Sony Extend Digital Benefits To SME Customers

Sony Professional have unveiled two new products to strengthen its digital signage offering.
The new Full HD screen, the FWD-S42E1, and the digital signage player BKM-FW55, broaden the audiences that can benefit from the world of digital signage. The combination of the two products operates as a stand-alone, plug-and-play system, ideal for smaller businesses looking to harness their visual communications potential. Ease of installation and low cost mean the solution can provide rapid return on investment.
Maxime Clairet, Public Display Product Manager, Sony Professional, commented: "For businesses looking to engage customers through the power of their images, such as in-store video promotions, digital signage is a proven concept. Our new products are simple to install and operate, and will broaden the range of customers that can benefit from what in-store digital content delivers."
To ensure ease of use, the BKM-FW55's 'Easy Wizard' set up offers an easy-to-use operation guide and the Easy Playlist allows quick and simple content creation in a PowerPoint slide show format. In addition, the user interface used whilst editing the schedule has been based on the Microsoft Outlook format to give it a familiar feel.
Whilst ease of use and cost are key factors for small businesses when selecting digital signage solutions, reliability is also critical. Sony's qualified video player technology offers guaranteed reliability and the BKM-FW55's management software ensures that when users are updating content or rebooting the network, the 'Remote Reboot' function means that there is no requirement for an on-suite visit.
Both new products will give small and medium-sized businesses the ability to easily manage a signage solution of up to ten screens. This will help Sony Professional's SME customers benefit from using video and digital content in a way that until now has been restricted to larger businesses, since the management and control of the content are simple to manage, overcoming the need for a full-time content manager, as well as the cost this would entail.
Finally, the BKM-FW55, which incorporates free, bundled 'signage player management software', is capable of setting calendar base scheduling, interrupting replay and system settings across ten units and can be managed via both network and USB distribution.
The BKM-FW55 has a high performance video processor integrated circuit (IC), enabling reliable playback of Full HD video (H.264, MPEG2HD) at 30fps, smooth transitions between still images (transition done at player side) and higher reliability in comparison to screens run from individual PC players.
Clairet concluded: "For small to medium-sized organisations looking to unlock the potential of their images and deliver a real business benefit, the FWD-S42E1 and the BKM-FW55 offers a cost effective, reliable and easy-to-use option to replace existing ways of displaying content like DVD signage players and posters. The simplicity of these products means SMEs don't need in-house IT expertise to benefit from what digital content can offer."
(KMcA/BMcC)