CASE STUDY - INSTALLING DIGITAL BANNERS The brief from our client FINIX, was to install digital banners alongside the vinyl print banners on the Royal Scottish Acadamy Building on Edinburghs' Princes St to run unattended for the duration of the exhibition (around 10 weeks). This presented a number of challenges which we had to overcome, the first of which was time as the client wanted something in place for the press launch (mere days away!) In the end we had to run with temporary screens for to meet this very tight deadline which were replaced as soon as the custom made screens were manufactured. We did however, manage to get the rest of the custom built hardware in time! VISIBILITY & DURABILITY As you can see from this picture above, the reason for the custom built screens is that the screens were to match the vinyl printed banners in size, which in turn, were to fit between the pillars. As you can also see from the picture, the digital banners are very noticeable when contrasted with the traditional vinyl ones. We used a pair of PANASONIC PT-D5700E DLP projectors (6000 lumens each). During the period of the install, there were two major storms with gale force winds which blew away all the vinyl banners twice. Version one of our screens were damaged by the first storm but after some consultations we came up with Mk II which weathered the storms quite nicely. UNUSUAL PORTRAIT SCREEN ORIENTATION & ASPECT RATIO Portrait Screens present a challenge in themselves when used with video projectors as most projectors can't be put on their side. The solution was to have custom deflector mirror assembly built for the projectors enabling a portrait screen orientation (pictured on the right). The artwork was then modified to fit the screen. Essentially the slides are on their sides, and the projector and mirror rotate the image back to the correct way. This method results in the maximum usage of the projectors available light output. As the screens are not n the 4:3 ratio of the projector, there is still a black (non-projected) area which overshoots the screen. Please click here for a larger version of this photograph. SITING THE PROJECTOR UNOBTRUSIVELY AS POSSIBLE The projectors and defelctor mirror assemblies had to be sited just inside the front two windows of this building, right by the main entrance at sufficient height to hit the screens. As this is a historic and listed building it had to be achieved with no damage so the optimal solution was to build the cabinets as seen in this picture. The cabinets housed the 2 projectors and also the Onelan digital signage server. SCHEDULING CONTENT AND PROJECTOR ON/OFF The Onelan NTB60 (about the size of a very retro VHS video tape, or paperback book if you prefer) was scheduled to turn the projectors on in the afternoon, with simple, high contrast slides shown on the screens to promo the exhibition. At dusk the full range of slides featuring artworks, information on the exhibition, sponsors logos, and press reviews ran on the screens. On Thursdays an Open late slide was added to publicise the galleries open hours. The projectors were turned off at midnight (when art lovers were deemed to be in bed), using RS232 control. Once installed and configured the server ran unattended for the duration of the show and controlled the projectors without user intervention. The Onelan scheduling is very comprehensive, and the scheduling on this job was very basic and easily handled. The content itself was basic on this job, essentially a series of slides, although the Onelan system will happily run almost all types of media on a fully customisable zoned screen. Demo / Hire / Sales / Installation We'd be happy to discuss your digital banner requirements and offer advice, demonstrations and quotes. We specialise in servicing the arts & entertainments industries but are happy to support all other commercial clients.

The Sponsors Logo was added to the slideshow displayed on the banners. Press reviews were added to the banners content. These were basic slides that changed every 7 seconds. The custom built deflector mirrors and projector mount. A cabinet can be seen between the pillars.