Happy NEW Year !!

Aan alle trouwe volgers van deze Blog.

Hartelijk dankt voor de vele bezoekjes dit jaar.

Wij wensen je een hele gezellige jaarwisseling.

Samen proosten we op het nieuwe jaar.

..........       Happy NEW Year !!           ..........

In 2013 gaan we knallen en vlammen met erg veel beeldscherm - en projectie nieuws. Dat beloven we.

              

CES; Ultra HD van Westinghouse.

bron; www.hd-technieuws.net



Fabrikant Westinghouse Digital zal op de CES in Las Vegas een nieuwe reeks Ultra HD-televisies lanceren. Het bedrijf liep destijds ook voorop met de introductie van de eerste 1080p HDTVs, maar wil zich nu dus richten op de volgende 4k generatie met een 3840 x 2160 resolutie. Westinghouse komt met 50, 55 en 65-inch modellen, maar er zit ook een 110-inch model tussen. Westinghouse levert die laatste televisie louter op bestelling. Westinghouse Electric Company, later omgedoopt tot Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, was ooit één van de grootste Amerikaanse elektromaatschappijen, maar richt zich de laatste jaren ook weer op consumenten

BMW in the near future.

The BMW i Window Into The Near Future digitally transforms passing cars into the all-electric BMW i3 and plug-in hybrid BMW i8 Concept vehicles — and showcases our vision for the future of mobility.
The window also calculates how much money would be saved and how many tons of CO2 emissions we can reduce annually if each transformed car were all-electric.
See the window in person at 42nd Street and 6th Avenue, across from Bryant Park in NYC, now through midnight, Saturday, November 17th.
BMW i vehicles will be on the road in late 2013.
The Future is Closer Than You Think. See for yourself: http://www.bmwusa.com/bmwi

360° TIMEFREEZE PROJECT.

Making of the Cosmote & OTE 360° Timefreeze Project at the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (OAKA). This project gave the opportunity for everyone to make a timefreezed video for free, download it and share it with friends. It was a 13 day, double event. Twelve days side-event for Cirque du Soleil's - "Alegria" show, sponsored by OTE (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization) and a single day side-event for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert sponsored by Cosmote (Greek mobile network operator). We used 90 Olympus digital cameras in a circular rig, 9 meters in diameter. Approximately 500.000 photos were taken during the 13 days of the two events. A record breaking of 3.000 timefreezed videos were produced!

REAL CREATIONS: COSMOTE & OTE 360° TIMEFREEZE PROJECT

Klick here for the video

Samsung Present A 5.5-inch Flexible Display For Smartphones At CES 2013.

Almost counting the days until the first flexible screen will be integrated in the first smartphone or why not in the first tablet. Samsung already prepare for CES 2013 at least two flexible displays which will be presented and designed to be used in next smartphones and TV’s generations. Even the 5.5-inch screen will be used in Galaxy Skin, Galaxy Q, or Galaxy S4, this is the first bendable screen which is presented at a show and prepared for mass production. Another screen is a big one with a diagonal of 55-inch and designed to be used in TV’s.

Interesting is that the 5.5-inch screen has a HD resolution with 1,280×720 pixels and a 267 pixel density. The biggest advantage of these screen is that are unbreakable.

Samsung is at a step closer to release the first unbreakable smartphone and this could be happened in 2013.

UK mall hangs 'largest LCD video wall in Europe'

Bron; www.digitalsignagetoday.com

Scala Inc. today announced the installation of more than 350 digital signage screens at Britain's third-largest shopping center, Westfield Stratford City. The installation was carried out by Scala-partner Esprit Digital.
Included are twelve double-sided wafers, four inside and six out, four wall-mounted 55-inch digital LCD video wallposters, 10 12-screen bulkhead video walls above each of the main concourses, a five-by-five screen array in the Vue Cinema foyer and two 27-screen walls, one above the other outside Marks & Spencer. The deployment's crowning glory is the centerpiece, a 5-ton, 102-screen doublesided video wall outside the John Lewis store. Scala claims it's the largest LCD video wall in Europe and possibly the world.
All the Westfield Stratford City screens, predominantly Samsung, are used to display in-house interactive marketing messages and mall and store information, as well as information about events, exhibitions, dining and store and center offers.
"The ongoing inclusion of digital signage is now seen as a fundamental component of shopping center operations," said Westfield Marketing General Manager Myf Ryan, in the announcement, "and is vital in enhancing the shopper's customer experience by educating them on product offerings, brand awareness and reinforcing a positive shopping experience at the mall."

