MMD, subsidiary of TPV Technology Limited and the exclusive licensee of Philips Commercial Signage and Philips Monitors Worldwide, adds to its digital menu board series. The Philips 47” BDL4771V is part of an expanded line of commercial-grade displays built for menu board applications in quick service restaurants (QSR), theaters, amusement parks and stadium arenas.

The new Philips 47” BDL4771V is feature-rich with technologies for digital menu boards applications including:

• In Plane Switching (IPS) LCD panel for vivid and rich picture quality at 1.07 billion display colors
• DVI Loopthrough technology to daisy-chain multiple displays in menu board configurations
• Multi-Screen Image Alignment, Heat Management and Asset Life Tracking and much more

Transparent like glass, Medialine’s LCDBOX 2200 comes in 22” (approximately 56cm diagonal ) and soon also available in 46” (117cm).

The transparent LCDBOX has an integrated USB media player. Designed in Netherlands for retail use, the user simply inserts their USB stick with content and it’s ready to go.

The Medialine LCDBOX can be optionally supplied with built-in WLAN-Wifi.

Supports AUTO-START and AUTO-PLAY.

Go MEDIALINE Transparent LCDBOX

Calling it, “a Swiss Army Knife of a digital billboard,” 3M GTG introduced a new generation of billboard, the MetaTwistTower at the MAC (Munich Airport Centre) Forum, a large outdoor multi-purpose event area, to mark the airport’s 20th anniversary.

After being commissioned to develop a digital display system under the roofed section of the MAC Forum, 3M GTG redefined the classic approach of a digital billboard with the concept of a media installation in keeping with the venue’s spatial arrangement, ambience and uniqueness. As a result, the MetaTwistTower was created – a spectacular 10.6 metres high triangular tower with a 41m² rotating and revolving LED surface.

The installation has three layers, each with three LED panels on precisely engineered rotation and folding mechanisms. These nine connected elements can be adapted in format and orientation (square, landscape or portrait), and unfold to give a powerful performance with never-before-seen dynamics. Switching between these formats, and the movement of the panels, is an integral part of the visual performance. When combined with synchronised content, the MetaTwistTower delivers a high impact advertising and media production tool for large-scale, public audience communcation.

Starting in September in Europe, Extron Electronics will hold the The Extron Workshop: Designing Digital Systems That Work, a one-day event for system designers and integrators that focuses on the practical aspects of designing digital AV systems.

Instructors from the Extron Institute program provide a full day of training and real world demos on how to solve common digital AV challenges by integrating a wide range of products such as cables and equalizers, extenders, signal processors, switchers, matrix switchers, and XTP Systems into system designs.

"The Workshop concentrates on the practicalities of system design and integration, sharing all the valuable lessons we've learned in the lab and in the field during our long history with digital technologies,” says Andrew Edwards, President of Extron. "As I promised, we're reaching out to you, our customers, with more places and ways to learn about Extron digital technologies and products to grow your business."

Integrated Systems Europe launches a charitable programme (SeeHearTouch) to equip children’s hospices with the latest home-cinema and media technology and enhance the lives of terminally ill children.

Obviously ISE can’t tackle all Europe simultaneously, but integrators (and vendors) who can identify children’s hospices and offer to join in the outreach can possibly put their countries higher on list for consideration in the next phase.

“The inspiration for SeeHearTouch comes from the work that our Sales Manager, Ian Morrish, has done in the UK, bringing together manufacturers, distributors and custom installers to deliver home-theatre systems to children’s hospices that would otherwise not be able to afford them,” explains Mike Blackman, Managing Director, Integrated Systems Events.

“At our last meeting, ISE’s Board of Directors approved a proposal to develop this idea and take it a stage further, enabling us to allocate part of our revenue each year to subsidising the work of industry stakeholders who undertake to design and install home theatres and media rooms in children’s hospices across the continent.”

You can find out how technical teams turned Danny Boyle’s vision into the London 2012 Opening Ceremonies as part of The Olympics Uncovered programme at the PLASA Show, at London’s Earls Court on 9-12 Sept.

More than 120,000 people saw some of Boyle’s £27 million production, called Isles of Wonder, during two dress rehearsals this week, and more than 1 billion may have watched the broadcast.

After the Olympics (i.e, during PLASA), technical director, Piers Shepperd will chair a session where the full tech team present an overview of the mega special effects in stage, lighting, audio and AV behind the London 2012 Olympic Ceremonies.

IMS Research estimates hardware supporting digital signage (media players, PCs, displays and LED Video arrays) generated nearly $5.5 billion in revenue during 2011.

The new IMS Research study, The World Market for Digital Signage – 2012 Edition, also forecasts continued growth for this equipment at a combined compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% through 2016.

Displays continue to drive the majority of shipments and revenues for the industry when cinema projectors are excluded. IMS Research estimates that during 2011, LCD and plasma displays shipping worldwide for digital signage generated revenues of nearly $2.7 billion, representing 22.5% growth over 2010.

Contributing to this strong growth was an increase in shipments for screens smaller than 30”, replacement of CCFL with LED backlit and thin bezel displays, as well as an increased demand for touchscreens. LED Video display (or module) revenue grew due to increased investment in sporting venues and outdoor digital advertising.

EXPO magazine now ranks ISE as the 3rd fastest-growing trade show in the world (up from 9th position last year).

The annual ISE Press Event (held this week) always offers a statistical re-cap: after 2012, ISE shows a track record that most athletic departments would blame on steroids.

Attendance (up 17.2% in 2012 to 40,869) is outpacing the growth in exhibition space (825 exhibitors occupied 11 halls).

Now ISE 2013 will expand its exhibition space to take up the last remaining Hall at the RAI, adding Hall 8 (oddly enough the first hall ISE ever used at the RAI.)

On the eve of the 10th event, Mike Blackman, MD, Integrated Systems Events, says “We knew from our very first show that we had a winner but no one imagined the rate of success.”

UK and Germany each brought more than 5000 attendees to ISE 2012. Almost every European country (and UAE) sent more attendees to 2012 (except Portugal and Greece who are getting so much bad economic press we probably shouldn’t add any more.)