Samsung Electronics Canada is trying to speed up the delivery of digital signage solutions in the market place by removing a deployment step for the channel and ensuring large format displays can accept content on the fly.
The South Korean hardware giant has introduced the Smart Signage Platform to the Canadian market. This first of its kind initiative will see Samsung off large format display units with system-in-a-chip technology which will remove the need for a setback box, which is another PC from digital signage solutions.
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The company has also released a software development kit (SDK) that will enable allows content development companies who partner with solution providers to send customized applications directly to the flat-panel display.
Jean Paul Desmarais, marketing manager for Samsung Canada, told CDN that the company started early to get solution providers and content developers on the SDK and now these channel partners already have content and apps that are market ready.
The Smart Signage Platform is a cloud-based initiative that can locally or remotely send content from a server right to the display. This enables content providers the ability to distribute software updates and changes directly to displays keeping retailers content fresh and targeted for end users.
“This announcement will make things much easier for the customer to deploy and control the content for digital signage by reducing the number of pieces required in a solution and to be able to send content and apps not just to one location but many locations,” Desmarais said.
What gets dropped from the traditional digital signage solution is the setback box, which is an additional thin PC. With the Smart Signage Platform the content goes from the server to the flat-panel giving customers the ability to better schedule and manage content for their locations, Desmarais said.
The system-on-a-chip technology is comprised of a dual-core CPU, full codec video processor and either 4GB or 8GB of storage depending on the model. Under the Samsung’s Smart Signage Platform umbrella solution providers will see an embedded media player that allows users to play back content without the need for a separate PC.
“The opportunity for the channel is two-fold: those already involved in the digital signage business can now accelerate that business and be able to deploy solutions quicker and more affordably for customers. The second part is that those who are interested in digital signage now have a simpler deployment process,” Desmarais said.
New market research has the growth in the worldwide digital signage market pegged at exceeding 40 per cent in 2013, totaling $7 billion.
The Smart Signage Platform is compatible with ME (c) Series, PE (c) Series, and MD (c) Series displays.