Intel Launches New Ultra Small Form Factor Media Player.

Small form factors are very attractive for the digital signage industry. Successful media player manufacturers are focusing on developing ultra small form factor media players with high performance capabilities. This style of media players are in demand for solutions such as kiosk, menu boards, and video walls. Intel just introduced an ultra small form factor media player that is ideal for this type of solutions called the NUC.
The Intel Next Unit of Computing (NUC) is an ultra small form factor computing device thatIntel NUC measure only 4 x 4 x 2 inches. Don’t let the small size fool you as this device supports the 3rd generation Intel Core i3 processor. With high performance coupled with the form factor it is safe to say that this is an ideal solution for kiosks and menu board deployments. In addition to these features the NUC also has very low power consumption with enables digital signage applications to run in these types of small footprint projects. The NUC works perfectly as a media player for digital signage projects, as it is capable of stunning graphics with the power of Intel HD4000 graphics

Download the spec. sheet here

Spartan Stadium gets LED digital signage installation.

Lighthouse and Panasonic have installed Lighthouse Impact 16 LED displays and two sets of LED video fascia at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., home of Michigan State Spartans football.
Prior to the 2012 season, Michigan State cast a vote of confidence to Panasonic and Lighthouse, installing new HD LED displays, scoreboards and a new sound system at Spartan Stadium. The $10 million project replaced a 14-year-old scoreboard, message board and audio system.

The project, a collaboration of Panasonic and Lighthouse, features a new scoreboard/video screen in the south end zone measuring 5,300 square feet. In the north end zone, two LED video displays provide 1,654 square feet of LED video per display, and a one-of-a-kind, 450-feet long LED video wall spans the north end zone, providing animations, video, sponsor messages and live statistics and scores on 4,500 square feet of LED video. Combined, the north and south end zones deliver entertainment and information to Spartans' fans on 13,300 square feet of Panasonic/Lighthouse LED displays.

Spartan Stadium's main LED display is built with Lighthouse's Impact 16 LED video panel, the waterproof SMD LED video chip for outdoor applications. With a wider viewing angle than non-SMD products, 6000-plus nits brightness levels and a significant price advantage, the Impact series is ideal wherever long viewing distances are required, such as sports arenas, outdoor digital signage, advertising billboards, shopping malls and theme parks. Lighthouse's Impact series offers a large panel for quick installation, is IP65 rated, and provides front and rear access and easy-release IM structure for simple maintenance. The Impact 16's 16-bit processing technology heightens brightness levels, color contrast and image quality, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor venues with bright ambient light, the announcement said.

"The project required massive construction in order to get the products in place," said Jim Doyle, president of Panasonic Eco Solutions North America. "Panasonic's partner ICON HD managed the construction elements of the project extremely well to achieve a very aggressive schedule."

"Lighthouse's collaboration with Panasonic at Spartan Stadium resulted in a unique, spectacular LED video installation," added Ed Whitaker, Lighthouse N.A.S.A. director of sales. "This past season, Michigan State fans have enjoyed a game day experience like no other."

LG presenteert korte-afstandsprojector.

Bron; www.nu.nl
LG heeft een nieuwe projector voor thuisbioscopen aangekondigd die op korte afstand een beeld met een diameter van 100 inch zou opleveren.
De Hector Laser TV, zoals het apparaat heet, zal officieel worden gepresenteerd tijdens gadgetbeurs CES, die op 8 januari van start gaat in Las Vegas. De projector zal worden neergezet als een totaaloplossing: de ‘Hector’ wordt geleverd met een zwart projectiedoek en beschikt over een ingebouwde tv-tuner en speakers.
Volgens LG heeft het apparaat niet veel ruimte nodig om een groot beeld te leveren. Een afstand van 56 centimeter tot het projectiedoek zou voldoende zijn voor een beelddiagonaal van 100 inch, oftewel 254 centimer. De projectieresolutie bedraagt 1920 bij 1080 pixels en het dynamisch contrast is 1.000.000:1, aldus LG.

Volgens de Koreaanse fabrikant zou de projector ook in verlichte omgevingen goed presteren. Verder heeft het apparaat twee ingebouwde 10-watts speakers aan boord, evenals een digitale televisietuner. Ook kan de Hector direct verbinding maken met draadloze netwerken. Wat de projector zal gaan kosten, is nog niet bekend.

