun and as an exercise preceding a few other mobile applications but hopefully it is also useful. Suggestions for improvement are always welcome.

Have you ever wondered around a store and seen a grubby looking screen showing pictures you can’t quite see, or been impressed by a multi screen rotating installation that looks the business. Remember how you felt? If you haven’t had the pleasure, if you are planning to use digital displays, the key is to spend a little time considering the impact on viewers.

Granted, this is only one aspect, but if you think about it, how do you want your visitors to feel after they’ve gone. Are they going to remember the blue screen of death – perhaps the mass of cables piled up at the back of the screen, or will they be feeling good about a pleasant experience with you and thinking about the great looking content they saw? That’s what is great about digital posters – bright screens, always on, low energy consumption (compared to PCs) and loads of interactive options. What’s more, they are designed to big up the content and blend with your environment, there are even options to fit them into existing interior design with the full knowledge that they can be completely relied on.

The flip side? Digital posters are a new concept. Until recently all public screens have been broadly lumped into the same category. That’s changing though as we find specific uses for different types of display. A digital poster performs a specific set of tasks and is flexible enough to be moved around and re-deployed according circumstances. They perform at their best when viewers don’t really notice what they are, they just pay attention to what’s on them, and that happens when the screens are part of the initial plan design for the space they occupy and the content is designed to engage seamlessly with the expectations of the viewer. Creating the great experience whilst communicating is the challenge, but as part of the tool set to achieve this digital posters can make a powerful contribution. Check out digital posters here.

FTP Concepts a UK company have used these networked ViewStream protocols to provide full compatibility with their SaaS based digital signage content management system.

It is all fairly straightforward for database developers with most command files in simple text format. For security purposes the playlist file is compiled using a server based script.

1. Clearly define the purpose of any interactivity for each screen and make sure that all design delivers that purpose. This is because you only have a few seconds to engage with your audience and if it’s not clear they can get frustrated and leave angry – yes, even if it’s something they need to use.
2. Make sure all type is clearly legible. If you are thinking of getting really creative with a script font, resist the urge for any of your key messages or instructions. Also, make sure type stands out from the background, but is not glaring. Ideally you want this to be an easy and pleasant experience.
3. Make buttons obvious. All buttons should clearly stand out and look like buttons with clear action labels on them. Don’t assume people will just know what your buttons do. A certain amount of hand holding is a good idea.
4. Add reward screens that tell your user that they have selected something or taken a step. If a user feels lost when using your interface they will most likely walk away, so make sure they are comfortable and know where they are in the journey. This also applies to the finish. When they have completed a journey, let them know and offer options for what to do next.

Those are just some of the thoughts that I wanted to share to help avoid the situation of confused users spreading bad rumours. They may seem obvious, but we all need to be reminded of the obvious from time to time, so I hope they help.

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.

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.

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.

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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1) VideoFlyer…

The 10″ unit is compact using very little counter-top space but is large enough to be both noticeable and usable as an interactive touch device for collecting customer opinions. For something with a bit more presence the 15″ is an excellent alternative.

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2) Content…

A consistent structure is usually best as it allows for easier changes – indeed it is easy enough to try different question sets. So for a example questions with 3 answer options will be both quick and easy for user to respond to and will allow for standardized response analysis.

DV Studio is the Digital View application (both Mac and PC versions available for free on the website) to set both the playlist and Q&A response structure.

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3) Deploy…

With the still/video files and the playlist transferred to the VideoFlyers they are now ready to be installed in the chosen locations.

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4) Data…

Collecting the data is as easy as posting new content – in fact both can be done at the same time.

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5) Report…

Now comes the really interesting part, seeing the results. This can be done in Microsoft Excel or for more sophisticated systems a custom reporting is relatively straightforward – Digital View even offer this as a service.

As an added bonus the raw data collected can be analyzed to show a profile of usage indicating busy and quiet periods.

For more details contact Digital View – California, London, Hongkong

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.