IAdea Joined by New SMIL Partner Signagelive

IAdea is proud to announce that digital signage SaaS provider signagelive is now offering its SMIL-based service on IAdea's SMIL media players, including the new Digital Signboard based on photo frame architecture.

Read about signagelive's initiative in the official press release:

UNITED KINGDOM — signagelive has announced the launch of the ‘signagelive virtual player’ enabling full support for the latest low cost SMIL open standards digital signage hardware developed by IAdea.

Click to read more...


Visit IAdea at ISE 2010, Amsterdam, Feb 2-4, at Booth# 12D89

Traffic on SMIL Website up by 40% MoM

A-SMIL.ORG, the website dedicated to promoting the SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) as an open standard for the digital signage, is reported by Google Analytics to receive 40% more visitors then the same period a month ago.

Data collected by Google shows that the top search terms to reach the site includes "digital signage SMIL", "SMIL refresh", "SMIL tutorial", indicating that SMIL is indeed gaining traction in the industry. On average visitors looking for the keyword "digital signage" stays over 11 minutes on each visit to the web site. Visitors looking for "SMIL weekly playlist" spend as much as 13 minutes on the site.

For more information on SMIL as an open standard for digital signage, visit http://a-smil.org/.

Deployment pictures using the Digital Signboard (digital signage photo frame)

Digital Signboards from IAdea are small, cost-effective, commercial-grade displays with integrated media players. They feature WiFi network connectivity, and can be easily mounted on the retail floor without taking up siginificant space. The following are deployment scenarios featuring the digital signboard.

Digital signboard with proper enclosure has been proven to be highly attractive to children wondering in the aisles of a toy store. ROI for such promotions is almost instantaneous.

For products that may appear complex to the shopper, the digital signboard is a cost-effective tool to explain to the interested shopper step-by-step on the finer details.

Digital signboard offers retailers and brand manufacturers a great tool to convert interested shoppers into actual buyers for a very small investment.

With a simple overlay of printed cardboard, the digital signboard can be instantaneously modified as a table-top display for almost any product promotion.

Technology is now available for integrating digital signboards with leading-edge digital signage platforms such as Scala and SaaS services. Network operators can remotely manage digital signboards with the same powerful playlist management features available on large-screen displays.

System integrators interested in developing in-house applications can program the digital signboard using the open standard XML-based W3C SMIL playlist control script. Interested readers can find out more by visiting http://www.a-smil.org/.

For product information and where to buy, please visit IAdea's Digital Signboard Product Page.

Scala Podcast on 2010 Digital Signage Technologies to Watch and Application Trends

Scala's President Robert Koolen and Executive Vice President Jeff Porter speak in an audio podcast about new digital signage technologies to watch in 2010 and application verticals to watch.

Listen in here: Audio Podcast (.MP3)

Bridge Server 1.5.3 Released

IAdea releases Bridge Server 1.5.3 for Scala Content Manager. This update simplifies user operation, improves security, and fixes a number of bugs found in 1.5.2.

Scala Certified Partners may download the update at http://scp.iadea.com/.

IAdea Bridge Server is a transparent component in a Scala system responsible for translating Scala control files into the W3C SMIL playlist.

38 Digital Signage Experts Comment on the Needs for Standardization

From @DSExpo: [...] we asked the Digital Signage Expo Advisory Board: "What standardization makes sense for the digital signage industry, and what does not?" 38 board members shared their thoughts.

Read article...

IAdea and Scala to Showcase Digital Signboard at ISE

IAdea and Scala will jointly showcase the new 10" Digital Signboard Media Appliance XDS-101 at the upcoming Integrated Systems Europe Show, Booth #12D89, February 2-4, 2010, Amsterdam.

Digital Signboard blends the nimble digital photo frame architecture into the world of digital signage. Features are designed to provide industrial-grade performance on the simple hardware.

The device incorporating a wide-screen display draws less than 10 watts of power. Its 320-nit LCD screen and built-in 1.5W x 2 speakers become a focal point on the retail shelf space. Hardware video decoder renders perfect video in MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile as well as JPEG images. Built-in 2GB internal storage holds hours of contents to play even when network connection is down.

Superior to conventional digital photo frames, the Digital Signboard features a hardware watchdog which allows the frame to automatically recover from unforeseen problems, drastically reducing possible service costs for the device. Auto-play feature makes operating the device as simple as plug-and-play. As soon as power is applied, the device starts playing without requiring intervention by the store staff.

On top of the excellent hardware, the device is supported by the powerful Scala Content Manager and Ad Manager platforms. Users can visually schedule playlists of video and image contents, apply validity period to automatically phase-in and phase-out content items without manually editing the playlist. Smart playlist enables the player to dynamically adjust playback sequence based on in-store conditions such as inventory level and sales volume. The device can even be scheduled to randomly pick media files to provide fresh information each time the shopper comes around.

The Digital Signboard features the W3C open standad SMIL digital signage API. It makes the device flexible to be customized for individual deployment scenarios. Advanced integrators may consult A-SMIL.org to understand features made available through the XML-based interface.

IAdea cordially invites you to stop by Booth #12D89 and look forward to meeting you at the ISE in February.

IAdea Announces 10" Digital Signboard

IAdea releases a new digital signage appliance: a player device integrating a 10"-wide LCD panel, suitable for making shelf-edge dynamic signs.

For detailed information, please see XDS-101 Product Page.