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Mobile media company 3 has become the first customer to implement the brand new digital signage solution from Cabletime in its 3 stores. The MediaStar Evolution Digital Signage Player, launched by Cabletime last month, was originally developed to meet the requirements of 3, which will use the technology in more than twenty of its new stores by the end of Q1. In store, rich mobile media content is played on a series of five displays of different sizes placed on each side of the space.

Heart of the innovation

Marc Allera, 3's Sales Director, commented: "3 has a brand that sets it apart from the competition on the high street. This innovative store design concept delivers a new experience-based retail approach that is both fun for the customer and a great place to work. Not only do we have a great range of handsets and the best price plans, people will want to visit a 3 Store and have a look around just because they're so different".

AVE Systems, a specialist AV integrator, worked closely with Cabletime to adapt their new IP-based delivery system to meet 3's needs. Cabletime's MediaStar Evolution, an IP-based digital video delivery solution, is designed to stream content over IP networks. 3, however, wanted to be able to deliver the content from its own content provider using its wide area network, and then allow it to be played out onto the screens from local storage. This enables 3 to tailor marketing messages locally.

Evolution to the power of 3

James Shanks, Director of AVE Systems said: "I was confident that past experience with Cabletime, and the news of the imminent release of the Evolution product range, was going to be the right solution for 3".

The use of the Cabletime solution in conjunction with content supplied by Realisation, 3's content provider, allows synchronisation to a millisecond that can be downloaded and updated daily via a USB key. The system's built-in ability to recognise new data and then synchronise across the respective screens enables the images to constantly change and thus maintain interest. The in store message is intensified most when there is synchronisation across the five screens to create one image.

The MediaStar Evolution Digital Signage Player has the flexibility to deliver stored video content or receive streamed MPEG2 or 4 from a network or central video server. Whilst the 3 Stores are using a USB key, the content can also be entered using a PCMCIA hard drive. The system can be set up to check for new content stored on the network and will automatically collect, replace and play out the new material.

The last minute benefit

One of the biggest benefits of the MediaStar Evolution Digital Signage Player is that it allows 3 to respond to last minute marketing opportunities and remain ahead of its competition. Price-based content can be quickly updated, and the delivery can be segmented depending on the geographical location of the 3 Store. The system is fully supported and maintained by AVE Systems.
Providing a very high quality of image reproduction, the system is based on technology that will enable it to be updated to deliver over IP in the future, with in-built security parameters.