Digicom Technology News

Telework has become more prevalent within government departments, and the latest intelligence from the Office of Personnel Management says employees are pleased! From the environment to the budget, the benefits are far-reaching. But perhaps the most important advantage is to the employees themselves.

Teleworkers say they are more engaged and satisfied than their onsite counterparts, according to the 2012 US Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Other reported benefits included a reduced number of sick days, increased employee motivation and greater workforce flexibility.

All things considered, it’s no surprise adopting collaborative tools in support of a mobile workforce is becoming a top priority for government departments. These survey results demonstrate just how fast telework opportunities are growing:

• In 2012, one out of three government employees were eligible for teleworking, up from one in four in 2012
• Almost a quarter of the government workforce engaged in a form of teleworking over the past year
• The General Services Administration and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation have the highest rate of teleworkers with more than 80 percent of their employees working remotely

But not only is the telework trend growing, it is working. When Hurricane Sandy disrupted the East Coast, departments had to work to ensure a continuity of operations despite the storm. Not surprisingly, many turned to telework as a solution.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office didn’t miss a beat during the storm thanks to their mobile workforce. On average the agency’s teams reported more than 70 percent productivity, while other organizations were forced to shut down. As more agencies make the transition to teleworking, resources like the Telework Exchange help to eliminate the obstacles.

If you would like more information on teleworking and its benefits, please contact Digicom today.

It’s clear from the Ricoh Document Governance Index 2012 series that European business leaders recognise the importance of having document processes that can be accessed from anywhere, at any time – able to attract and keep customers, meet regulatory requirements and keep cash flowing throughout the business. But in many cases, they have been unable to keep their document processes in step with the rapid changes in technology and ways of working. As a result, systems are not always connected, data is often unstructured, and employees are unable to access business-critical information at crucial times.

Below is outline of four steps for business leaders to follow to ensure their document processes are fully connected and able to meet the needs of their business today and tomorrow, as follows:

1. Europe’s business leaders should become more involved in document processes, to ensure senior overview of the way information is created, shared, and used throughout the entire business.

2. They should consider working with an expert to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Document processes, the business technology used to manage them, and the people who work with them on a day-to-day basis cannot be reviewed or improved in isolation.

3. Employees should be more involved in any new ways of working. As the people working with these processes every day, it’s vital they are consulted, their valuable experiences and opinions acted on, and a change management programme is introduced to ensure any improvements achieve their desired results.

4. It’s essential to maintain an on-going process of governance and improvement. Doing so means any remaining bottlenecks can be identified and put right, and better ways of working can be identified and replicated throughout the business.

Those businesses that are able to master the management of business-critical document processes will be the ones that thrive in the increasingly global, fast-paced business environment of the future.

Contact Digicom to find out how connected you are to your business-critical document processes.

The growing omnipresence of email and online data storage are enough to make you think excessive office paper waste is a thing of the past. A look at the numbers, however, reveals otherwise. And what's more, a lag on going totally paperless doesn't just hurt the environment -- it's a huge burden on slow-to-adapt businesses as well.

These stats and more were rounded up from across the web by Internet faxing firm MetroFax, and they're presented in the following infographic.

Irish Whiskey Collection Store

The Retail Excellence Awards are about celebrating retail stores and promoting best practice in the Irish retail industry. This awards ceremony has become one of the most anticipated and prestigious events on the retail calendar. It has become the benchmark by which the best in retail are judged.

The winners of the National Company of the Year/Industry Leader and Retail Store of the Year were The Loop, Dublin Airport and The Irish Whiskey Collection, Terminal 2 respectively. Within these retail spaces, Digicom were nominated to design and install a digital signage system which comprised of both hardware and software.

David Fitzsimons, Chief Executive of Retail Excellence commented "What Aer Rianta International and specifically The Loop have been doing at Dublin Airport is inspirational. They have reinvented airport shopping not just in Ireland but across the world". Part of their success was the meticulous research they carried out. The DAA do very little without speaking to the customer first. The ideas that they have are researched with their customers after talking to them one on one or in focus groups. Outcomes of the research included installing flat panel screens with digital signage.

