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Frequently Asked Questions
The
information and ideas you need to get across to people are constantly
changing, and most operations run more smoothly using a direct, visual,
and instantly updated medium. Organizations with visual communications
reach people in time and capture their attention using unlimited
creative possibilities.
What
does “visual communications” mean?
In the
digital signage industry, “visual communications” is an increasingly
popular term that refers to messages and media delivered via plasma
displays, LCD monitors, TVs and other displays. For Visix, “visual
communications” is broader, extending to cell phones, RSS-enabled
devices and desktops.
Visual
communications are part of the growing movement toward displaying
information electronically in a vibrant, fluid format that is easily and
frequently updated. This medium can supplement, or even replace,
traditional methods of communication like printed flyers and
newsletters, email blasts, snail mail, and telephone campaigns.
Visual
communications’ content can include any combination of text and graphics
in still visuals, Flash® animations, videos, audio, weather
and news feeds, RSS feeds, event schedules, video feeds and more. The
technology used to manage these is a content management software
application. This software allows you to create, import, and manage the
various visual communications, schedule those messages to appear on the
displays or portable devices that you select, and deliver them to your
audience within minutes.
Why do I need visual
communications in my organization?
Effective
communication is always one of the top challenges organizations face.
Not everyone reads, and when they do, they don’t always remember.
Whether you’re trying to reach employees or customers, messages and
media that are dynamic and visual communicate with them directly and
immediately.
By maximizing
the multimedia experience and delivering timely, attractive
presentations, you reach the broadest audience with messages they’re
receptive to. Visual communication technologies make updating easy and
timely.
Visual
communications software 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.
What is the
advantage of using visual communications software versus traditional
organizational communication methods?
Email: Not
only does email fail to reach everyone, it’s quickly becoming a
saturated delivery channel with limits in creativity and obstacles like
filters and jammed inboxes. Our Desktop Messenger and room signs offer
centralized control over dynamic messaging so that more people have the
most up-to-date information.
Print: Though
creative print communications like direct mail, collateral, posters, and
traditional signage have their impact, they are also a slow, expensive
means to deliver information that’s quickly dated. AxisTV, Desktop
Messenger and Text Messenger allow you to import high-end designs and
create sophisticated graphics from user-friendly templates, managed and
delivered through a network infrastructure.
Internet/intranet:
To get to this information, users need to actively seek it out, which
they do only when and where they can. AxisTV, Desktop Messenger and room
signs exploit the advantages of the web, offering a web-based interface
to a dynamic communications system while delivering content to the
places people see it.
PowerPoint®:
PowerPoint®
is visual and engaging, but it’s most effective when you have people in
one room, communicating one idea at a time. With AxisTV, Desktop
Messenger and room signs, PowerPoint® can play a role in
managing large-scale communications. Users can easily import slides and
schedule them for delivery to selected displays throughout the
organization.
MPEG
Video: Video is a universal favorite for communicating, but MPEGs are
associated with huge file sizes that consume valuable network bandwidth.
AxisTV retains the impact of MPEGs, but trickles video content in during
off hours while delivering important messages instantly.
Verbal:
Though sometimes inaccurate, most communications are still distributed
verbally at the water cooler, in meetings or on the phone. AxisTV,
Desktop Messenger and room signs make use of dynamic technologies to
create, manage and deliver factual information to the broadest audiences
in the most efficient and effective manner.
What components are
required for running visual communications software?
For the three
essential components--content creation, content management, and content
delivery—there are a number of competing tools and technologies on the
open market. Some prefer client-based versus web-based applications, or
commodity PCs versus proprietary MPEG players, and so on. Your
selections in dynamic visual communications 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 visual communications
hardware and software:
·
Web-based content creation software
·
Web-based content management software
·
Custom embedded endpoint player software
·
Content managers
·
Channel players with supporting video cards
In an
integrated solution, you will also need:
·
Network infrastructure (100Mbs)
·
Audio-visual signal distribution infrastructure (CCTV,
broadband, CAT-5, etc…)
·
Displays (plasma, LCD or CRT)
Can I run this on my
existing network?
As long as
your network infrastructure is up to the standards of most companies,
yes. AxisTV, Desktop Messenger, room signs and other solutions operate
over 10/100 Mb networks.
Can we incorporate
audio and/or video into visual communications software?
Yes, AxisTV
integrates digital video files (avi, mpg, wmv, Flash®), audio
files (mp3, wav) and video overlay through composite or component
s-video inputs.
What kind of output
quality will Visix visual communications software deliver?
AxisTV,
Desktop Messenger, and room signs 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 3.5mm stereo mini jack.
Are
we limited in 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 managers ship in three scalable applications –
Standard, Professional and Enterprise. Standard can support two channel
players, Professional up to 75 channel players (with optional licenses),
and Enterprise up to 4,000 channel players with optional licenses.
The output of
any channel player can be distributed to practically any number of
displays through signal distribution amplifiers, switchers, routers,
transmitters and receivers or cable systems (CCTV). This means is that
the output (content) of any channel player is delivered to any number of
displays.
If you want
unique content on every display, you need to dedicate a channel player
to each display. More than likely, you will decide your communication
or marketing message is more effective when the same content appears on
multiple displays in multiple locations.
How long will it
take me to learn to use the system?
After a
two-hour basic user training (content creation, management and delivery)
over the web, you should be able to create and import content, edit and
manage crawls, manage libraries, and create user roles and policies.
Most users are proficient after six hours of normal use. On the other
hand, how much time you spend exploring the creative capabilities of
AxisTV, Desktop Messenger and room sign applications is up to you.
You will be
more effective if you go into dynamic visual communications with a plan
for how you will use the technology to improve organizational messaging.
How long before my
investment pays off?
There are
many studies that indicate that dynamic communications media will have a
profound impact on communications and conveyance over the next ten
years. There are no known standardized tools, however, to measure return
on investment for visual communications in more traditional
communication applications (business and industry, education, hospital,
government, religious, community access, etc.). You should consider a
variety of important points before making the investment. Read more in
our Buying Guide.
How can this
technology become a part of my organization's overall communications
strategy?
Visual
communications software should be balanced with other media – printed
materials, email, intranet and Internet to more effectively deliver a
comprehensive message.
The real
advantage of this technology, in addition to those just mentioned, is
that the content can be dynamic, timely and relevant, the instant it’s
needed, and the target audience doesn’t have to seek out content because
it’s delivered to them.
What is the future
of visual communications?
This is a
relatively new medium. The future is being written today by companies
who’ve embraced the opportunity to reach more diverse and mobile
audiences. As organizational needs and technological capabilities
evolve, you can be sure that Visix will be at the forefront of
delivering the best in dynamic visual communications.
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