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DVM FAQs
The advantages of
Dynamic Visual Messaging are as unlimited as the benefits of knowledge.
Knowledge that is instantly updated, reliably accurate and creatively
presented provides boundless opportunity for your organization.
What is
Dynamic Visual Messaging or DVM?
Why do I need
DVM in my organization?
What is the advantage of DVM over
traditional communication methods?
What
components are required for DVM?
Can I run this
on my existing network?
Can we
incorporate audio and/or video into DVM?
What kind of
quality output will DVM deliver?
Are we limited
to the number of displays we can manage or operate?
How long will
it take me to learn to use my DVM system?
How long before my investment pays off?
How can DVM
become a part of my organization's overall communications strategy?
What is the
future of DVM?
What is Dynamic
Visual Messaging or DVM?
Dynamic displays…digital signage…narrowcasting…electronic billboards:
Dynamic Visual Messaging (DVM) goes by many different names. DVM is
generally defined as visual communications (messages) consisting of
text, graphics, video and/or audio being delivered to displays (plasmas,
CRTs, LCDs) utilizing a near real-time updating system and dynamic
presentation formats.
For more general information about DVM,
click here.
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Why do I need DVM in
my organization?
Effective communication
is the number one challenge faced by organizations.
Whether communications
are internal or directed at customers, Dynamic Visual Messaging
is the modern medium that improves on traditional communication methods.
By delivering timely,
attractive presentations and maximizing the multimedia experience, you
reach the largest audience with the most appropriate message. DVM
technologies allow for near real-time updates for relevant communications.
Dynamic Visual
Messaging can be applied to a wide range of applications…lobby
reception, campus-wide systems, corporate television networks, call
centers, medical facilities, banking and financial sites, break rooms,
manufacturing floors, worship venues, retail displays, community access
channels, hotel and casino spaces, emergency response centers,
transportation facilities, museums and exhibits…virtually any public
space or network.
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What is the advantage of DVM over
traditional communication methods?
Compare Dynamic Visual Messaging to
these other forms of organizational communications:
|
Medium |
Description |
|
Email |
Email is
quickly becoming a saturated delivery channel, limited in
creativity and proving limited success due to filters and
jammed Inboxes. Our AxisTV, MessageBlox™
and MeetingMinder™
products offer centralized, dynamic
messaging solutions that do not require users to have an
email application for access to up-to-date information. |
|
Print |
Organizations continue to communicate using creative print
communications in the form of direct mail, collateral,
posters, and traditional signage. Paper trails offer a slow,
expensive means to deliver dated information. AxisTV,
MessageBlox™
and MeetingMinder™
products allow
you to import high-end graphic designs or to create from
user-friendly templates for sophisticated graphics managed
and delivered through a network infrastructure.
|
|
Internet/Intranet |
This
tactic requires users to log on to Intranet or Internet
pages when and where they can. AxisTV, MessageBlox™
and MeetingMinder™
products exploit the
advantages of the Web, offering a Web-based interface to the
dynamic messaging system, while delivering content to the
audience whenever and wherever needed. |
|
PowerPoint |
PowerPoint is effective if you have a group of people in one
room, only need to communicate one idea at a time, and don’t
want to manage large-scale communications. PowerPoint can be
imported into AxisTV, MessageBlox™
and MeetingMinder™
products, allowing users to schedule and deliver
slides to specific displays throughout the organization. |
|
MPEG
Video |
Unfortunately, MPEG communications are associated with huge
file sizes consuming valuable network bandwidth. AxisTV
retains MPEGs best qualities, trickling video content in off
hours while delivering important messages instantly. |
|
Verbal |
Many
communications are still distributed at the water cooler, in
a meeting or on the phone. AxisTV, MessageBlox™
and MeetingMinder™
products utilize dynamic
technologies to create, manage and deliver factual
information to the masses in the most efficient and
effective manner. |
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What
components are required for DVM?
Content creation tools.
