LCD Enclosures

Technology development moves at an unbelievable rate, who five years ago thought, that we would be using digital signage to promote businesses?

Now digital signage is using the latest in LCD and plasma technologies, the boundaries are pushed even further.

It isn’t the case of “if”, it is a matter of when we will see the largest TV’s being used for digital signage. As you can appreciate Sharp would not have developed their 108” Aquos TV that has a price of $20,000 if they didn’t think it wouldn’t sell.

The Aquos television is top of it’s game, being full HD 1080p and measures an insane 93.9” (2.285 metres) wide x 52.9” (1.344 metres) high.

The other alternative is to go for a plasma TV, now imagine putting this in your home…the largest plasma TV is 150” (3.81 metres) and is equivalent to 9 x 127cm TV’s! The 150” plasma is 4 times the resolution of 1080p and delivers an awesome image.

Now couple this with some jaw dropping advertising and LCD enclosures, then you will have some serious outdoor digital signage solution.

The biggest star amongst all the new video games and platforms releases at the 2009 E3 convention was Microsoft’s Project Natal.

The project, which at the conference was introduced by Steven Spielberg himself, is touted as being controller free gaming. It uses a simple looking metal bar and box which contain a depth sensor, an RGB camera and a microphone. The system is hooked to a TV display, much like Nintendo’s Wii. The system is a planned add on to the Xbox 360 system.

The system uses full body motion capture and voice recognition to allow the play the games in brand new way. The demonstration at E3 by project leader Kudo Sinoto was very well received.

Of course, right now this technology is designed for gamers and gaming but the possibilities for digital interactive displays in stores are exciting.

Natal recognizes a person by sight and creates an accurate avatar of their body in 3D. What could a clothing store for instance do with that? An interactive dressing room perhaps, without a customer ever needing to change out of their street attire to try on a variety of clothing options? That concept was actually presented in Natal’s own demo video that was posted on You Tube a few days after the E3 launch.
As the technology is being designed for the gaming market the costs of such a system at retail will have to be kept at a reasonable level. This is to be after all and add on only to the X Box 360 system which retails under $300 these days. The possibilities for retailers to embrace this technology in their digital interactive displays are wide open, and it would seem at a far lesser cost than many would have ever thought possible.

From outdoor TV enclosures to digital signage enclosures, LCD Enclosures Global has the solution.

Digital Interactive displays are popping up all over the place these days. They allow a company to interact immediately with potential customers at the all crucial point of decision in a fast and dynamic way that has never been possible before.

There are an increasing number of kiosks all over the world that are attracting customers through the use of highly interactive digital displays. Such kiosks are being used to sell and vend everything from DVDs to IPods.

The Lego company have been deploying interactive digital display kiosks in a very different way however. Placed in selected toy and game outlets around the world the interactive kiosk allows a potential customer to hold up the physical box of Lego to the screen to be “recognized”. The kiosk then displays the pieces inside the box, currently just a jumble of plastic blocks, displayed in 3d images of the models it is possible to build with the chosen kit, complete with a demonstration of how they are built, often one of the most frustrating things about Lego, especially for children. This is of course a great way to get the potential customer excited about the product that is already in their hands, just a few steps away from the all important cash register.

Several major cosmetics companies are also using interactive digital display kiosks to market their products at the point of sale as well. Kiosks installed in cosmetic aisles allow a customer to take a digital picture of themselves right in the store then try out various make up products on their digital image. This is possibly far more persuasive than any static ad campaign using unrealistically beautiful models and celebrities could ever be, made all the better because the products being “tested” are right at the customers side ready for immediate purchase.

From interactive kiosks to outdoor LCD enclosures, LCD Enclosures Global have the solution.

There are almost endless possibiltes for the uses of a digital interactive display. As technology increases as the actual cost of the hardware decreases somewhat they are popping up everywhere.

Cruise ship line Carnival is using digital interactive displays to bring their brand to land lubbers all over America. In six different American cities, including New York, Baltimore and Dallas they are making use of vacant shop windows to display a “virtual” aquarium that passing cell phone users can interact with in a rather interesting way.

The dynamic displays were created using a combination of video gaming technology, flash animation and they feature a number of very stylized representations of fish and marine life.

As a pedestrian walks by the “aquarium” it “reacts” as the plants sway harder, the fish dart around and even bubbles appear in the digital “water”. This alone would be impressive, but where is the interaction one might ask?

Signage invites cell phone users to call a number so that they can create their own fish to live in the digital undersea world.

