Large Format Signage on Display at Digital Signage Expo

The Digital Signage Expo just ended at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Planar exhibited some amazing large format digital signage displays in our booth #1254.

If your display requirements call for deployment in retail environments, Planar's 42" digital signage might be the ticket. And, we offer displays ranging from 37" to 65" to meet other size requirements. Touchscreen integration makes it easy for your customers to interact with your digital content. The 46" outdoor digital signage includes an optically bonded IR/AR filter for superior sunlight-readability, along with a wide viewing angle and custom cooling design which requires no A/C. This display is perfect for extreme environments where outdoor conditions can impact viewing.

Also on display in Planar's booth was the Clarity Matrix LCD Video Wall. If you're in need of a seamless video wall and uninterupted operation for your control room operations, the Clarity Matrix LCD Video Wall, with its ultra-thin bezel, provides outstanding tiled visual performance.

Planar's customization display experience has been applied to numerous projects that need a tailored solution. Let us know what your large format digital display needs are.

LCD Displays and the Future of Touch

The researchers at MIT's Media Lab have been working on a thin LCD display design that is touch and gesture friendly, much like your iPhone. Despite the fact they've already developed a large -scale gestural interface like the system that Tom Cruise's character uses in the movie Minority Report, the goal is to be able to incorporate the gestural display into a thin LCD device without wearing gloves or any type of tracking tags.


LCDs with built-in optical sensors are new to the market and Media Lab hasn't been able to procure any yet, so they are experimenting with a mocked up display in their lab to test their approach. The LCD display includes an array of optical sensors right behind it and serves as lens to display a black-and-white pattern that lets light through to the sensors. On Dec 19 at Siggraph Asia, the MIT team is presenting the first application of its work, a display that lets users manipulate on-screen images using hand gestures.


Customized LCD displays can be used in a multitude of other applications, too. Planar's use of an ultra-thin digital signage display provides premium performance by using LED backlighting. If your display specifications require more brightness and less wattage, Planar's in-house design and manufacturing capability enables performance advances in TFT display technology. Or, if you have some questions about selecting a custom LCD display, Planar offers some answers in its ebook and provides a guide to help navigate your display project requirements.


How would you use gesturing or touch for your display project?

Oudoor Kiosks...A Sign of the Times

Outdoor kiosks are seen everywhere from Times Square to sporting event venues to airport terminals across the country, not to mention the increase in products offered for purchase from these point of purchase kiosks. Displays that are rugged enough to be used in high traffic environments like this offer a perfect solution to present an assortment of information and services including purchasing products, providing directions, displaying advertisements and offering news.

Just take a run through any airport in the U.S. and you'll see kiosks that allow you to buy and print your ticket and/or boarding pass, plus buy an assortment of products ranging from electronic devices to video and music rentals. The point of purchase option provided by kiosks is well on its way to becoming a mainstay for buyers.

Recently, an article written from a New Yorkers' viewpoint addressed this phenomonon of purchasing trends. Can we be nearing the day when all or the majority of our purchases can be made at a kiosk?

What did you recently purchase from a kiosk?

Display Projects - Last Minute Issues

Have you ever thought you were finished with your display project plan only to discover you had a last minute change to your product definition? These kinds of changes are not only time-consuming, but can adversely affect the project budget. Yeah, you can find lots of information out there that can guide you through the steps to create your display project plan, but Planar has created an easy-to-read Ebook that addresses answers to questions that will avoid killing your schedule.


Everything from regulatory requirements and changing product definitions to environmental considerations is covered in this quick read. Avoid overlooking these critical components of your plan. There's a lot to cover when developing your project plans for displays like custom displays and electroluminescent displays!


Share any last minute changes you've had to make to your display project plan with us! Do you use Ebooks to find answers to issues quickly? Check out other Ebooks on Planar.

Mobile Communication System Aids Fire Department

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department recently installed a full-blown communication equipment package inside the department's public information vehicle. Tricked out with a keyboard, touch-screen monitor and flat-panel television which folds neatly in the rear of the sport utility vehicle, the County Emergency Operations Center can receive vital information in a matter of minutes.

With peak fire season on the horizon, the communication equipment will help provide faster updates to the public on any urgent evacuation messages and save valuable time. Planar's LX1200TI display was part of the communication package and is perfect for public safety vehicle applications. Key features like transflective AMLCD for daylight/night viewing, clear glass touchscreen and rugged design provide benefits critical in emergency situations.

What other emergency service vehicles would benefit from a communication display like this one?

Large Format Digital Signage Makes a Hit in Retail

Who knew the number of people who walk through the doors of big-box retailers was greater than viewers watching Idol? And, since advertisers are frothing at the mouth to get their share of consumer dollars it all made sense why consolidated marketing practices referenced in an article in AdWeek are so popular. We not only see the usual end-aisle displays, but also in-store video networks displaying content on digital signage which we believe is the best way to get your message out to consumers. Talk about a way to intergrate the shopper with your products! Here's an example of a large format digital display that can be used in many retail environments:



In this display format lots of information can be displayed and, in a touch display format, consumers can interact to find information about products in retail stores quickly. What features do you wish were included in retail digital signage?

See-through Touchscreen

We are obviously fans of transparent displays. Transparency opens up new possibilities for how people can interact with information. Here's a video, featured in New Scientist, that demonstrates how transparency and a touchscreen can be combined in unique ways. The demo of the NanoTouch was created by Microsoft.

Multi-touch Experimentation

We love IDEO's approach to solving design challenges. They've been applying some of their design thinking skills to prototyping a multi-touch system. They have even open sourced the project. You can get a backstage view of their home-brew multi-touch project on the IDEO Labs blog.

Anyone else experimenting with mult-touch? We're interested in hearing about the highs and lows of your experiences. Tell us more.

Customized Digital Signage

Our engineering team has been cranking on an exciting new custom project. A few details were recently released about our collaboration with PRN, the leading provider of television networks in retail environments. Who watches TV in stores? Evidently a lot of folks as PRN is the 5th largest TV network. Here's an excerpt from an article in Inc. Magazine from a few years ago.

But PRN is the biggest television network you've never heard of because of these traits, not in spite of them. Its name stands for Premier Retail Networks, and it is the in-store ESPN of consumer products. In industry argot, PRN is by far the largest network in the domestic "narrowcasting" niche, the business of sharply targeted "out-of-home" networks that was born of the fragmentation of traditional television audiences. PRN responded to the fragmented media landscape with a question elegant in its simplicity: Considering that about 70% of brand-buying decisions -- Charmin or Cottonelle? -- are made inside the store, why not try to get relevant ads in front of shoppers at the moment of decision? "Where else," asks Jim Wiatt, CEO of William Morris and a PRN board member, "can advertisers get the message out better?"
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20050601/tv-network.html

Check out the release "Planar Systems Wins Contract with Thomson's PRN to Deploy Digital Displays." Look for more news about this project later in the year.