- Black Box has introduced ICOMPEL™ WDS, a centrally manageable platform for wearable digital signage. The WDS players feature a screen no bigger than a nametag, but because they show full-motion, customized video loops, they are designed to attract attention and enhance one-on-one sales interaction.
In addition to the rechargeable 2.4" LCD player tag, the iCOMPEL WDS system includes access to a Web-based portal for assembling and customizing video content with special effects, scrolling text, logos, and branding. Content can range from simple text and JPG images in a slideshow to a video.
iCOMPEL WDS players support global content uploads and updates. When used with Black Box’s iCOMPEL™ EDS platform, content for WDS players worn by associates around the world can be updated remotely from a central location.
“From a browser connection, you just log in to our Web portal to change your sales content on the fly,” explains George Borden, Black Box Digital Signage National Sales Manager. “The newer content replaces older content on the players the next time each WDS user plugs their player into their PC. This way, each person in the field has ready access to your latest signage messaging and promotions.”
iCOMPEL WDS is designed for retail PoS/PoP advertising, restaurant wait staff, greeters, and tour personnel, as well as convention and youth-centric event marketing. “Plus, it’s a novel way for salespeople to gain an edge,” Borden says. “If you want to stand out from your competition, WDS is the way to go.”
Each player comes with a magnetic clip for fastening to one’s clothing, a lanyard holder for wearing around the neck, a Mini-USB cable for recharging via a USB port and PC-to-player content downloads, and an AC charger.
Black Box will be showcasing iCOMPEL WDS at Digital Signage Expo 2012, March 6–9 in Las Vegas. To see a demonstration of the player and its management interface, visit Booth #131 at the expo.
Also at DSE 12, Black Box will be exhibiting its full line of digital signage platforms, including:
• The iCOMPEL™ platform for assembling, managing, and scheduling digital signage content. Featuring browser-based, networked players, iCOMPEL gives SMB organizations an affordable way to improve communications through relevant, dynamic signage. An integrated hardware/software solution, iCOMPEL comes preloaded with design tools and layouts for assembling and distributing multimedia content to digital signs. There are no additional software fees for iCOMPEL owners. All updates are free.
• The iCOMPEL EDS platform, which provides total control of signage content at the corporate, central administrative office, or government agency level. Via an Internet connection, administrators can schedule playlists, change presentations, and customize messaging for any screen, anywhere in the world. iCOMPEL EDS supports ad networks, and because it is provided as a VMware® server application, it is ideal for virtualized cloud computing environments. The only hardware needed is a subscriber unit for each screen.
• The new MediaFlyer™ EXPRESS, a sub-$1000 platform that enables small businesses without technical or creative resources to quickly set up signage. The combination hardware/hosted solution includes a compact player that installs at the screen and a subscription to the MediaFlyer site where content is uploaded to and managed via a browser. MediaFlyer EXPRESS can be set to display “mashups” of Twitter® feeds, Flickr® slideshows, and other social media, along with videos, RSS feeds, PowerPoint® presentations, JPGs, and HTML media.
