Scala, a provider of end-to-end solutions for the advertising management and digital signage markets, has announced Release 4 of its Scala5 connected signage software has been released to customers around the globe.
Scala’s research and development team has expanded since the last release with new resources in the US and in India. The R&D team has adopted stronger development methodologies for product releases. The growth of the team and the new methodology allowed Scala to announce Release 4 on time and with more features than originally anticipated. “Scala’s R&D team is stronger today than it has ever been. We’re looking forward to getting even more done in 2009,” commented Peter Cherna, vice president, research and development.
- The highlights of Release 4 are:
- Web Services for Content Manager - allow third-party applications to interface with the Scala Content Manager functionality.
- Ad Manager Tie In to Content Manager via Web Services - the first phase of integration of Scala Ad Manager with Scala Content Manager.
- Playback Audit EX Module - the new module generates proof-of-play reports showing what media played where, when and how often.
- Media Playback Controls - including: “playlist shuffle,” “play N times” from a playlist and “play fullscreen.”
- Time Triggers - added to trigger a playlist at specific times or regular intervals.
- Scala Designer more Photoshop friendly - Ars Media Photoshop Plug-in has been added to convert Photoshop layered elements to ScalaScript.
- Adobe Flash support has been greatly enhanced to provide smoother, faster, high-quality playback including: interactive support, alpha channel and “FlashVars.”
Updates for current customers and partners are available at www.scala.com/updates.
“This Release has been a real challenge for the R&D team since we have brought on new team members and improved our development methodology, but we’ve managed to put tons of great features and enhancements into it. I’m sure our partners and customers will be happy with the results,” says Peter Cherna.
Additionally, Scala has launched its new market-centric website, featuring Scala’s new look and feel.
Scala’s new website comes complete with a ground up re-architecture; giving the marketing team the ability to change content quickly and easily. “Since the digital signage industry is evolving so rapidly, Scala needed the ability to edit content on the fly so we can better educate the visitors to our website about the latest industry information,” said Andrea Waldin, vice president of marketing.
The highlight of the new website is the Solutions Gallery, where customer profiles are provided to visitors looking for examples of digital signage in a specific vertical market or application. The Solutions Gallery currently features digital signage customer stories in banking and financial, corporate communications, digital menu boards, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, hospitality, outdoor, retail, and transportation. This market-centric approach ensures that visitors to the Scala website can easily find relevant information, allowing them to make informed decisions about their digital signage projects.
Scala’s new look and feel is displayed throughout the website. The new look focuses on using images and video as the best way to describe digital signage to those new to the industry. The new look and feel features clean white space and a focus on Scala’s corporate colors of black, white, and red. This new look is being applied across all Scala materials including packaging, brochures, and, of course, our website.
“2009 is shaping up to be a great year for Scala and we’re excited to see our new look, our website, and Release 4 of Scala5 coming together all at once. We’re certainly putting our best foot forward in 2009,” commented Andrea Waldin, vice president of marketing.
For more information on Scala products/services, visit www.scala.com.
