Planar Embedded

The Art and Soul of Digital Signage

2011-11-21T00:46:00.001-08:00

At Planar, we are interested in different ways of utilising Digital Signage to engage, inform and even dazzle the public. Recently we've come across an example from the UK on Remembrance Sunday for broadcasting the day's service to large audience and PRN in the US using their channel throughout national retail store locations to keep the fans of football up-to-date with NFL Networks football highlights when shopping.

And pictured here, the beautiful lobby of Hotel de Luxe in Portland, Oregon, where signage meets art and films! An installation where Planar proudly provides the hardware to create this unique environment.

Digital signage truly is more than just advertising! It's about informing, engaging, dazzling, entertaining, creating art & design... What's the most out of the box DS installation you've ever seen? We would be glad to see what you've come across on your travels. The more unique and customised solution you can come up with, the better: please include a link to pictures online in your comment.

For more ideas on what to look for, visit Planar's dedicated Digital Signage website on www.planardigitalsignage.com.

DOOH! is where the Growth is.

2011-06-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

DOOH sounded first like the grunt frequently uttered by Homer Simpson. In case you haven't come across it in other contexts than that of a cartoon so far, it actually spells out Digital Out Of Home, a well loved (?) abbreviation for the Digital Signage professionals.

BBC's Shafir Sakr (30.5.2011) reports on outdoor advertising noting that industry experts are forecasting faster growth for digital signage than for any other media. JCDecaux is the current leader in the market place. In the video report JCDeacux's Jeremy Male notes that with digital signage "you can't turn the page or switch off, it is just there".

Digital signage allows moving from brochures to digital signs and the report introduces a case of Duty Free shops doing just that at Oslo airport - where changing campaigns monthly at the fast paced airport environment offers challenges and Christine Toemte of TRN Duty Free explains how digital signage makes their life easier.

But what is so different about real time outdoor advertising and what possibilities does it offer the advertiser other than just a substitute to print? Adverts can be customised and updated remotely according to current events, weather changes and even according to the viewers gender or tastes, while sharing it all on Social Media sites. At ScreenMedia Expo in London I tested out Cadbury's interactive advert, which was connected with Facebook and left me with a Fair Trade Chocolate Bar in my hand! Now that's an advert that leaves a sweet taste in the consumer's mouth!

Planar is being active in DOOH market, especially through the focus on QSR market (QSR = Quick Serve Restaurants), including drive-in restaurants. Our strength in this market is the customisation capability, which has allowed us to create products like the Outdoor Digital Signage Display LC46 and Indoor Digital Signage Display LB3251WHW, which are available to all our customers. In May we explored the market at Screen Media Expo in London and DSE in Essen, demonstrating a wide range of our digital signage products from Transparent EL to ep55L Large Scale Signage Display with LED backlight.

Transparent EL, ep55L and LB32 at DSE in Essen

Planar stand at Screen Media Expo in London

What do you think the future of DOOH will be like?

Digital Signage Expo 2011 Declared a Success by Every Measure

2011-03-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

Digital Signage Expo® (DSE), the world’s largest international tradeshow and conference dedicated to digital signage, interactive technology and digital out-of-home networks (DOOH), is a success by every measure. The conference and trade show, which took place February 21-25, drew more than 3,600 attendees, a 6 percent increase over 2010. Both the increased attendance and the fact that there were a record 195 exhibitors, a 14 percent increase over 2010, 57 of them first-time exhibitors, validates the preeminent position of DSE as the industry’s main show. Click below to read more.

Digital Signage Expo 2011 Declared a Success by Every Measure

Planar Monitor Liquid Ingress Test

2010-08-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Water ingress testing on your rugged display can be performed in several ways. In this image, you see a Planar LA1750RTZ prototype undergoing a water ingress test with 65 gallons of water a minute, from a 1" diameter fire hose, for almost 5 minutes. Imagine the pressure on the display panel and enclosure from this amount of water over the 5 minute duration! This is one surefire way to test any water seepage into your display and provides valuable test information to prevent the occurance.