There are many features and benefits not offered by static displays and signage that the retail space in Terminal 2 in now experiencing. The dynamic digital signage is grabbing customer's attention and is influencing their purchasing decision right at the point of purchase. It is also eliminating the high cost of creating and distributing print ad campaigns. The digital signage system in place is instant and offers the ability to change promotions immediately for various products or particular customers. Another advantage of the digital displays over static is that the retailers have the potential to earn money with their digital signage network by selling advertising space to their suppliers.

The big challenge to the DAA was how to engage with a new breed of customer that views the airport as a bus stop. Impressively the DAA have delivered on this front having experienced a 30% increase in Irish whiskey sales since the opening of the Irish Whiskey Collection store in T2. Their digital signage system has played a significant role in achieving engagement with customers.

Whether it is intended to build a brand, influence customer behaviour or simply provide information, the dynamic visual experience created by digital signage will ultimately increase sales.

Please click here for more information on the Retail Excellence Awards.

NEC Display has introduced the VE281 and VE281X mobile projectors, which are aimed at small meeting rooms, schools and conference room installs. Both projectors are specified at 2,800 lumens, offer auto power on and quick startup/shutdown, an Eco Mode, a carbon savings meter and extended filter life. They also have energy-saving features such as NEC's Intelligent Driving Scheme (IDS2) technology to extend the lamp life of the projector up to 6,000 hours in Eco Mode and 4,000 hours in normal use.


The VE281 is native SVGA (800x600) resolution and the VE281X is native XGA (1024x768) resolution, using a one-chip DLP engine with a BrilliantColor chip with a specified contrast ratio of 3,000:1. Inputs include HDMI and VGA (both ports automatically turn on the projector when they detect a signal). The VE281 and VE281X will be available in January 2013.

If you would like more information on projectors, please contact Digicom today.

Over the past few years, personal video conferencing has promised to enter the enterprise mainstream, with laptops, tablets, and phones operating on upgraded networks capable of supporting real-time audio and video communications. Many corporations are looking to embrace personal video conferencing as both a stand-alone application and as part of an overall Unified Communications (UC) deployment because rich media communications can speed decision making, help build stronger teams, and ultimately drive top line revenues as part of a sales strategy. Avaya recently commissioned a study with the aim of establishing the requirements for successfully deploying pervasive personal video. Below is a brief discussion and results from the study.

Many of today's crop of personal video conferencing systems have overcome the limitations of the past – ease of use, video quality, bandwidth management, and reliability. And while many enterprise managers may have the perception that wide-scale deployment of personal video would be possible only as part of a UC platform rollout, it is actually very achievable and affordable using traditional MCUbased video conferencing. An added benefit to MCU-based video is its extensive feature set and room systems compatibility which contrasts with many UC-based solutions. Rolling out a personal video conferencing service to managers and information workers has significant benefits beyond travel savings – including improved team building, better integration of resources, and faster decision making while allowing for a richer interaction. A factor that is often overlooked is the need to deploy to a critical mass of users. Scale is essential to making video calling an everyday experience. Configuring the network to support personal video conferencing and the required bandwidth is an important step, but not one that is particularly onerous with today's technology and services.

The follow are the results of the study:

• Enterprises should evaluate the new generation of personal video conferencing solutions as a vehicle to increase sales, strengthen partnerships, and improve internal team building. The current crop of personal video collaboration solutions are enterprise-ready and overcome the scalability, reliability, and quality issues that plagued desktop video conferencing years ago. 
• Avoid creating islands of communication. Integrate room systems with personal and mobile video conferencing solutions, bringing added value to both sets of investments. Integrated deployments should support high quality audio and video and easy connections inside and outside the firewall.
• Create a small, end-user driven team of product champions with participation from at least one high level executive. Have IT represented on the team, but do not have only IT department members. Include the network specialists and line-of-business users.
• Communicate internally to all involved with information on what will happen and when so that colleagues can monitor the progress of the deployment project. Include training sessions and provide documentation on how to use the new solution effectively.
• Communicate after the deployment about how the solution is being used and what benefits workers are seeing. This will encourage others to use video, making the solution more valuable to all.