Content management tools. Content delivery tools. There are a number
of competing technologies on the open market – client based versus
web-based applications and commodity PC’s versus proprietary MPEG
players etc…Your DVM or digital signage application and technology
selection will be impacted by a variety of factors that include creative
resources, ease of use, number of probable users, network
infrastructure, reporting requirements and more.
Visix develops, sells and
supports the following basic DVM hardware and software:
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Web-based content
creation software
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Web-based content
management software
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Custom embedded
endpoint player software
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Content servers
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Channel players with
supporting video cards
In an integrated
solution, you will also need:
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Network
infrastructure (100Mbs)
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Audio-visual signal
distribution infrastructure (CCTV, broadband, CAT-5, etc…)
-
Displays (plasma,
LCD or CRT)
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Can I run this on my
existing network?
Yes. AxisTV, MessageBlox™,
MeetingMinder™ and most
other digital signage applications operate over 10/100 Mb networks.
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Can we incorporate
audio and/or video into DVM?
Yes, AxisTV will
integrate digital video files (avi, mpg, wmv, Flash®), audio files (mp3, wav)
and video overlay through composite or component s-video inputs.
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What kind of quality
output will DVM deliver?
AxisTV, MessageBlox™,
and MeetingMinder™ support video
cards that output NTSC (525 scan lines), VGA-UXGA (640x480 – 1600x1200)
and DVi. These ranges cover what is normally available in the display
market. Audio output is unbalanced stereo via a 3.5 mm stereo mini
jack.
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Are we limited to
the number of displays we can manage or operate?
The short answer is no,
there is no limit. However, there are a number of things to consider. Content
Servers ship in three scalable applications – Standard, Professional and
Enterprise. Standard can support 2 Channel Players,
Professional can support up to 75 Channel Players (with optional
licenses) and Enterprise up to 4000 Channel Players with optional
licenses.
The output of any
Channel Player can be distributed to virtually any number of displays
through signal distribution amplifiers, switchers, routers, transmitters
and receivers or cable systems (CCTV). What this means is that the
output (content) of any Channel Player is being delivered to any number
of displays.
If you feel it necessary
to have unique content on every display, you need to dedicate a
Channel Player to each display. More than likely you will decide that
your communication or marketing message is more effective when the same
content appears on multiple displays throughout the organization.
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How long will it
take me to learn to use my DVM system?
Basic user training
(content creation, management and delivery) lasts approximately 2 hours
over the web. You could expect to be able to create and import
content, edit and manage crawls, manage libraries and create user roles
and policies following a session of that length. Most users are
proficient after 6 hours of normal use. Creative minds may spend
countless hours exploiting the features of AxisTV, MessageBlox™,
and MeetingMinder™
applications.
You will be more
effective if you went into DVM with a plan for how you were going to use
the technology to improve organizational communication.
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How long before my
investment pays off?
There are many studies
that indicate that the dynamic messaging medium will have a profound
impact on communications and conveyance over the next ten years. There are no known
standardized tools to measure return on the investment in dynamic visual
messaging (DVM) in more traditional communication applications (business
and industry, education, hospital, government, religious, community
access, etc…). You should, however, consider a variety of
important points
before making the investment. Click here for our
Buying Guide.
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How can DVM become a
part of my organization's overall communications strategy?
DVM or digital signage
is not a communications answer; it is a communications tool. This tool
should be used in conjunction with other mediums – printed materials,
email, intranet and Internet to effectively deliver your message.
The real advantage to
this technology, over those just mentioned, is that the content can be
dynamic, timely and relevant the instant it is required and the target
audience is not required to seek out the content because it is delivered
to them.
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What is the future
of DVM?
This technology is early
in the adoption cycle curve but will gain broader acceptance as the
barrier to entry costs are lowered and implementation becomes easier to
facilitate. By 2010 you can expect DVM and digital signage to
dramatically impact organizational communication by delivering
information to virtually every known display.
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► Click here to download our DVM PDF
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