Displays are used in all sort of outdoor, rugged environments where they are subjected to liquid elements. From marine to emergency and heavy equipment applications, displays used in these functions are often submitted to considerable amounts of water and other liquids. And, the last thing you want to have happen is a display malfunction due to an ingress.

How would you like to see other tests conducted on displays for your rugged applications?

Vandal-proof Touchscreens

2010-07-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

Does your display application require a touchscreen that can withstand the challenges of vandal abuse? When your touchscreen is subjected to unattended public access interactivity, vandal proofing can be a constant battle. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer when seeking a vandal proof solution.

However, there are means of increasing resistance to vandal abuse which can generally be addressed in three broad areas: impact protection, scratch/abrasion protection and liquid ingress protection.

Impact and scratch/abrasion damage are minimized by use of added glass top surfaces. Polymers, such as polycarbonate which are highly impact resistant, provide additional protection against impact, scratch and abrasion destruction. Optical bonding, provided by Planar Systems, fills the gap between the protective glass and LCD, keeping out dust and moisture and providing liquid ingress protection.

In addition, glass lamination and glass heat tempering will improve resistance to breakage. This approah can be applied to SAW, surface capacitive, projected capacitive, camera IR and matrix IR touch screens. Newer touch technologies such as force activated technologies can use a variety of tranparent media.

Flexible displays – the next big thing?

2010-07-09T03:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so say we got rid off the newspapers with Apple iPad. Then there’s a research project being run in University of New South Wales in Australia for creating flexible display to give you back the ”paper” feeling, when reading your newspaper on a display rather than on paper. They investiage using flexible polymer-based backplanes printed on plastic substrates for low manufacturing costs, durable and flexible displays. But putting newspaper on a display and then creating a display, which is like a traditional newspaper: does it not sound a bit like one worker digging a hole and the other one following and filling it again? I know, we're saving tons of paper, but STILL! Whether you agree or not, this set me thinking: what are the real uses of a flexible display technology?
At Planar, we experimented with curved and twisted glass surfaces which we made a display with our electroluminescent technology. This technology has the advantage of being able to create transparent displays. Having curved transparent (TASEL) displays is something in the development stages. People who see our samples at the shows say: ”Great that it’s curved! But is it just solid glass, not flexible?” Hmmm no, not flexible. But where would you need it to be flexible?
Having a wristwatch which is a display on a flexible display surface, why not. Being able to actually turn the pages of a newspaper physically rather than just wiping my hand over the screen or waving in front of it, nice. Or for extraordinary design effects, well yes!
In EE Times in June Christoph Hammerschmidt writes about the flexible display technologies being the future of displays. His main argument for the success is that “flexible displays don’t break”. He continues promising 58% expected annual sales growth by 2018 for the flexibles amounting to over 8 billion US dollars, while others don’t grow at all.
YouTube seemed to have an answer waiting for me, in the form of a video by Plastic Logic, who incidentally work in cooperation with the UNSW in Australia on their flexible displays project, perhaps the same group who made the video..? The video is titled: ”Plastic Logic - Why Flexible Displays?”.

But to me this only shows “what are flexible displays like” and I still didn’t explain why and where just these qualities would be vital and needed where other displays couldn’t do the job. Perhaps the durability and light-weight could be appreciated in consumer applications such as mobile phones and reading devices, like E-Ink, or for professional users in the military.
What ideas do you have for the flexible display applications? Please send us your ideas either directly onto my e-mail or comment this blog post. Thanks!

Touch Technology and Visual Performance

2010-06-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

When utilizing touch technology in your display project, do you struggle with achieving optimum visual performance? Regardless of which touch sensor you use with your transparent window of either glass or plastic mounted above the display face, unwanted light reflections are introduced and can impact the visual performance of your content.

