First Samsung buys electrowetting display specialist Liquavista NV and then (less than 2 years later) it sells Liquavista to Amazon.

Presumably because Liquavista can’t yet offer a similar high quality, high resolution screen. One industry guru called it “pretty wins over functional” as electrowetting‘s offer is so far low-power and sunlight-visible. 

While Amazon will use Liquavista technology for eReaders and other mobile devices, now Liquavista spin-off Miortech says its electrowetting “can lift the ban on digital billboards.” 

Miortech establishes Etulipa as a subsidiary to bring its electrowetting display technology (EWD) into the digital signage space.

Miortech has been working on color displays that reflect sunlight, just like paper, with environmental benefits such as low power consumption and reduced light pollution that would overcom the disadvantages of LED billboards. 

Like the name suggests, Miortech has been mainly working in automotive on “auto-dimming rearview mirrors.” Mirror tech, get it?

CEO Hans Feil states: “We can now demonstrate full color reflective displays with the same approach as in digital printing: the so-called CMY-technology. The positive feedback on our demos, which performed under different light conditions including bright sunlight, pointed us into the direction of the digital billboard applications. We found that advertisers and billboard owners are extremely keen to enable more digital boards. This technology allows for instantaneous creative updates and the ability to respond in real-time to current events and market conditions”. 

The company acknowledges the next step is to build a demo-digital billboard to prove their claims to advertisers and billboard owners. 

Watch A Reflective CMY Color Demo in the Sunshine (no backlight) and made with 2nd generation electrowetting display technology 

Go Miortech BV (founded in 2006 as a spin-off of Liquavista which was founded as a spin-off of the Philips Research Labs)

At the NEC Solutions Showcase 2013 event , DisplayLite launched the first in a range of large format multi touch LED displays: the Zero Bezel touch range in screen sizes of 40, 46 and 55 inches.

The company says its range “offers the same sleek ‘look and feel’ and engaging interactive experience of iPads, iPhones and other handhelds but in screen sizes up to 84 inches. “

Screens can also be easily branded with logos or in specific colours: quickly and at very low cost.

Zero Bezel can be table or wall mounted, supports up to 10 simultaneous touch points allowing users to collaborate and the external appearance of the display can be customised if required. (It could be further enabled by DisplayLite to support up to 40 simultaneous touches.)

The standard product ships with a black border around the inside face of the screen glass – just like an iPad - but the border could just as easily be produced in any colour with or without logos.

Shown at ISE 2013 [see photo], Crystal Displays calls this 70-inch the “world’s largest transparent display” and we know of nothing that disputes this.

With most transparent display projects using the Samsung 22″ or Samsung 46″ panels, Crystal Displays has introduced new transparent panels to allow customers to upgrade to Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution.

The panels are currently available in sizes 26″, 47″ and 70″ giving companies the option to create better graphics and content which for some applications such as museums, art houses, high end tetail / branding and other applications.

CDS can supply these with Media player or interface card (HDMI) solution and Infra Red or projected capacitive touch screen.

Go CDS Transparent Displays

Tripleplay Services launches the entry level TripleLite Electronic Posters, a stripped-back digital signage solution for small businesses, restaurants, bars/cafes, schools and others.

A playlist creation and distribution solution, TripleLite allows full-screen videos and images to be scheduled and then distributed via a broadband network to multiple locations through an easy-to-use management interface.

Personalised screen layouts, playlists and schedules are created centrally via a user friendly cloud  interface. Users can mix video, JPEG, GIF and text to create posters in landscape or portrait.

This low end digital signage solution has an inherent robustness that more complex solutions can’t offer. Network connectivity is required only for content download (and high content compression rate keeps download time minimal). TripleLite Electronic Posters have no moving parts so power consumption is low and there’s less chance of failure. 

This TripleLite solution aims for one-off occasions, reception areas, internal displays, menu boards, promotions and across multiple screen estates. Bringing with it the ability to remotely monitor downloads and devices, this software is perfect for those wanting a solution they can trust.

TripleLite+, with extra features, is also available as a hosted service for even easier management. 

