Digital Lifescapes

In spite of global recession, certain areas of the global M2M industry are illustrating remarkable resilience -- even with the threat of new business models created from the ever-increasing sophistication of the global smartphone and software app ecosystem. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, the installed base of cellular machine-to-machine (M2M) devices will approach 500 million modules by 2018, driven by more open M2M ecosystems and improved cloud-based APIs. According to their assessment, the M2M space is seeing an increasing focus on the development of open platforms that simplify connectivity to a wide range of isolated devices through the cloud. This movement is already in motion. Juniper believes that the advent of Big Data emerging from M2M service provision will, in time, allow for improved interrogation of M2M data sets -- opening the door to new revenue streams for companies and M2M operators. How the Internet of Things will Evolve Juniper fo...

While there's still a raging debate over the full upside potential of the Digital Signage market, particularly within the retail industry, pundits and insiders know that the most effective way to quantify the market is to follow the display technology outlook. NPD DisplaySearch will once again host a one-day Digital Signage Conference at InfoComm, providing in-depth insight into the projected growth and emerging trends of the digital signage industry. The fifth annual Digital Signage Conference is taking place on June 12, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Practitioners in the digital signage sector will address the key distribution channels, revenue opportunities, hot markets and new technologies throughout the entire supply chain. "Flat panel displays continue to be a major force in the digital signage industry, as new technologies come to market and existing technologies adapt to changing demands," said Chris Connery, Vice President of Large Format Commercial Displays for NP...

According to the latest market study by ABI Research , the global market for digital signage -- including displays, media players, software, and installation or maintenance costs -- will grow from nearly $1.3 billion in 2010 to almost $4.5 billion in 2016. Larry Fisher, Practice Director at ABI, says "Digital signs have a more compelling impact than some forms of traditional media." Today's digital signage offerings have redefined the model for out-of-home advertising through the deployment of signs at malls, airports, and banks, among others -- signs that deliver content in real time, or content that has already been stored and scheduled for delivery at the most appropriate time. The majority of digital signage installations today are IP-based, underscoring the evolution of digital signage away from static advertising -- each media player requires connection to a remote content management server. This connection can be wired or wireless, and in some cases, is mad...

According to a Futuresource Consulting market study, the B2B flat panel digital display market has experienced steady growth this year, with the market attaining sales in excess of 400,000 units in Q2 2009. This represents close to 30 percent year-on-year growth from Q2 2008, underlining the growing acceptance of flat panel product as a viable and ever more affordable technology. However, this performance also includes consumer TV crossover product, which has been widely adopted in the professional marketplace over the past few years, accounting for over 60 percent of global sales in Q2 this year. There are arguments and counter arguments for the selection of pro monitors vs. consumer TV products, but ultimately video displays have now become just one element of a wider solution. "Our research shows the public display application has enjoyed strong year-on-year growth of nearly 40 percent, with digital signage driving flat panel display penetration in almost every application and...

Ready or not, 3D is coming with backing from all major sectors of the entertainment and consumer electronics industries. 3D movie production is intensifying, cinemas all over the world are investing in 3D technologies and feedback from audiences has been highly positive. Yet the ultimate goal is to bring 3D to the home, and a Futuresource Consulting market study reveals studios, consumer electronics companies, broadcasters, video game vendors and network operators are all poised to promote 3D. "Consumers are starting to experience the new wave of 3D technologies at the cinema and through Digital Out of Home advertising, and it won't be long before there's a groundswell of demand for 3D within the home," says Sarah Carroll, Director at Futuresource. With over 200 million new TVs sold across the globe every year, the potential is huge, but the industry needs to overcome some serious obstacles in order to kick start and fully realize the revenue streams. Most notably, te...

Here's something very small, with a market upside that's very big. With a potential addressable market measured in the billions of units, In-Stat is now forecasting the market for pico-projectors to exceed $1.1 billion within five years. Apparently, redesigned mobile phones and accessory projectors will lead the pico-projector market, with computing devices and consumer products following. "As mobile devices add more multimedia capabilities, embedded pico-projectors can add a big-screen experience to a very small device," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. Technological advances in miniaturization, signal processing, and light sources -- including green laser -- are making pico-projectors a realistic feature for small battery powered devices like cellphones, media players, computing devices, and other consumer electronics. I believe that the applications for handheld projection devices creates yet another interesting impromptu presentation vehicle for people en...

The digital signage market in the United States -- including hardware, software, installation, and maintenance services -- is expected to grow by about 33 percent in 2009, according to a new market study by ABI Research. This latest forecast factors in the likely declines due to the recessionary economic environment, showing a healthy growth rate despite the current uncertain financial conditions. There are several reasons for the positive outlook. Most traditional advertising media are losing their appeal. Consequently, digital signage has emerged as a potential way to deliver highly customized and targeted messaging in a variety of public locations. And in a fast-changing world, the ability digital signage to be updated in real-time is a significant benefit. Retail, education, hospitality and corporate communication are apparently the first verticals deploying digital signage. Adoption is also encouraged by improvements to a display's appearance, the generally falling prices of e...

Creating a video composition with a music soundtrack has its challenges. Using commercially published music is often the most troublesome approach, due to copyright limitations and licensing requirements. Besides, there are several alternatives for videographers that produce content -- even those on a small budget. Some non-linear video editing software packages include a few sample music tracks -- often referred to as license-free or royalty-free music. There are a variety of online sources that sell stock music , which is also royalty-free. And, there are a few sources that offer songs with creative commons music licenses that you can use at no cost, providing you give attribution to the creator. However, all those options require that the music still must be customized to fit your specific needs, and trimmed to the exact durations of each segment within your video. Instead, there's fully automated soundtrack creation software that enables customizing the score by actual...

According to a Fitch Ratings market assessment, advertisers now have more options in the current economic environment than at any other time, and they are scaling back traditional high Cost Per Thousand (CPM) "impressions" oriented advertising campaigns. Even profitable marketers will use increased bargaining power to attain better rates and associated concessions from big media companies. The study offers trends and outlooks for several advertising sub-sectors, as follows: Newspapers Newspaper industry revenue growth will be negative for the foreseeable future as both ad pricing and linage will be under pressure within each of the four main components of newspaper revenue streams. More newspapers and newspaper groups will default, be shut down and be liquidated in 2009 and many cities could go without a daily print newspaper by 2010. Yellowpages Few markets will be able to support more than two print directories and most markets will eventually only be able to support one bo...

While still arguably in its infancy, the digital signage industry has been evolving at a rapid pace, according to the latest market study by Futuresource. In 2007 the industry was depressed by a legacy of project failures and negative press. Of almost one hundred projects evaluated by Futuresource, nine failed completely to meet any of the objectives set and ten were deemed to be only partial successes. Though 40 percent of the projects were considered successful, for a further 30 percent it was deemed too early to determine the level of success. Key barriers to the development of the industry have included a lack of clear ROI modeling, few advertising metrics, too much network fragmentation and not enough scalability and project complexity. One year on, ROI modeling is still an area for contention, though advertising and media agencies have begun to take notice of digital signage, as the effectiveness of traditional mass media communication forms become ever more diluted. Efforts have...