For indoor use, Infrared (IR) matrix and IR camera based systems do not require a transparent window and don't degrade the display luminance and contrast. This solution is acceptable for indoor environments for single users, but not public venues where high use and potential vandalism can occur or for outdoor environments.

Methods of optically coupling the touch window to the display or special films and coatings can be effective solutions when sunlight readable viewing is required. Typically optical bonding is reserved for those applications where high value hardware can absorbe any additional cost.

Visit Planar to learn more about touch display technology in our eBook, Touch Display Sensors and visit us for a quote for your touchscreen application. Look for information about touchscreen drivers in an upcoming post.

Planar Provides Display Component for Ultrasonic Rail-Flaw Detectors

2010-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Components utilized in ultrasonic rail-flaw detectors for rail inspections must be rugged and work in extreme environments. Planar's thin film electroluminescent display (TFEL) component is being used by the China Ministry of Railroad in an ultrasonic rail-flaw detector, developed by Xingtai Xianfeng, to inspect their entire railway network.

When your project requirements demand a display that operates in wide temperature ranges, provides unlimited viewing angle, is very rugged and provides an extremely long life with no maintenance costs, the electroluminescent display (EL) technology should be taken into consideration. The EL display works well in a variety of applications, including transportation, military and electronic devices.

To determine what electroluminescent display would work best for your project, request a summary version of Planar's EL Design Guide.

What is the Best Touch Technology for Rugged or Outdoor Environments?

2010-06-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Are you engaged in a touch display to be used in a rugged or outdoor environment? Have you been wondering which touch technology is the best for your display?

Planar's Director of Engineering believes any of the all glass sensors, such as Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW), projected and surface capacitive can work in rugged, outdoor applications, but no single touch can do it all. High ambient sunlight conditions pose interference problems with IR matrix and IR camera scan systems.

SAW and surface capacitive have varying resistance to rain, dust, snow and flying insects. Glass-on-glass resistive has good immunity to the outdoor environment, but requires additional optical enhancements to compensate for unwanted ambient, outdoor, light reflections, which detract from the display's contrast.

Regardless of your project, the option to choose from multiple touch technologies will make the touch decision much easier. Visit Planar's how-to-buy website for information about purchsaing a customized touch display and look for how touch technology impacts the visual performance of a display in an upcoming post.

Electroluminescent Displays Used at NASA

2010-06-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

If your display project requires high brightness and contrast, a wide temperature range, along with reliability and long operating life, you might want to take a look at Planar's electroluminescent (EL) displays. Over the years significant improvements have been made to brightness and contrast, reduction of power consumption, development of proprietary gray-scale algorithms and packaging improvements to reduce size and enhance shock and vibration resistance for these extremely rugged and durable displays.

Among applications used by EL displays, NASA depends on electroluminescent displays in their mission control center. When viewing critical data during space missions, NASA managers depend on the unparralleled image quality offered in the EL display. Information gathered by technicians during missions provide opportunities for the scientific community to conduct experiments during space exploration and upon return to earth.

For more information about El displays, check out Planar's electroluminescent technology overview or the FAQ.

Get The Right Display Touch

2010-06-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

With all of the different options of touch technology available on the market today, it's sometimes challenging to determine what type of touch sensor will work best for your display application. Fortunately, Planar has just released an easy-to-read eBook, Touch Display Sensors, that outlines five different touch sensors and explains how their specifications work for different applications.

Choosing the appropriate touch sensor can make the user experience for kiosks, outdoor digital signage and point of sale applications a breeze. The eBook will guide you through information about resistive, surface capacitive, projective capacitive, infrared and surface acoustic wave touch sensors. You'll discover that many enhancements, including optical bonding, can be added to the display surface to improve the view. Check out Planar's other eBooks to help with additional display questions.

Flexible Glass: Alternative to Plastic

2010-06-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Most display screens used in televisions, computers and portable electronics are liquid crystal displays (LCDs), controlled by thin-film silicon transistor arrays built on rigid glass backplanes. With today's emerging technology, the dominance of LCDs may be challenged for custom display projects.