Tripleplay Services adds this entry level alternative to its existing digital signage solution: TripleSign, TripleTV (IPTV solution), TripleVOD (VoD streaming solution) and TripleChoice (media portal system).

Go TripleLite 

In-store entertainment provider PlayNetwork leverages Matrox's video wall solution to create a 30-monitor, 2-story-high installation in London for a leading lingerie brand.

The giant, 8m-high, 30-monitor video wall powered by Matrox Mura MPX Series video wall controller boards welcomes clients displaying dynamic digital content.

The store’s four floors and 40,000+ square feet included a PlayNetwork sound system, accompanied by not one, but two Matrox-powered video walls. The first, a 4x2 wall, adorns the store’s bra salon, while the 30-monitor centerpiece displays everything from behind-the-scenes footage of commercials to live video feeds of the brand’s fashion shows, with regularly updated content.

It also spans the height of a spiral staircase leading up the first few floors while a mirrored hallway reflects on-screen content throughout the store to reach most everyone inside. Initially, the larger wall was meant to comprise just 25 monitors. However, one week before it was to be installed another row of five was requested. With Mura MPX output/input boards powering the wall, the adjustment was relatively simple, requiring just a couple more Mura MPX Series boards to be installed within the integrated Trenton TVC4403 Matrox-validated controller system to power the extra monitors. In all, a mix of Mura MPX-4/4, Mura MPX-4/2, and Mura MPX-4/0 boards were used to power the 30-monitor installation.

VIA Technologies showcased its VIA Vantage Digital Wall made of sixteen 46” super slim displays at DSE) 2013.

The VIA Vantage Digital Wall is a fully customizable solution with the use of either high-definition LCD displays or LED panels to better match the needs of any indoor or outdoor space and supports resolutions of up to 4K ultra-HD.]

Incorporating an unrestricted stitching feature, customers can freely combine panels in innovative new patterns to create mosaic-like displays which can run up to six independent 1080p videos simultaneously in the most popular formats including H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1, WMV9, WMV, AVI, MKV, ASF, FLV and DVR-MS.

A user-friendly drag and drop interface with big screen stitching capabilities lets customers arrange content across multiple screens for environments such as airports, bus and train stations, hotels, museums, offices, shopping centers, movie theaters and other public spaces.

Go VIA Vantage Digital Signage Solutions

Mitsubishi Electric is in the process of building a network of large LED screens in main cities throughout Germany. Having successfully installed systems in Cologne and Hamburg, Mitsubishi Electric has now installed four LED screens at the landmark Rathaus Galerie retail and leisure destination in Essen.

The Rathaus Galerie is located in the heart of Essen's city centre. Covering 31,000 m2, it is home to 60 shops and a wide range of food outlets and restaurants. A total of four Mitsubishi Electric LED screens have now been installed in this .

Covering 10.65 m2 each, two LED screens are placed in an eye-catching position in the ground floor retail area of the Rathaus Galerie, greeting visitors as they enter.

Each screen consists of four AVL-ODT10 LED modules, measuring 4.16 m wide and 2.56 m high. 416 x 256 pixel resolution at 10mm.

Two further LED screens are installed outside, each of 19.7 m2 (5.12 m wide x 3.84 high) The 10mm AVL-ODQ10 screens deliver a resolution of 512 x 384 pixels and a 5000 cd/m light output, making them visible to passing motorists approaching from the north and south using the four-lane Schützenbahn that passes beneath Rathaus Galerie.

Go Mitsubishi’s ODQ10 10mm Outdoor LED Screen

AU Optronics (AUO), the Taiwan manufacturer that makes a full range of displays from the largest Public Information Displays to the smallest smartphone displays, showcased a 55-inch switchable-to-mirror display at the China Information Technology Expo & China Optoelectronics Display Expo 2013 (CITE & CODE 2013).

Obviously designed for retail, the 55” display shows shoppers use a touch browse to view a retailer’s latest merchandise (inn Full HD) while fitting clothes—even though the panel is switched to a full-length mirror function.

Go AUO 55” Switchable-to-Mirror Display