The “parts” of a digital signage project can become a tangled web of technologies if not understood as standalone elements and then as a whole. “The 7 Key Elements of Digital Signage” provides clarity and a way to connect the dots on any and all digital signage projects. Keep in mind that every digital signage system contains all of the 7 Key Elements in one form or another and if ignored, can become the weak link in the chain.

The following are major questions are broken down into ”The 7 Key Elements of Digital Signage.” By answering each one, you increase your knowledge about the requirements of a project and you increase your probability of success.

Hardware

Will the players be mounted in or behind the displays, or in a data closet? How exactly will the displays and appliances be mounted? How many hours a day will the screens be in use? Based on display locations, will you have potential security issues? Do you want to remotely control the display(s)? Will you need to protect screens and equipment from dust, debris, and the elements, as well extremes in temperature or moisture? Will your digital signage installation meet all local and federal codes and requirements?

Software

Are you considering a hosted or software as a service (SaaS) solution or a single purchase licensed software solution? Do you want to display information crawls or RSS news feeds to audiences? Does the player software support this? Is the system capable of generating automated e-mail alerts in case of system and/or screen failure? Does the system perform status checks of connected devices and log content play out for reporting purposes? Will touch screens be used in your application, and will the software support them?

Connectivity

What is the network configuration? Are there any bandwidth limitations? Will you be sharing a network with other applications outside digital signage? Who specifically will be responsible for installing the equipment and connecting it to the network? For screens located far from a source, what kind of signal distribution are you considering? Are you looking to integrate video from another source into your content feed? Will you be locating signage in an island kiosk or aisle end caps? How do you plan to distribute audio as well as serial control signals?

Content

Are there existing content resources to draw from? Who will be responsible for the overall “look and feel” of the content? Do you have graphic designers on staff or the services of a design firm? Can suppliers, vendors, or partners of yours help supply content? Will you need to add audio with your content? Is audio permissible in the environment that you have chosen for the digital signage system?

Operations

Will you have a single person administer or multiple people who require passwords and permissions for any specific content? Will you need to integrate additional building operations, such as paging, security, or fire alarms into the digital signage? Will you have someone on-staff to troubleshoot issues and be dispatched to get a screen or player up and running? Are their provisions for proper system backup for operation and storage of content? Have you properly estimated the amount of time it takes not to just implement a system, but also manage it and update it with fresh, relevant content later?

Design

Who is the intended audience/viewer? What information do you want to communicate? Are you looking to deploy the signage in more than one location? Looking to deploy your digital signage internationally? Are you planning an incremental roll-out? Do you have a lead person designated to evaluate and test the system?

Business

What is the timeline for judgment and what are the repercussions for failure or success? Is the digital signage system based on ROI? Is the digital signage system based on attainment of objectives, aka ROO, and if so, what is the business plan and strategy? Are there participating partners in the project and if so, what is the division of responsibilities and metrics of completion of tasks? When evaluating a supplier for your digital signage system, also ask:

• What does the price include? What are the options?

• Is technical support extra, and who provides that support?

• What are the shipping terms, return policies, and warranties?

• Is training available at no charge, and how good is it?

• How is customer service handled, and how are complaints adjudicated?

Being able to understand and answer each of these questions will certainly help you on your journey to digital signage success! Comments? Questions? You can always reach out to one of our Digital Signage Success Managers at 724-873-6553.

Before beginning any digital signage project, you will need to assess your site and your resources by:

Surveying the site where the digital screens will be placed.
Ensure that you can adequately mount, power, and have room to troubleshoot the installed LCD, plasma, or other screen. Be sure to have a technician verify the power levels for every location, so that it's clear of line noise and consistent, and there's enough airflow. Excessive heat can cause sensitive electronics to perform inadequately or even fail.

Also determine the lighting at all hours of the day. If it's under fluorescent lighting or in areas with a lot of sunlight, you may need panels with suitable coatings, the kind that reduce the amount of reflective light. And along with the ambient light, determine how much ambient noise is present. You may have to use larger speakers, at different angles, for your site's application.

Don't forget to take into account the size of the audience you plan to reach. Plasma screens with wider viewing angles may serve you better than LCDs in certain spaces. Touchscreen displays are a technology on the rise as well. This allows you to set up more advanced, interactive signage. Surveying traffic flow patterns at different times of the day will also help you determine optimal screen placement.

Ensuring that you have the necessary network connections.
If you don't, you may have to look into setting up a wireless link, which is also ideal for isolated storefront areas or deploying digital signage in historic, architecturally significant buildings where wiring isn't feasible. Or consider using standalone content player units near the signage (this won't allow you to stream live video from off-site or via the Internet, but it offers a solution if you're just playing pre-recorded content, such as slideshows).

