Let battle commence

Digital signage installations for advertising or information provision are becoming a common sight. Whilst printed signage remains dominant, and will do for some years, digital signage has key advantages – notably the ability to run fast changing, animated content. Also known as narrowcasting, digital signage is believed by analyst InfoTrends to be ‘on a path to sustainable growth’. It valued the narrowcasting industry at $1.1billion at the end of 2006, claiming an installed base of 630,000 screens at 97,000 sites. By 2011, InfoTrends sees digital signage revenues exceeding $2.5bn. Meanwhile, iSuppli estimates the global market for point of sale and signage displays greater than 30in diagonally to be $1.4billion. Estimates may differ, but all are convinced the market is poised for growth. Digital signage is taking off thanks to several factors, including the availability of large plasma displays and the advent of cheaper narrowcasting software and hardware. Recently, plasma almost had the market to itself, but its share is being eroded by competition from large panel lcds. With cost and display size both key factors, it isn’t hard to understand why plasma is under pressure. But what are the technical factors?