Harris Emphasizes Customer-Centric Philosophy at Digital Signage Expo

Harris comes to the Digital Signage Expo with an approach that emphasizes intimacy over grandeur in its exhibition — and spreads its digital out-of-home (DOOH) message throughout the venue and beyond with engaging content displays, informative presentations and participation in a guided tour.

“The Digital Signage Expo is the premier North American event for the digital signage industry,” said Denise MacDonell, general manager, Harris Digital Out-Of-Home solutions.  “For Harris, it’s the primary industry event for building relationships and closing business.  The intimacy of the hospitality suite environment will allow us to more closely engage with customers and offer one-on-one demonstrations of our comprehensive solutions for retail, hospitality, sports, live entertainment and other businesses.”

Hospitality suite demonstrations include capabilities to host and support a new interactive web application for Harris® InfoCaster™ software.  The embedded application incorporates HTML5 language and dynamic Flash technology to create a true interactive experience for consumers engaged through digital signage.  Customers in retail environments, for example, can launch a web browser to locate items for sale in the store — creating an immersive brand experience that links the in-store and online experiences.

Harris will also showcase new features of its Punctuate™ campaign management software, including functionality that allows for superior scheduling of audio, video stills and animations.  The Harris hospitality suite will also feature the “Harris Wireless Zone,” providing free web access for customers.

Harris will showcase content from key customers elsewhere on the floor.  Last year, Harris announced its 7-Eleven network deal on the floor of the Digital Signage Expo; this year, the company will share the ongoing success of the network, displaying content seen today at 4,344 7-Eleven stores across the country at the LG booth #500).  Harris will also show content created for the Automotive Broadcast Network at the Samsung booth (#811), which is now rolling out its Harris DOOH network at the first of approximately 1,000 auto dealerships targeted through the end of 2012.

Harris will also present five papers this year — a record amount for Harris at the Digital Signage Expo. Presentations include:

• Broadcast Mobile DTV and Digital Signage Applications — Don Hewitt, customer solutions manager, will provide insight into how Mobile DTV enables mobile digital signage applications, including the opportunities and challenges for future adoption.  Location TBD: Tuesday, March 6 from 2:15-3:15 p.m.
• Got Scale? — Director of Business Development Carre Dawson, along with industry experts from ABC Media, will discuss how to successfully scale large advertising-driven DOOH networks.  Theater A: Wednesday, March 7 from 10:45-11:15 a.m.
• Taking Sports Digital Signage Beyond the Traditional Screen — Mike Arthur, general manager for Sports and Live Events, explores how venue operators can make high-impact multi-media presentations.  Location TBD: Wednesday, March 7 from 2:15-3:15 p.m.
• 7-Eleven One Year Later: What it Takes to Execute a Massive DOOH Network — Project Executive Greg Weitz walks you through the ins and outs of successfully deploying the largest DOOH network in North America.  Theater B: Thursday, March 8 from 10:45-11:15 a.m.
• Digital Signage: Powering the Fan Experience — Mike Arthur discusses how fan engagement can help define content strategy and monetization for digital signage in the sports venue space. Location TBD: Thursday, March 8 from 2:15-3:15 p.m.

Harris will also showcase its successful World Market Center DOOH installation on the Digital Signage Expo’s sixth annual Guided Installation Tour.  Visit http://www.digitalsignageexpo.net/digital-signage-guided-installation-tour for more details.

Technomad Mass Notification System Powers Outdoor Audio at Western Washington University

Western Washington University‘s sprawling campus in scenic Bellingham stretches 215 acres, with nearly 15,000 students walking the grounds during the fall and spring semesters.  The university gives prominence to campus safety, recently upgrading its fire alarm system in 47 buildings and adding a mass notification system to improve audio quality and long-distance coverage.

Mills Electric Co., a Bellingham-based electrical and systems contractor serving the commercial and industrial markets, installed the multi-zone audio system in conjunction with Western Washington University support staff.  Technomad Berlin narrow dispersion loudspeakers exclusively power three outdoor zones at campus-designated “gathering areas.”

Berlin narrow dispersion loudspeakers are powered by Technomad PowerChiton loudspeakers, reproducing loud and clear voice across the campus

Technomad PowerChiton high-power waterproof amplifier modules drive live and pre-recorded messages to the loudspeakers for campus-wide broadcast.  The project also marries all indoor/outdoor PA points and associated pan/tilt/zoom cameras to an existing Edwards EST-3 campus-wide fire alarm system, programmed and upgraded by Performance System Integration, an Edwards EST Life Safety and Communications Strategic Partner.