Light Move Festival in Polen

Polish audiovisual expert Visualsupport announced that they have recently rented Barco products for a few years. The products include two HDX-W18 projectors and a HDQ-2K40 projector. The W18s were used for the recent Light Move Festival in the city of ?ód?. The HDX-W18 features 17500 ANSI lumens, a 1700:1 contrast ratio, and WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolution. The HDQ-2K40 features 40000 ANSI lumens, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, 2K HD (2048 x 1080) resolution, and 40000 ANSI lumens. “A creative idea, great attention to detail, perfectly chosen music and correctly picked technology: these are the ingredients that are vital to good mapping. When designing the technology for the Light Move Festival, we searched for a projector that would allow us to map even the tiniest details of the architecture. The new HDX-W18 proved to be up the job,” said Magdalena Groblicka director of sales and marketing. “The 3-chip DLP technology made our colors bright and alive, and the picture was flicker-free, which greatly enhanced the quality of the show.”
www.lightmovefestival.pl

243m2 LED videowall on external façade of Ukraine’s flagship retail centre.

Kiev’s brand new Ocean Plaza retail centre has installed a nine-screen EKTA videowall on the outside of the building.

Providing coverage of almost 243 m2 EKTA’s LED videowall has been installed on the external façade of the brand new Ocean Plaza retail and entertainment centre, which houses 165,000m2 of shops, restaurants, aquarium, cinema and supermarket in central Kiev. Designed and built by EKTA in Ukraine, each of the LED screens measures 27m2 to create the country’s first fully integrated large-scale videowall. With the integration of C-nario software and EKTA’s ERMAC/SPU-005 control system, its technicians have developed a system that offers branding opportunities for advertisers, as well as a canvas that enhances the architecture of the building itself with the use of visual effects to engage visitors, totaling 60,000 per day. Featuring maximum calibrated brightness of 10,500 NIT for optimum visibility in all weather conditions and a service life of more than 10 years, the nine EKTA-manufactured LVM 8C-vpR-E LED screens are equipped with continuous display monitoring that facilitates constant control of all the screen’s elements 24/7.

bron; www.avinteractive.com

3M Projector Sleeve.

Bron; www.pcmag.com

You may have great photos and videos on your iPhone, but they're hard to show to a group of people on your phone's small screen. The 3M Projector Sleeve is an iPhone-sized projector that attaches to your phone, letting you display its content on a screen or wall. There are other ways to project from an iPhone—larger projectors with iPhone docks, or pico projectors with suitable adapters—but none as convenient as the 3M Projector Sleeve.


The Projector Sleeve only works with the iPhone 4 or 4S. You dock your phone in the sleeve, which is slightly longer than and as thick as the iPhone itself, and plug the connector into the 30-pin jack. It's not compatible with the iPhone 5 and its new Lightning connector, and the iPhone 3 series is too wide to fit in the sleeve. (I hope we see a projector sleeve for the iPhone 5, but a lot of phone-projector mashups—both snap-ons like the short-lived Micron Technology PoP Video ($99, 3.5 stars), and full-fledged projector phones—have come and gone quickly.)

More info here

Grolsch en NRC zetten augmented reality in voor 3FM Serious Request .

Bron; www.nederlandsmedianieuws.nl
Bierbrouwer Grolsch biedt de mogelijkheid om via augmented reality een donatie te doen voor 3FM Serious Request. Door de printadvertenties van de brouwer te scannen met de Layar app op een smartphone of tablet kunnen lezers eenvoudig 3FM Serious Request steunen. Het is voor het eerst in Nederland dat consumenten via augmented reality een bijdrage kunnen leveren aan een goed doel. NRC Media ontwikkelde de augmented reality campagne en realiseert zo op bijzondere wijze interactie met de doelgroep.

Jan Nales, Marketing Directeur Grolsch: "Grolsch is één van de hoofdpartners van 3FM Serious Request 2012. Met onze 3FM Serious Request acties - de speciale blikken, de P(l)opquiz en de benefietavond in Atak - willen we zoveel mogelijk consumenten aanspreken, om uiteindelijk een groot bedrag over te kunnen maken voor het Glazen Huis. Hiervoor willen we ook onze printadvertenties inzetten. Door augmented reality te linken aan onze printcampagne willen we zoveel mogelijk interactie met en participatie van het publiek realiseren. Het doel van de gehele campagne is duidelijk: 3FM Serious Request steunen."

