DigitalSignage Issue 23

Thousands of data points visualised live on multiple 8K x 4K video walls

Physical product driven content triggers

Smart Billboard content with live vehicle model recognition

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CONTENTS ISSUE 23 2017

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

Advertising Office: (02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086

Editorial Office: (03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353

Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@dsmag.com.au) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@dsmag.com.au)

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Art Director: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Graphic Design: Daniel Howard (daniel@alchemedia.com.au) Contributing Editor: Graeme Hague (news@dsmag.com.au) Accounts: Jaedd Asthana (jaedd@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Mim Mulcahy (subscriptions@dsmag.com.au)

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FEATURE STORY 10 Play & Stay: Chadstone Shopping Centre invests in interactive kids’ Play Pods TECHNOLOGY 8 Aurora Australis: New ‘ready to roll’ range of LED 26 Hard Cell, Soft Sell: Tough Outdoor Signage Fingerlicking Good COMMENT 32 DigitalSignage Magazine Video: Latest Eye-catching Tech on our YouTube channel 34 Mug Punter: Reality Bites 4

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

IN ACTION 6 Big in Dubai: World’s Biggest LG OLED Wall 12 Dialled In: Optus Makes Big Call on Signage 16 Healthy Choice: SpinetiX Signage Players Fully ‘Operational’ 18 Go Fish: World-first Digital Shark Cage 22 Topping Kiosk: Some Takeaways About Touchscreens 24 Gold Strike: GCCEC Lights Up Events with VuePix 28 Life of the Party: Four Seasons Sydney’s LED Marvel

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright © 2017 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. The title AV is a registered Trademark.

Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy. 20/9/17

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BIG IN DUBAI

Xxxx

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Dubai Aquarium’s Recordbreaking LG Video Wall • Largest high definition video wall • Highest resolution video wall • Largest OLED screen • 50m wide x 14m high • 820 LG Open Frame OLED signage panels • 1.7 billion pixels • If all individual pixels were stacked on top of each other they would reach 11km • 52 Dataton WatchPax 4 media servers push content — each addresses 16 OLED panels LG: lg.com.au/commercial Interactive Controls (Dataton): www.interactivecontrols.com.au

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Straight Out of the Box Thinking Aurora LED is a new, ready-to-go player in the market

In Action

Large format LED for retail and commercial applications is now utterly mainstream. No longer a tweaky, specialist product, LED is a commodity item.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be great to have a reliable vendor of high quality LED offering a super-simple, fully-contained ‘plug ’n’ play’ package?

Westan: www.westan.com.au

Westan, best known as the Philips commercial display distributor in these parts, has asked itself the exact same question and determined that there’s a need in the market for just such a product.

If you’re after something altogether more imposing, the Aurora 5m x 3m, 2.5mm pixel pitch product is ideally suited to large-scale applications — think: shopping mall atriums and more.

The 103-inch, 3mm pixel pitch model completes the range at this time.

The LED is lightweight, slimline, easily maintainable, and thanks to the aluminium heat sinks, fanless.

Doubtlessly the range will expand but the initial pitch is the supply of a handful of LED panel sizes in 2.5mm or 3mm of pixel pitch. The package is absolutely ready to roll, all they need is power and an HDMI cable.

Aurora has been designed for Australian conditions and looks to be an immediately viable and affordable alternative. 

The 90-inch, 2.5mm pixel pitch package will undoubtedly be a popular model for digital signage applications. Retail shop fronts, corporate messaging… it’s an affordable unit

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

There’s a freestanding version of the 90-inch model as well.

Partnering with an industry veteran and a trusted Chinese manufacturer, Westan is marketing a new range of Aurora LED products.

EASY OPTIONS

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that requires no specialist knowledge to install and thanks to an onboard high-quality scaler you don’t need to get overly tweaky with the content you send it — the Aurora LED panel will fill every pixel with high-quality video.

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PLAY & STAY Chadstone Shopping Centre has invested in kids’ Play Pods where digital interactivity is the main attraction.

Story: Christopher Holder

V

icinity gets it. As one of the largest landlords in the country and looking after the national retail jewel in the crown, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Vicinity understands ‘activation’.

In previous issues of [DigitalSignage] we’ve mapped the effect of retail interactive activations, and how they can stimulate a shopping mall’s social media presence and boost engagement (when expertly designed).

Mostly the executions have been temporary, celebrating a festival or having a seasonal bent.

In the case of Chadstone Shopping Centre, the jury is in. Sure, no retail entity is going to say ‘no’ to extra love on their Facebook page, but ultimately spending money on an installation such as 10

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this is about keeping customers happy, and helping them shop longer — any #lovechaddie online chatter is simply a bonus.

That said, these four Play Pods are in the oldest part of Chadstone Shopping Centre. As such, there was clearly a strong case to replace an existing play area for little ones and augmenting that with three other areas. In so doing, it instantly gives the not-so-hot-right-now wing of the shopping centre with an attraction that gives kids and families cause to linger. Retailers such as ToysRUs and nearby cafés are cheering from the sidelines.

“This is a massive showcase for Interactivity,” noted Interactivity Technical Director, Maddi Goricane. “Vicinity has entrusted the entire activation to us and the focus is very much on the technology — everything the kids can play with it tech based.”

SHEER QUACKERY

Interactivity designed, built and installed every aspect of the four Play Pods. The brief began with an original poem provided by Vicinity. The 16-line, four stanza poem entitled ‘Three Quacky Ducks’ provided the inspiration for the four Play Pods.

Each of the four Pods is sited in one of the four stanzas of the poem and subtly their design and playing modes reflect that — one more themed ‘on the farm’, another more ‘on the beach’ etc.

The headline act is a bespoke interactive game station. Replicated across the four Play Pods the game dovetails with the narrative of the poem.

When not in use the kiosk cycles through the telling of the story of the Three Quacky Ducks. The voiceover talent has a comforting Play School tone about her — intentional, as it happens.

Once the child touches the screen, the voiceover finishes that four lines of the poem then launches the game relevant to that stanza. The first line is read and the other three lines are accompanied by an interactive game.

The original art style from Interactivity’s graphic artists is whimsical and evocative of picture book favourites from yesteryear. Every successful game completed is accompanied by an affirming cheer.

