Can You See Digital Signage Being Used In Your School??

[Dynamax]

Hi Guys my name is Tom I am work for a digital software company. We have recently created a new in cloud based software designed for schools and public sectors in which users can create running signage for all purposes. HD Videos, Graphics & Images Public Information (texts) RSS feeds as well as other things.

 

I am just after some general feedback as to whether you think this is the future for school services and or your school would ever welcome the idea.

 

Thanks Tom

Edited May 6, 2011 by ZeroHour

[Jon]

We use XIBO it's open soure and free.

[dhicks]

We have recently created a new in cloud based software designed for schools and public sectors in which users can create running signage for all purposes.

 

How is the content shown on displays - do we have to use your hardware (computer and/or display screen), your own OS, a Windows-based client of some sort, or is your system entirely web-based? Do you mean "cloud based" as in based on remote servers? If so, what happens to our displays if our Internet connection goes down? How secure is your cloud-based editing facility - is there any chance pupils could break in and deface content?

[themightymrp]

We have The Life Channel here, we can either run their own provided content or use our own (photostory, rss, videos etc). It runs off 2 servers provided via the contract and then dishes out to about 12 40inch flatscreens around the school via video over LAN. In my opionion its gimicky and students take no notice of it.

[Dynamax]

Any limitations to it Jon:

 

Security

Player limitations (videos hd & sd slideshows)

User friendly (by this i mean can the average teacher use it)

How much data can you store on the cloud, can you have multiple player all saved.

Does it require regular downloads

Is there anything you think is missing from it Jon?

 

Any response you could give me would be great thanks very much

[Gibbo]

I agree to the "gimmicky" phrase, that's my opinion too.

 

The only time they're useful is when we over-ride them with an important information item, but that could easily be circulated by paper on a traditional notice board.

[Jon]

Any limitations to it Jon:

 

Security

Player limitations (videos hd & sd slideshows)

User friendly (by this i mean can the average teacher use it)

How much data can you store on the cloud, can you have multiple player all saved.

Does it require regular downloads

Is there anything you think is missing from it Jon?

 

Any response you could give me would be great thanks very much

 

How much are you paying for consultancy work?

[Dynamax]

How is the content shown on displays - do we have to use your hardware (computer and/or display screen), your own OS, a Windows-based client of some sort, or is your system entirely web-based? Do you mean "cloud based" as in based on remote servers? If so, what happens to our displays if our Internet connection goes down? How secure is your cloud-based editing facility - is there any chance pupils could break in and deface content?

 

 

The content is displayed by a piece of software that's installed on a Windows computer which can be supplied by either yourself or one of our VARs. Obv if you already have all the hardware then it is just a simple case of getting to grips with the product. Content scheduling and distribution is handled by cloud based servers which send the required files to the player software. If there was an outage in the internet connection, new content would not be able to be sent out to the player computers but the content that was already scheduled and playing would continue to do so. Communication to the server is using HTTPS to secure it from eavesdropping. The server portal is secured by giving you a unique URL to access your portal and then authentication is required by using a username and password. Without having access to all those pieces of information pupils won't be able to compromise your system.

[maniac]

The content is displayed by a piece of software that's installed on a Windows computer which can be supplied by either yourself or one of our VARs. Obv if you already have all the hardware then it is just a simple case of getting to grips with the product. Content scheduling and distribution is handled by cloud based servers which send the required files to the player software. If there was an outage in the internet connection, new content would not be able to be sent out to the player computers but the content that was already scheduled and playing would continue to do so. Communication to the server is using HTTPS to secure it from eavesdropping. The server portal is secured by giving you a unique URL to access your portal and then authentication is required by using a username and password. Without having access to all those pieces of information pupils won't be able to compromise your system.

 

Sounds very simelar to the way Xibo works, except you're hosting the backend system where as Xibo is hosted locally but is still web based. A lot of schools are starting to use xibo as the system requirements are quite modest, and it will run powerpoint presentations which means teachers and other staff members can easily create content for it and I can upload it to the displays with the minimum of changes in 2 minutes flat.