Augmented reality: Koppeling print en online Augmented reality brengt print en online bij elkaar. Deze techniek wordt door NRC inmiddels in meerdere advertenties ingezet om interactie met lezers te vergroten; het doen van een transactie is echter een Nederlandse primeur. Nog nooit eerder werd op dergelijke laagdrempelige wijze doneren via smartphone of tablet mogelijk gemaakt. Om de campagne te kunnen bekijken is de gratis Layar app nodig. Die app is te vinden in zowel de AppStore als in Google Play (Android).

Real-time meetbaar "Door augmented reality toe te passen in onze advertenties hebben we real-time inzicht in statistieken en het klikgedrag, zodat we het resultaat van een campagne meteen zien en, indien nodig, snel kunnen bijsturen", aldus Jan Nales.

Het concept van de augmented reality campagne van Grolsch is ontwikkeld door NRC Media en gerealiseerd door Purple Cow Concepts, een bureau dat is gespecialiseerd in nieuwe digitale media, met een focus op mobiele toepassingen.

Foto Shot december 2012.

Pixel People Perfection

Barneys Lights Up Massive Holiday Display Using MicroTiles.

The holiday season is underway in New York City and the windows of the larger, flashier stores are getting dressed up once again. One of the most, at least seemingly, ambitious projects this year appears to be a massive multimedia installation at Barneys. The fashion retailer’s flagship store at 660 Madison Avenue has several configurations of Christie MicroTiles lighting up the windows. In all, the project uses 425 Tiles. The Electric Holiday display is a partnership between The Walt Disney Company, Barneys New York, and Christie. There is a digitally-animated, moving art short featuring Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Daisy Duck (where’s the Donald???) wearing designer clothes. The short is part of a lengthier light show. The project turned on yesterday and will run past New Year’s Day, and the loop is steady. Because the exhibit uses Tiles, the exhibit doesn’t necessarily have to wait for darkness to spark up. The display tech deals very nicely with direct light. James’ team did the technical consult, from concept finalization, to pre-staging, to on-site set-up. Each window has an array of Christie MicroTiles in a staggered, multi-layer set-up. The Tiles are surrounded by bright meshes of lights that will be synchronized with the music.
The kit of parts:
· 565 square feet of Christie MicroTiles digital canvas
· 50 million pixels of resolution
· 15 simultaneous HD video streams
· 476 square feet of Traxon Mesh
· 600 feet of A-Deco Pixel strings
· five d3 Media Servers

.

Nederlander werkt met vier schermen.

Bron; www.nu.nl

In een gemiddeld huishouden in Nederland zijn zo’n vijf tot tien schermen de normaalste zaak van de wereld. Grote kans dat ook jij op dit moment niet met één, maar met meerdere schermen werkt.
Er worden momenteel meer smartphones verkocht dan gewone mobiele telefoons. De tablet is binnen twee jaar een apparaat geworden dat we niet meer kunnen missen. Ultrabooks zijn zwaar in opkomst en de Smart TV is dé verkoophit van dit moment. Kortom, dat zijn de vier schermen die bij je horen.

Meerdere schermen
Op dit moment hebben we meerdere apparaten nodig die allemaal een eigen functie hebben. De Smartphone is bijvoorbeeld de grote vriend voor onderweg, met muziek, ingebouwde navigatie en een fotocamerafunctie. Voor de momenten dat we wat zwaarder werk moeten verrichten, hebben we tegenwoordig een tablet. De tablet heeft in de korte tijd dat hij bestaat een grote populariteit verworven. En dat is ook niet zo verwonderlijk want je kan de tablet makkelijk meenemen, maar is ook perfect geschikt om in de huiskamer te gebruiken.

Werkpaard
Wil je wat meer doen dan een berichtje maken, of iets op internet opzoeken? Dan heb je toch echt een werkmachine nodig. Was daarvoor eerst een pc of laptop een goede optie, tegenwoordig hebben we dankzij de komst van de ultrabook toch wat meer draagbaar spul ter beschikking. De ultrabook start razendsnel op en heeft een volledig toetsenbord in huis. De nieuwste generatie combineert dit dan ook nog eens met een touchscreen. Voor de momenten dat we echt een flink beeld nodig hebben voor het kijken van tv, film en het spelen van een zware game is nu de ‘Smart TV’ hét nieuwe hebbeding. De Smart TV wordt in de meeste gevallen gedeeld met andere huisgenoten, maar wordt vanwege z’n interactiviteit ook steeds vaker gesignaleerd op slaapkamers en werkkamers. Met een Smart TV heb je onbeperkt toegang tot alle content die op het world wide web staat. En je kunt er ook vreselijke leuk mee Skypen want er zit meestal ook een camera op!

The year of the tablet.

