As such the way to ensure good quality results is to set and maintain standards for the media formats being used. By all means provide tools to make it easier to convert video to the required formats.

Digital View used to promote a flexible approach to file formats and technically this is still possible, but given the overriding requirement to ensure quality we switched to focus on a limited range of formats and provided transcoder tools to make it easy for customers – this is called DV Media Converter (http://www.digitalview.com/dv-media-converter).

Digital posters (professional LCD displays in portrait format) are popping up everywhere, and they offer a great way to promote products and services, entertain as well as inform the public. There are several issues involved when making an investment in a digital poster including brightness, drive technology, ease of use, quality of build, accessories, on board features and capabilities amongst others. The issue I want to shed light on is one of management and what’s involved.

You might only be installing one digital poster, or it might be a hundred, but there are usually two options for updating content. Either physically with a USB stick, or over a network. If you know that your content doesn’t change often and that manually updating is easy to manage then you may not need to consider a network connection. However, you may need to be promoting different messages at different times of the day on different sets of posters. In this scenario it’s worth investigating management over a network connection. This will negate the need to go around updating individual players, so your staff or you can concentrate on other things.

Network update is fairly simple to set up. For Digital View products you can use our free DV Studio software. So as long as you have the IP address of the computer on the network that you want to use (local networks or connections over the internet can both be set up) inputting these details is easy. Now you’ll be able to create playlists and have your digital posters updated automatically with your newly scheduled content, saving time and money. Of course this feature of content management is important on any display solution that you consider for network digital message so remember to find out if it costs extra or, like Digital View, you can get a cost effective upgrade path in the future if you think you may need it later.

One product I found that makes it about as easy as it can get is Abaltat Muse (Mac & PC), this generates audio to go with a video based on the duration of the video and the colors. Shown here is an example of a video (from iStockphoto) that I ran through Abaltat Muse:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Xtranormal.com is a web based service that makes it easy to author  video, extremely easy. The site provides templates with actors and action that you combine with audio via their text to speech engine to create videos for sharing on sites like YouTube. With a bit of effort it seems significant customization is possible covering actors, scenes and many of the attributes. There is also a downloadable Windows based version for offline authoring.

So I couldn’t resist trying it out – here it is using the text above.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Could this approach to creating content ever be good enough to create content for digital signage? The answer has to be yes – it may be some development generations away from being good enough and of course not suitable for all content or all types of content, but some, definitely.

As a final note, having made the video I see that there is a high quality download option, I haven’t received this but when I do I will note the resolution.

Update: The HQ (High Quality) rendering for download was quite quick, the resolution is 640×480 and the format is MP4.

So to consider an application example, video for a real-estate display, suitable steps would be:

• Collect the photos and text details to be used
• Create the slides as with a normal presentation
• Add animation to make the display more active but don’t overdo it and make sure details are left on screen long enough for viewers to be able to see them
• Select Share / Export then QuickTime with Playback Uses: Manual Advance and Formats: Full Quality, Large with audio if you added any.

That is it, a high definition video suitable for a Digital View VideoStream or VideoFlyer media player.

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.

Video may be created either by filming then editing or by working solely on a computer so we will consider both of these.

Filming: Professional video shoots are fascinating exercises in organization. Even seemingly simple shoots can involve scripts, storyboard, director, film crew, the equipment (camera, lights, audio, dollies, cranes, cabling), actors, models, extras. And that is before it gets to the editing suite. Very often, possibly most often some or all of the equipment will be rented.

Computer Creation: At a simple level this will involve authoring and editing and the usual software are any of:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Amongst these After Effects is very popular and seems to be an essential part of the toolkit.
• Apple Final Cut Studio.
• Avid Media Composer

These software packages not only cram in significant functionality but also support plug-ins from companies providing specialist tools. In addition to these there are software packages for 3D modeling and rendering.

I find that some lower cost software provides a subset of the functionality of these professional software systems but is not always easier to use. In this blog we will be looking for software and systems that are easy to use.

Update: Here is an example of an After Effects plug-in, also suitable for Final Cut Pro, this allows speeding up or slowing down of video using interpolation when slowing down: Twixtor.

First there is the local Thai restaurant, they have a large LCD display integrated into the wall at one end of the restaurant. The content comprises still images made into a video using Ken Burns effect and a selection of subtle transitions. The photos are a combination of food, pictures of the menu and a diverse selection of scenes from Thailand – including the highly recognizable Songkran festival. It is not intrusive and works well.

Next is a modern cafe. It has 5 large LCD displays high on the wall behind the main counter used as menu boards. These change for breakfast, lunch and dinner. On some of the displays they had the standard menu which didn’t change – easy to read and choose from. Then on the middle display there were a couple of specials and these did change. In all cases the menu items were in a ‘window’ with a relevant food background made from still images using, you guessed it, the Ken Burns effect so there was movement.

Both these establishments made excellent use of easy to achieve digital signage. The approaches were very different but entirely suitable and matching to their respective styles.

Three of the examples show a mix of still photography, video and audio. For some digital signage users photographs may be as far as they can go without professional assistance which is fine – the winery example is all made from photos. Audio is part of the Animoto offering but very many digital signage deployments do not involve audio in any case.

Animoto is the only example I am aware of an online video creation service and for anyone struggling with video editors it may be worth a try.

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.