Edited May 5, 2011 by maniac

[LosOjos]

No offence to the OP, but did your company do any market research before they started developing a system that appears to be no better than an already widely adopted, open source solution?

 

Or to put it another way: what does your system do that is going to make people part with their money rather than use free software?

[dhicks]

The content is displayed by a piece of software that's installed on a Windows computer which can be supplied by either yourself or one of our VARs.

 

That all sounds sensible enough - is there a web-based viewer for our content on your servers, so we could make our in-school display viewable on our school website as well, e.g. by placing an iframe in the page and pointing it at your servers?

[Dynamax]

No offence to the OP, but did your company do any market research before they started developing a system that appears to be no better than an already widely adopted, open source solution?

 

Or to put it another way: what does your system do that is going to make people part with their money rather than use free software?

 

Although on the face of it you are correct Xibo and we do offer similar services the fact that they can play similar ‘flash files’ hd movies and rss feeds ect that is where we part ways. As with anything you get what you pay for and I suppose it all depends on how serious your school or company take digital signage. We sell a supported application which means that unlike Xibo which has 1500 complications on its web page at the minute (this is no disrespect to Xibo I am only mentioning this for arguments sake to separate our products). We have a full IT support team who provide training to all staff and technical support throughout your contract. Our product is also on the cloud which means no downloads or administration monitoring needs to take place to ensure no server fails. You do not need to regularly update ds.net and as it is software the bugs that occur in the system are dealt with without the client knowing.

Digital signage is also our heritage as this is all we do we like to think we are the best at it. I guess the way I can best summarise it is everything costs just not always money……..

Are system is designed to be user friendly robust and professional in quality.

 

Great question LojOs does this go some way to answering it??

Edited May 6, 2011 by ZeroHour

[Dynamax]

That all sounds sensible enough - is there a web-based viewer for our content on your servers, so we could make our in-school display viewable on our school website as well, e.g. by placing an iframe in the page and pointing it at your servers?

 

Unfortunately the software won't be able to do this. The server sends a playlist file and all the content required to the player and the software on the player then displays this on the screen. The server is a scheduling and file distribution mechanism and not a streaming server as would be required in this application.

 

However ds.net does still offer plenty of options and other services

[LosOjos]

@Dynamax: Thank you for your response, I wasn't aware of your company's history in the business, I thought you were a newcomer

[Steve21]

unlike Xibo which has 1500 complications on its web page at the minute (this is no disrespect to Xibo I am only mentioning this for arguments sake to separate our products).

 

You're kind of bending the truth there a bit.... They have 1500 "solved" threads. Not really complications/errors. Don't see why having 1500 answered/solved threads is bad, If anything it shows support is good, and things get solved easily?

 

And as mentioned above, Really your system is a more expensive version of Xibo. You may have "dedicated" support as such, but xibo has much more experience and users etc. "Ignoring" the "cloud" word, Is there any difference to what you offer and Xibo?

 

Just my two cents,

 

Steve

[DrCheese]

We have 6 TVs and we've ran various pieces of software on them over the years, currently using Xibo.

 

We've decided that we aren't ever going to replace them tho, we will run them into the ground and then remove them. We will possibly keep the one in our main reception area as it looks quite nice but other than that we don't see a benefit.

Any urgent messages are put up on the Intranet and teachers are always using computers in lessons and will mention anything of note.

[Hightower]

We have two TV's here - one displays freeview in the Yr11 area, the other displays some content with Xibo in the entrance - which I am more than happy with.

 

I don't see digital signage as a big thing here - I see it as a buzz word from a decade ago and is fizzling out. As others have said already, I think when our TV's finally kick it they won't be replaced - most days they aren't even turned on, and I can understand why seeing as though about 6 people a day actually pass the TV, and none stop to look at the thing.

 

If I was to implement a new system here for digital signage, I would have it so the screensaver for all computers in the school show our Xibo content.