Bron; www.kioskmarketplace.com
An interesting phenomenon occurred in self-service this year: While no single deployment dominated the industry's attention, notable trends seemed to fall in line with the greater scheme of things. As more people bought tablets, joined social media and shopped on smartphones, self-service technology providers found ways to assist, capitalize and profit from the will of the masses.


Tablets take over
As is the case with most disruptive innovations in technology, one item in a new segment tends to become the standard-bearer that others attempt to follow. For tablets, the obvious leader of the pack is Apple's iPad. The device has infiltrated homes worldwide, and kiosk manufacturers have taken notice. The past year has been a boon for tablet kiosks, with companies building enclosures, stands and software to transform the iPad and other tablets into a self-service customer engagement technology. "The beginning of year there were maybe a dozen iPad kiosk companies and now there is somewhere around 50," said Mike James, a 30-year kiosk professional and developer of the Kiosk Pro App for iPad and iPad2. "This year it's clear that iPad and tablet-based kiosks are sweeping the industry." According to James, there is no going back to the old form PC-based kiosks, as he consistently deals with clients looking for the lower overhead and greater ROI that comes from a tablet-based kiosk. And there are no signs of the popularity slowing down. With what started as small orders for 10 to 20 tablet kiosks, James said, "Now we get orders for 250 to 500 at a time. They've gone into big business." Michael Ionescu, president of Ionescu Technologies, agrees that with no standout, overarching trend of 2012, tablets take the cake this year, even in the interactive digital signage industry. "I think the most important trend to happen in our industry is the growth of tablet computing and the fact that interactive smartphones have reached over 50 percent of cell users," he said. "What this means is that more and more people are getting use to digital and interacting with digital screens."

More information here.

flexible LED display.

Flexible LED screens are not just new in the field, news that occur are related to the use of their. ingenious ideas are not keep waiting and surprise us with new applications. In the video below you can watch a real demonstration with a huge flexible screen which is used to display images and text. In images can be seen a highly resistant screen which can be used in presentations in a shop or a gallery.

Uitgever opent 275 virtuele winkels .

Bron; www.sign.nl

Uitgeverij A.W. Bruna heeft tijdelijk haar buitenreclamecampagnes op 275 objecten op NS-stations bij CBS Outdoor verrijkt met Augmented Reality. Ter promotie van twee nieuwe boeken zijn de campagnes voorzien van Layar. Door de uiting te scannen met de Layar app op de smartphone of de tablet kan de consument direct kiezen uit drie mogelijkheden; zij kan het eerste hoofdstuk van het boek lezen, het boek kan direct online worden besteld via bol.com of het boek kan worden gedownload via iBooks op de smartphone of de tablet. “Augmented Reality in combinatie met buitenreclame biedt adverteerders talloze mogelijkheden. Vooral omdat CBS Outdoor exclusieve contracten heeft met ‘wachttijd’ locaties als de NS en Schiphol, geeft dit de adverteerder de mogelijkheid om maximaal gebruik te maken van deze technologie”, aldus Guy Grimmelt, Marketing & Business Development Director van CBS Outdoor. “Aan campagnes kan extra interactieve content worden toegevoegd die voor de doelgroep zeer eenvoudig te benaderen is en vele voordelen kan bieden. A.W. Bruna stimuleert zo de aankoop van boeken door toevoeging van Augmented Reality. Hun marketingkanaal wordt een direct saleskanaal. Er wordt vaak gedacht dat het toevoegen van Augmented Reality erg duur is, maar het is juist kostenefficiënt”. “Door de Layar app wordt heel goed meetbaar of consumenten geïnteresseerd zijn in extra informatie. Het is een mooie mogelijkheid om onze buitenreclamecampagne interactiever te maken. We gaan dit heel goed evalueren, conclusies trekken en bepalen of dit een onderdeel gaat worden van onze marketingmix”, aldus Marieke Niezen, marketingmanager A.W. Bruna Uitgevers.

Christmas House Lights.

It is trendy for people who love dancing Christmas lights and pop music to share their enthusiasm for both with their neighbors - and the world, via YouTube and other web spaces.

"Will the Lights Work?"

Sainsbury's Christmas Days - "Will the Lights Work?" Day from Posterscope on Vimeo.

Bron: Posterscope
In celebration of the Christmas Season Sainsbury's are acknowledging that Christmas is not just about Christmas day but about lots of other “Days” in the holiday season. As part of their Christmas Days campaign the “Will the Lights Work?” Day was promoted though the use of Twinkling LEDs which were implemented in 6 sheets, 48 sheets and interactive 6 sheets. The interactive 6 sheets allowed the user to turn on a plug socket and experience “Will the Lights Work?” Day first hand

Dr. Roboto - Remote Control Telepresence Healthcare.

