In a world moving back to trade barriers (China-US, China-EU), the concepts of openness are unfortunately loosing traction. But neither the success of the EU nor of Digital Signage would have been possible without tearing down political and technological silos, promoting interchangeability, and standardizing rules and regulations. Less is more in an open world. Samsung Tizen, Google (Android & Chrome OS), and Spanish banking group Caixa are this week’s examples of simplifying and opening up for more success.
The past month was full of highlights for us: DSSE, Infocomm, and then the launch of our latest invidis yearbook. Since Monday, the 2024 edition “Signage & Software” is also available for free download. It’s 174 pages full of market analyses and industry news, there’s a special chapter on software, a 101 on retail media, 9 market compasses, and 44 separate articles – in summary: plenty of information and inspiration for anyone looking to advance their digital signage business. Click here for a free download.
Open Platforms are key to success
invidis focused on the success of platform economies in our DSS Europe Keynote, in the yearbook and in this week’s background article about Tizen. Over 270 million devices, including many digital signage devices, run on Tizen OS. We reflect on Samsung’s journey starting Tizen and how transitioning to an open platform with Open APIs and standards has helped establish the industry’s leading SoC ecosystem.
Bringing the Android stack to ChromeOS – implications for digital signage
Google surprised the IT and digital signage industry with an announcement of bringing ChromeOS and Android closer together. The next generation of ChromeOS will be built on top of the Android kernel. This will enable Google and ecosystem partners to leverage on a common tech stack for faster AI integration. The digital signage industry is still in the process of digesting the news and invidis will follow-up on the development in the coming days.
A retail banking flagship concepts that just works
Spanish banking group Caixa launched a flagship concept five years ago with representative dual-use branches across Spain. We revisited the first store five years later and were surprised about how well the concept still works and the good conditions the LED walls still are in. The Barcelona Caixa All-in-One is just a short 10 minute taxi ride from the Fira Gran Via showground.
Also new this week: LG’s new IT security platform
At Infocomm 2024, LG provided more details on its new IT security platform “Shield” that was introduced at ISE earlier this year. So far we can say: While LG Shield does not yet match the functionality of Samsung Knox, it has received global security certifications and represents a significant step towards enhancing security in digital signage. More details and a personal assessment in this article:
ISE venue is growing
This week, we also visited Barcelona and saw the construction progress of Fira Gran Via, the home of ISE. Some onsite impression in this post:
Walmart’s large-scale ESL roll-out
To better manage its pricing and product range, Walmart plans to equip over 2,000 stores with digital price tags by 2026, beginning with U.S. branches. This initiative involves electronic shelf labels (ESLs) provided by Vusion. More on Walmart’s digitalization effort here:
Audi’s transparent LED showcase
For the launch of the SQ8 Sportback E-Tron, Audi had set up a three-dimensional DooH installation in Vienna. It featured a transparent LED screen in front of the car and a regular LED backdrop, both displaying synchronized dynamic content:
We’re looking forward to being back on Monday with more industry news.
Until then, enjoy your weekend!
Florian Rotberg