Once the fish is created, it appears in the digital tank and by making certain sounds as instructed into their phone the user can customize the appearance of their fish to make him uniquely their own. Once the creature is completed the cell phone touch pad can be used to swim him around the “tank”.

The digital interactive display allows users to leave and come back later; their digital fish friend is saved until the next time it is activated by a cellophane call from the same phone.

After a person is done playing with their new friend and moves on they are sent a text message inviting them to visit Carnival’s website for even more fun and games. (and information about exciting cruise vacations of course).

Using LCD enclosures with DiD’s sure is a winner.

Here is the dilemma, you have 2 screen both weighing 30 lbs, and you need to house them in some sort of outdoor TV enclosure these can weigh anything from 50lbs to 70 lbs, so the solution has to robust and seriously heavy duty.

This heavy duty LCD mounting bracket supports up to 190lbs! This includes two LCD displays up to 60” and 2 LCD enclosures.

Digital signage ceiling mount solutions

So no matter what the solution, if it is for staff training, showcasing products to visiting customers, mounting an LCD enclosures are a good idea for protecting the LCD display from potential abuse.

Firstly if the unit is mounted on the floor, the pedestal mounting solution has to be robust enough to with stand any knocks and bangs a fork truck will give. This is why LCD enclosures are a good idea for protecting the LCD display from potential abuse.

LCD Enclosures Global’s solution is to mount the entire LCD and LCD enclosure to a pedestal mounting unit, which is bolted directly to the floor.

LCD-enclosure-pedestal-stand

It may be concerning, however you must put yourself in the position of the integrators who need to install LCD TV’s and protective LCD Enclosures to a ceiling, with a total weight of 165lbs.

The perfect solution is to mount the digital signage solution to the floor, but as we all know, people want to work up into free space, so if a client wants a suspended solution from their ceiling, they get one.

So the best solution would be to mount the outdoor TV enclosure to a supporting beam or pole, this is were the scaffold pole bracket comes in.

This will suspend the TV’s and LCD enclosures from the ceiling with this robust, heavy duty bracket. Manufactured from heavy gauge steel section, and welded to re-enforce its strength.

The bracket bolts to the VESA mounting plate on the rear of the outdoor TV enclosure, then the whole unit is clamped to the scaffold pole, providing a secure solution.

Pole mounted LCD TV VESA mount bracket

Dynamic advertising or Out Of Home advertising (OOH), is changing the way people buy merchandise and services. Digital signage is at the forefront of this phenomenon.

Take for example window dressing a mannequin, this takes time and a great deal of human effort to display the “new seasons” look. Now if you used a digital mannequin, the updated content could be changed at the click of a button, taking milliseconds to complete.

A frightening fact is that out of all the point of purchase material purchased, only 60% gets set up in store, with digital signage this guarantees updates are carried out with the minimum effort of staff in each location and with the minimal amount of expense.

Digital signage has the advantage over conventional advertising mediums by enhancing the retail experience and engaging with customers by inviting them to interact with the displays.

There are several options for in-store digital signage, from the simple digital poster, through to digital signage kiosk networks.

Digital Poster.
This is a stand alone display that can either be none interactive or interactive, depending upon the location and budget.

These units comprise of an LCD display from 20” and upwards and are viewed in the portrait position, they also have an inbuilt media player, that is fed from a memory card, so media creation is simply “drag and drop”. They also offer security to ensure no one takes the memory card and the posters are wall mountable.

Digital posters are an affordable way to enter into the digital signage market, with units costing as little as £450, this is a good opportunity to “dip your toe” into the market.

Cheap digital signage solution

Digital signage system.
Normally these are seen both indoors and outdoors, these are acting as a 24 hours sales person.

They normally comprise of either an LCD or plasma display, with a media player or small form factor PC. The small form factor PC is connected to the internet for the remote updates and hosts the software to feed the displays.

When placed in un-manned locations an LCD enclosure is required to protect it from potential vandalism and theft. The LCD enclosures provide the ideal environment for a digital signage solution that is outdoors in all weather. They are specified to NEMA 4X (US standard) and IP65 (European standard). These outdoor TV enclosures are designed to work in temperatures form -30 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit, providing weatherproof and vandal protection for the electronics inside.

LCD enclosures for the digital signage market

Interactive digital signage system.
This is as the digital signage above, with the addition of an interactive facility to engage with customers enhancing their retail experience. The interactive layer is placed on the viewing window of the enclosure, so that when anyone touches the screen, it acts as a computer mouse and the customer can select anything on screen, the interactive overlays are accurate to 0.2mm.