Intouch Health, a company founded in 2002, provides remote presence solutions for health care, in the form of robots.

The latest robot developed by Intouch Health is RP Vita. It has environmental awareness that allows it to move around a hospital without bumping into people or things. The doctor controls the robot through the use of an iPad by pointing to where it should go. The patient sees the doctor's head displayed on a screen perched on the top of the robot, as depicted in the picture below: It sounds a bit strange, but these robots are in many hospitals, and are useful in rural areas where there are few medical specialists.

The presentation below explains the key points of the use of tele-robotics in medicine:

Yulun Wang: Meet Dr. Roboto, Your New Bedside Caregiver from WIRED on FORA.tv

Bank Negara Malaysia.

The client this time was Bank Negara Malaysia, an Islamic finance institution who have recently designed and built a museum and art gallery within their new headquarters. Looking for a museum piece equally as exciting and intriguing as their new building, they came across Pufferfish and were interested to know what we could provide for their space. Right off the bat we had a few ideas of how they could get the most out of our sphere and after some consultation on the most effective solution, a design was settled. Building a bespoke 1.5 M HardBall sphere, we opted to hang the customised PufferSphere M system from the ceiling in the centre of the room – creating the impression of a floating planet. Placed in the Islamic Finance Gallery, the floating sphere was transformed from passive video player into an interactive exhibit with iPad control. Users are invited to drag their finger over the screen of the iPad, and watch as the globe in front of them rotates; allowing them to select specific areas of the world where ‘Islamic Finance’ once influenced the regions banking system. After selecting a region of the world on the iPad, a visitor is then presented with an immersive 360 degree video on the sphere which, with the help of integrated surround sound, allows visitors to discover and learn about the financial system that once covered the whole world and is now regaining rapid popularity and acceptance.

Bank Negara Malaysia from Pufferfish on Vimeo.

The Link Display at Bloomberg.

The Link Display is an architectural focal point in Bloomberg’s global headquarters in New York. The Link seamlessly integrates with the architecture and is located in the central artery of the building where visitors and employees meet and congregate. Strips of LED encircle the space and enliven the environment. Using Scala, the Link showcases Bloomberg’s real-time financial data in bold and innovative ways, featuring dynamic “shows” including Currency, Market Indices, Weather and News. Scala Certified Partner Téléciné Multimedia created this award winning content.

Bloomberg L.P. Corporate Headquarters from Pentagram on Vimeo.

Here you can find an other video

Personal Signage....video you can wear....

Sean John has created Video Fashion with Recom Group’s famous Video Name Tag exclusively in Select Macy’s Stores beginning the week of December 3rd, 2012. New York, NY/Los Angeles, CA (December 2, 2012) – Recom Group (www.VideoNameTag.com), Macy’s (www.macys.com), Sean John (www.seanjohn.com) . Sean John and Macy’s have teamed up with Recom Group’s innovative Video Name Tag to introduce the world’s first integration of video and fashion. Macy’s VP of Men’s Fashion, Durand Guion, first saw Recom’s technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in January of this year. It was the first time Recom had shown their technology incorporated in clothing. At the same show, a CNN Tech Report called Recom Group’s technology one of the 5 top innovations out of 20,000 new product introductions. Macy’s Vice President, Guion, shares "We are excited to launch this creative combination of technology and fashion" The sweater by Sean John is just the first of potentially many other garments they have designed to hold and display your own personal video screen. The sweater and fashion video name tag are available in a limited selection of Macy’s stores in major metropolitan markets.

Digital Signage AWARDS FINALISTS 2012.

When it comes to awards, ‘Digital Out Of Home’ has, for some reason, either been perceived as a sub-category of the Audio/Visual industry or gets thrown alongside a Digital Signage exhibition or conference.

Needless to say, the categories are nearly always wrong, judging is often poor, sponsors and exhibitors are usually 'considered' (wrong of course) which all leads to an industry sector that deserves much better getting short shrift!

An industry that generates expenditure of billions worldwide, and in some countries, where digital out of home accounts for 15% of the total Out Of Home advertising market deserves to be taken more seriously. We have seen enough award events in our time to know what we like and want we don’t like and have put together this prestigious event that recognises excellence and promotes best practice in the industry.

Zie hier het overzicht van de beste Digital Signage presentaties 2012 de finalisten

Singapore: Changi Airport.