The complete interactive display is an Interactivity product. The shroud is fabricated in Australia and along with the other componentry is assembled in Australia. Interactivity uses an NEC commercial display a touch overlay sourced from the UK. It’s a neat system.

“Parents like the educational nature of the games,” commented Maddi Goricane. “Yes, it’s another screen in their child’s life, but they appreciate that they’re far from mindless entertainment — they engage their child’s memory and acumen.”

The Play Pods also include a suite of tabletop games. Interactivity has compiled an archive of favourites new and old. It’s not uncommon to see ‘dad’ engrossed in a round of Frogger while junior is engrossed elsewhere on the Pod. EASILY LED

The interactive screen might be the highlight but there are plenty else to entertain and delight.

Interactive LED strips are a big hit. Conspicuous green buttons (at a variety of heights for different age groups) trigger LED strips that run up ‘tree trunks’ accompanied by sound effects pertinent to that Play Pods theming.

As children approach other areas (depending on the Pod) more LED are sensor triggered: strip

lights on a bridge, a traffic light turning green, a shop front opening for business.

NICE GESTURE

Rounding out the interactive play are interactive projections on two of the Play Pods. A Interactivity speciality, these play areas are a favourite. Based on an Epson installation projector, an infrared sensor and the game software, kids can jump into a pond or the surf and chase fish and other aquatic life. Such is the image brightness and the quality of the media that toddlers often double take, tentatively dipping their toes in, just in case. Slightly older kids ‘dive’ right in with a squeal of delight.

SERIOUS STUFF

Having fun is serious business. Some nine months in gestation, these beautifully resolved Play Pods aren’t something you can order on Friday to be delivered on the Monday. Bu if the consideration and investment in such an execution is ‘nontrivial’, neither are the outcomes. These four Play Pods reinforce Chadstone Shopping Centre’s family-friendly credentials and keep faith with the retailers in that part of the precinct.

“If you can create movement and light, you will attract kids —they’ll want to come and investigate.

From there it’s our jobs to keep them entertained and engaged, providing mums and dads with a few minutes’ respite, and kids the time to be kids.

“Seeing the kids having fun and using the tech is very rewarding.”  Interactivity: 1300 797 199 or www.interactivity.com.au Epson: www.epson.com.au

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Story: Christopher Holder Photos: Unita

I

t’s ironic really. But designing an amazing-looking digital signage display for a surfwear shop — which needs to be about as hi-tech as an old Kombi van — is much easier than designing great signage into a bleeding-edge tech store like the Optus flagship outlet in Westfield Chermside. One’s mostly for decoration, the other benefits from being integrated into a larger digital strategy.

Westfield Chermside is in suburban Brisbane and the second biggest shopping centre in Australia after Chadstone. Little wonder, then, that Optus rolled in the big guns to really nail the design and build of this store.

Optus engaged boutique creative firm, Collectivus, to take care of the interior design. Unita was the builder — a go-ahead Brisbane-based firm that has fitted out just about anything worth looking at in Westfield Chermside of 12

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late. Entwined — a specialist digital signage firm that’s rolling out some of the largest networks in Australia — supplied the AV. EXPERIENCE ME

Optus started the process knowing it wanted the store to be different. Optus talked to Collectivus about re-defining the brand’s consumer experience through some innovative retail design, and interactive zoning that moves beyond the old passive, ‘look but don’t touch’, ‘sorry-those-aren’t-actually-plugged-in’ approach. Let’s call this an ‘experiential store’.

So rather than being divvied up by product, the store is led by the customer experience — what are your needs and how can the tech make your life easier? It’s personal, it’s interactive, and weirdly for a tech store, it’s even emotional.

Collectivus Business Manager, Rachel Herzberg, put it this way: “We incorporated elements of the ‘home’ into the design concept

to accommodate rising consumer expectations in how they prefer to buy and especially how they naturally tend to think about the product.

It allows the customer to visualise and play with the products in an immersive way rather than on a display shelf or table.”

CLICKS & MORTAR

The in-store digital signage itself is a resolution of everything the customer sees from Optus out of home — whether that’s on the Optus website, in the high street, or elsewhere in the shopping mall.

We spoke to Optus’ Vice President Retail Stores & Retail Sales, Frances Martin, about maintaining a consistency of message:

“Our aim is for our customers to be able to start their buying journey online and then complete or fulfil their purchase in store.

The visual presence and consistency of brand remains the same online and in the store.

The 330sqm space reflects the brand’s softer, more inviting look that’s being rolled-out nationally. Gotta love the charge table — just place your phone onto the table and it charges.

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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“Further work is underway to better integrate ‘clicks and mortar’.

“The Chermside store uses a consistent digital and brand journey for the pathway to purchase which starts before the bricks and mortar digital experience. The pathway starts with outdoor digital then moves through the online environment and is reinforced by in-mall digital signage. The final step is a seamless integration on the façade of the store.”

SO APPY RIGHT NOW

Bridging the clicks and mortar divide is the Optus app. It’s something Frances Martin takes considerable pride in: “the Optus app is the heartbeat of the digital customer experience. Customers want to deal with us when they want and how they want. The app is the perfect vehicle for our very popular webchat customer service, among other things.

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“We have also implemented our in-store digital navigator product which has made it easier for customers by providing helpful information on product specs and pricing.”

TECH OXYGEN

With digital being so much more than decoration, the signage really is an essential strand in the retail DNA of a company like Optus. A creative agency such as Collectivus must factor tech into the design from the earliest back-of-the-serviette brainstorms. Unita knows it needs to ensure the tech is more than adequately catered for in the fitout process. And Entwined can bring its expertise to bear, as to how to get the best from the technology. All this in conjunction with Optus’s head of retail stores.

Collectivus’ Rachel Herzberg: “Technology really is in the DNA of the design. The tech review always come first and is worked into the aesthetic. Tech is

the oxygen of Optus and Optus’s customers.”

In-store signage is another key piece of a company’s digital and online strategy and expectations are high. When I asked Frances Martin how ROI would be measured on a digital rollout such as this the reply was surprisingly matter of fact: “Sales performance. Foot traffic and customer consideration NPS [net promoter score].”  Optus: optus.com.au Collectivus: collectivus.com.au Unita: unita.com.au Entwined: 1300 874 357 or entwinedsolutions.com.au

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Healthy Choice SpinetiX Signage Players Fully ‘Operational’

In Action

IMED Hospitals is a private healthcare group based in Spain.