NEC’s Digital Signage Solutions provide a complete bundled product for customers that need a commercial-grade display and computer to source basic content. The V422-PC bundle includes a 42” V422 display and NET-SBC-04 single board computer seamlessly integrated utilizing the expansion slot of the display. This built-in functionality allows for a clean, hidden integration while reducing the bill of materials needed for installation.

• Bundled solution includes 42” NEC V422 and NET-SBC-04 single board computer for simple digital signage
• Full 1080p high-definition resolution provides stunning detail
• Commercial-grade LCD panel and components
• Expanded connectivity with digital loop through
• TileMatrix™ allows you to create video walls up 10 x10
• Ethernet and RS-232 Control and Communication allows for ease in remote monitoring
• NEC’s Content Management Software (CMS), a SaaS web-based digital signage software, is available at no charge

The theme for 2013---according to Gartner---is that the information technology department has to navigate cloud, social, mobility and information as those trends play off of each other. Gartner analyst David Cearley believes that a strategic technology will impact the enterprise over the next three years.

"These technologies will cause major disruption to your environment," said Cearley. "This list is a starting point."

Here's the overview:


Among the key points are:

Mobile as the top two picks isn't all that surprising. Mobile device management is top of mind with technology excutives. Meanwhile, employees are bringing all sorts of devices to work. That trend could is set to get become more significant since Windows 8 will bring 140 form factors to market.

Gartner predicts that Android and iOS will dominate smartphones, but Windows Phone will gain "substantial share." For tech execs, the actual players don't manage. They have to get a handle on securing data and managing choice.

Cearley said that by 2015, 70 percent of companies will have one executive in charge of overseeing Internet-connected devices and objects. The payoff will be in the supply chain, control and information services. "The Internet of things has applications across multiple industries," said Cearley.

The Ricoh Document Governance Index 2012 sets out the impact today’s business environment is having on business-critical document processes – the core interactions that occur regularly and repeatedly within HR, finance, procurement and accounts, driving every organisation, keeping employees on board, cash flowing, and making sure businesses are meeting legal and compliance requirements.


Comparing the 2012 results with what we found in 2009, we can see:

• Business leaders are puzzled by the process priority jigsaw, and as a result many are failing to ensure their critical document processes keep up. Big data, emerging markets and managing multiple vendors were highlighted as the main trends impacting their document processes in 2012.


• Fewer than half have a fully developed and implemented document process management strategy, just a 4 per cent improvement since 2009. Meanwhile, many have set targets outside of a strategic framework, indicating confusion about the best way to ensure they keep up with the pace of change.


• The last three years have seen an inverse shift in priority targets for document processes, with business risk replacing cost as the top priority. But new targets are replacing others, indicating businesses are struggling to fit them all together under a strategic framework.


• Reviews are regular, but are they effective? Most businesses are reviewing document processes regularly, but the majority do not make changes as a result. This indicates businesses are adopting a high-level approach which makes it difficult to fully understand how these processes are being managed, what the bottlenecks are, and how to make improvements – not to mention monitoring the processes and implementing new ways of working on an ongoing basis.

European businesses can gain competitive advantage by mastering business-critical document processes, but the first step in this journey is to develop a rigorous process strategy for the long term.

Working with a specialist partner such as Digicom will help businesses solve the process priority puzzle, by:

• creating a strategy to manage document processes with targets linking to business objectives


• carrying out ongoing reviews that will drive change


• fixing processes that aren’t working, to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the entire business.

Polycom the global leader in open standards-based unified communications (UC), announced significant enhancements to the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform that make it an even more comprehensive and flexible software infrastructure for delivering video collaboration from private, public, and hybrid clouds. The new enhancements also make the RealPresence Platform more universally accessible by ensuring multi-vendor interoperability, eliminating barriers to access, and bringing down the cost for enterprises to video-enable their organizations and for service providers to extend from Video-as-a-Service (VaaS) to expanded Video Collaboration-as-a-Service (VCaaS) offerings delivered from Polycom-powered clouds.


Polycom introduced the industry’s first open standards-based Scalable Video Coding (SVC) protocol, delivering 3X the previous capacity for HD multipoint video calls for greater scalability, dramatically lower TCO, superior performance, and backwards- and forwards-compatibility to protect customer investments. Polycom also today introduced Polycom® RealPresence® Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition, the industry’s first multi-protocol, integrated software MCU that runs on industry-standard servers.

