The digital signage industry is a constantly shifting environment, and as time passes, its forward moves become faster and faster. New accomplishments are achieved daily. We have highlighted some of the most important ones in recent days that deserve your attention.
You may be interested in groundbreaking gadgets from the digital signage world, such as the world’s thinnest hospitality display, or you might be intrigued by statistical data, such as the current status of the industry as we have reached the end of the second quarter and first half of 2017. Whichever may be the case, here are the most recent digital signage news you’ll want to know.
LG Unveils World’s thinnest Hotel TV
LG Electronics USA Business Solutions revealed the LG OLED “Wallpaper” Hotel TV last month. Fittingly labeled the world’s thinnest hotel TV, this 65 inch Wallpaper model is 3.86mm thick… ehm thin (0.15 inches). It easily becomes an integral part of any location it is placed in, as long as there is a wall present, and who wouldn’t appreciate some walls to shelter at night?! With the cutting edge capabilities of OLEDs, this display delivers the best possible quality you can hope to find on a display, all whilst being nearly as thin as your credit card.
LG’s Wallpaper Hotel TV is one of the first in the world to utilize Dolby Atmos audio along with its top notch visual quality. Alongside the Wallpaper Hotel TV model, LG is expanding its advanced 4K HD LED TV lineup with additional models of varying sizes, all carrying the uniquely “thin” feature the Wallpaper model has. The combination of such elements showcases the potential of digital signage for the future.
Panasonic and TransitScreen United
On June 21st, Panasonic Corporation of North America and TransitScreen Inc. announced a strategic alliance, in attempts to bring advanced IoT applications to cities around the United States. In a nutshell, this alliance aims to make the lives of travellers easier by providing real-time transit and transportation information, ensuring easier commuting and decision making.
The combination of two key advantages of both companies promises a bright future for this alliance. On one side, Panasonic has the CityNow platform solution, aimed at providing instantaneous information and services. On the other side, TransitScreen has experience in simplifying complex data, software development and providing personalized, human-centric design.
“Partnering with TransitScreen allows Panasonic to augment its CityNOW solutions in transportation and mobility with rich transportation data, supporting all types of mobility customers. TransitScreens’ IoT technologies will create a smoother, more seamless experience for residents and visitors alike in key cities by providing people with the transit and local event information they need right when they need it,” said Tom Gebhardt, Panasonic Corporation of North America Chairman and CEO.
The digital signage industry will greatly benefit from this partnership overall, as it facilitates bringing TransitScreens to stadiums and arenas, as seen in the image above currently located at the Verizon Center, Washington, DC.
NEC Display Solutions donates to Mercy Ships
On June 27th, NEC Display Solutions of America announced it is making a donation of more than 2,000 commercial-grade displays to Mercy Ships, an international faith-based organization that uses hospital ships to provide free lifesaving surgeries for people where medical care is nearly non-existent.
“NEC has really gone beyond the call of duty with its gift, and as a result of like minded companies, we are able to bring state of the art healthcare to parts of the world that need it most,” said the head of corporate relations, Bobby Baker.
The donation from NEC holds great value as Mercy Ships can use them for communications and information spreading: displays in doctor’s offices and labs to aid in research efforts, large touchscreen displays can be used in conference rooms to contribute to team collaboration, and displays in waiting areas can provide information to patients easier.
The donation from NEC includes large format and desktop displays of varying sizes and resolutions, as well as video walls and interactive displays. As the digital signage industry provides one of the greatest tools in making information accessible and easy to share, it will surely be of great benefit for its heavy duties.
Out-of-home revenues up 5% in June 2017 (Australia)
According to a recent study on July 6th, OOH revenues in the land down under have risen in the past month, showing the powerful influence the digital signage industry has had in 2017. In a broader analysis, the out-of-home (OOH) industry has posted an increase of 7.0% on net media revenue year-on-year in the second quarter of 2017, posting $197.5 million, up from $184.6 million for the second quarter in 2016.
“We know OOH is a significant media channel in the mix, delivering ROI and improving ROI for other media channels. OOH’s continued revenue growth reinforces these facts and proves advertisers trust OOH and how far it can deliver,” said Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of Outdoor Media Association (OMA).
The month of June (2017) has recorded net media revenue of $68.8 million. This shows an increase of 5.3% from last June (2016), which posted a net media revenue of $65.4 million.
BT upgrades its phone boxes with Inlinks
British Telecommunications plc, or BT, has installed its first new InLink ultrafast Wi-Fi hotspot last month, in Camden High Street, London. This upgrade offers by-passers connectivity with download speeds of up to 1Gbps on their devices, charging stations, and digital displays for the public, all for free and packed neatly into a kiosk replacement of the old fashioned trademark BT phone boxes.
This type of utility is what the digital signage industry is all about. InLinks’ digital displays will feature real-time information, including tube service updates, weather, community messaging and more, all free of charge for users and taxpayers.
BT is very dedicated to this project and has even included a detailed overview of the InLink you can explore on their site, which presents interesting and fun facts, such as the image shown above.
In conclusion, as you see there is a lot of fresh news concerning the digital signage industry daily, but we’ve limited this article to merely a few.
If you’re curious about more news related to the digital signage industry, you can check out the solution developed by Vistar Media which allows automotive marketers to reach in-market households with out-of-home media. Early results showed a 12% average lift in sales. Additionally, you can take a look at the law the US state of Illinois passed just recently, relating to the world of OOH. The law makes it illegal for a company to track a person’s geolocation without permission, setting criminal penalties and damages of a minimum $1,000, plus fees and court costs.
Needless to say that within a month’s time, we will bring you another collection of fascinating news from the world of digital signage.
