Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd (DNP) will release the “Tall Vision,” digital signage equipment that uses 12 42-inch LCD panels to show advertisements and other information, in August 2009.
DNP will set up the equipment at JR Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and conduct a verification test from July 17, 2009.
The Tall Vision consists of six units of displays, each of which is composed of two 42-inch LCD panels. Its total width is 360cm, and its height is 198cm including the tip-resistant pedestal (6cm).
The 12 panels can be used as either one large display, two vertically-arranged displays or six horizontally-arranged displays. According to DNP, the Tall Vision is less expensive than a single-screen display of the same size.
If the signage equipment is purchased, the initial cost is about ¥8 million (approx US$84,000) excluding contents to display. Also, DNP is considering leasing the equipment. The company expects sales of ¥1 billion from the Tall Vision and related products in fiscal 2010.
The manufacturer and specifications of the LCD panel used for the Tall Vision can be selected by customers. This time, DNP adopted Victor Company of Japan’s “GM-F420S,” which has a pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080, a maximum brightness of 720cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, a bezel width of 15mm and vertical and horizontal view angles of 178°.
DNP is currently developing an LSI chip for automatically adjusting colors on the digital signage and another LSI chip for controlling the luminance and contrast ratio in accord with installation site. Those chips will be employed for the Tall Vision from January 2010.
The company will also set up the “Station Information Board,” an information terminal equipped with a 46-inch touch-sensitive LCD panel. It displays railway timetables and a map of the surrounding area. Kotsushimbunsha Co Ltd developed its search system and contents, and DNP made the terminal.
The LCD panel used for the Station Information Board is Sharp Corp’s “PN-465,” which has a pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080, a maximum luminance of 450cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 1,700:1, and vertical and horizontal view angles of 176°. The panel is vertically mounted on the information terminal. Kotsushimbunsha plans to lease or sell the terminal in the second half of 2009.
In the verification test, the Tall Vision will display product information and popular railcars of East Japan Railway Company. And the Station Information Board will provide their details, in addition to the timetables and the map.
Near the digital signage, there will be brochures related to the advertisements displayed on the signage. They will be placed on a rack equipped with a weight sensor that automatically detects a decrease in the number of the brochures to measure the effects of the advertisements. Furthermore, the gender and age bracket of viewers will be determined by NEC Corp’s facial recognition system for marketing purposes.
Source: Dai Nippon Printing