Today, glass manufacturer Corning, is testing a flexible glass substrate for printed electronics that will offer the performance of glass with the flexibility of plastic. The emergence of new display technology is pushing the need to meet consumer requirements of lighter, more durable and energy efficient devices.

Corning's flexibile display glass is just 75 micrometers thick and samples have been distributed to manufacturing partners to test on roll-to-roll manufacturing lines. While glass is the optimum component used in building your electronic device, there are some skeptics who are concerned with the susceptibility of scratches, which can lead to cracks and catastrophic failures with the roll-to-roll manufacturing. Corning is addressing these concerns with packaging developed to protect the glass during transport and manufacturing.

If your display requirements still need the LCD glass component, Planar has created an interactive tour to guide you through key considerations in creating your display. Today, Planar's see-through display technology available in a standard EL160.80.50 (electroluminescent) is easy to customize into curved or unusual shapes to help bring innovative, easily manufacturable products to life.

What display projects do you have that would benefit from flexible glass?

A Touch Technology For Every Application

2010-05-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

The popularity of touchscreen technology is growing immensely. You can find touchscreens available in grocery store self checkouts, movie rental kiosks and at airport check-in kiosks around the world. So, how do you decide which touch technology will work best for your specific application?

Just like displays, there are a variety of technologies that are best suited for the specific application, use and environment. Life cycle costs play a major role in choosing a touchscreen.

Resistive touch still dominates the marketplace, capturing approximately one-half of the touch market. Its low cost, stylus independence and technology maturity make for a difficult combination for other touch technologies to compete against.

In the small screen size (less than 4"), the projective capacitive touch sensor has made a strong entry into the market, resulting from Apple's iPhone introduction. It has spurred additional development with glass on glass resistive touch screens.

Large screen sizes (larger than 32") are being supplied with IR camera systems, which are relatively inexpensive and easily scalable.

Traditional surface capacitive, matrix IR and surface acoustic wave touch technologies dominate the mid-size (6" to 26"). Again, use, environment and cost play important roles in choosing the optimum technology.

With the myriad of choices in touch technology available for today's applications, which one suits your display function needs best? Look for the best touch technology for a rugged or outdoor environment in an upcomming post.

Planar Exhibits Variety of Displays at ESC

2010-04-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

Planar will exhibit a variety of displays at the Embedded Systems Conference, booth #2324, in San Jose, April 27-29.

LED backlighting arrays may be the solution to product specifications that require more brightness with less wattage. You'll want to be sure to check out the ultra thin 32" HD resolution display, offering a slim profile that is capable of flush wall mounting and may be the perfect solution for your energy efficient needs.

Do you need a rugged, open standard touchscreen LCD monitor? Planar's latest LX1250 thin 12" high-bright LCD monitor may be just the ticket. Key features like a transflective AMLCD for daylight/night viewing, clear glass touchscreen, and rugged design improve user ergonomics and reduce ownership cost.

ESC offers you the opportunity to see many solutions for your display needs. Will you be attending?

Transparent? Now here's an idea!

2010-04-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a different kind of transparent display! The display technology used here varies a lot from our TASEL technology and with the current size of production equipment, we would not be able to create that size of a display anyhow. However, it is interesting to see the different possibilities provided by transparency of a display. Perhaps it evokes new ideas... What would you create with a transparent display?

Optical Bonding Facility Meets Growing Demand

2010-03-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Have you searched for a vendor to help with your optical bonding display requirements? Planar's optical bonding lab is fully functional and able to assist with all of your optical bonding projects. And, we've created an optical bonding vendor checklist to make your selection easier.

It's important to choose an optical bonding vendor that can provide comprehensive quality and engineering systems and has processes in place to certify their work. Planar's state-of-the-art optical bonding facility is a Class 10,000 certified cleanroom and has ISO 9001, MIL-Spec and FDA level quality systems in place.

