beavers in april
30th Apr 2009 (11:05:20) by James
Beaver Design, part of the Beaver Group, has been busy this April with digital signage content, web development and graphic design.
Beaver Design has been designing over 20 different concepts for a major global brand in the UK. We often do this kind of confidential work, helping to create some popular and well-known brands.
Axis Magazine have published another Web Advice article, written by our own James Bragg. This time the article looks at e-commerce, recession and the dot-com bubble.
Our web design services have been used a lot this month too. We've updated and improved two sites; one for Crondon Park and another for APEX Steel Structures. Earlier this month we finished work on Elite Electrical Services' site and we've also started creating the newsletters and e-marketing for "Faith" - the resident DJs at the East Village club.
The School Governors' One-Stop Shop has called on us a couple of times. Firstly to promote the SGOSS partnership with ALLIES (A Local Lawyer In Every School) on their website. As well as that, we've created SGOSS a mini-site focussed on promoting the need for school governors' in Nottinghamshire.
Whew...very busy beavers! If you would like any more information about us and what we can do for you, then please just get in touch.
if i had a hammer…
24th Apr 2009 (11:25:18) by Robin
The digital signage software marketplace is getting much busier than even a few years ago with quite a few applications around. These days there’s a variety of digital signage software available: some which schedule content for playback, others which schedule as well as incorporating custom design tools.
For basic requirements, there are entry-level applications which schedule the playback of content and rely on standard design packages (such as Flash, Photoshop and After Effects) for their design and on-going development.
For anything more comprehensive there are applications which incorporate design tools and operate as more of a software platform. The information on the screen can be live, editable and scripted in a variety of ways, in addition to playing normal static or animated content.
Digital signage is a medium in it’s own right - unlike TV, web or print and various applications will mean a variety of options and results with your digital signage. With the right platform, you can accommodate your future requirements and changes, as well as your current ones and if you use it for more than simple content delivery, digital signage becomes a powerful and dynamic medium for your messages.
DIGITAL SIGNAGE IS A DIFFERENT MEDIUM
Beaver Group has been a design agency for over 30 years. We design for print, web sites and digital signage. Whatever medium we’re designing for, we use the right tools for the job and treat each medium with consideration for its own specific requirements.
Think of the web: most websites aren’t created in just Flash. It’s certainly possible, but the website will suffer from poor search engine rankings and indexing (Google can’t interpret Flash). So other specific web tools such as Dreamweaver are used.
Equally, if we’re creating video content, we wont use a digital signage content tool – we’ll use applications like Adobe After Effects, or Premiere.
A SOFTWARE PLATFORM
Digital signage applications provide simple and intuitive access to the more powerful aspects of any well developed and established software platform, with open web APIs and content management. The software accommodates small changes because it can treat each aspect of the content uniquely. If we had to re-render a video or image to accommodate one small change in the content, we’d end up re-doing work and this is a waste of time, as well as money!
We use digital signage software platforms for designing, integrating and building on. We can design templates for content and use the platform to create customised interfaces for customers. The content can be driven from a variety of sources, such as databases and web-feeds. This isn’t just a “nice-to-have”, as it actually reduces the cost of ownership and is a major consideration for many of customers we work with.
Clients like Ericsson, GlaxoSmithKline and Showcase Cinemas all required custom integration which went way beyond any “out-of-the-box” or “instant” solution. They needed a software platform which we could develop specific solutions for their business needs - and the flexibility of our chosen application enabled us to do exactly that.
So there’s no mystery or magic about it. We just design good content for digital signage and we use whatever the right tools are for the job. Our clients also understand that digital signage is more than just content playback.
Our advice to the variety of software vendors out there is - don’t fall into the trap of dismissing features of one product, simply because it’s not a feature of your own. Abraham Maslow eloquently summed it up when he said,
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
fully functional av for ericsson from beaver
14th Apr 2009 (09:12:48) by Simon
At the Ericsson office in Basingstoke, Beaver Solutions recently installed and configured a new auditorium AV solution. The goal was to upgrade to what was currently already in place and create a high-tech conference room with a quality feel.
Beaver installed a new lectern which has a built in AMX Modero touchscreen panel. This panel allows the speaker to control the Panasonic PT-D5100 DLP projector, the audio (including wireless mics), the room lighting, the auditorium screen and the Polycom HDX8002 video conferencing unit.
Built into the Ericsson auditorium is a controllable video conferencing unit which can record and stream the speaker. The cameras can be moved and controlled through the AMX panel in the lectern.
The result is a simple, but high-tech and functional conferencing room for Ericsson, helping to continue to keep the company communicating at the highest level.
screen media expo 2009
9th Apr 2009 (14:18:37) by Robin
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The Screen Media Expo 2009 was a success this year and Beaver Group could be found on two stands. We were providing screen content for Sanyo on their stand, as well as demonstrating a real and award-winning project with Scala – Showcase 'Cinema de Lux' Cinemas. Both stands we very well attended, and it was great to see the number of visitors with real and progressing projects.
We were demonstrating a live implementation of mobile digital content management via the iPhone on the Sanyo stand, whilst other members of the Beaver team could be found on the Scala stand, demonstrating Autograph and the project for Showcase Cinema de Lux (Digital Signage Project of the Year 2008). On the second day, Peter Critchley (Managing Director of Beaver Solutions) hosted a talk at the well attended DMiR Conference.
SUM OF ALL PARTS
Many visitors to Olympia were visiting to gain a better picture of what goes into digital signage (screens, software, hardware, distribution etc.) at the exhibitor’s stands. However, the feedback we received from visitors was that the variety of component parts within a digital signage solution can be confusing – not least, for the end-users.
Beaver, Scala, Sanyo and Vogels demonstrated on the Scala stand how these different parts of digital signage can be put into one place with one clear overall picture; a project which shows how a complete solution comes together. With so many options within the digital signage market, showing people a clear and complete picture is absolutely necessary to avoid confusion.
AUTOGRAPH SPARKS INTEREST
We also demonstrated our innovative Autograph tool. Its simple web interface and practical implementation was a real winner with visitors to the stand, and showed how simple solutions don’t have to compromise on quality.
For everyone involved, the Screen Media Expo was a great event and the feedback we received showed that everyone found the show useful, making use of the opportunity to see the variety and quality of digital signage options available today.
itv nightscreen upgrades to scala5
2nd Apr 2009 (09:12:14) by Peter
Nightscreen is a scheduled information programme on the UK’s ITV television network, which runs after the last programme each night on ITV1, ITV2 and ITV3 across Europe. It is used to provide a gap between each day’s broadcasting, to allow for any programmes (such as sport events) to overrun and not affect the next day’s schedule. Since 2003, ITV have been running Nightscreen using Scala’s InfoChannel 3 software, provided and supported by Beaver Solutions. Content is updated on a daily basis by Gower Communications, who have supported the ITV Nightscreen system since 2003.
Beaver Solutions has recently upgraded the installation at the ITV transmission centre in Chiswick, providing a new Scala5-driven solution to create, manage and distribute the ITV Nightscreen programme. The system also features redundancy to ensure continuity of service.
Gower Creative Communications manage the schedule for the programme. It shows up to date information about ITV's upcoming programmes, features and special events, with an accompanying music soundtrack. The programme is distributed through a broadcast quality SDI signal to ensure the highest possible signal quality.
ITV Nightscreen is a popular programme, with many people saying they stay up (and even wake up) to watch it. Viewers regularly comment on its relaxing nature and viewers even put in requests to ITV for the music! ITV Nightscreen is available to view from the end of the last programme of the day, until 5:30am the following morning.