Attendance was down and exhibitors scaled back (like every show this year), but digital signage is growing. The Digital Signage showcase area of the expo floor is taking up more and more space at this annual show, the premier event for the Professional AV industry, with more and more affordable solutions. My quick take:
1. Still a lot of companies. There are a lot of digital signage companies competing for market share. Differentiation is the key. When will attrition and or the mergers begin?
2. Say hello to Atom. The new Intel Atom processor is now appearing in commercial-grade media players for digital signage in the $500 price range. Atom based consumer-grade netbooks with more then adequate video output capabilities are already available for $250.
3. Easy content creation for networked signage. FrameMedia has been offering the FrameChannel content management service for wireless photo frame owners for over 3 years now. With SignChannel, a $15/month business solution, hundreds of channels of content (news, weather, sports, financial data, etc) along with editable templates for professional looking content on your digital sign is now affordable and easy to do.
4. Do you want live TV content with your signage? Roku/BrightSign had several new product announcements. In particular, a live video module that connects to a BrightSign player lets you display live TV in a predefined zone. The total price for this solution will be less than $1,000, a new and more affordable low.