 

EDIT: And any new systems I did implement would have to be free - would not waste the schools money on something that can be achieved for nothing. My colleague has some paid for system in a school of his and he can't stand the stuff. See's it as a big waste of money, and it doesn't even work half the time because of problems with their internet connection.

[Dynamax]

You're kind of bending the truth there a bit.... They have 1500 "solved" threads. Not really complications/errors. Don't see why having 1500 answered/solved threads is bad, If anything it shows support is good, and things get solved easily?

 

And as mentioned above, Really your system is a more expensive version of Xibo. You may have "dedicated" support as such, but xibo has much more experience and users etc. "Ignoring" the "cloud" word, Is there any difference to what you offer and Xibo?

 

Just my two cents,

 

Steve

 

We reaches 30 million viewers every year I think when it comes to digital signage in the UK only Amscreen can truly have us trumped regarding ‘experience’. Correct Steve maybe I did bend the truth but not all of them are solved. I would still reiterate that as with anything software is never free although it costs noting in the money sense what price are you paying for content quality and usability. I have just downloaded Xibo…….for free may I add!! ;-) and although I am coming from a very biased stand point.

Edited May 6, 2011 by ZeroHour

[pcstru]

I don't see digital signage as a big thing here - I see it as a buzz word from a decade ago and is fizzling out.

Same here. When I came into this role it was on the list as a project with money in the budget. I spent a fraction of that putting XIBO in. The displays are not very well used.

If I was to implement a new system here for digital signage, I would have it so the screensaver for all computers in the school show our Xibo content.

Great minds think alike! Shouldn't be difficult to turn the xibo client into a screen saver.

[Steve21]

We reaches 30 million viewers every year I think when it comes to digital signage in the UK only Amscreen can truly have us trumped regarding ‘experience’. Correct Steve maybe I did bend the truth but not all of them are solved. I would still reiterate that as with anything software is never free although it costs noting in the money sense what price are you paying for content quality and usability. I have just downloaded Xibo…….for free may I add!! ;-) and although I am coming from a very biased stand point.

 

I suppose you can see for yourself we have a free 30 day trial on our website digitalsignage.net try it for yourself.  

 

I'm not trying to be funny, but 30million "viewers" as in 30mil who walk by a sign? or users? I mean Xfactor finals get 20million views in 1 night, doesn't mean I'd pay for any of their songs

 

And again, You may feel ds is superior product, but why? Ignoring the word cloud. Does it have more plugins? Does it work on more platforms? As I said, not trying to be funny, just want you to explain what "is superior".

 

Honestly too many people use the word cloud nowadays to support products, so I tend to ignore anything said about clouds. A website isn't on a server, so it must be cloud product!

Game servers are cloud products! etc. Every product online is "clouds" nowadays so say.

 

Steve

Edited May 6, 2011 by ZeroHour

[plexer]

In answer to your question, yes everyday when I walk into the reception area.

 

Ben

[Dynamax]

I'm not trying to be funny, but 30million "viewers" as in 30mil who walk by a sign? or users? I mean Xfactor finals get 20million views in 1 night, doesn't mean I'd pay for any of their songs

 

And again, You may feel ds is superior product, but why? Ignoring the word cloud. Does it have more plugins? Does it work on more platforms? As I said, not trying to be funny, just want you to explain what "is superior".

 

Honestly too many people use the word cloud nowadays to support products, so I tend to ignore anything said about clouds. A website isn't on a server, so it must be cloud product!

Game servers are cloud products! etc. Every product online is "clouds" nowadays so say.

 

Steve

 

 

But Steve you have just missed the whole point of marketing.......If my product had only reached 2 viewers you and your friend then it would be worthless but 20 million people even if the smallest fraction paid attention it is still a success?? I suppose what I am saying is because you are not willing to pay for the song does not mean none of the other 20 million are.

