Education | AV Distribution Tutorial Pulling it all together—and Video infrastructure Most modern digital signage systems operate over Ethernet, enabling you to use the infrastructure you already have in place. Generally these systems consist of a publisher unit connected directly to the network. This is usually located in a central location such as a data center. On the remote side, a digital signage player is connected to the network near the video screen and is linked to the display with an HDMI or a DVI cable. When installing a video signage system—especially if you’re displaying streaming high-definition video—it’s important to have an Ethernet network that’s up to the task. 100-Mbps Fast Ethernet is a minimum requirement; 1000-Mbps Gigabit Ethernet is preferable, especially if you’re also running other high-bandwidth applications such as VoIP. It’s also important that your Ethernet network supports Quality of Service (QoS), which gives streaming video destined for your digital signage system network priority. Video mounts There are many options when it comes to mounting video displays, enabling you to mount a screen virtually anywhere you need one. Flush wall mounts — Place the screen flat against a wall or other flat surface. Ceiling mounts — Hangs a video screen from the ceiling, usually on an arm that provides a bit of space between the display and the ceiling. Video wall mounts — Video displays in video walls require specialized mounts to tile the displays precisely without gaps. These are often specific to each kind of display. Dual mount adapters — These specialized mounts enable you to mount two screens either side by side or back to back. A back-to-back ceiling mount can be especially useful for displaying information in public spaces such as airports. Enclosures When you place digital signage within reach in public areas such as shopping centers, schools, hospitals, restaurants, and hotels, you need an enclosure to provide protection from theft, vandalism, and curious children. Although there are many variations, these are usually simple locking enclosures with a clear pane for viewing the video display. Digital Signage Player Digital Signage Publisher DVI Cable Digital Signage Player LCD Video Display DVI Cable Digital Signage Player LCD Video Display Datacomm Center DVI Cable CAT5e UTP Cable Ethernet Switch Flush with tilt wall mounts — Place the screen against a wall or other flat surface, but enable you to tilt the screen for better viewing. Articulating wall mounts — Provide swivel articulating arm that enables a full range of motion. LCD Video Display 10 Tech Support 030 - 241 77 99 | Sales 030 - 241 77 77 | On-Site Services 030 - 241 77 44
Distribution Components adding some finishing touches. There are also sealed enclosures designed to protect signage outdoors — probably the toughest environment for digital signage. Aside from the obvious moisture issues, extreme heat and cold are the biggest threats to digital signage. If signage is exposed to direct sunlight — for instance, in the drive-through lane at a fast food restaurant — extreme heat and condensation are added to the mix. There are now enclosure solutions on the market, which address these issues to varying degrees, through a built-in climate-control system. Factory floors and industrial areas may not have the same moisture and temperature issues as the outdoors, but they can also be difficult for digital signage because of the dust often associated with these environments. For these areas, look for a NEMA 4-rated enclosure to ensure protection against dust and grime. CCTV A frequent video application is in the security arena where CCTV cameras are combined with real-time human monitoring and DVR systems to provide visual security for sensitive areas. DVR systems designed for security applications record video from digital or analog cameras in a digital format on a hard drive or in solid-state memory. They’re designed to operate maintenance free for weeks or even months. Many CCTV security systems enable you to remotely view cameras live or to view recordings from anywhere on your network or the Internet. Motion detectors may be integrated into a CCTV security system, triggering cameras to record only when motion is detected. Audio speakers Although digital signage is primarily a visual medium, some presentations may benefit from the addition of sound. Although most video displays have built-in speakers, you may want to add external speakers to improve the quality of the sound. Directional speakers can focus the sound directly in front of the display to get your message across. EME1M1-005-R2 EME1K8-005 Digital signage players The component that feeds video to the video display is called a digital signage player. The player can either be a part of a digital signage system and receive data from a digital signage publisher, or it can be a freestanding device with previously recorded data. Freestanding players are inexpensive, but must be updated individually from a PC or from a USB flash drive. They’re a good choice when the information displayed is relatively limited and static — for instance, a menu displayed at a cafeteria entrance. The advantage of a choosing a player that’s part of a system rather than a freestanding device is that multiple digital signage displays can be managed and updated from one central location and can be updated on the fly. This enables you to, for instance, put out emergency messages, weather updates, and traffic alerts. Conference room interface equipment There’s a whole subclass of multimedia tools that are tailor-made for conference rooms. Touchscreen meeting planners — An interactive display at the door to each conference room that enables people to reserve the room and displays the times the room is reserved. Many of these systems are on-line, enabling users to log in remotely from their PCs or smartphones to reserve the room. Digital projectors — Enable you to import PowerPoint® and other presentations directly from a laptop to show to a group on a screen. Videoconferencing equipment — Videoconferencing has taken off, saving a lot of long-distance travel time. Today’s conference rooms can be equipped with the tools for videoconferencing, either a proprietary system or a PC equipped with microphones, Web cams, and a very large monitor that can be seen clearly by all participants. Electronic white boards — Provide an electronic surface for notes and enables these notes to be saved to a computer for later review or for e-mailing to meeting attendees. Power protection One good power surge is all it takes to destroy an LCD screen. Digital signage is an expensive investment that must be protected from harmful transient power disturbances such as surges, spikes, voltage fluctuations, and electrical noise. Video displays as well as the digital signage system and network components should be protected with at least a surge protector with noise filtering. For even more protection, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) provides power during short outages and corrects for voltage fluctuations, which you may not notice but which can damage electronics. Protects network interfaces up to CAT6 from damaging power surges (SP529A, see page 89). For more information and our online store, visit www.blackbox.nl 11
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