Why do you care about optical bonding? Well, because it provides protection, clarity and viewability, improves resistance to shake and shock and fills the gap between the protective glass and LCD to keep out dust and moisture. And, you can learn lots more about the benefits of optical bonding in Planar's Optical Bonding FAQ.

Are you wondering what display applications would benefit from optical bonding? Displays used in avionics, digital signage, vehicle navigation, outdoor television, and hand carried electronic devices can generally benefit from better readability than is representative of the standard TFT offerings. In ambient light conditions, improved display contrast enables displays to be more readily seen without increasing backlight brightness and the associated unwanted higher power and higher operating temperatures.

Let Planar guide you through your optical bonding requirements and let us know what other performance films and coatings would be useful to your display project.

Planar Looking for Display Engineering and Engineering Program Manager Talent

2010-02-24T16:31:00.000-08:00

Planar Systems, a global leader of specialty display technology, is seeking candidates for several engineering positions within the industrial business unit.

We're looking for an Engineering Project Manager, Prototype Engineer, Senior Engineering Project Manager, Optical Bonding Manufacturing Engineer and a Manufacturing Engineer. All positions are located at the Corporate Headquarters located in Beaverton, OR.

The right candidates will be motivated and results oriented and thrive on the challenge provided by tight schedules and deadlines in a dynamic environment. At Planar, we value integrity, innovation, quality, customer satisfaction and results.

If you have the right skills and a committment to success we encourage you to expore career opportunities with us.

Large Format Signage on Display at Digital Signage Expo

2010-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Digital Signage Expo just ended at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Planar exhibited some amazing large format digital signage displays in our booth #1254.

If your display requirements call for deployment in retail environments, Planar's 42" digital signage might be the ticket. And, we offer displays ranging from 37" to 65" to meet other size requirements. Touchscreen integration makes it easy for your customers to interact with your digital content. The 46" outdoor digital signage includes an optically bonded IR/AR filter for superior sunlight-readability, along with a wide viewing angle and custom cooling design which requires no A/C. This display is perfect for extreme environments where outdoor conditions can impact viewing.

Also on display in Planar's booth was the Clarity Matrix LCD Video Wall. If you're in need of a seamless video wall and uninterupted operation for your control room operations, the Clarity Matrix LCD Video Wall, with its ultra-thin bezel, provides outstanding tiled visual performance.

Planar's customization display experience has been applied to numerous projects that need a tailored solution. Let us know what your large format digital display needs are.

Large Format Quick Serve Menu Boards Go Digital

2010-02-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

The quick serve restaurant (QSR) menu boards are changing, much like the way you view video rental options on kiosk displays at outdoor venues. When requirements call for a large format, high bright display that can operate in rugged, outdoor environments Planar has a solution for your application.

Planar recently partnered with UniStructures, Inc. to provide a 46"outdoor digital signage menu board for a KFC drive thru. The ultra bright 2000 nit display makes reading food selections easier for drive through customers, and the ability to change content easier for KFC.

Available in size forms up to 65", a variety of key benefits are available including optically bonded vandal resistant front glass, state of the art custom IR Reflector and color matched hot cathode Fluorescent lamps.

Let us know what you like about easy to read drive through menu boards.

Optical Bonding and Display Enhancements

2010-02-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes displays are used in environments that require greater legibility in direct sunlight or bright ambient lighting conditions. Displays used in avionics, digital signage, vehicle navigation, outdoor television and hand-carried electronic devices generally benefit from better readibility offered when optical bonding with anti-reflective surface treatments is applied. Of course, improved display readability in some of these applications, like aviation and driving a speeding police car, are activities where slow time to perception could be life threatening.

Planar's optical bonding facility, located in Beaverton, OR, can help you with all of your optical bonding requirements. With ISO-9001 quality systems, MIL-spec and FDA-level standards, extensive in-house optical test verification capabilities and class 10,000 certified clean room and other environmental controls in place, you can be assured that your display project will meet your legibility requirements with Planar's optical bonding and surface treatments.

