Jason Cremins, CEO and founder of Signagelive, shares his thoughts on digital signage technology and applications.
What do you think is the most exciting technology in digital signage at the moment?
The move towards System on Chip and Android technology. This is dramatically reducing the cost of digital signage deployments and demonstrating return on investment that is unlocking opportunities that were previously stalled.
Tell us about a favourite recent installation your company has been involved with.
The Hansab-delivered Forum Cinema installation in Vilnius, Lithuania.
They replaced a number of standalone, PC-driven screens with Samsung Smart Signage displays. All the new displays are run by Signagelive’s Cloud-based software, which has enabled Forum Cinemas to simplify its digital advertising processes. All digital signage content, including dynamic menu boards and rolling videos, is now managed centrally via a single management interface.
The full digital signage solution comprises six video posters, six digital menu boards and a 2 x 2 ultra-slim HD videowall. The transition from static signage to interactive content in different formats has not only given Forum Cinemas an ultra-modern image, it offers greater flexibility and also saves time and resource by supporting remote content updates.
Digital media information is stored and managed on Signagelive’s core platform and delivered to Samsung’s Smart Signage Displays over LAN without needing any external media player technology. This has resulted in significant cost reductions per installation as well as ongoing operational and energy savings.
It is a perfect example of how Samsung Smart Signage technology can deliver a solution that was previously too expensive to consider. Savings of 40% over three years are typical for customers deploying Smart Signage Displays over legacy on-premise, media player and display-based digital signage.
What three pieces of advice would you give to an integrator looking to move into the digital signage world?
- Embrace the Cloud – if you don’t then your competitors will and are.
- With digital signage hardware and software becoming commodities, look to providing supporting services from content management to on-site installation and maintenance to remain relevant.
- Don’t stand still – the pace of change in digital signage technology is rapid. Anything less than a three-monthly review of your digital signage offering will leave you left behind.
In digital signage projects, what factors are most commonly overlooked?
Make sure your customer has a clear objective for what they are looking to achieve; too many digital signage projects fail due to the lack of measurement of success.
I would also add content, as this is critical to the viability and adoptance of a digital signage network, whether for internal communications or retail applications.