It currently has three hospitals and two ‘polyclinics’ with more than 1000 professionals on staff. The new IMED Valencia hospital comprises 185 rooms spread over eight inpatient units featuring cutting-edge design and equipped with the latest technological advances in medical care, entertainment and well-being.

The hospital decided to include a communication channel as part of its push to improve communication with patients — what’s going on, take your pills, wash your hands, etc. IMED Valencia’s IT department chose a SpinetiX-based signage solution proposed by Medip Health.

Madison Technologies (SpinetiX): 1800 00 77 80 or www.madisontech.com.au/ digital-signage

The proposed spec went like this: • 70 screens capable of uninterrupted operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, had to be supplied and installed.

• It had to be possible to manage and configure players and load content remotely.

• Creating and modifying content had to be quick, simple and centralised at IMED’s offices offsite in Benidorm, Spain.

• The new system had to be compatible with the existing signage system at IMED Elche, with 45 screens installed, 12 of which form three video walls.

• An optimal architecture would have to be designed to automatically update player content, taking the existing network resources into consideration.

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• Furthermore, there was also a need to be able to expand the project by integrating functionalities into facilities at IMED Torrevieja, with a total of six screens.

HYPER MEDIA IMED chose the SpinetiX HMP300 player to work alongside the HMP100 players already installed at IMED Elche. For content editing, SpinetiX offers a desktop software solution called Elementi, which is distributed via licenses. In this case, the Elementi X license was chosen because, among other things, it enables users to manage an unlimited number of players, or load content to network drives.

Installation of the new players at the Valencia hospital was completed quickly as the players only need to be connected to the power supply and the data network. Once installed, the management of players becomes completely remote.

FULLY SICK SIGNAGE The result is a signage network well aligned to the boutique offering of IMED – immaculate, professional, and just a bit stylish.

Editing content is intuitive, quick and easy. Content templates have also been created that integrate with the tools currently used by the company and feed into the company’s other communication channels, such as its web page or RSS feed.

In this way, by changing the information in one single place, it is also automatically updated on the digital signs, allowing a constant flow of updates to info directed at patients.

IMED is in the process of adding screens across all its facilities. The way the system is configured, using the SpinetiX players, the rollout has been painless, without an increase in central infrastructure or operating costs. 

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Go Fish World-First Digital Shark Cage

In Action

Dubai is often the home of the lavish and the spectacular, and is now, with this amazing digital shark cage, the home of some very innovative digital signage.

Dubai-based system integrator DigiComm worked on the Shark Week exhibit at Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. Using 90 LG screens driven by 42 BrightSign players, DigiComm combined digital technology with a living aquarium to create for visitors the experience of swimming among great white sharks and other large and dangerous fish without the actual fish being present. The experience was created by Emaar Entertainment, the leisure and entertainment subsidiary of Emaar Properties, and Discovery Consumer Products, in association with OSN, the region’s leading pay-TV network.

Midwich (Brightsign): www.midwich.com.au LG: www.lg.com.au/commercial

Paul Hamilton, general manager and curator of Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, said: “At Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, we’re passionate about educating the public on these incredible and often misunderstood creatures. The ‘Discovery Channel Shark Week’ exhibit invites visitors into the incredible world of sharks in a truly innovative way that both educates and entertains. The new exhibition is a key facet of our commitment to shark conservation along with our other initiatives such as the shark artificial insemination programme that we inaugurated in 2015.”

PIXEL CAGE At the front of the exhibit, 28 x 55-inch LG screens, driven by seven BrightSign 4K players with tiled outputs, feature an awe-inspiring scene of great white sharks circling a cage of divers. There are three additional LG 86-inch stretch 4K 18

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

displays with a resolution of 3840 x 600 pixels on entry and exit. “The visitor becomes the diver – they experience the excitement of diving with real sharks in a cage,” says Abdul Bakhrani, CEO, DigiComm, who created the exhibit.

The digital ‘cage’ itself consists of 48 x 55-inch LG screens again driven by tiled BrightSign 4K players. Apparently situated under the hull of a research ship protruding from the wall of the Aquarium, the presentation is spectacular – occasionally one of the sharks leaps towards the cage, and appears to crack the screen. This sequence is accompanied by blood and a very realistic sound effects [presumably of hapless divers being torn limb from limb? — Ed.].

Synchronisation of the video and the effects is handled flawlessly by the BrightSign players.

HEIGHTENED SENSES Innovative technology allows guests to ‘interact’ with the sharks while simultaneously learning about their biology.

DigiComm used the luma key masking feature offered by BrightSign players, allowing graphics and other videos to display through transparencies in the video window. Visitors in the cage can use buttons to select additional video which plays on top of the main looping presentation. These videos explain, for example, how the shark’s senses work. The buttons control the players directly using the UDP inputs. The roof of the cage is a translucent material, on which projectors powered by BrightSign display images of shark bellies to complete the visitor’s experience.

Continuing, visitors are offered a further world: a 20-metre

aquarium demi-tunnel, with the back wall of the tank formed

by LG LED screens. The real fish swimming in front are apparently of one piece with the graphical images of sharks on the screen behind. Using touchscreens interfacing directly with the BrightSign players driving the screens, guests can select which shark species they would like to see swimming on the LED screens in the background. Educational interactive information panels enable a better understanding of the incredible animals. The tunnel is based on two 7m x 3m and one 3m x 3m 4mm pixel pitch LG LED displays driven by three BrightSign XD232 players.

“The sharks inside the exhibit represent the 100 million sharks that are finned every year. This is a practice that we need to stop. We hope this exhibit delivers that message,” said Paul Hamilton, general manager and curator of Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. Finally younger visitors are offered five portrait screens with fun shark facts. Each one is a twominute clip delivered by BrightSign players, controlled by a motion sensor driven by the young visitor.

frequently used to deliver text or static image-based overlays.

To provide video in this form, we worked with the BrightSign team in Cambridge to create a script. These overlays are an essential part of the experience, as they help to add a strong educational element to an exciting encounter.”

The whole exhibit features 42 BrightSign players. There are 22 x 4K models at the front of the cage. The output of many of these are tiled to drive a 4K video on four LG 55-inch HD screens each. Eight BrightSign HD players are used in four kiosks with buttons to drive the four overhead projectors in the shark cage ceiling. Three BrightSign XD1132 players are used in touch kiosks and BrightSign LS422 players with a motion sensor drive five LG 22-inch displays in portrait orientation for the children’s shark facts. 

