- ONELAN recently provided a digital signage technology solution for R&K, one of Chile´s biggest optical chains with more than 40 stores across the country as well as more than 150 concessions in Chile´s biggest department stores.
- Founded in 1914, R&K sells sunglasses from well-known brand names, optical glasses, contact lenses and hearing aid devices. The company wanted a way to advertise the products it sells while providing a relaxed and interesting atmosphere in its stores. It had several key technical issues to overcome, however, including the requirement to remotely manage its digital signage through the local firewall.
- According to ONELAN, which is based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in the U.K., R&K´s layout includes one Video Zone (full-screen advertisement) and one Soundtrack Zone. Instead of separate devices, the separate Soundtrack capability of ONELAN’s Net-Top-Boxes (NTB) has allowed R&K to achieve both its digital signage and in-store audio system requirements with just one device, the company said. The whole system is based on an NTB 615 (Publisher), 50 NTB 500 (subscribers) and an FTP Server.
- Originally, the FTP was installed at R&K’s site and a remote desktop was used to access the Net-Top-Box (NTB) configuration pages. However, R & K’s internal technical department was uncomfortable allowing external companies remote unsecure access to its network across its firewalls. ONELAN was able to offer its Digital Signage Manager’s Virtual Private Network for this purpose, removing the need for a server or PC at R&K.
- Due to the unstable power supply and intermittent Internet connections found in Chile, reliability also was a key requirement for R&K, but ONELAN’s Linux-embedded NTBs were able to address this problem as well. These appliances are designed for low-maintenance, 24/7 operation; moreover, they recover quickly after an unplanned loss of power and self-start once power is resumed, the company said.
- The NTBs also feature an intelligent file transfer mechanism. NTBs will only download any differences to the Schedule/Playlist from the FTP source rather than spending time downloading media again. In addition, if transmission is interrupted due to loss of power or Internet connection, the intelligent file handling system ensures file transfer resumes at the point where the interruption occurred and does not have to be re-started from the beginning.
- “R&K’s network was recently attacked by a heavy virus and an old Windows platform was one of the suspects. So a more secure solution had to be found. ONELAN’s solution came in and satisfied R&K’s requirements,” said Alvaro Amar, network manager for the R&K digital signage network.