In a related announcement, Polycom introduced RealPresence® CloudAXIS™ Suite, an extension of RealPresence Platform that lets customers extend enterprise-grade video collaboration to users of Skype®, Facebook®, Google Talk™, and business video and UC applications via a browser for B2B and B2C video conferencing with the highest quality, reliability, and security.

“At Polycom, we continue to bolster our RealPresence Platform software infrastructure with interoperability enhancements designed to ensure customers are future-proofed and able to quickly leverage trends such as BYOD, mobile computing, and social networking that offer new opportunities to extend enterprise-grade video conferencing to the masses. Polycom is laser-focused on open standards-based interoperability for two key reasons: first, to protect our customers’ investments and ensure backwards- and forwards-compatibility; second, to remove all impediments that limit the ubiquitous adoption of video collaboration,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, president of Products and Services, Polycom.

Below is a brief summary of the announcements made:

• Powerful Polycom® RealPresence® Platform enhancements include industry’s first open standards-based SVC (Scalable Video Coding), with 3X HD multipoint video call capacity for greater scalability, dramatically lower TCO, superior performance, and backwards- and forwards-compatibility to protect customer investments—all available through a software update

• Polycom® RealPresence® Collaboration Server 800s, Virtual Edition, is industry’s first multi-protocol, integrated software MCU that runs on industry-standard servers Polycom extends firewall traversal and security options with Polycom® RealPresence® Access Director™, vastly improving capacity and supported protocols for improved B2B and B2C connectivity

• Building on earlier Polycom RealPresence Platform enhancements, including multi-tenancy support and open APIs, service providers can expand VaaS offerings more efficiently at scale

• In related announcement, Polycom® RealPresence® CloudAXIS™ Suite, an extension of Polycom RealPresence Platform, lets customers extend enterprise-grade video collaboration to users of Skype®, Facebook®, Google Talk™, and business video applications via a browser, for B2B and B2C video conferencing with the highest quality, reliability, and security.

ANZ Banking Group will spend hundreds of millions over five years on technology to attract the next generation of tech-savvy customers amid a spending war by the major banks.

“Customer expectations about what they can expect to do either online or on their mobiles have changed dramatically in recent years and it’s driven by the way they’re conditioned by what other providers do,” he said. “We know that we can’t stand stillbecause it’s a competitive environment.”

Mr Chronican said ANZ’s strategy would involve investing smartphone applications that allow instant money transfers. It would also include transforming bank branches to have more video conferencing suites and better automatic teller machines.

The bank will roll out more than 800 next-generation ATMs from 2013, all of which will be able to handle cash and cheque deposits in real time. Previous ATMs allowed deposits but needed employees to process the funds, which slowed settlement by several days.

ANZ will deploy Cisco video conferencing units to 43 regional branches in a bid to replace roaming financial specialists with a 'hub-and-spoke' approach. The technology is an extension of ANZ's existing Cisco telepresence networks in major city headquarters and provides on-demand access to ANZ's Melbourne specialists from other branches nationwide. ANZ began trialling the regional network in April this year. The system has since been used 150 times by remote staff, including those in the bank's Alice Springs branch, which does not usually have such access. The smaller units, which also provide access to desktop sharing for presentations and application access, are capable of high definition conferencing but will largely function in standard definition with encryption for an average bandwidth requirement of 384 kilobits per second. “We’ve been piloting the use of Cisco’s videoconferencing technology in remote branches and we will be the first bank in Australia to use this technology on a major scale, providing regional customers with better access to specialist advice,” Chronican said.

Australia’s banks are increasingly competing for the younger demographic through smartphone and tablet apps. Commonwealth Bank of Australia received plaudits for its Kaching tool, and ANZ’s goMoney app has already been well received.Banks are facing increasing competitive pressure to make their services mobile. Commonwealth Bank chief information officer Michael Harte recently said that the future of banking lies in recreating the 'old fashioned' banking experience of personalised service using the potential of mobile devices, whole-of-life customer data and real-time transactions.