CALL SIGN DigiComm took the shark cage and demi-tunnel concept from a pencil drawing and made it a physical reality. The design, concept and implementation were their responsibility.

Abdul Bakhrani says, “We always specify BrightSign players, especially for very large showcase installations, because of their stability and the fantastic support we receive from the BrightSign team. One feature in particular, the video overlays, was the world’s first on BrightSign players. The players are Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Sky-High Spectacle NanoLumens LED lights up Singapore’s Changi Airport

In Action

Singapore’s Changi airport sits high on the list of the world’s best airports, featuring robotic ‘housekeepers’, a full suite of self-service options from check-in, and most recently, two state-of-the-art NanoLumens Performance Series LED displays that churn out HD digital content 24 hours a day.

Located above T4’s centralised security screening area, the ‘Immersive Wall’ is 70m-wide by 5m-tall with a 6mm pixel pitch and has been dubbed one of the largest indoor airport displays in the world. The second display is a 10m-wide by 6m-tall, 4mm pixel pitch display in the departure transit area’s Heritage Zone, which is built directly into a shophouse facade with several faux building fronts that highlight Singapore’s architectural evolution from the 1880s to the 1950s.

NanoLumens: www.nanolumens.com

Chosen because of their ability to meet strict RFP specifications, NanoLumens created a custom solution specifically for Changi based on a redesign of their proprietary Nixel Series technology that was able to accommodate the demanding Moment Factory content. The solution required several mechanical enhancements in order to overcome EMI, EMC and other strict RFP specifications.

The new rigid Nixel technology is truly optimised for being flat with a larger diode for the highest brightness and is rear serviceable. Being able to access the displays from a high vantage point through rear service will keep traveler visibility of the displays at an absolute maximum.

Moment Factory created the enthralling visual content for both displays. Immersive Wall shows flowing, geometric

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waves of 3D animations, picturesque lifelike scenes from throughout Singapore, and a funny, playful animation of the imaginary journey luggage takes after check-in. The Heritage Zone display, on the other hand, is integrated convincingly into the zone’s facade, comprising the second floor of two of the buildings and showing Peranakan Love Story, a dramatic original film set in 1930s Singapore. According to NanoLumens Vice President of Sales Almir DeCarvalho, the gorgeous final product is the result of successful collaboration and a highly detailed bidding and engineering process.

“This project was one of the most rigorous, competitive bidding processes we’ve ever been part of,” DeCarvalho said. “After a series of gruelling demonstrations, investors, executives and government representatives all scored the displays on visual appeal and underlying technology, and unanimously voted NanoLumens the best of the best. We met or beat every spec they required, including weight, power draw, brightness, viewing angles, electromagnetic compatibility and electronic magnetic interference limits.”

“With roughly a year of just the bidding process, not to mention the actual installation, this was a highly complex project with many, many moving parts,” said Martin Leclerc, NanoLumens Director of International Sales. “When one considers the consistent, rigorous testing we performed to ensure our specs were accurate and lived up to Moment Factory’s requirements, it’s obvious everyone involved was focused on every detail, every step of the way.” 

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Topping Kiosk Some Takeaways About Touchscreens

In Action

Zytronic: www.zytronic.co.uk

Can’t believe we haven’t imported this idea to Australia.

Or if we have, why it’s not more popular — pizza vending machines… big in France.

Adial has been building pizza vending machines since 2002. Its Pizzadoor machine is designed for installation in rest areas, truck stops, limited service hotels, hospitals, offices, and railway stations. It is also widely used by pizza restaurants in smaller municipalities in France, which can’t justify extended opening hours. Product is stored in a cooling unit, and carefully dispenses in order of age to minimise wastage. Customers can choose a hot pizza to eat straight away, or cold to cook and consume at home. Cooked pizzas are heated in a pulsed warm air oven delivering brown and crunchy pizzas in just three minutes, and are supplied in a hygienic, food grade cardboard box.

Adial’s original Pizzadoor design used mechanical selection buttons alongside a colour LCD screen to present appealing images of the product inside. However, Vincent Le Gouic, President of Adial, noticed that users were increasingly trying to touch the screens when choosing a pizza.

TOUCH MY PIZZA Enter Zytronic, a leader in durable, high performance Projected Capacitive Technology touch sensors.

Vincent Le Gouic explains, “Pizza is the best-selling fast food in France. As a nation, we consume 16 pizzas for every hamburger. We need to be up to date in terms of the customer experience, especially as almost all our customers now have tablets and smartphones. As a consequence, they expect to be able to interact with other screens in exactly the 22

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same way. Therefore, we contacted Eurocomposant with a view to offering a touch screen enabled version of Pizzadoor.”

Delphine Haton, of Eurocomposant, explains the challenging nature of the application. “The quality of the touch performance and the dependability of the screens needed to be very high, as snack foods such as pizzas can often be impulse purchases and customers will walk away if the interaction with the system is unreliable or difficult.”

Zytronic ticked all of the boxes for Adial, explained Delphine Haton, “Zytronic provides an outstanding solution for this kind of self-service application. We have had considerable experience of using its touchscreens in outdoor, public locations, exposed to the weather, extreme temperatures and the risk of vandalism and abuse. The quality of its touch performance is also exceptional – they genuinely provide a tablet-like performance, even on a large format touch screen.”

PROFIT: PIE CHART Mr Le Gouic continues, “The touch screen enabled version of Pizzadoor has proved extremely popular, and now accounts for the majority of the machines sold.”

Zytronic provided a 31.5-inch diagonal, dual-touch Zybrid touch sensor featuring a durable 6mm thick anti-glare glass, with a custom printed black border. Zytronic also laminates UV blocking and IR blocking filters to the rear of the touchscreens for the purely outdoor version of the pizza vending machine, enhancing the protection for the LCD behind.

As a consequence of the success of the touchscreen enabled Pizzadoor vending machine, Adial’s revenue has grown by over 30% per annum over the last four years. 

CORIO®master Now With 4K HDBaseT & Streaming Media Input Options

CORIOmaster micro Delivers the same bandwidth and functionality of CORIOmaster in a super-compact form. Adds audio support as well as front panel buttons for source routing and preset recalling. An ideal, cost-effective solution for four-screen 2x2 video walls or small multiviewer applications that don’t require a full-sized CORIOmaster.