The complete system ties to a central network infrastructure, enabling administration, campus police and other offices to deliver voice notifications to any single location, multiple zones, or every PA point in an “all-call” scenario.

Cory Kovacevich, a service and project manager at Mills Electric Co., notes that the Technomad loudspeakers produce intelligible voice over long distances, ensuring that students, staff and visitors hear emergency notifications loud and clear.  Each gathering area includes two Technomad Berlin 90×40 loudspeakers, mounted between 20 and 90 feet from the ground depending on the location.  Weatherproof construction ensures long-term durability and protection from the outdoor elements in rainy northwest Washington.

Kovacevich adds that the PowerChiton modules deliver 500 watts of clean power to each Berlin loudspeaker in a simple, easy-to-install package.  Though IP66-rated and designed for permanent outdoor installation, Kovacevich installed the PowerChitons indoors at the central audio headend for easier accessibility.

One of three outdoor zones powered by Technomad Berlin narrow dispersion loudspeakers

“The PowerChitons come in small, non-metallic enclosures and take up minimal space, which is important because we have limited room to add equipment,” says Kovacevich.  “The PowerChitons tie directly to the fire alarm system, and are mounted next to the fire alarm panels.  This keeps everything but the loudspeakers and cameras in one building.”

Kovacevich notes that the overall system represents a major upgrade for the campus, enabling text-to-speech translation and remote access to make announcements over the system from off campus — in addition to video integration, multi-zone capability and superior audio quality.

“The Berlins put out some serious sound,” says Kovacevich.  “We had recently broadcast a test message from the rooftop and saw people more than 100 yards away stop, turn around and look directly toward the loudspeakers.   The university is very happy with the power, sound quality and clarity of the voice.”

TNDV Provides HD Mobile Production Services for PBS Program Bluegrass Underground

Four time Emmy-award winner Nic Dugger and his mobile production company TNDV will produce the second season of the PBS series Bluegrass Underground, bringing the luminaries of bluegrass music heard on the live radio program to televisions around the country.  The shoots take place in late February, with 2012 air dates to be announced.

Bluegrass Underground’s concerts are held in the Cumberland Caverns, a series of underground caves more than 300 feet below the earth’s surface in Tennessee.  After a successful first season, TNDV and the Bluegrass Underground have again joined forces to bring production and acoustical excellence to the show’s live performances from the Volcano Room.

The Volcano Room is a natural amphitheater, carved from the flow of two underground rivers to create one of the most acoustically pure and breathtaking natural spaces in the world.  To get to the concerts, tour guides lead patrons through the cave and down 333 feet.  The subterranean descent includes underground waterfalls, water pools, stalagmites and stalactites along the way to the amphitheater, where fans enjoy bluegrass music in a unique and beautiful venue.

Inside TNDV's Aspiration mobile production truck

Nashville-based TNDV, noted for building television and video productions in unique and remote locations, will provide the HD mobile production systems and technical crew needed to produce the events.  TNDV’s Aspiration, the company’s 40 foot expanding-side mobile production truck, will support the remote video and sound production services for broadcast radio and TV.

Aspiration will park near the cave and deploy and an advanced SD/HD/3D production workflow featuring seven cameras, a full audio suite, and extreme cable runs.  Every camera will use 1000 feet of fiber-optic cable to record and broadcast each concert.  Aspiration’s utilization of fiber-optic cables from camera to truck ensures no loss of signal, color, or sound to maintain quality throughout the process.  Amplifiers located near the stage feed directly to the truck over a digital audio line to generate a mixable, superior-quality audio signal for the TV program.

“Producing an international television series from 333 feet underground takes a lot of creativity and a team with a can-do mentality,” said Todd Mayo, producer, Bluegrass Underground. “TNDV and Nic Dugger bring creative solutions to logistical challenges and a positive attitude to bear in all they do.  When you combine a track record of excellence with a team of good people that add value to any project, you are way ahead of the curve in producing quality television.”

PBS will broadcast the second season of Bluegrass Underground featuring live performances from bluegrass music stars later in 2012. Bluegrass artists for the 2012 Season include Vince Gill, The Civil Wars, Jerry Douglas, Del McCoury Band and The Time Jumpers.

