Mitsubishi Electric launches new signage platform

Mitsubishi Electric will launch the latest version of its Digital Signage system, Play-Out, at ISE 2010. The new system is designed specifically to enable signage industry professionals and systems integrators to create effective out-of-home networks using the skills already at their disposal.

Daniel Quitzau of Mitsubishi Electric Sweden, one of team behind the new product, commented; “Much of the focus among signage display manufacturers to date has been on either software or the display hardware. Our approach has been somewhat different. Instead of starting from the viewpoint of a hardware provider, we looked at the market from the perspective of the existing participants and developed our solution from there.”

The result is Play-Out; a complete end-to-end Digital Signage system that creates a bridge between traditional print-based out-of-home advertising and the new electronic world.

“The out-of-home advertising business has a long-established infrastructure”, says Quitzau. “Delivering a Digital Signage product that concentrates on one just aspect of that delivery chain – be that hardware or software – seemed to us to be a rather short-sighted strategy. Our objective with Play-Out was to provide an extremely versatile and powerful platform that will allow existing players to capitalise on the experience and capabilities they already have, and translate those into the tools needed for the new digital world.”

Mitsubishi Electric is best known for its high-quality professional display products and LED screens. “Quality of the final delivery device is incredibly important,” says Quitzau. “If the final image is of poor quality or the screen proves unreliable, the value of Digital Signage is lost.” But the company also recognises that while product reliability is important, hardware considerations are just one part of the challenge facing the signage industry.

Before developing Play-Out, Mitsubishi Electric consulted widely with organisations involved in “traditional” print advertising. According to Quitzau, “What was needed was a solution that encompassed everything, and would give those involved in the industry the confidence to take ownership of the digital delivery channel all the way from inception to deployment. Some of that is hardware; some software. The crucial point is that it is an end-to-end solution, not a series of unknowns joined together.”

Play-Out was warmly received at Sign Scandinavia 2009, with visitors responding well to the idea of being able to use the standard tools already employed by the creative industry, minimising the learning curve involved in translating existing skills to a digital delivery platform.

Daniel Quitzau commented, “Mitsubishi Electric is one of only a handful of companies able to offer a professional-grade hardware/software solution catering for the needs of today’s advertising business.”

Mitsubishi Electric’s Play-Out platform is just one of a number of new out-of-home display products being shown at ISE 2010. The company will also be revealing a 149” prototype scalable OLED display that has already aroused considerable interest from the Digital Signage community. Mitsubishi will also show a new Multi-Touch interface option for its Seventy Series display wall systems that enables multiple users to interact with a display wall simultaneously.

For more information
Daniel Quitzau
Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.
Tel: +46 (0)8 625 10 00

Issued by
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