The C3-540 CORIOmaster and C3-510 CORIOmaster mini offer a new, more efficient approach to building video display arrays. tvONE’s CORIO®3 technology gives designers and users access to unexplored realms of video processing power. CORIOmaster delivers true power to the technical and imaginative minds driving today’s stunning creative and dynamic videowall exhibits.

Gold Strike GCCEC Lights Up Events with VuePix

In Action

Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) has invested heavily in LED, taking delivery of a truck load of VuePix ER series panels.

The purchase greatly bolsters its rental department, allowing it to respond to its clients’ increasing demand for slick, dynamic events and potentially gives it the largest LED stock of any exhibition centre in the country.

GCCEC: www.gccec.com.au ULA Group (VuePix): ulagroup.com

Ben Morris, Audio Visual Manager of GCCEC comments: “Investing in over 200 VuePix ER4.8 indoor panels keeps the GCCEC on the forefront of global technology trends for corporate events as well as providing a high impact visual display for sporting events and exhibitions. The audio visual team at GCCEC are excited at the opportunity to enhance our clients’ events further with VuePix LED. The GCCEC provides a tailored technology solution for every event, the simplified construction and modular design of the ER series is well suited to our business needs. From stage sets to large format scoreboards, we have many different application possibilities.”

Nathan Wright, VuePix Product Manager, comments: “We are excited to have our ER cabinets to be in a world class venue and look forward to seeing them on all their upcoming major events”.

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Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

RENTAL THOROUGHBRED The VuePix ER series has been designed specifically for touring and rental markets. The panels are lightweight with a sleek and seamless design, delivering superb visual performance with high refresh rate, excellent grey scale levels, high contrast and wide colour gamut. The key features include fast locking system and positioning pins for easy alignment, dual power supplies and comes with full accessories range.

The system enables to set up the screen as both straight or curved.

The GCCEC is Australia’s largest regional convention centre and a part of the Star Entertainment Group. The world-class conference and exhibition venue was the first in the world to be EarthCheck Gold Certified.

Recently being fully equipped with NextGeneration LAN Technology, the venue always keeps on top of the latest technology trends to offer their clients first class solutions for their events. Logies anyone? 

THE EUROPEAN DESTINATION FOR THE GLOB AL DIGITAL SIGNAGE INDUSTRY

CONNECTING MARKETS & PEOPLE Integrated Systems Europe is the world’s largest exhibition for AV and systems integration. At the show’s heart are the world’s leading Digital Signage and DooH manufacturers and service providers who will showcase the latest cutting-edge products and solutions. This ensures that ISE 2018 will remain the destination of choice for all Digital Signage and DooH professionals. Make sure you are part of the big picture.

W W W. I S E U R O P E . O R G

A JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIP OF Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Hard Cell Soft Sell Fingermark’s Digital Cell sticks it to the harsh outdoors.

Interview: Christopher Holder

F

ingermark, headquartered in New Zealand, is one of the world’s true digital signage pioneers and remains an big international player in the signage market.

checked in with Fingermark’s CEO and founder Luke Irving upon the occasion of the launch of its latest generation Digital Cell outdoor screen.

DigitalSignage

CLARITY FIRST

DigitalSignage: What’s the Digital Cell’s key selling point?

Luke Irving: We’ve focused on clarity and not brightness. Others in our market are pushing 3000 nits through the glass, which uses a lot of power and creates a lot of heat you have to deal with.

Digi Cell operates at a maximum of 1500 nits.

DigitalSignage: So how do you get better clarity?

Luke Irving: We bond the glass to the screen which not only helps with rigidity but reduces reflections and glare. Using this process also has great cooling properties. The heat effectively bounces off the screen, it doesn’t get caught in the 26

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

air gap between screen and the glass.

It means that in markets where you can experience ambient temperatures of 50°C, the screen’s temperature is not much more than the ambient temperature. Because the chassis is extruded from one component, the transfer of heat is seamless and efficient.

The result is a stripped down, highly reliable screen. There are no moving parts to worry about — they’ve all been removed. Digi Cell is a like an unbreakable Toyota from the 80s. More cost effective than the flashier competitor and more reliable.

In the outdoors you just want things to run and run. That’s why serviceability needs to be simple and cheap.

DigitalSignage: Power consumption over a big roll out is a big issue.

Luke Irving: And we’re running at about 40% of the competitive product. We did our calculations and that represent around A$220 savings per screen on an average 16 hour day. Extrapolate that across 2000 screens and you can begin to see how much you can save across a large network.

Fingermark CEO Luke Irving believes that ‘smart city’ initiatives like LinkNYC will help drive the acceptance of outdoor touchscreens.

The camera recognises the car and will display an appropriate image based on what that car would most likely order FINGER LICKING TOUCH

DigitalSignage: Some will have heard about Fingermark’s work with KFC. Where are you at with that job?

Luke Irving: We’re just coming to the end of rolling out KFC’s digital menuboards — 600+ screens across Australia. Next year we’re working with KFC on what an outdoor screen rollout might look like. There’s a pilot trial to come.

DigitalSignage: What panel did you use for the KFC rollout?

Luke Irving: We selected Philips commercial displays for a couple of reasons: because of the Australian distributor, Westan, and because of the image quality.

Fingermark is a family-owned business and I liked the fact that Westan is a family owned business.

We went through a procurement process with Yum [owners of KFC in Australia] as its tech partner. We looked at all the big brands, and we were impressed with how motivated Westan was to do business and win the contract — we realised we could work with these guys. This rollout took around two and a half years with most of the action happening in the final 12 months. Westan was willing to hold stock and ride the ups and downs of an unpredictable rollout — they always had stock when we needed it.

It just so happened that the Philips product had the nicest image during our tests — we got the Yum CEO over the line with the image. He wasn’t liking the colour hues of the competitors but he really liked the Philips image. At a really nice price point.

DRIVE THRU

DigitalSignage: You mentioned a future outdoor rollout. Are touchscreens a big deal in the world of QSR drive thru?

Luke Irving: Drive thru touch is more accepted overseas but I can assure you it’s coming to Australia — I can’t reveal the details yet but there’s a drive thru-only rollout of touchscreens confirmed in Australia in the near future.

But digital in drive thru is more than the convenience of self service. We’ve been working on a smart camera-based system that changes screen content according to what type of car you drive.