Pennsylvania Company Uses MobileCamViewer to Remotely Monitor Car and Pet Service Businesses

Leading video surveillance and remote monitoring company mobiDEOS Inc. announces that River Valley LLC in western Pennsylvania has upgraded its business security solution with MobileCamViewer.  The mobile surveillance solution helps the business owners respond intelligently to situations and quickly address issues that affect customer revenue.

River Valley LLC comprises four quick-service/self-service businesses:  Cranberry 10 Minute Oil Change, Cranberry Car Wash, Cranberry Pet Wash and Erie 10 Minute Oil Change.  Most are open 24 hours and often unmanned, particularly at night.  The company is among the growing number of commercial businesses using mobile surveillance to monitor activities while at home or on the road.

Business owners Joe Lehosky and Dan Klapec connect the MobileCamViewer application to a variety of security cameras at all four locations, along with Dedicated Micros BX2 DVRs.  Typically they use the application to monitor general business activity, communicate with customers and respond to issues, although mobile surveillance now comprises part of a larger security solution with various burglar and fire alarms.

“MobileCamViewer lets me pull up my cameras or servers and see what is going on at our locations,” Klapec said.  “I am looking at live video of the facility within seconds of getting paged or called.”

Lehosky and Klapec use an HTC Incredible solution for the smartphone and network connection, noting that setup was simple and complete in well under 30 minutes.   They report that mobile surveillance has made better use of their time by enabling thoughtful reaction to events instead of frantically rushing to the site whenever paged — whether security-related or otherwise.

“We have only had one real security-related alarm since installing MobileCamViewer,” said Lehosky.  “It turned out that the alarm was triggered by high winds, but it was nice to see the facility remotely before getting there.  I felt more comfortable while approaching the site.”

Regardless of the alert, mobile surveillance helps determine whether a site visit is necessary.  A problem handled remotely saves approximately one hour of time spent driving to the site to address the issue.

“We save two to three trips per week now due to cashier-related problems,” said Klapec.  “The car wash can still run with credit cards, and if a customer leaves the car or pet wash too dirty we can clean them up to avoid lost revenue.  But MobileCamViewer almost immediately confirms if there is an emergency or otherwise.  If it’s not an emergency we can just go about our business.”

MobileCamViewer offers secure, reliable carrier-grade cell phone-based video surveillance and remote monitoring solutions, providing “anytime, anywhere” mobile video surveillance for virtually every situation.  Its compatibility across many smartphones, tablets, cameras, DVRs, NVRs and video servers — as well as simple integration with PC and MAC-based iOS systems — enables MobileCamViewer to comply with both new and existing network infrastructures.

Harris NEXIO Studio Suite Improves Control in File-Based Workflows

Harris has introduced NEXIO^® Studio Suite to help customers easily and affordably transition to tapeless studio production and more efficient file-based workflows.

NEXIO Studio Suite is designed for live multi-camera studio productions such as news and magazine-format, entertainment and reality TV shows.  It enhances the control of video servers in production studios, offering familiar video tape recorder (VTR) functionality while adding the operational benefits of multichannel, nonlinear video servers.  The software simplifies the operation and control of many server ports over IP networks, including multichannel recording and playback within NEXIO servers.

“Broadcasters and production professionals are increasingly moving away from expensive, high-maintenance VTRs as they transition to tapeless studio production and file-based workflows,” said Harris Morris, president, Harris Broadcast Communications.  “Harris NEXIO Studio Suite gives our customers the best of both worlds for live studio production:  A familiar user interface and the path to a cost-efficient, streamlined, tapeless studio production experience.”

NEXIO Studio Suite customers also benefit from the true shared storage architecture of NEXIO servers, providing users of Harris^® Velocity ESX™ or Apple^® Final Cut Pro^® editors with instant access to content.  It is ideal for enabling specific tasks commonly associated with fast, live, multi-camera studio recording and playback.

NEXIO Studio Suite is based on ClipJOCKEY, a control software application developed by German software company S4M – Solutions For Media.  The two companies worked together to develop a unique and simple user interface that enables the control of all workflows tied to a NEXIO video server installation, while helping to speed the production process.

mobiDEOS Takes Free Mobile Surveillance to the Windows Phone

mobiDEOS, the leader in mobile video surveillance and remote monitoring software, is mobilizing its WebView fixed surveillance platform for Windows Phone users.