With some interactive displays a webcam is fitted, so that the demographics of customers is recorded, as they interact with the display and this information is stored to evaluate the success of the campaign. This facility could be used to trial a system, to see exactly what customers want, you could then see the different way men and women shop, what they shop for and at what times, then once all the data is analysed, a none interactive system could be installed and rolled out throughout the different store locations.

interactive digital signage

Digital Signage kiosks.
These are at the top end of the digital signage market, used in main locations indoors and out. They provide the same functionality as the digital signage solutions, however these are a more aesthetically pleasing units.

These are mainly used as part of a digital signage network, were all the updates are controlled from one central location, these offer a more robust permanent signage solution than the standard digital signs, however the costs vary for $8,000 to $15,000 per location!

interactive-digital-signage-kiosk

With the growth of the use of computers and the coming of the digital age sales and marketing campaigns are increasing being forced to begin to concentrate their efforts into the area of digital advertising farther than ever before. Paper fliers, newspaper ads and the occasional television commercial spot are no longer the most efficient or effective way to target potential customers. Digital signage systems are playing a major role in this advertising revolution because of their ability to convey relevant and up to date content practically anywhere at any time. Businesses in any industry or offering any kind of service have begun harnessing the power of digital signage to improve their bottom line in difficult financial times.

Whether a company chooses to use dynamic text content or simply pleasing visual content or a mix of the two is up to them. The content displayed via digital signage system is however just as important as it ever was, poor digital signage content will damage a business’s reputation just as much as a terrible television commercial.

Many retailers are putting digital dynamic signs all over their stores, but especially in areas where customers are likely to be waiting for a few minutes, at the checkout areas. Many are taking advantage of this time to display information about all kinds of products available that the customer may not have spotted. The hope is that the consumer will be interested enough to head back into the main retail area to purchase more than they had intended. After all, impulse buying is the ultimate goal of most advertising campaigns. A customer may have gone to the store just to purchase, for instance, a few groceries. If they then see a short, appealing presentation on the digital signage system at the check out for a higher priced item they very well might be tempted to purchase it as well, without really thinking it through.

Digital signage is not just about advertising though. It can be very useful to convey information to a great number of people at one time. Many offices have installed digital signage systems to facilitate communication between employees and management, making the old fashioned paper memo or bulk email a thing of the past. This of course is a far more effective method for communicating information. The employee does not even have to stop what they are doing to view and act on the information displayed on the digital signage system.

LCD Enclosures are Europe’s leading manufacture of LCD enclosures, used for protecting outdoor digital signage in hostile areas.

A McDonalds in Chicago is filled with all kinds of innovative uses of digital signage solutions. If this experiment in digital signage is successful it may in fact become commonplace in McDonalds franchises all over the world.

While waiting to order their food customers are greeted by a row of eight 15 inch flat screen LCD TVs that have been hung above the registers, where one normally looks for the menu board, which is located just below the TV displays in this particular restaurant. The screens constantly show carefully synchronized marketing content .For instance, in one sequence a McDonalds logo appears on a screen at the far right and then proceeds to “zoom” across the other screens, stopping at the screen that is farthest to the left. The principle is repeated to advertise all kinds of menu items and special offers. The effect is eye catching and engaging for the waiting customers.

There is even more innovation once the customer is in the main dining area. Here there are 42 inch screens that display all kinds of action and sports videos interspersed with McDonald’s commercials. These large screens are actually divided into sections. The videos play in the large right hand portion, but a scrolling bar at the left of the screen offers previews of other available videos. Diners can send short text messages right from their cell phones to change the content that is bring displayed!

There is a third deployment of digital signage inside the children’s Playland. There is found another big screen TV with a camera. Across the room is a three foot tall purple kiosk. The touch screen plays commercials as well as cartoons, which children can pick out themselves. For birthday parties the manager here stops the videos and turns on the camera, so the delighted children can see themselves having fun right on the TV.

The whole thing is controlled from a tiny office at the back of the store , which looks just like a server room in a regular office. In addition to the CPUs that run the digital signage system are all the other computers that are used to run the average modern McDonalds.

But the franchise owner is not stopping there. Recently he hung an outdoor digital sign right under the famous golden arches. It is actually two 6’x12” signs hung back to back, and they play the same kind of eye-catching content as customers inside the store are seeing.