Brian Rhatigan, Author at Exertis Almo Installments Blog

The Emergence of Touch Technology and the Need for Content

April 3, 2014 By Brian Rhatigan Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that the earliest touch screens were being developed during the early 1970s, and multi-touch technology was in development as early as 1982, however nothing has brought touch technology to the masses like the introduction of the iPhone by Apple in the summer of 2007. This was even further enhanced with the introduction of the iPad in 2010. Previously, you would see touch screen technology primarily used in ATMs and some POS systems, but now, according to some projections, nearly 20% of the U.S. population will own an iPhone in 2014.

Apple is not the only player in town, as Android based tablets and Smartphones have about an equal market share, so we have a huge chunk of the population walking around with multi-touch interactive devices in their pockets at all times. This has completely changed people’s expectations as to how they get delivery of digital content, and gone are the days of single touch, as gestures like pinch to zoom, and swipe are the new norm.

While large format touch monitors have been around for a while now, the emergence of personal touch devices has led to an increased demand for touch enabled devices in public places. Whether it is a building directory, a museum exhibit, a kiosk in the mall, an alumni wall in a university, or an ordering station at a quick serve restaurant, the expectation for touch enabled devices is there. I remember a recent stay at a hotel where in the lobby there was a large format monitor in a floor mounted kiosk displaying information about the hotel and local area. They had to put a physical sign underneath the display stating “This is not a Touchscreen” in order to curb visitor’s natural tendency to try and interact with the display. Even with that, there were fingerprints all over the screen.

Now it’s one thing to create simple static content for looping and scheduled playback systems, as images can be created, edited and shared, and even simple tools like PowerPoint can be used to create digital signage content, however when it comes to touch interactive content this is not the case. More advanced software tools or programming are required in this case as well as careful planning and layout as to the storyboard of your touch project. Not only does the content need to be visually engaging, but it also needs to be intuitive to the user that is interacting with the screen. For this reason, partnering with content creators such as Almo Content Creation Services will be valuable to integrators of touch technology.

I look forward to the advancements we will see over the next five years!

When Size Matters: Projection Screens

February 27, 2014 By Brian Rhatigan Leave a Comment

In case you haven’t noticed, larger flat panel projection screens, namely 70” and larger are becoming more and more affordable, including a 90” model from Sharp coming in right around the $10k mark. We are talking sizes and prices that were, until now, reserved for projectors and projection screens. However, with that being said, many will agree that projectors still have their place and will continue to do so.

When thinking about commercial applications, high-end conference rooms, and fancy sports bars may be the most impacted by this shift as the price of larger flat panels is now falling to the point where they would be comparable to a good mid-range projector and screen, yet there are still many applications where projectors will remain strong. K-12 is a good example of this, where often budgets are restricted and projectors can be had for less than $1,000. Additionally, many classrooms are now outfitted with interactive white boards which, by design, require a projector.

Further, there are still many venues where a very large screen is required such as lecture halls, auditoriums, and large churches. With a 152” plasma display costing around $500k, the cost of a high end projector and screen is much easier to swallow at this point, and can still produce images significantly larger. On the flip side, there are projectors that are small enough to fit in your pocket that can project images as large at 70”, perfect for those on the go or for mobile presenters.

For the purpose of this discussion I am talking projectors, specifically projection screens, and determining the proper size screen for a particular space. According to infoComm’s CTS Exam Guide, the maximum viewing distance is based on the amount of detail in the image. For the majority of the viewing public, the viewing distance should be no greater than 150 times the character height. For video, the closest viewer should be no closer than the width of the screen and the farthest viewer should be no farther than eight times the height of the screen. For computer data, the closest viewer should be no closer than the width of the screen and the farthest viewer should be no farther than six times the height of the screen.

Using the same math, you can determine an appropriate screen size based on viewer distance.

Examine the following formula:

S(H) = Screen Height, D = Distance of Farthest Viewer, S(L) = Screen Detail Factor (See Below)

4 – Engineering Drawings, Medical Images, Very Fine Detail
6 – Web Pages, Spreadsheets, Simple Presentations
8 – Motion Video

So if you are designing a conference room where the furthest viewer will be 24 feet from the screen, and content will be primarily general presentations such as PowerPoint, or web pages you would calculate the screen height by dividing 24 by 6, which is 4 feet. Based on a 4 foot screen height that gives you roughly an 84” diagonal if you are dealing with a 4:3 aspect ratio, or roughly a 94” diagonal screen in a 16:10 aspect ratio.