A report conducted on behalf of Ricoh by Coleman Parkes, entitled Ricoh Document Governance Index 2012, has been compiled from 1,075 interviews amongst C-level executives, directors and other employees in Ireland and throughout Europe. It investigates how document processes – the processes that keep employees on board, cash flowing, and legal requirements satisfied – are being managed, comparing the findings to a benchmark set in 2009.


The report reveals the major global trends impacting businesses operations. These include big data, with 91 per cent of respondents citing the increasing amounts of data they now face as having the most impact on their ability to manage critical processes within their businesses, taking focus and resource away from revenue generating activities. Businesses also identified managing multiple vendors and emerging high growth economies as having a major impact on their organisations, which has in-turn created further amounts of data that they are required to manage.

Crucially, these trends have had a radical impact on business priorities. The research found that in just three years, businesses across Europe, including Ireland, have replaced a focus on cost, efficiency and the environment, with a focus on business risk. 65 per cent of respondents say they have now set targets for business risk in relation to their business-critical document processes, nearly four times as many as in 2009. The importance of transparency with overall business goals was also highlighted, with 64 per cent of respondents saying they set targets for processes to be aligned with overall business goals, compared to just 15 per cent in 2009 confirming the same.

These findings are in stark contrast with the results of the Ricoh Document Governance Index 2009. The focus for European businesses three years ago was basic cost and efficiency, with 67 per cent of businesses setting targets for cost and 59 per cent for efficiency, compared to 43 per cent and 51 per cent today. Environmental sustainability also appears to have been neglected by today’s businesses as they struggle to manage increasing amounts of data, multiple vendors and emerging markets, with only 33 per cent of businesses having a target for it, making it the lowest ranking target compared to three years ago (41 per cent).

“With so much change in the Irish business landscape it’s not surprising that there has been a huge shift in priorities for organisations here over the past three years. In fact, we are seeing the same trends across Europe. Business leaders are now most challenged by the big data threat, managing multiple vendors and also managing emerging market opportunities,” said Chas Moloney, director, Ricoh UK and Ireland. “In this era of uncertainty, reacting to industry trends by diverting resources can increase risk in other areas of the organisation. To prevent this, businesses need to strategically align all critical document processes to ensure all areas of the organisation receive the attention they deserve, are optimised and are prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

Video communications is becoming pervasive and organisations are adapting their internal communications strategy to accommodate an increasingly dispersed and mobile workforce.

Video conferencing remains a key internal communications technology, but IPTV, streaming video and digital signage are increasingly complementing it. In the past video conferencing perhaps was the stand alone AV solution of choice for communications whether external or internal. It still plays a central role and will continue to do so.

The big news is based around mobile devices, and organisations are rushing to embrace the concept of BYOD Bring Your Own device. The BYOD phenomenon is both real and multi-faceted. Employees are, in their spare time, also consumers who are developing an increasing attachment to the connected world that mobile devices bring which is driving this trend. 

Video is the new audio, with the availability of a consumer-driven infrastructure driving pervasive use but it brings with it corporate challenges. One of the primary concerns is the availability of bandwidth on the network and whether the use of tools such as corporate video will swamp the network. However, this issue can be overcome through multicast technology which enables efficient distribution over the network.

 If you would to discuss your organisations internal communications strategy, please contact Digicom today.

Ricoh Company, Ltd. is advising companies that improving document processes such as sales and marketing, customer communications, customer onboarding, service and support, developing new products, and billing and collection, which are traditionally seen as a strategy primarily for cost reduction, could yield some surprising revenue benefits - in fact, a potential increase of approximately 10 percent to the top line based on a recent IDC white paper sponsored by Ricoh.

The reasoning? Improved document processes can enhance the overall experience of a customer's interaction with an organization. Efficient processes, which allow for greater focus on the customer's needs, can have a positive impact on customer satisfaction, which is critical for retention and revenue growth. On the other hand, customers may flee to competitors if confronted by inefficient and ineffective customer-facing document processes.

These assertions are backed by research reported in a new IDC white paper sponsored by Ricoh, "Organizational Blind Spot: The Role of Document-Driven Business Processes in Driving Top-Line Growth (September 2012)." The white paper is the second major product of Ricoh's new Process Imperative initiative for improved information management. The white paper is based on IDC's recent global study of 1,516 document-driven business process owners and information workers.

