Use picture frames for easy signage, says PhotoVu
A U.S. vendor of digital picture frames believes its technology could be used for low-end digital-signage networks in small businesses.
PhotoVu, which sells 19- and 22-inch framed LCD units on which users can display images from a USB flash or hard drive, is now to offer the devices specifically for digital signage after finding that many customers were using them for that purpose, as pictured. 
European investors “sceptical of screen media”
For companies located in and around Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, it seems that if you throw a business proposal in the air, it’s likely to come back down and hit an investor on the head. But according to Ajay Chowdhury, CEO of international network operator EnQii, things are a little less bright in European territories.
EnQii was erroneously reported at the end of last year
Credit crunch hitting UK screen-media budgets
British advertisers are becoming much more aware of screen media and are starting to compare ratecards for different locations as a result – but the credit crunch is tightening budgets, Xav Adam, managing director of the Adam Media Consultancy, has warned.
“They will come to me and talk about a broad media campaign that includes [digital] signage, but when it comes down to the budgets, they starting pruning when
Olympics promise extra boost for China's onboard TV
A researcher has forecast that the number of audiovisual units on China's public transport will reach 210,000 this year and more than double by 2012.
CCID Consulting expects the Olympic Games (stadium pictured) to be a major driving force of growth, with onboard TV becoming the main channel for people to watch events in real time while on the move. Beijing has promised that all events will be broadcast
Film opens window on hearing issues
Rear-projection film is being used to attract younger customers into a British hearing-aid store.
According to Paula Dowie, managing partner with Ignite Retail Design International, the decision to go with 3M's Vikuiti rear-projection film at Hidden Hearing's Tunbridge Wells branch near London was taken because it created an instant impact on passers-by.
“Retailers are adopting these new technologies and, whilst hearing-aid specialists are normally associated with older people,
Dollar General relies on one screen per store
U.S. variety retailer Dollar General is hoping that just one screen per store will provide a focus for promotions across a range of media including print and online, designed to increase sales of consumables such as colas.
Dollar General TV (DGTV), was rolled out last month to 500 stores in 13 markets but will reach some 4200 sites by September and the retailer’s full 8300-store estate by the beginning
Adobe bans its Media Player from digital-signage devices
Digital-signage networks using Adobe’s new Media Player to show content could be in breach of the software company’s licence agreement – as hundreds of networks already using Adobe’s Flash are also believed to be.
The licence for Media Player 1.0, released this week almost a year after its first announcement, states that it cannot be run on “any non-PC device or with any embedded or device version of any
Future Media seeks UGC inspiration
Future Media, owner of India’s in-store network Future TV, has launched a nationwide contest for user-generated content.
The competition, dubbed Gone In 30 Seconds, invites short films with mass appeal to air on Future’s network. The company hopes it will highlight the need for differentiated creatives for this medium, said MD and CEO Partho Dasgupta.
Importantly, the films will rely on visual content rather than audio, he added.
Destination to sell ads for PharmaSee TV
Destination Television in the U.S. is to sell local and regional advertising on the PharmaSee TV network, broadening Destination’s offer to general and lifestyle advertisers while leaving the national pharmaceuticals business to PharmaSee.
The signing of PharmaSee, which claims to reach more than 70m consumers each year through some 850 pharmacies including chains such as Medicine Shoppe, Medicap Pharmacy, Buehler’s and Hy-Vee, will add a new location type to
Taiwan’s Cayin looks to mainland China
The InfoCommAsia China Roadshow this week in Dalian, Chengdu and Guangdong will feature Cayin Technology as one of many digital-signage solutions providers trying to extend their market reach into China – an unusual example of a Taiwanese company making a foray into the mainland.
Besides showing its media players (pictured), Cayin will also host a training seminar entitled Interactive Digital Signage for High-Definition China, dealing with the current market
Motomedia targeting Middle East telecoms firms
A UK digital-advertising company that specialises in placing high-impact installations in vacant shop windows is set to open an office in Dubai – and branch out into a number of other territories.
According to Kenny McLean, director of Motomedia, progress is being made on several possible contracts in the Middle East following the putting in place of a licence agreement with the company’s local partners.
Advanced
U.S. advertisers turning to screen media, says researcher
U.S. advertisers are migrating away from TV to digital out-of-home, according to market-research organisation iSuppli. And Sanju Khatri, the firm’s principal analyst for signage and professional displays, told SCREENS.tv that the reason is digital’s superior targeting.
“It’s a better option for advertisers. It’s more focused, more relevant and a better advertising vehicle. The net result is that the major brands, such as Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, and others, are
Can wearable screens cut through India’s clutter?
LCD screens may not be the obvious garb for India’s summer heat – but wearable media are heading to the subcontinent through a new deal between Mumbai out-of-home communications agency Mass Media Makers (MMM) and Canada’s Pixman Nomadic Media. And the local firm hopes that the human touch of wearable media will help advertisers cut through the diversity of India’s consumers.
Pravin Chudasama, president and founder of MMM, told
BroadSign adds agency-friendly features
Improved ad-sales and scheduling tools are the highlights of BroadSign International’s latest upgrade to its screen-media management software. The enhancements reflect an increasing awareness in the digital-signage technology sector that easy interfacing with agencies’ working methods is essential if the medium is to be included in campaign plans.
Version 6.1 of the BroadSign Suite, offered like earlier incarnations on the software-as-a-service model, will generate “media-buyer-friendly documents such as insertion
Neo Advertising moves into Poland
Neo Advertising, which already has offices across continental Europe and Canada, plans to significantly expand its coverage through opening a new operation in Warsaw, and is expected to acquire two Polish networks in the near future.