Now, you also have to take into account the ceiling height in the room. Generally, the bottom of the screen should be approximately 40” to 48” above the floor, so you will need clearance for the area underneath the screen, the height of the screen and housing, as well as the distance required for any projector lens offset. If you are working in a room with a low ceiling and you are not able to have clearance for all of these factors, then you will be limited as far as the size of screen that will physically fit in the space, which in this case you will naturally try and find the largest possible screen for the area.

So in summary, the next time you are trying to determine an appropriate screen size, there are two main factors you need to consider. First are the dimensions of the audience area, second is the projection format or detail of content that will be displayed. The above formula will prove very useful once you have both pieces of information. Remember that in certain instances, you may be restricted by ceiling height, which in that case you will just want to find the largest screen height that will fit while considering the distance from the floor and projector offset.

Mobile Video Walls

February 12, 2014 By Brian Rhatigan Leave a Comment

If you are connected to the digital signage industry in one fashion or another you are already aware that video wall technology has been a massively growing product sector over the last two years. You can hardly walk through any airport or high end retail establishment without seeing at least one of these multi-screen beauties, ranging in configuration sizes from as small as two screens up to one hundred screens or more. Still, the possible applications and locations for these types of multi-display systems continue to grow.

The major display manufacturers are fully supporting this trend as they continue to introduce newer and better products in this category. Amazingly, just a few short years ago, professional displays that offered a combined bezel width (when screens are placed adjacent to each other) of less than 1” were considered state of the art, and today that would not even be considered a thin bezel display by most. The latest LED/LCD displays are offering combined bezel widths as narrow as 5.5mm, creating a near seamless look when creating multi-monitor displays.

While it is not new technology, it is still worth mentioning that these ultra-thin bezel displays, and many more traditional professional displays offer a built-in video wall or tile matrix software that allows you to take a single video source and expand that image over the entire multi-display wall. In order to accomplish this, the video signal needs to be supplied to all the screens in the wall. This is done by using a video distribution amplifier, or by daisy-chaining the output of one display into the next if the specific display supports that connection. Once the screens are connected, settings within the displays allow you to select the configuration (i.e. 2×2, 3×3, 5×5, etc.) and then assign an ID to the panel so it knows which part of the
image to display.

Now, considering this trend and rapid growth, new ways to both exhibit and utilize this type of technology have surfaced, primarily in mobile or portable applications. The largest demand for this initially seems to be driven by the rental/live event market and trade show booths that require a way to display video wall technology where a solid mounting surface may not be available or the video wall display might only be set up for temporary use. Mobile carts and stands for flat panel displays are not new, however up until recently none of these products have been designed for this purpose.

At first glance, most would assume this would be a simple solution; however a lot of engineering time has been invested by mount manufacturers such as Chief, Premier Mounts, and Peerless-AV. Careful design needs to be considered to make sure these products are strong enough to support the additional weight associated with video walls, yet still maintain mobility and ease of set-up in order to ensure a good user experience. Additionally, the positioning of the displays within a video wall needs to be very precise so that the screens line up perfectly edge to edge vertically and horizontally, as well as staying in a level plane with each other so you don’t end up with a curved or bowed video wall. For that reason, mechanisms need to be incorporated into a video wall mobile cart that will allow for micro-adjustments after the displays are mounted to the cart.

Thankfully, the manufacturers have done their homework and have brought to market the first wave of mobile video wall mounting solutions. Having personally worked with a few different manufacturers’ products in this category I am pleased with what is being offered. As a distributor of professional audio video equipment we often are displaying the technology that we sell at various trade shows and exhibits across the country, both large and small, so to have the ability to now show video wall technology in this setting without necessarily having a structure to mount to is huge for us. Also, think about staging events where a video wall system or multiple systems would enhance the experience for attendees, where previously this could not be accomplished due to the lack of a mounting surface. Another application that comes to mind is mobile DJs & entertainers, again where the experience can be enhanced with the use of video wall technology.

Currently, video wall carts are available in different configurations ranging from 2×1 up to 3×3 and will support displays ranging in size from 46” to 60” depending upon the model of cart. Most have integrated locking casters, although some are designed as a stand with no wheels, or to be bolted to a floor. Integrated cable management and fine-tune adjustment capability provide for a neat and seamless video wall display.

Like anything else I am certain that these mobile video wall products will continue to evolve and provide additional features to improve ease of use and mobility, while at the same time the displays will continue to evolve as well. Video wall technology is an exciting one to say the least and I look forward to see what lies ahead.