Last summer, mobiDEOS introduced WebView, the first truly open web-based platform for fixed surveillance and remote monitoring, for professionals and consumers.  While customers typically use WebView to view cameras from remote locations (homes, hotels, airports) on their laptops or desktops, the program is functional over any standard web browser with a live internet connection.

WebView uses the same proven engine as the company’s popular MobileCamViewer mobile surveillance application to ensure reliable service and connectivity. WebView’s single “sign-on” process for multiple cameras, DVRs and NVRs keeps mobile users “logged in” for quick, convenient and ongoing access.

“Windows Phone customers can now essentially access their webcams, IP cameras and recording systems on the move using WebView with a simple, single sign-on process,” said Sri L. Palasamudram, CEO of mobiDEOS, Inc.  “It offers the same ease of use as the MobileCamViewer application, providing users with a direct web connection to monitor businesses, homes and public facilities.”

WebView frees end users from the restraints of inflexible, proprietary systems, offering direct connections to Webcams, IP cameras, DVRs, NVRs and video servers from a single window.  Users can quickly respond to security events, gather business intelligence and remotely monitor general activity at any location, from any location.

Windows Phone users can launch mobile surveillance operations with WebView within minutes, following simple configuration steps to establish connections with cameras and recorders.  Setup time is further minimized with no software, plug-ins or active controls to install.  Logging in to the system is simple as accessing a GMail or Facebook account.

Access to an unlimited number of webcams, IP cameras, and one DVR or NVR is free with WebView. A nominal fee is required for access to multiple locations.  Contact mobiDEOSat 408-716-8347 or info@mobideos.com for more information.

Barix and RFC Media Grow In-Store Radio Network for Texas Retailer

Barix is exclusively providing IP audio decoding solutions to RFC Media for its private-label, retail radio network for Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods — growing to nearly 90 store locations across Texas.  The project underscores Barix’s expertise in Audio over IP solutions for both radio broadcast and in-store media applications.

RFC Media, managed by longtime radio broadcast professionals, creates custom-produced, Internet-delivered radio stations for private enterprises, supplying music with live breaks to create a true broadcast experience.  The company uses Barix Exstreamer 100 IP audio devices to receive and decode its professionally-produced program streams at client locations, citing ease of use and setup, stability, low cost and audio quality as key differentiators from competitive solutions.

“Barix gives us the power we need to ensure our clients have continuous, uninterrupted service of a living, breathing radio station,” said Pat Fant, co-founder and chief operating officer, RFC Media.  “Plug in the Exstreamer, and it’s ready to make radio.  I’m not sure we could deliver the same quality broadcast experience at the same price without Barix.”

The Barix Exstreamer 100 offer reliable IP audio decoding at each store location

RFC Media differentiates itself from background music services by offering a true hosted radio station experience.   “Host presenters” make announcements — live or on delay — related to the business during music breaks.  All clients receive customized music programs updated every 24 hours, including Spec’s Radio, the private-label radio station created for the Texas retail chain.

“We’re not a playlist company – we’re radio people,” said Fant.  “We have a professional production studio with the equipment and software to put together and stream a full presentation.  This stems from our background as broadcasters.  We approach this differently from interruption-style media common in background music systems.  We talk to the customer instead of advertising to them.”

Fant adds that Barix makes it simple to add locations.  The RFC Media staff handles device configuration (five minutes or less per device) and adds new IP addresses to the network.  The devices are shipped to client locations along with instructions for two simple connections.

“The fact that these are simple to use and configure makes it easier for us and our clients,” said Fant.  “We minimize our costs by not sending installers to each store with a toolkit and spools of wire.  The locations just need a high-speed internet connection and the ability to plug an Exstreamer into a sound system, and they are ready to go.”

“Broadcasters approach in-store media with a different twist,” said Johannes Rietschel, CEO and founder of Barix.  “Playlist-based elevator music is often boring, and the personal touch RFC Media adds with individual programming and live announcements makes full use of Barix capabilities:  reliable, real-time streaming with system-wide ease of use.”

Spec’s Radio can also be heard online at http://www.radiofreecruze.com/SpecsPlayer.html and via a custom mobile iPhone app.  RFC Media is building a similar network for NASA, although at this time the private radio station, “Third Rock, America’s Space Station,” is online only at http://www.nasa.gov.