If you have a wired Internet connection for content delivery or plan to use a private VPN over public broadband link, verify that your ISP can support your needs. Many providers limit the amount of bandwidth that customers can use. If this happens to you, your Web-routed content may be unable to stream content to digital signage nodes at the edge of your applications.

Even if you don't use the Internet, keep in mind that the larger the files, the more bandwidth and processing power you'll need. Industry pros will tell you that DVD-quality video (for standard NTSC resolution of 720 x 480 Hz) requires approximately 40 MB of file space per minute. For 1080i digital signage, you'll need 140 MB per minute. What's more, data-heavy files can cause network bottlenecks and if not provisioned for appropriately, can lead to costly downtime and unhappy users.

You may even want to consider a private leased-line connection. Yes, it's expensive, but it'll enable you to keep tabs on bandwidth usage, monitor data flows, and direct bandwidth to digital signage links with the highest demands.

And what if you plan to set up a distributed digital signage network with, say, 100 or more sites miles apart, with some locations in rural areas, out of the reach of DSL or CATV providers? Satellite instead of terrestrial lines may be what you need, particularly if you plan to multicast DVD-quality MPEG2 video to different signs. If you do go the satellite route, be advised that you might need signal decoders to convert what's captured by a dish on the rooftop, as well as a router that processes packets for content fed from an IP link.

Evaluating and planning content.

The first step in planning content is to outline what you want to display, how you want to display it, and how often you want to change it. Do you want to show live streaming video, RSS news, or stock ticker feeds? Do you want to share breaking news stories? Do you want to deliver constantly changing updates, messages, promotions, specials, etc? With digital signage almost anything is possible.

Today's digital signage solutions offer you a wide array of options and nearly endless presentation opportunities, including video, audio, still images, tickers, HTML, and flash animation. You can display the same content at multiple screens or you can display unique content at each individual screen. You can even schedule the content to change at regular intervals or scheduled times based on your desired messaging or audiences.

If your internal resources are limited, you can easily find a large number of third-party content creators that can deliver world-class digital signage. Creative costs can vary so you might want to explore a few options. You'll also want to make sure you see their work, talk to their customers, and get estimates in writing. You might want to consider using both internal and external sources. Have an expert develop content to be displayed and then you can simply modify the content in-house as you see fit.

If you're starting to feel a little intimidated by all the available options and decisions, don't be. The good news is that many of today's digital signage media players are preloaded with a wide selection of templates and user-friendly design tools that make in-house content creation a viable, affordable option. Once you've determined what you want to display, conduct an internal review of your available resources. Do you have the available staff, experience, and existing collateral to create the content? If the answer is yes, then you might want to consider in-house content creation. There's probably a good chance you already have a library of resources from company literature, Web sites, etc. Start with them. Most of the content creation systems available with digital signage media players are fairly easy to use and require limited training. Like most things, the more you work with it, the better you get.

Digital signage has become a very effective way of delivering the right message at the right time. And with the market continuing to expand and grow, my guess is that as a reseller or integrator, you’re still on the hunt for more options to help take your business to the next level.

The challenge for today’s integrators and resellers who want to enter into the digital signage market is one of immersion. You really need a concentrated way to gain a full understanding of what digital signage is all about. It’s because of this need that we felt it necessary to offer a comprehensive educational program to help you understand the digital signage market and what’s required to be successful at it.

To help our channel partners grow their business in this segment, we collaborated with Brawn Consulting in the development of a new on-line digital signage course. This accredited on-line course is designed to help system integrators and technology resellers like yourself, understand and succeed with digital signage. The program includes a free accredited on-line course (a $750 value) designed to give you framework and foundation to succeed in the digital signage space. Participants, upon successfully completing the course, earn four renewal (CEU) credits toward their InfoComm Certified Technology Specialist (CTS®) certification as well as a number of Black Box incentives.

The self-directed, four-hour course covers, in part:
•  An overview of digital signage as well as the individual segments that make up the industry.
•  An overview of the digital signage marketplace reflected in research and data.
•  The seven key elements of digital signage.
•  Understanding digital signage customers and applications.
•  How to perform a needs analysis (who, what, when, and where).
•  The fundamentals of effective digital signage system design.
•  The locations and environments of digital signage.
•  The essentials of digital signage hardware and software, and how to select vendors.
•  The types of digital signage networks.
•  The sources and types of digital signage content.
•  Fees and service models for digital signage.
•  Digital signage ROI/TCO/ROO.
•  How to sell value in digital signage.

If you’re a system integrator or verified reseller, and are interested in taking this Digital Signage Certification Program, you can apply at http://www.blackbox.com/go/DSCP or call one of our Digital Signage Success Managers at 724-873-6553.