Netpractise to demo 3D content distribution at Screen Media Expo - Digital Signage Today

 
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Netpractise to demo 3D content distribution at Screen Media Expo

• 01 Apr 2009

LONDON — Netpractise, a multimedia systems design and integration company, will demonstrate how its Digital Pro Media (DPM) digital signage software platform allows digital signage network operators to easily distribute 3D content across large digital signage networks.

Visitors to the Netpractise stand at Screen Media Expo 2009 will be able to witness a demonstration of leading 3D vendor Magnetic Media's Enabl3D 47-inch widescreen combined with a Magnetic Media Plug and Play Enabl3D media player. Magnetic Media screens are renowned for delivering crisp, high-definition 3D images without the use of 3D glasses and offer virtually no loss of resolution when displaying 2D images. The images displayed on the 3D screen will be managed via Netpractise's DPM platform which can seamlessly handle 3D as well as conventional 2D video and text.

Netpractise has had recent success with its DPM software being used for distributing and scheduling 2D and 3D videos to a 100-screen network currently being installed across shopping centers in Mexico — which is one of the first 3D networks in the world. 2D images are rendered into 3D using software such as Autodesk's 3Ds Max and distributed via DPM software. The files are then compressed using DPM and transported using robust transport protocols that ensure that if a file download terminates, the download starts at the exact point where transmission was lost. The DPM platform provides complete flexibility, switching from 2D and 3D video, live text, broadcast television or any other scheduled media source.

According to Netpractise, the market for 3D digital signage in the UK is at a tipping point as the price of screens and associated hardware continues to come down, image quality has significantly improved and content creation and distribution becomes more cost effective and easier to manage.

"We had a 3D demonstration at our Screen Expo stand last year, and visitors would stop and stare ... you can't keep your eyes off these displays, they are mesmerizing," said Fraser Hamilton, managing director, Netpractise. "3D is a reality now, the business case is there for including 3D in high footfall or premium locations, and around the globe 3D is rapidly gaining acceptance. We are in a unique position with our Digital Pro Media platform as it makes scheduling and distributing 3D content to thousands of sites as simple as traditional 2D video."

The company also announced it will showcase its MultiQ customer flow management solution. It will show a MultiQ demonstration to illustrate how it has supported some of the UK's leading companies to deliver intelligence to their on-premises queue management.

For single queues, the customer watches a digital signage display showing information and promotional messages while waiting. For a multiple queue, such as in a bank where a customer is waiting for a specific specialist — such as mortgages or investments advisor — the customer stays in a waiting area looking at a digital signage display until his number is shown and the specialist becomes available.