Casino Mar 09 P48-50 2/26/09 9:57 am Page 48
SCREEN MEDIA
Screen Media
Getting the right technology is vital for an effective digital signage
network – but the business model and the content are just as
important, says Barnaby Page
I
n the space of just a few years, digital signage in digital-signage network, but of course just as
casinos has gone from a curiosity to a standard important is what goes on behind the scenes, and
feature. And while in some sectors – retail, perhaps the biggest decision to make here is
fitness, and healthcare, for example – the model choosing the software that lets you schedule content,
for installing digital screens has typically been to and manage and monitor the network. The choice is
allow a specialist external company to install and dizzying: by one count there are currently more than
operate them in return for a share of advertising 300 digital signage software options on the market,
revenue and/or airtime, casinos are unusually well- most of them providing the same core functions.
suited to running their own digital-signage networks, However, the long list can quickly be cut down to a
with in-house expertise in marketing, design and short one by considering a few issues. Are there any
technology. special features your network particularly requires,
For a medium that's often perceived as cutting- for example interoperability with gaming systems – an
edge, the technology underpinning digital signage is increasingly popular direction? Does the vendor
actually rather simple, although it's important to note seem to be experienced and financially stable – in
that the network as a whole will only be as effective as other words, are they going to be around to support
its weakest link – so don't underrate the significance and maintain the software? (Given the plethora of
of the technology purchasing decisions. rather similar products and the economic climate,
Most obviously, digital signage needs screens. the answer for several of those 300 is probably “no”.)
Today these are generally LCD units; 42 inches is Is the system scalable? You may be considering a
perhaps the most common size although there is also small network at just one site today, but if the future
a trend toward extremes of size, in both the large and could hold expansion to multiple sites, now is the
small directions. These can, of course, be found in time to invest in a digital signage software system that
the same venue – for example, a casino might use can manage that. There is a trend among some
very large screens overhead to promote its catering companies toward offering very cheap, plug-and-play
offers and very small screens attached to slots to digital signage systems, but admirable as these are for
explain winning combinations and display a smaller users, they may not scale up adequately.
progressive jackpot. And do you prefer conventional software that's
While many vendors do market their screens as installed on your own PCs, or the increasingly popular
being specifically designed for digital signage, in option of software as a service (SaaS), whereby the
practice pretty much any commercial-grade unit will network is controlled from the vendor's own servers,
do the job. However, particularly in casinos where which you can access through the Internet?
smoking is permitted and near food-preparation The composition of the short list also depends,
areas, a weatherproof display resistant to smoke, heat naturally, on whether the vendor in question has an
and grease is desirable. And, given the highly themed office or reseller in your territory. So it's impossible
nature of interior design at most casinos, it may also to give a definitive list of suggestions; but names that
be necessary to obtain a custom-designed fascia frequently appear include BroadSign, C-nario,
and/or enclosure for the screen. Dynamax, EnQii, Scala and Signagelive.
Where multiple different types and sizes of screen
are needed, it's easier to work with one supplier than Gaming specialists
with many, which helps to narrow the choice down. At Also worth considering, however, are a number of
the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas suppliers which don't have a big presence in the wider
(the former Aladdin), for example, Panasonic Systems digital signage market but do have special expertise
Integration installed everything from an outdoor in, or products for, gaming and related sectors. These
ribbon of LED displays, to 200 plasmas in the casino include Bally (which recently acquired the gaming-
itself, to LCD displays on the slots, as well as further industry rights to the long-established CoolSign
screens in the Heart Bar, lobby and elevators. digital signage software package), Digital Display
The screens are the customer-facing bit of the Group (with its CasinoView interactive way-finding
48 MARCH 2009
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