It’s called Stop Watch, it’s been in 18 months of development and is now ready to roll. In fact, we’ve recently signed up one of the largest QSR players in the US to the system. It’ll be fascinating to see its impact.

DigitalSignage: So if I’m driving a Fezza, does a waitress on roller skates come out to greet me, while the Datsun 180B gets a ‘keep moving fella’ warning on the screen?

Luke Irving: Not exactly. The camera recognises the car and will display an appropriate image based on what that car would most likely order. It can machine learn through the back end as well, so it will slowly become more accurate over time.

We’ll keep the options tight initially, say, six offerings, based on the car, whether that be a ute, a van, a people mover etc.

DigitalSignage: Anything else in the pipeline for KFC?

Luke Irving: We’ll be launching a KFC selfordering kiosk in New Zealand. That’s something that will inevitably be rolled out in Australia.

The KFC approach is more like a thoroughbred ‘queue buster’ than McDonald’s Create Your Taste kiosks. We believe the prime purpose of a QSR

kiosk is for a quick turnaround. We don’t believe the McDonald’s solution is the right way to go.

Others love it, but I believe it gives people too many options. Certainly confuses me!

URBAN UPTAKE

DigitalSignage: What next for outdoor touch, and the Digital Cell?

Luke Irving:Outdoor touchscreens are going to become a big part of any future ‘smart city’ initiative. We’re working on a big project in New Zealand like this.

New York City’s Link project is big and successful. It’s also very expensive but I believe it will pay dividends when other cities jump on board.

I think e-paper will become prevalent in the next few years as well. After they get full colour on e-ink that will start taking over in the transport space. The price point has to come down but the benefits of running off 6 or 7 Watts of solar power is compelling. There are lots of good e-paper opportunities and it’s another example of a technology that needs a large rollout to keep the overall costs down.  Fingermark: www.fingermarkglobal.com

OUTDOOR SIGNAGE SOLUTION The slimline panel is light weight and built to withstand harsh weather conditions from -20C to 60C. EASY INSTALLATION The Digital Cell units are designed for quick installation with multiple mounting options and self-sufficient setup. All that’s required is a stable surface and power lead for connection. This saves time and money.

VANDAL RESISTANT GLASS From drive-thrus, to bus shelters, subway stations to convenience stores, the Cells are ‘All-Black’ rugged and made to last with features such as vandalproof glass and anti-graffiti powder coating.

COST EFFECTIVE Due to Fingermark’s proprietary passive technology, it uses up to 50 percent less power than competing models. Digital Cell run on around 80c a day, with new developments set to cut costs even further.

VIVID OPTICAL EXPERIENCE Fingermark believes clarity is the key to an optimal viewer experience. The Digital Cell displays go through an optical bonding process that reaches far beyond the function of the screen to enhance clarity, reduce solar effects and minimise glare. They are fitted with an auto dimming system which adjusts, according to brightness levels, for greater visibility.

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Four Seasons Sydney has one of the best LED screens in the biz.

Story: Christopher Holder

I

t’s the look that defined a Steve Jobs presentation, and helped ensure Apple product launches were ‘insanely great’.

The image of Steve in his black skivvy prowling in front of a floor-to-ceiling image is, you might say, iconic.

It’s so etched in our consciousness that if you’re planning on staging your own presentation — whether that be wedding speeches, corporate gig, TED-style lecture, awards ceremony — it’s the look we instantly have in mind, indeed the look we crave.

The trouble is, it’s a deceptively tough look to acquire.

To achieve a full floor-to-ceiling image, you’re ruling out front projection. This is by far the easiest and most cost effective way of attaining a big hi-def, high-brightness look. But if you’re walking in between the projector and the screen you’ll unavoidably have shadowing.

You can buy short throw projector lenses, which will help but to achieve a huge backdrop image you may 28

Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

still need the projector to be three or four metres from the screen, which again may mean shadowing.

There’s also the rear projection option, but rarely does a room have the luxury of space to accommodate it.

Then there are signage displays. You can attempt to get the look with a video wall but you begin to feel like a weather presenter or game show host, and to fill a wall you need a lot of TVs. LED has been the best fit for this kind of largescale application for a while.

LED screens normally ship in a modular fashion, which means you can generally achieve dimensions that best fit your room without compromise.

THEMING COUP

I realise that’s quite a long introduction to a story about a hotel that’s installed a primo LED screen into its ballroom, but context is important here.

Why would the Four Seasons Sydney spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on AV theming?

Let’s ask them:

“The investment in the screen was certainly substantial,” noted Will Parry, Director of Catering and Conference Services for the hotel, “and was part of the larger renovation project to transform the ballroom into a stunning contemporary venue.

We have proudly been delivering unforgettable events here at the hotel for decades – and the opportunity to further enhance our events with this spectacular technology at an accessible price point was one that we didn’t want to say no to. We believe this is the way in which events are progressing – leveraging technology to deliver better, more seamless events than ever before.”

TWO TONNES OF VERSATILITY

The solution was delivered by the hotel’s in-house AV provider AVPartners, helmed by a clearly chuffed Gary Hackett.

“This is a 12m x 3.5m, 2.8mm pixel pitch, 4K-capable LED display. It’s huge,” enthused Gary. “In fact the screen itself weighs in at more than two tonnes.”

LED TECH STATS 12m x 3.5m in widescreen mode 2.8mm pixel pitch 168 panels (500mm x 500mm) 5.2 million pixels Can be reconfigured to CinemaScope, Panavision or Widescreen cinema formats.

12 Meyer Sound loudspeakers complete the theatrical experience

The ballroom relaunch was a Spring-themed affair, showcasing florals, life-size trees, seasonal produce and a 12m-wide 4K LED screen that fits right in.

It’s a little odd to quote the weight of a screen… unless of course you plan on moving it around.

“The screen needed to have the capability of being reset. That was the brief. The screen splits into one-metre segments and allows you to have any configuration from the uninterrupted 12m x 3.5m wall through to 12 x 1m panels, and anything in between.”

Consider if you will, the site of the bride and groom emerging from a door between two 6mwide screens with a giant LED wall of flying confetti. Or indeed a catwalk jutting out from between the screens for a fashion show with edgy 4K motion graphics.