As you might guess, there are many criteria to consider when selecting an optical bonding vendor. However, Planar has made it easy by providing an optical bonding vendor checklist. This checklist provides a list of capabilities and standards you'll want to take into consideration when making a decision about selecting your optical bonding vendor.

Is optical bonding a requirement for your display project?

EL: Electroluminescent Glass - Versatile for Many Applications

2010-01-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

Seems like lots of folks are catching on to the versatility of Electroluminescent glass for various types of applications. When your display project calls for a solution to a challenging and demanding application, the unique performance and visual characteristics of high-performance electroluminescent (EL) displays make it an ideal choice.

Recently, Inventables posted a blog about Electroluminescent glass. For use in military, medical or industrial applications, EL glass features a wide temperature range and reliability which are critical in these applications and others.

See Planar's 20 Reasons why Thin Film EL is your most reliable display choice for rugged viewing conditions and let us know if there are other reasons to add.

Planar Fan Page on Facebook

2010-01-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Planar Systems Embedded dedicated Fan Page is now up and running on Facebook. Everyone is welcome to join!

Planar Systems IBU on Facebook

We at Planar are well aware that Facebook really divides people's opinions but so did the issue about whether the earth is round or flat. Or more recently the use of e-mail or whether everyone will be willing to carry a phone in their pocket, let alone an entire computer...

I would be interested to hear your comments on Facebook and company Fan Pages on Facebook. What do you think? Or do you have some other great medias in mind where Planar should be talking to engineers?

Catalog of Specialty Displays

2010-01-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

Have you been looking for a display solution for your project? Planar has just posted its Embedded Displays Catalog on its website. Almost every application you would need a display for can be found in this new and updated catalog.

Planar's display innovation began over 26 years ago with the Electroluminescent (EL) displays and has grown to include transportation, kiosk and digital signage, custom displays and 3D/Stereoscopic displays, to name a few. If your custom design project requires a rugged and custom display, Planar can assist with product definition and guide you through the challenges of developing a custom display.

An interactive guide to selecting a custom LCD can help with your display requirement selections, as well. Planar has developed a Guide just for that purpose. So, between the Guide and the Catalog, Planar can help guide you through the key considerations in creating your display.

Check out the catalog and let us know if there's something missing that would help you with your design project.

The Future of Transparent Displays

2010-01-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Transparent displays are making their way to all sorts of consumer applications. At the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, an array of the latest technology is on display. One of the new, cool laptops being featured is Samsung's prototype of its 14-inch transparent OLED display.

There is definitely a wow factor to this laptop and one that consumers may be clamoring for in the near future.

Other applications where transparent displays are being used have been on the radar for some time. Take a look at Planar's use of transparent display technology and learn about the benefits of its easy customization or watch the video.

Do you have an application you would like to see on a transparent display?

The Wonderful World of LEDs

2009-12-29T05:17:00.000-08:00

Planar has published a new eBook on LED Technology for AMLCD Backlights. The latest eBook is now available to download.

LCD, LED, backlights... All the same terms which are familiar to industrial display projects and display professionals are becoming familiar to the home TV users as well. Have a look at Sony's "TV lecture", I'd say the content is more interesting to display professionals rather than someone looking to get the best possible viewing experience at home... Well, judge for yourself from this 10-minute clip posted by sonylearntv.

To be fair to the different brands, here's also Samsung's input to the LED TV discussion. It's a TV ad for the Samsung's new LED TV, so more marketing orientated than the Sony clip. You've been warned!

When talking about LEDs, I cannot resist adding the clip by BaaaStuds as the grande finale to this short end-of-the-year blog post. Especially, if you are spending this week on holiday and STILL reading this blog, you've deserved a bit of entertainment.

On behalf of our entire team: thank you for reading Planar blogs in 2009 and all the best wishes for the New Year 2010!!!