For the purposes of this project “Digital Signage” refers to an LCD or Plasma screen (Flat panel TVs) with an accompanying PC that provides graphics to be displayed on the screen. When people say “digital signage”, they’re talking about digital displays used to inform and persuade, and it’s popping up in public spaces all over the world. Retailers and transit systems using digital signage are increasingly common, and every day more and more campuses, government institutions and corporations are finding their own ways to benefit from this increasingly affordable technology.

If your unit administers digital signage, being a part of the network of signs provides you and your community some immediate benefits: emergency messaging can be automatically displayed on your screen if needed.

Currently, there are no plans to charge units for using the digital signage infrastructure. Units are required to cover the cost of purchasing and installing the hardware if they want to have a sign of their own. As we move forward with the project we will post more details about cost breakdowns.

To communicate with people, you have to get their attention. Watching TV and using computers has trained us to look at screens for information, so digital signage is a natural choice for reaching large audiences. It’s also better than email, printed posters, and bulletin boards because:

• You can deliver breaking news in real-time
• Screens are bright and show motion
• You can have multiple things on a screen at once
• You can change what’s on the screen throughout the day
• It’s cheaper than print for big audiences
• It’s better than print for green reasons

Digital signage not only informs and engages more people through creative presentation, but also reaches them instantly and reliably – and messages can be updated or retired in real-time. It is a modern approach to communications that draws in viewers with bright, animated graphics and interactivity.

These tools also improve your emergency preparedness by giving you a powerful and flexible tool to deliver security and weather alerts speedily. No matter how detailed or from what source, messages can be distributed in seconds.

All of our software let’s you create beautiful content within the application or leverage existing media and skill sets by importing popular file formats:

• Text and graphics
• Video and Flash with audio
• PowerPoint
• Event schedules
• Interactive way finding and directories
• Weather, news and stock updates
• Alert notifications
• Web pages
• Polls, surveys and contests
• Cable feeds and streaming
• Social media and other RSS feeds