Digital View Blog

A lot of digital signage applications do not use audio and indeed very many of the systems Digital View as asked for do not have audio as part of the specification. However when audio is suitable the issue is where to get it from, this is certainly a challenge for me. I quite like stock audio such as from iStockphoto and playing around with programs like Garageband (Mac only) but it seems there are other options.

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:

Increasing sales and customer loyalty is the dream of every business owner. Of course there are many ways to go about this, but I want to give you some thoughts on how to go about finding the best digital signage package for you.

Read more…

Digital signage is everywhere, some of it amazingly good, some not so good. What separates the good from the bad and what is being done to build on successes? Read more…

Over the past few weeks I have increasingly written about LCD and display related issues in the new PanelX blog rather than here in the DV blog. The idea of the PanelX website, which is currently fully sponsored by Digital View, is to provide a number of resources for anyone using LCD panels to build display systems. It is early days and we will keep developing these however to begin with we have LCD panel database, this is derived from the extensive information in the DV Controller Solution Generator, the LCD panel manufacturers directory and the blog.

So this leaves this blog which will increasingly be used for more digital media related topics such as content creation as well as some applications discussion.

Digital View media players are designed so companies can write their own server or PC based content management systems. A number of companies have taken advantage of this to create a proprietary system exactly matching their business needs – the results are very impressive.

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.

Just to be clear, I am not recommending the following as a solution for digital signage content – however I do think it strongly hints at things to come…

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.

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.

I have often heard people dismiss the use of presentation software for digital signage content but Apple’s Keynote looks entirely suitable for some applications. For a start it is very easy to use for text, graphics and video as well as creating animation, then rendering out as video. When you start up Keynote it asks for the slide size so for example a size of 1280×720 for 720p video or 1024×768 for 4:3 video are good choices.

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.

Digital screens and interactive digital posters can still present the public at large with a challenge when it comes to using them. It can be tempting to think that ‘If you build it, they will come’, but that’s simply not the case. Read more…

First a quick definition re ‘professional’, I am using it to refer to anyone who creates video for digital signage as a significant part of their employment and has appropriate expertise.

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.

A couple of our blog posts recently have mentioned making video out of still images so I was interested to see this approach being used by two popular local restaurants:

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.