Deficient document processes may cause customers to defect, the research revealed. Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would be less likely to do business with companies having inefficient or ineffective document processes. Sixty percent said they would take their business elsewhere, and 57 percent said they would tell others not do to business with these companies.

The good news is that better document processes have the potential to improve revenue. More than 8 in 10 respondents indicated that optimizing customer-facing document driven business processes would increase revenue - on average by 10.1 percent. This could be achieved by improving customer communications, streamlining the sales and customer on-boarding process, and improving customer support.

"This is great news for executives who are struggling to prioritize business process improvements," said Sergio Kato, Deputy General Manager, Ricoh's Global Marketing Group/Services Business Center. "No longer do they have to wonder if tackling document processes will yield a big enough return to justify the investment. Especially in this economic climate, any process that can both reduce costs and improve revenue is a win-win and should rise to the top of the priority list."

For more information on Digicom's document and information processing solutions, please visit Digicom's website.

Chief is now shipping its kits designed for integrating iPads into AV environments. The kits include the FSBI2B portable iPad interface, which works with the latest two generations of the iPad. The snap fit is designed for easy removal for the user on the go.



The KRA400B weight plate accessory, also available separately, accommodates the minimum weight requirements of K1-series dynamic mounts. The weight allows the gas spring arms to function ideally with the FSBI2B.

• Chief has bundled the portable iPad interfaces with Kontour Series mounts for fast and simple ordering.

• K0W1I2B -- Kontour single display pitch/pivot flush mount with FSBI2B portable iPad interface

• K1C1I2B -- Kontour single display column mount with FSBI2B portable iPad interface and KRA400B weight plate accessory

• K1D2I2B -- Kontour dual display desk mount with FSBI2B portable iPad interface and KRA400B weight plate accessory

A new report from Forrester Research, "The Forrester Wave: Room-Based Videoconferencing, Q3 2012", uses 39 criteria to evaluate the industries solution vendors, assessing video collaboration solutions for every work environment from mobile and desktops to room systems and immersive telepresence along with the services that support them. The following are some of the key findings:


Firms Look to Videoconferencing to make Virtual Meetings better
In a work culture dominated by meetings that participants attend either in person or by phone, more firms recognize the opportunity to use videoconferencing to avoid travel or to at least make virtual meetings more engaging (see Figure 1). Mobile executives want video for better worklife balance, managers want it to see that their direct reports aren’t distracted, and multicultural organizations want it to foster the trust and improved communication that comes with being able to read the body language of remote team members.



Vendors Differentiate on Endpoint Portfolios, Deployment Models and UC Strategies
The videoconferencing market is going through significant change marked by efforts to make the historically cost-prohibitive technology more widely accessible. After a boom period sparked by interest in high-definition quality and epitomized by investments in multiscreen immersive telepresence studios, videoconferencing innovation today is happening on smaller screens like PCs, smartphones, and tablets that workers use in their everyday jobs. In response to this growing interest, vendors not only have to show strategies that account for desktop and mobile applications — they also have to make their traditional dedicated room-based systems easier to deploy at scale.


Leaders have a Complete Portfolio of Offerings
Traditional heavyweights Polycom, Cisco, and LifeSize cover the most bases. Cisco and Polycom in particular have the most options for immersive telepresence, room-based endpoints and desktop hardware units. All three have comprehensive management platforms, recording and streaming solutions, multiple deployment options, leading interoperability, and options to integrate with popular UC platforms. This evaluation of the room-based videoconferencing market is intended to be a starting point only. We encourage readers to view detailed product evaluations and adapt the criteria weightings to fit
their individual needs.


All of the providers in this Forrester Wave report are worthy of your consideration, and which one you select will have more to do with your interest in immersive telepresence compared with more inexpensive systems, your UC strategy, and your deployment model considerations.

If you would like more information on Videoconferencing products, please contact Digicom today.

The global videowall industry is experiencing renewed growth, with the market on track to reach 380,000 unit sales in 2012, equating to year-on-year growth of 60 per cent, according to a new industry report from Futuresource Consulting.