JCDecaux heeft haar nieuwe digitale netwerk naar Terminal 3 van Changi Airport / Singapore uitgebreid. Op 16 kolommen is aan elke zijde een video wall met 12 schermen ingericht. Met totaal 192 schermen noemt JCDecaux dit systeem, Digitale 360. Burberry is de eerste adverteerder.

Bendable Smartphones will come in 2013.

Nokia is on the same road with Samsung and LG in the field of flexible screens used in mobile devices. After Samsung made waves in technology field with AMOLED and OLED bendable display, LG already release on the market flexible e-ink screen used in e-book readers, Nokia is the first European company which announces the release of bendable devices starting with 2013. Compared with Samsung and LG, Nokia prepare in his labs new technology used to produce quality images on bendable screens. Kinetic Nokia Device is the first prototype exposed the Finnish company under the Nokia World event sometime in 2011. The prototype has a new and advanced screen technology and also interesting features about interaction between user and smartphone. In this device is no place for traditional menus or actions to control the device. 2013 is the year when new doors are opened and all devices will be changed once with technology.



2013 will be probably the first year when the first real bendable device will be released and are more likely that Samsung will be the first company that makes this big step in mobile devices. LG is another Korean company with advanced research projects and with a flexible screen already in mass production and used for Flex One E-Reader. This is a 6-inch monocrom bendable screen with a resolution of 1024×768 pixels and builds from plastic. The plastic is used as a substitute for window glass by all companies that have released prototypes or are in preparation to launch mass production for this type of display. Using plastic instead glass brings benefits for the producer and also for consumer. This material is lighter, cheaper, and could be produced with less effort. Using plastic screens in mobile devices also bring benefits to user which has a thin and durable device. Energy consumption is essential for mobile devices and this is another advantages using bendable screen which has a lower energy consumption compared with standard screens used today in devices. In 2013 we have the opportunity to keep in hands the first mobile flexible device but almost we have to guess who will be the first device with bendable screen. Samsung and LG are in the top of the list, but surprises can occur from anywhere. In 2013 will be released also on the market the first flexible battery which is designed by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The prototype is still under development and in a primitive stage since every bending affect the capacity of the battery. Starting with 2013 Samsung introduce in mass production electrowetting displays which could be used in tablets and e-readers. Compared with AMOLED or OLED bendable screens this screen type has a much higher refresh rate which result in greater image stability. Another advantage of electrowetting display is that can be produced on the same production line as LCD screens with small differences.



Skin is perhaps the most viral flexible device on the Internet and is a project which could become reality in 2013. If will be released the device will comes with a 4.0 inch WVGA SUPER AMOLED screen and 800×400 resolution. An interesting features is the OS which will be Android.Flexy, maybe a customized version of the operating system to fold the functionality on this type of device. Other specifications include a 8.0 mega-pixel camera, 32GB/16Gb memory capacity, and a 1500mAh battery.

E Ink persistency record.

A nice reader just sent me the following photo, showing an Active-Matrix E Ink display that was last refreshed on November 2000 - yes, 11 years ago!


An AMOLED E Ink display made by Philips. This photo was taken on November 2011 - exactly 11 years since the display was last refreshed!

This panel was developed by Philips, with the front panel made by E Ink and the back plane (AM) made in Philip' LCD plant in Kobe, Japan. The reader says that this is actually the world's first active-matrix E Ink panel, and is probably the oldest one that still shows an image. Over the years it has long some of its contrast, but the image is still clearly visible.

Nespresso’s Interactive Sales Kiosks Now in 250+ Sites.

Nespresso has an estate of 250 touch-screen kiosks installed in department stores in Europe, Argentina, Australia, Israel and Hong Kong. The equipment is supplied by 3M and the units are driven by the IntuiFace Commerce software supplied by the French company IntuiLab. The app presents the Brand’s range of products via images, video and 3D models, and is linked to a call centre for ordering products. It can be controlled autonomously by the customer, or with the help of a sales assistant. This project is part of Nespresso’s intention expressed in 2011, to invest in department stores as a new distribution channel. The totems help to “acquire new customers, strengthen the brand image and reduce purchase time”.
=======
The rollout follows a 2011 pilot that had Nespresso launching a new sales channel inside large department stores. IntuiLab says in a press release that the coffee brand wanted to: 1.accelerate the recruitment of customers for this shop-in-a-shop experience 2.energize their image to appeal to new customers 3.speed the time to purchase With the help of IntuiFace Commerce, these objectives were translated into a luxury experience combining the clean aesthetics of the brand with a modern, innovative and memorable digital application. The result was an elegantly crafted interactive application – on display technology supplied by 3M – equipped to enable both self-service as well as assisted promotion and selling. The software’s core capability combines product browsing and filtering with selection. Secondary capabilities include brand promotion, 3D informational views, live call center access for ordering and backend monitoring for analytic collection. Throughout, fully interactive high-definition images, video and 3D modeling create eye-catching effects that capture attention and inspire purchase. And behind the scenes, an enterprise class software infrastructure enables centralized remote monitoring, management and updates, easing installation and set-up by non-technical personnel across the globe.

the Christie DualView simulator.

