Most of the failed digital signage efforts I come across, or have sent my way, involve computing hardware or programming software that goes bad. But here’s a case of a video wall project in which the player, software and creative are all fine, but the installation or service job was a disaster.
Christopher Gillespie of Jupiter Systems posted on Linkedin about the video wall he spotted at an Office Depot. The retailer used high quality narrow bezel displays and the playback looks good. But the job is completely thrown off by the use of the mounting infrastructure. Commercial video wall systems are designed in such a way that pro AV installers can make precise adjustments to align a set of flat panel displays so it as seamless and uniform as possible.
We don’t know the back-story in this case. Maybe the wall went in perfectly but someone who doesn’t have the know-how or experience to service something and get screens re-aligned after pulling them out. Or maybe the installers were total knuckleheads. Hard to say.
What’s absolutely certain though is that investing in good equipment and creative is essential to making digital signage effective, but so are the little things – like making the final product look right. The average consumer might not notice things like screens that aren’t quite aligned, screens needing calibration because colors are mismatched, or dangling cables. But this whole thing is a disaster.
As Gillespie notes: “They are using the right gear … Thin bezel monitors, the right mounts … They clearly spent the money … But holy crap man!”
Holy crap is right.