Parmjit Bhangal, market analyst, Futuresource Consulting said: “Since 2009, LED backlight solutions have been integrated into rear projection displays, negating the costs of bulb replacement and maintenance. However, LCD super narrow bezel displays – SNBs – have been the real game-changer, finally offering a viable alternative to rear projection devices and plasma screens, allowing vendors to drive new revenue streams from new markets, most notably retail and public display, as well as defending their positions in video-based verticals.

“These technological advancements have created a huge amount of industry buzz, dominating trade show floors and commanding the interest of industry press, and now we’re seeing all this potential start to convert into real sustainable revenues.

There are four key markets for video walls: control room; retail and public display; corporate and exhibition; and broadcast.

• Control room is a key market for rear projection displays, accounting for more than 85 per cent of global sales last year and also seeing growing demand for SNB. The choice of technology depends upon the sub-vertical, with mission-critical applications – like utilities and command and control – tending to favour rear projection, whereas the more video-based applications of surveillance and traffic management favour SNB.
• Retail and public display are both dominated by SNB and accounted for the majority of SNB sales last year. Digital signage is a key driver for growth in this category as network owners look to create high impact displays to inform, communicate and advertise to customers. Retail and Transport sub-verticals are both key adoption areas.
• Corporate and exhibition verticals both provide growth for rear projection, though SNB is clearly the dominant technology. Reception areas, lobbies, boardrooms, exhibition and equipment rental are all important drivers.
• The broadcast space still demands both rear projection and SNB products. Rear projection is heavily skewed towards the Asia Pacific region, though still has relevance in developed markets.

“Moving forward, we’re going to see strong double digit growth over the next three years, reaching sales of close to one million units in 2015".

If you would like more information on video walls, please contact Digicom today.


Article courtesy of AV Interactive.

After the digital switchover, the 800-MHz band will no longer be used for TV broadcasts. ComReg is clearing the 800-MHzband TV channels (61 to 69) to match spectrum being released in other European countries (European Harmonisation). This will benefit people across Ireland because the spectrum will be able to be used for next generation mobile broadband services. However, this switch further limits a consumer’s ability to use ultra high frequency (UHF) wireless products, as there will be fewer frequencies available. Ultimately, this will reduce the maximum number of wireless products that can coexist in the UHF band at any given time.

These products consist of any device operating between 550 MHz to 606 MHz and 790 MHz to 862 MHz. This change is taking place to make room for both HDTV transmission and mobile broadband services, and will require anyone using any device operating in this space to replace it with an approved alternative.

The UHF band has been under review by most countries around the world, as it is a great option for wireless broadband services, which are in much higher demand than wireless microphones. While the 2012 switchover is the first major change to the UHF band and its availability for wireless microphone usage, it has been made clear that it is not necessarily the last. There is always the chance that more of the band will be sold off in the future, resulting in further limitations in UHF wireless microphone usage.

If you would like more information regarding UHF microphones, please contact Digicom today.

Buyers Laboratory (BLI) is a leading authority and provider of critical intelligence on the imaging industry. They are completely independent in all of their testing processes and subsequent reporting. Recently BLI announced its Summer 2012 “Pick” award winners in ten document imaging software categories. Bestowed twice a year by the editors of BLI, the awards honor the top-performing solutions evaluated in BLI's lab during the previous six months.


Reducing print-related costs, increasing print-job security and recouping print and copy costs where appropriate are the imperatives driving the growth in the print management category. BLI editors have selected PaperCut MF 12 as “Outstanding Print Management Solution” for this Summer 2012 “Pick” season thanks to its robust feature set and affordability.

PaperCut MF facilitates the tracking of (and charging for) print, copy, scan and fax jobs. The solution also includes features such as secure print release and “follow me” printing, as well as cost-saving features such as re-routing of files to lower-cost devices and the ability to enforce duplex printing or restrict output by application type.

“After putting PaperCut MF through its paces, there’s little doubt it’s among the best software platforms in this class on the market,” said BLI Associate Editor Carl Schell. “Not only does the solution have all the necessities for cost accounting, control and recovery needs, it also includes outstanding print management tools that can help organizations better understand their document output and reduce TCO—for a price that’s lower than many other competitive offerings.”

If you would like more information on PaperCut, please contact Digicom today.