Jan
Digital Menu Boards to LCD Enclosures
Digital signage is one of the most effective ways to market to people as the old static posters have had their day and new digital technology is being used to capture audience’s attention.
Let us look as restaurants and bars, here is an opportunity that is being exploited in the USA and Australia but not in the UK. A digital menu board can either be standalone or a networked solution; they both come with advantages and disadvantages, read on.
Standalone Digital Menu Board.
The standalone menu board features an LCD display that is integrated in to one unit along with a media player that is fed by a CF memory card. The media content is dragged and dropped onto the memory card along with an xml file that calls up the sequence of the images, video and audio files that are to be displayed. Some units include scrolling text and can be positioned in either landscape or portrait position without having to reconfigure the media.
These come in a range of sizes from 19” all the way up to 55” and are a cost effective solution for digital signage, starting from as little as $500.
Drawback – The main drawback is that the size of the memory card dictates the amount of media you can put on the menu board and restricts your creative flare. These also have to be manually updated normally by a USB connector that is built in to the onboard player.
Networked Digital Menu Board.
These menu boards will have been seen at restaurants such as McDonalds, were they have a set menu throughout their locations world wide and with one click of a mouse the content can be updated to include promotion items such as “Festive meals” for Christmas throughout all the locations.
Content can even be scheduled to upgrade when the restaurant is either closed or at its quietest period. The menu boards are commercial grade LCD displays that are networked up to a server at a central location were everything is controlled, with sophisticated software to create media content.
Drawback– The deployment of a network of digital menu boards is not cheap and normally business operators go for the standalone solution before committing to a full blown networked solution.
Now if a digital menu board is to go outdoors, the only real solution is an LCD enclosure, these will protect the screen and media player from the elements as well as potential vandalism. Get ready to see more of these this coming summer with the FIFA World Cup when bars will want to keep you there spending money.
Graham has several years in the digital signage industry from owning the worlds largest manufacturer of LCD enclosures, to deploying digital menu boards to restaurants and bars as well as digital posters. Contact them on +44 844 3578687. LCD Enclosure Global – anything else is a compromise.