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Features
One company quietly pioneering visual hardware for this industry is out to enable the barriers between AV resellers and digital signage resellers to be crossed. In turn, that offers retailers an all-round solution.
As with every emerging market, with each month that goes by we see new digital signage suppliers enter our market with promises of the best solutions and service. Rightly so, most of these companies are new as befits a growing market and have experienced skill sets either from the traditional AV market, advertising or signage markets. So how do we tell which suppliers understand not only the hardware technology but also how it works with peripherals and content? Must we continue to buy from different suppliers who can potentially blame each other if the system is faulty? And how does the traditional reseller hope to maintain a high standard of service if its manufacturer supplier doesn’t have the same level of commitment or understanding?
Mentor Distribution’s heritage lies in importing graphics cards which it has done since 1991, adding to the portfolio of AV products ever since. It now boasts a massive range that includes monitors, servers, VGA and graphics cards, motherboards, barebones and more recently public displays and touch screen systems. The company also distributes and develops solutions from the likes of NEC, iiyama, Mirai, Minicom, Chemei, Fire and Enermax.
Mentor seems intent on addressing the issues facing digital signage suppliers, especially those mentioned by Minicom’s CEO Eli Sasson during his presentation at Screen Media India. In this interview, Sasson says, “The major highlight to emerge (from the show) was the better understanding between technology providers and network operators. The network owners expect the technology providers to give them peace of mind, efficiency, reduced TCO and value for money.”
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Amongst Mentor’s top brands in this market sector, says Tom Thornton, are NEC and iiyama, both of whom have recently launched touch screen systems into our world of screen media networks. “The versatility of the NEC public displays led to Mentor developing the SBC, a single board computers module. It’s a revolutionary development specifically designed for integration into individual displays.” In layman’s terms, this PC slots directly into a compatible display and runs all content on the screen, eliminating the need for cables. It has two modes: SBC-Mid is the mid-range mode run by a Celeron 800MHz processor and the high end SBC-Hi system has the Intel CoreDuo 1.66 processor. Both SBCs feature three USB ports, a 40GB hard drive, 512MB of RAM, DVI-I output and an ExpressCard slot, with Windows XP embedded. |
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An alternative wire-free solution developed by Mentor is its CAT5 solution. This unit can run one or multiple displays over distances of 110 or 300m without compromising picture quality. Resolution is up to 1920x1080 pixels at 60Hz. Both the SBC and CAT5 systems are compatible with NEC MultiSync and Multeos public displays.
For other display solutions involving other NEC displays, Mentor has its VCSU range, designed specifically for interactive displays, hospitality and way finding applications. The system, according to Thornton, is highly specified, delivering optimum resolutions from 1360x768 pixels on 32, 40 and 46in displays, and 1920x1080 full HD on the 57in screens.
The touch screen sensor is fully integrated behind the NEC bezel and the 40 and 46in versions boast ultra slim bezels of just 15.5mm and 16.5mm respectively. With projective capacitance technology, the touch screens are said to enable stable and drift-free operation, and can even be controlled with a gloved hand. The units, depending on screen size, are fitted with either 4mm or 6mm thick toughened glass, providing resistance to vandalism including scratching and gouging. “They are an ideal choice for public areas where screen damage or vandalism is a possibility,” says Thornton, “such as in hospitals, shopping centres and museums.” The touch screen is controlled via serial or USB connection and the displays feature numerous options of signal inputs as standard on this high specification range.
The iiyama ProLite T series is based on the latest five wire resistive technology with inputs including analog and DVI digital, with either USB or RS-232 touch screen connectivity. Five wire resistive technology is said to be extremely popular because it delivers accuracy, durability, and performance, and it can be operated while wearing gloves which is essential for medical or industrial applications.
Extensive touch utilities enable four point calibration and either 9/25 point linearisation. The screens deliver a native resolution of up to 1280x1024 pixels for the 19 and 17in models, and 1024x768 pixels for the 15in. Contrast ratio is up to 800:1. The screens are compatible with Macintosh and PC platforms, and the touch screen comes complete with a solid base and 90O adjustability.
“Because of our close relationships with major manufacturers in this arena,” says Thornton, “we are able to maintain our high level of service to our traditional reseller channel with these new touch screen integrated systems. Instead of looking to the individual suppliers to cobble a solution together from different suppliers, we took a fresh approach and used our contacts and knowledge to create visually stunning, fully integrated digital display systems for them, so now the customer is confident that if there are any issues, they only need to go to one place for the answers.”
With new products still in development at Mentor, the company says it is far from sitting on its laurels. “Integrated systems such as the SBC modules give rise to ideas of being able to display detailed information and data in many different places,” says Thornton. “Car retail showrooms already allow staff and customers to find details out at the touch of a button with plinth mounted touch screens, so it is no surprise that there is talk afoot about utilising tabletop space in contemporary receptions rooms and showrooms to bring the information even closer to the customer and easier to use.”
By partnering with some of the most reliable and high quality names in hardware and software, Mentor feels confident that the issues of providing peace of mind, efficiency and value for money will be last year’s problem.