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

For a screen that looks all the world like an elegantly and fully-integrated feature of the room, the tracking system is, by necessity, quite a feat of engineering. Especially, given the ballroom has an operable wall running down the centre. The track needed a corresponding break in the middle but had to be within a 1mm tolerance for the screen to

bridge the gap when moving it to and fro.

The processing behind the screen is also industrial strength. Making the leap from HD to 4K is a big one. The screen with its multiple configurations also allows for a variety of ‘multiview’ options, meaning if you have an 8m centre screen with two 2m banners either side you can send individual video to each.

Again, this takes a lot of processing grunt.

TIS THE SEASONS

Sky’s the limit. This is a glorious piece of technical infrastructure that has the capability to discretely set the mood in a way that you hardly know it’s there… all the way through to being the vivid, pulsating centre of attention/life of the party.

the stage, with the screen behind them showing floor-to-ceiling product images, all the while with no shadowing – perfect for live streaming. And a stunning wedding reception can ensure that the bride and groom enter the room with a bang, literally, with elaborate firework displays lighting up the room on entry.”  Four Seasons Hotel Sydney: www.fourseasons.com/Sydney AVPartners: www.avpartners.com

We asked Will Parry what he was most eagerly anticipating and how his clients might use the tech: “It’s limited only by imagination. A French-themed cocktail party for instance can unfold overlooking a beautiful moving city scene of Paris complete with Parisians strolling the streets. A big-reveal product launch can be delivered by a presenter roaming Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Smooth Jazz Jazz Corner Hotel takes signage seriously

In Action

Story: Christopher Holder

Hotels have a tough time keeping up with consumer expectations. Even in the best hotels — where you can order a BLT at 2am, buy front row ‘sold out’ concert seats from a super-connected concierge, and do laps of an infinity pool 10 floors above the rest of the world — chances are your in-room entertainment experience will be inferior to what you enjoy everyday in your front room, where you think nothing of watching Netflix on demand and ‘mirror casting’ content from a device to your TV. One Perth-based AV integrator, the PSQ Group, is leading the way in closing the gap between guest expectations and hotel experiences, using Philips’ range of specialist hotel TVs to get us there.

Jazz Corner Hotel: jazzcornerhotel.com PSQ Group: 1300 881 840 or www.psqgroup.com.au

THAT’S JAZZ Most recently PSQ Group has worked with the newly opened Jazz Corner Hotel in Melbourne. Having already launched a world-class jazz club (Bird’s Basement) in the sub level of an adjoining premise, the hotel sees property developer Ubertas (helmed by jazz guitarist Albert Dadon) take over a commercial building in William Street, transforming it into a block of jazz-themed serviced apartments.

Each apartment generously features one Philips hotel TV in the lounge and one in the bedroom.

The Jazz Corner Hotel has invested in the IT/AV infrastructure that sees each room fully IP-connected. And when complete, the hotel entertainment system will allow guests to use the inroom TVs to order food from any of the four house restaurants, book tickets to Bird’s Basement shows after being exposed

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to high-production-value club promotion video (think: Vegas casino hotels), live stream shows from the jazz club, and avail themselves of the latest entertainment opportunities.

MEETING EXPECTATIONS Ben Donaldson, Director of the PSQ Group explains the challenges unique to the hotels market: “We work with around 40 hotels across Australia and the demands we hear are now almost always the same: hotels are looking to deploy Netflix and YouTube options so guests can easily procure their own in-room content.

But mostly, no one has thought through the security and privacy issues. It’s great that I can use my hotel TV like I would my TV at home but I’d be horrified to learn that the next guest might see all my YouTube browsing history, or access my credit card details, or — as I’ve heard happen in certain hotels overseas — to think that I’m inadvertently streaming content to a screen in a neighbouring room!

“The best hotel TVs are from Samsung and Philips, and we work with both. They provide the flexible integration pieces you need to meet those challenges. For example, having the TV automatically reset to its factory configuration when a guest checks out, meaning the next guest can enter details without fear of their private information being retained or their browsing history shared.

“Those hotel TVs also allow us to design a system where guests can securely stream content from their device over wifi to the TV. It’s not news to be able to stream content to a TV,

but as an integrator you need to ensure the wi-fi access point knows to only stream content from the Mac address of the guest’s device and not the device in a room next door.

“All this can be a massive integration issue for hotel operators but it’s all now currently achievable to deliver that experience.

Saying that, it does take the input of someone who knows how these things come together.”

HIGH EXPECTATIONS High quality hotels have refined their offering over generations. Anticipating a guest’s every desire is a skill honed with a resolute attention to detail and commitment to their comfort and pleasure. So in recent times, technology has really been a ‘fly’ in the hotel’s satisfaction rating ‘ointment’.

For the guest, plugging in a device, recharging, streaming, downloading… it’s all as natural as breathing. So why can’t my favourite hotel accommodate my needs?!

As we’ve heard from Ben, increasingly they can but it’s deceptively tricky. Products like Philips’ hotel TVs are certainly leading the way. Not necessarily because of the usual headline features such as resolutions, contrast, brightness, or bezel width. It’s in the display’s ability to integrate, update, monitor and control. I’ll give the final word to Ben:

ANDROID COMES TO LIFE The unique feature of Philips hotel TVs is their Android operating system that runs natively on the display. Unlike traditional display networks where the operating system sits on a media server in a rack — which allows content to be pushed to the screen via an IP network — running the Android OS in the display means apps can be pushed to the hotel TV using Philips’ CMND Display Management Platform.

Ben Donaldson: “Pushing content, such as MPEG video or HTML5 isn’t new, but pushing full-blown apps out, and to have those apps come up as options when you boot up your TV or select a certain channel? That’s new. Because it’s an Android platform, if the content manager doesn’t have a certain feature natively, we can go to the Philips TV management platform and push applications out to the screens. Sky’s the limit.

‘What do you want written?’ You might want to add in-room lighting management, ‘okay, we’ll write that and push it out to the TVs’. For example, at the Jazz Corner Hotel, we can push a room service app to the TVs. That’s something new.”

Westan (Philips): 1300 963 963 or www.westan.com.au

Ben Donaldson: “Work like this is satisfying. We’ve been specialising in hotels for 12 years, and in my experience it tests you more than any other space. Because of the transient nature of the guests, it’s like having new clients coming and leaving in the space of a day. It’s a big challenge.”  Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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DigitalSignage Video Search for ‘Digital Signage Magazine’ in YouTube DigitalSignage went to Integrate 2017, Australia’s largest signage expo, and came home with bunch of bite-size video demonstrating what’s brand new in the world of out of home digital.