 

Marketing is not interested in the individual because the individual does not represent the collective. Alas we digress……

 

Regarding the products I can only stress that you will have to try them for yourselves I cannot persuade you using buzz words. As previously mentioned it all depends on how seriously your school takes Software as a service (Saas) if it doesn’t then it’s not for you. Our systems are similar (I mean windows media player can run a pretty nice slide show but it’s the difference in the detail we look at).

 

Still thanks for your input Steve this is exactly what I wanted to get out of this exercise some genuine feedback from genuine people.

[dhicks]

The server is a scheduling and file distribution mechanism and not a streaming server as would be required in this application.

 

I wouldn't have assumed many people would require live video, there shouldn't be any need for a streaming server, just a standard web server capable of serving files (which should then be cached client-side in most instances anyway). Is the issue that you have limited bandwidth available? If your servers are cloud-based, how come bandwidth is an issue?

 

I can see the advantage of having a central, web-based content editing facility available to all users from wherever they are, and making this an Internet-based service of some kind makes sense as many schools don't have access to their internal servers from outside the school. As you've explained, loss of a school's Internet access isn't too much of an issue - the school's digital signage not updating is a minor problem, if the Internet is down there'll be other things to worry about. However, your advantages are quite small - I'm guessing digital signage rarely needs to be edited from outside the school, and a PowerPoint file or any decent web-based content management system installed on a local server offer all the multimedia and ease-of-editing people could want. Unless your site offers some decent extra content to go alongside the school's (age-appropriate up-to-date news bulletins maybe?) I can't see why anyone would bother paying for it.

[Steve21]

But Steve you have just missed the whole point of marketing.......If my product had only reached 2 viewers you and your friend then it would be worthless but 20 million people even if the smallest fraction paid attention it is still a success?? I suppose what I am saying is because you are not willing to pay for the song does not mean none of the other 20 million are.

 

Marketing is not interested in the individual because the individual does not represent the collective. Alas we digress……

 

Regarding the products I can only stress that you will have to try them for yourselves I cannot persuade you using buzz words. As previously mentioned it all depends on how seriously your school takes Software as a service (Saas) if it doesn’t then it’s not for you. Our systems are similar (I mean windows media player can run a pretty nice slide show but it’s the difference in the detail we look at).

 

Still thanks for your input Steve this is exactly what I wanted to get out of this exercise some genuine feedback from genuine people.

 

Well once again, I'm not trying to be funny. But what does your product do that's superior?

 

So far as I've read is, You have more viewers than xibo. - 1000 students walking by a paperclip for a year, is 365,000~ views. Does that mean a paperclip is a sucess?

 

You use "cloud" computing. Ok...

 

All I wanted to know is whats superior, in your words. And you've not really said anything, That's my personal issue.

 

If you could say, XYZ is better because... XYZ has 9000 plugins.... etc etc, Then it may be appealing etc.

 

But as such you've only really said you use cloud, and try it. Personally that's not a reason to go away from what you know. Others may totally disagree, guess we'll see.

 

(But please, try to explain what is superior)

 

Steve

[pete]

@OP

 

You're pitching to a cynical technical audience and not really coming up with a compelling reason to investigate, especially if they have a system already, given the opportunity cost to switch. We have 4 displays on a home-grown Xibo-ish system and after the initial "there's a screen there" reaction, the only people who pay attention are visitors.

 

A lot of marketing people get the "ooh, why don't we sell to schools too" idea around this time of the financial year, don't do any research, fling buzzwords around without really understanding them in a bid to avoid answering questions and get upset when they're dealt with rather curtly.

 

But you have sold to schools before and have (albeit too short) case studies on your parent site here: DYNAMAX - Case Studies.

 

Do you have any lengthier, more detailed info? What did you install? Where? Do they like it? How much (rough, ballpark figure) did it cost? Are they happy for me to phone them up, talk to their tech off the record and discuss it to see if he'd recommend it or tell me to run away screaming?

 

And get your tour video up and working if you're going to make the link that prominent.

Edited May 5, 2011 by pete