AV Technology - November/December 2008 - (Page 42)

yourworld education content.” Currently the system is used for departmental bulletins, guest speaker announcements, special events promotion, reminders, room scheduling information, building directories, and announcements of continuing education courses. “They can just create the content, and the people in their area are quickly and directly aware of it,” she explains. In addition, many departments are also including video news and weather feeds in a corner of the screen, and some stream information from their websites. “We’re also working with the University Sign Committee to allow the installation of digital signage in outdoor locations,” says Topping. “This will especially apply to interactive kiosks for wayfinding, general University information such as athletics events, and, naturally, Emergency Management.” As Tightrope introduces an interactive version of Carousel, Topping hopes to use the system for interactive campus and building directories, digital “for sale” corkboards, classroom reservations, and ticket sales and purchases of bus passes. Growth has been rapid. In May, 2007 the signage system included eight displays across the campus. By May 2008, there were 31. By August, the University had 15 more installed with an additional 102 planned for installation within the next 12 months. DETAILS OF THE SYSTEM For smaller signage networks, Tightrope Media offers hardware-based server and player options. But at the University of Minnesota, they provided a software licensing solution for U of M’s own servers and player hardware that the University purchased directly from the company that supplies Tightrope. Marsolek says that Classroom Technical Services installs the players and monitors and coordinates with Facilities Management and Telecommunications for electrical and networking. Most often they use a 40-inch NEC LCD display, but sometimes departments choose a larger monitor. “We have a couple of technicians assigned to install the hardware,” says Marsolek. “It’s real easy, quick, and efficient, and the more they install, the faster it goes.” “What drove us to Carousel,” says Chuck Bottemiller, design engineer for CTS, “was the desire for a web interface. We did not want to install specific application software on each user’s computer. We wanted a browser interface that anybody could just log on to. And we www.avtechnologyonline.com NEC LCD screens are strategically located at entryways near office directories on two campuses of the University of Minnesota. Photo by Don Kreski The Loneliest Help Desk in Town UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA’S FAST-GROWING DIGITAL SIGNAGE SYSTEM PROVES HIGHLY RELIABLE. By Don Kreski I t’s the Maytag repairman revisited. With nearly 100 people on University of Minnesota campuses creating slides for their digital signage network, U of M AV customer service representative Eric Topping says they average just “one or two” support calls per month. “I would say that we typically field one or two calls in the first 1 1/2 weeks of a new deployment,” Topping explains. “Beyond that we get two phone calls a year from various people at that department.” Yet the system, based on a Tightrope Carousel Enterprise Server, is currently in use by 20 colleges and/or departments on two U of M campuses, ranging from the School of Dentistry to the Department of Emergency Management, from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science to Facilities Management. The University is adding new monitors to the network at a 387% annual rate. CRUCIAL INFORMATION “One of the biggest reasons we installed a digital signage system is that we worried that students were not getting crucial information,” says Topping. “We all get tons of email. If the title doesn’t grab peoples’ attention, who’s to say they don’t delete it?” According to Topping, the system has largely solved the problem by bringing bulletins to students and staff just when they need them at the locations where they’re most likely to act on them. Wanda Marsolek, operations manager for the University’s Classroom Technical Services department (CTS), reports that “each department has its own channel and creates its own 42 | AV TECHNOLOGY | november | december 2008 http://www.avtechnologyonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - November/December 2008

AV Technology - November/December 2008 Contents Precedent Corporate: Finishing with Style Government: It’s Still About People Education: Surviving Budget Cuts Applying Metrics to AV ROI Selecting Room Scheduling Software Six Things You Need to Know About Webcasting The Way I See It: Becoming an Internet Native Casino Uses AV for Dramatic Impact Just What the Doctor Ordered The Loneliest Help Desk in Town Product Forum Product Spotlight Tech Horizons New Products Ad Index AV MO

AV Technology - November/December 2008

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