Christie®, a leader in simulation projection display and visualization solutions, is poised to introduce one of the industry’s most innovative concepts, the Christie DualView simulator display at I/ITSEC 2012, December 3–6, 2012. The innovative DualView simulator can separately compute and render the same scene from two unique points of view (POV) with excellent image quality, allowing two operators to respond to their own, separately warped, full-screen image simultaneously. This achieves essentially zero geometric distortion rather than a compromise single DEP ( Design Eye Point) located half way between operators.
“The Christie DualView allows configurations like tandem seating, while offering the perfect viewpoint for pilot and copilot – or any two viewing positions – since the images are computed and corrected specifically for their eye points, not a half-way-in-between,” noted Zoran Veselic, vice president of Visual Environments at Christie. “It’s a concept built upon Christie’s simulation expertise and experience that includes the world’s first dual-input projector, the Christie Matrix StIM™ LED DLP® simulation projector, which renders visible and infrared light simultaneously for Night Vision Goggle training. It reflects our leadership in the industry and commitment to developing a compact, low-cost simulator display without sacrificing on versatility and performance.” . According to Veselic, the Christie DualView represents a new opportunity in the simulation markets such as government, civilian, and gaming, where cost constraints can force customers to compromise on quality and system capabilities. It creates a better sense of teamwork and cooperation than systems in which operators occupy entirely separate simulators. DualView is also much better than splitting screen real estate into two half-resolution images, as is common in gaming, because now each viewer can see their own full resolution images on the entire screen – no compromise in Field of View or image quality. DualView’s ellipsoidal screen is a highly mobile, deployable, and cost-effective solution. It is an extremely promising technology with an immense range of applications, from multi-user simulators for training across many industries, to multiplayer gaming.

Usage by device

Let’s start with some stats on mobile in Belgium (from a Google and InSites Consulting study). By the end of 2013 70% of Belgians will own a smart phone (now 47% – with Christmas and New Years day being huge catalysts in augmenting this number!). If asked where they use their mobile device (or smart phone) the most? The answer was…at home! 20% admitted they used their smart phone while shopping. Needless to say that if 1 out of 5 of your (70%) customers (by the end of 2013) uses his smart phone actively while shopping this creates huge opportunities and threats! In both the UK and US we already see “showrooming” as the challenge for brick and mortar stores. (Showrooming meaning that people go in stores with their smartphones to experience the product and then buying it online – even at eBay or other online retailers). For sure the mindset of people has changed (thanks to the Google and Apple Eco Systems that made this possible.) Just take a look around a see how people behave during a break or while watching TV….mobile is omnipresent all the time. Mobile is becoming our interface (thanks to augmented reality and semantic search your mobile device is becoming a powerful and helpful tool). It’s also interesting to see which device we use when. Next graph shows us that we wake up with our smart phone, use desktop (or laptop) during the day….but when we sit down and watch television we take our tablet out! Second screens come to live when we watch television…. For the moment we don’t live in an app-society….most mobile actions still use the mobile site instead of the app. (Probably because the app is to slow for the moment…and people are less patient – the younger your user is the less patient he/she will be!) Therefor it’s very important to build mobile proof sites, using responsive design! Again it’s not the platform that matters, it’s content, followed by design that matters. All your sites need to create the same seamless experience on every device and every screen! Size of the screen is no barrier for commerce! We’re in a totally digital world where everything can be connected with everything creating a mass amount of data…the big data as it’s been called. Jo Caudron, founder of Dear Media & Social Seeder, argued that big data most of the time don’t serve companies because of the simple fact that it’s just to big (every company is collecting them, but only few use them)….and companies are more interested in the 1-to-1 service it can offer with a customer, so he introduced “small data”. Data which help companies understand their customer to give them an ever better experience, service and value! TRUE! Let’s focus on what data can do for your customer instead of building data that nobody uses.