Emerge - Spring 2008 - (Page Cover2) Digital Signage is Upon Us! By Alan C. Brawn CTS, ISF, ISF-C on the planet having just showcased a prototype 150” (8’x11’!) plasma As usual, this edition of Emerge is dedicated to sharing ideas with our display at CES, but on a smaller scale, be sure not to miss their new readers and to highlight some of the top audio visual products out 65” plasma which offers high picture performance at a great price. Last there, but we are overdue for a reader quiz so here goes. With leading but not least, NEC continues with their commercial 42”, 50”, and 60” edge manufacturers like Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, NEC, Pioneer, plasma displays that have found great acceptance in the world of digital Sharp, Philips, LG, Draper, and Premier, what do they all have in signage featuring one of the best RS232 control protocols out there. common? There are three correct answers and you get extra points for Rounding out the top tier of plasma displays we have Samsung and LG knowing them all. Answer #1 is that they are all first tier manufacturers with products that compete with the best.The bottom line is that the of some of the finest AV. Answer #2 recognizes that these manufacturers selection has never been better.Whether you select are all involved in digital signage which by all accounts Panasonic, Pioneer, NEC, Samsung or LG, you have is the hottest segment in the AV industry. Now for the plasma solutions of every type to offer your customers. gold star to those who figured out that the common “If you don’t know denominator is that all of these manufacturers and digital signage Perhaps more than any other category, LCD flat more have a place to prosper in the hallowed halls of panels dominate our attention. We begin with Electrograph. Okay the quiz is over and most of you got through and Samsung who is bringing out their new 70” and an “A” so well done but this really begs a bigger question. through, then work 82” DX and DXn series monitors to go along Why is this important to me as a designer, integrator, and with their full lineup of sizes. At a full 1080p with somebody who dealer? Of course I am going to tell you! resolution this new series is designed especially for does. This is the key longer hours of operation in what they call “near In a former life I was involved in the photographic outdoor environments.” On the “small” side they industry and a large camera store in our town had a slogan at Electrograph.” are introducing new 24” and 26” desktop monitors that said, “If you don’t know cameras then buy from that provide us with 1920x1200 resolution and somebody who does.”To paraphrase, we can truly say “If one of the best contrast specs in the biz not to mention a 5 ms panel you don’t know digital signage through and through, then work with for excellent video performance. Finally, our friends at Sony have somebody who does.”This is the key at Electrograph. Being one of the brought out their 52” digital signage LCD at 1080p resolution with largest distributors in the world has its benefits in terms of brands carried all the picture enhancements we have grown to expect from Sony. and inventory on hand but the “buck” does not stop there.The real One thing is clear, that bigger can actually be better as LCD displays value is the people that you deal with and the knowledge they possess. increase in size, features, and picture performance. As one of the numerous people who work with and train Electrograph personnel, their investment in education and employee expertise and With home theater being so popular, Sharp is bringing out their knowledge sets them apart. Nowhere is this more evident than in digital Special Edition SE94 series of LCD TVs. Offering 1080p resolution, signage. In the last few weeks alone, seminars and webinars have been the series includes Sharp’s AQUOS Net technology, which enables conducted on topics as diverse as Philips with their 3D technology, consumers to receive realtime customer support from dedicated Samsung and their new DXn panels with MagicNet Pro, and my own Sharp personnel who can connect via Internet to the TV remotely personal favorite, Digital Signage:The Future is Now. My advice is to to optimize picture quality or diagnose problems. The AQUOS Net look to those who offer more than a place to buy a display, mount, or feature also allows viewers to create and configure widgets to check screen. Look for an educated staff, industry certifications, understanding the local weather forecast or get stock quotes while watching TV! of the hottest segments like digital signage and home theater, and Keeping things at home, it is good to see that NEC has reentered individual support in helping grow your business from the inside out. the residential market with their exceptional 40” MultiSync® SC40 As with your business it is all about solutions and adding value. Nobody and 46” SC46, feature-rich LCD displays, bringing a full HD 1080p offers more than Electrograph. experience to your living room. Lest you think I have forgotten some cool products, fear not! As a I want to wrap up our overview with something that is truly unique. pure display guy, one of my favorites comes from Canon with their Philips WOWvx displays provide true 3D and 2D viewing on a single REALiS SX60 projector. It is a bright 2,500 lumens and quiet at display. By detecting the content type, a soft switch effects a seamless 27db but that’s not all. It features LCoS technology which has the transition between the two viewing modes. In 3D mode, each lens greatest fill factor of any digital display and Canon optics. The picture in the display bends the light in several directions, generating a 3D is truly outstanding. Staying with projectors for a moment, the team image. For displaying 2D content the lens effect can be eliminated by at Panasonic Projection are showcasing their higher end projectors soft-lens-switching, which eliminates lens effect by advanced signal designed for the integration and rental and staging markets. What sets processing. When full resolution is needed for an application such as them apart is build quality, lower total cost of ownership and picture Internet browsing or text, their LC-lens-switching, “simply” turns off performance with a feature set unmatched by the competition. For the lens on the display. Wow! heavy duty applications, this product lineup leads the pack. Turning our attention to flat panel displays there is no better place to start than Pioneer with their latest KURO plasmas.You simply cannot ignore the excellent contrast ratio on their displays and more is yet to come.We must mention Panasonic who is the largest provider of plasmas That’s it, a veritable feast of technologies and solutions from some of the top manufacturers and the team at Electrograph. As Alice said in her looking glass, “it is getting interestinger and interestinger.” Stay tuned for more! Alan C. Brawn CTS, ISF, ISF-C Alan Brawn is a principal of Brawn Consulting LLC an audio visual consulting, educational development, and market intelligence ket nt firm with national exposure to major manufacturers and integrators in the industry. He was formerly President of Telanetix ronics. and previously National Business Development and Product Marketing Manager, Pro AV Group, Samsung Electronics. Brawn l is an AV industry veteran with experience spanning over 2 decades including years managing a commercial AV systems integration company after which he became one of the founding members of Hughes-JVC. He is a recognized author erly, for leading AV industry magazines and newsletters such as Systems Contractor News, Digital Signage Quarterly, d Rental & Staging, Display Daily, and Electrograph’s Emerge. Brawn is an Imaging Science Foundation Fellow and the Managing Director of ISF Commercial. Alan is CTS certified and an adjunct faculty member of Infocomm sitting on their PETC council. He is an NSCA instructor and Learning Unit Provider. He was the recipient of the Pro AV Hall of Fame recognition from rAVe in 2004.
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