The biggest and best from LG, Samsung, SiliconCore and more. Go to YouTube, search on ‘Digital Signage Magazine’ and hit the subscribe button before you cruise through the video. 

Samsung LED Display Solutions

VuePix LED Panels

SiliconCore Z.A.C.H. LED Driver Chip Technology

Datapath FX4 Creative Multi Display Videowall Controller

iMAGsystems Thunder

Exterity Overview

Datapath Iolite 600 Video Wall Controller

LG Smart 1mm-Pitch LED Signage

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Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

Get Your Own Do you work in the digital signage sector and would you like to secure your own copy of DigitalSignage?

It’s easy, log onto our website and register. It’s free.

www.dsmag.com.au Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

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Comment:

Reality Bites

Story: Mug Punter

A

s the old saying goes: ‘people aren’t stupid, y’know’. Well, okay, there are a few who have an unfortunate number of dead pixels between their ears. Oh, all right, given we have seven billion folks on the planet, then the small percentage of genuine eejits still represents a fairly large amount of the populace. So yes, some people are what you might call stupid —not too bright.

Which prompts the question: just how much effort do the rest of us have to make to ensure these intellectually challenged members of society don’t do anything silly?

You’re not supposed to let the truth get in the way of a good story so for goodness sake don’t Google this, but did someone really set their RV motorhome on cruise control and leave the driver’s seat to go make a cup of tea? Because if it’s true, then there is every possibility that somebody who has ever sat in a virtual shark cage recreated by a zillion screens, surrounded by hundreds of virtual sharks — and obviously didn’t get chomped—might come to the not so obvious conclusion that it’s a perfectly safe thing to do in the real ocean surrounded by real sharks and real, plump, and slightly slow, fur seals, while floating in a cloud of real offal waste dumped by the nearest, real abattoir. That sneaky digital signage in the simulator—Sharks-R-Not-Us repellent body spray will keep you inedible underwater for up to 24 hours — just might have ticked all the stupid boxes.

How many, ‘Don’t do this at home, folks’ signs do we need?

SAFE RUSH?

A part of the problem is how virtual experiences give you that rush, that excitement, while the participant is always absolutely safe. It’s similar to how we’re being desensitised to violence by TV shows like Midsomer Murders. I’ll never be able to eat cheese again after that episode where the wheel of Wensleydale crushed that poor bloke [cue gratuitous Wallace & Gromit reference]. We’re growing immune to the genuine, lethal dangers of the deep ocean, the Amazon jungle, the Arctic icecap, the slopes of Everest, the lunchroom at Parliament House when it’s Pauline’s turn to cook the fish and chips ... the list is endless, thanks to virtual realities.

Deep-fried concepts are the worst.

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GET YOUR ASS TO MARS

To be fair, maybe there’s an upside to this cyberinduced sense of immortality? Good ol’ Arnie Schwarzenegger and Total Recall might have been onto something. Think of all the virtual experiences that might be beneficial without anyone getting eaten afterwards. Sneak out the smartphone, get some office footage, and you could whip up a virtual situation where you instruct your unsympathetic boss to shove his job up his NASDAQ — the CIA does that kind of stuff all the time.

If you’re an AFL fan, it shouldn’t be hard to cobble together a scenario of telling Barry Hall he’s as ugly as a hat full of bumholes (an odd metaphor, I’ve always thought) then you get to punch him into the first row of spectators.

What about conquering phobias? Here’s a good one ... you can get virtually drunk during a virtual holiday in the Northern Territory, and you can decide you can swim across a virtual croc-infested river and actually reach the other side without becoming the reptilian version of takeaway food or ‘I’ll eat that later’ road kill.

TRACES OF NUTS

Hmm... now we’re back to silly people potentially doing silly things for real, because the virtual experience was harmless. Those warning messages need careful thought.

Don’t panic, I’ve figured it out. Because we’ve got some precedents. Remember those packets of airline peanuts that had the bleedin’ obvious caveat, ‘May Contain Traces of Nuts’? We can use that approach.

So before anybody is allowed to virtually experience a tank filled with sharks, they should be made to read a clear warning, ‘Caution, the real ocean may contain traces of real sharks that will consider you much more accessible than the average fur seal’. Or something like, ‘Caution, most rivers in the Northern Territory — or any pond north of Geelong really — may contain traces of real crocodiles that find drunken, thrashing swimming as appetising’.

It’s all about alerting folks to the perceived safety of virtual experiences against the dangers of the real thing. Making people aware that virtual reality isn’t real at all. It’s… well, virtual.

We could take things a bit further. Among all this technology to go a bit ‘Hollywood old school’ — and to return to our friends the sharks for a minute — wouldn’t the virtual experience be improved no end with a few gallons of seawater sloshed around, perhaps some severed limbs scattered around the floor, some old packets of smelly bait stuffed behind the lounge chairs?

But bugger it, isn’t this getting too hard just to protect eejits? Damn it, it’d be easier and cheaper to just chuck our virtual adventurers off the end of the St Kilda Pier and follow them with a bucketful of Chum.

That should get the ol’ adventure juices flowing.  Mug Punter’s curmudgeonly carping does not necessarily reflect the views of DigitalSignage.

If you have a differing view contact the editor Chris Holder on chris@dsmag.com.au

Welcome to a World of Interactivity

Project: Play Pods x 4 Client: Vicinity Location: Chadstone Shopping Centre Engagement Results: Educational games and play areas increase dwell time & activates older part of shopping precinct

Education, Fun & Engagement Engaging, interactive content for kids is not only fun but promotes the powers of concentration, awareness and retention as well as visual perception.

Interactivity has the ability to create interactive playgrounds through touchscreens and projection. Whether it’s a touchscreen-based suite of games; high-engagement interactive projections on the floor, wall or ceiling; or something brand new, we can tailor a solution and program to suit your needs.

Interactivity Pty Ltd 1300 797 199 www.interactivity.com.au Digital Place-Based Media & Technology

35

Make your message go further Our 86BH5C Ultra Stretch has a four-part display and provides a 58:9 ratio. More impressively the Ultra display enhances your retail or corporate messaging making it stand out from the pack.

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