ViewSonic Unleashes Digital Signage Bundle
The bundle includes ViewSonic's WMA 100 Wireless Media Adapter, Wireless Media Gateway, 17-inch N1750W LCD display and scheduling firmware.
The move comes as more technology products originally created for the consumer market are finding the way into commercial environments. It also reflects the need for integrators and vendors to develop full value-added solutions that offer higher margins than selling stand-alone products.
"We've only been selling the hardware piece. Now we've partnered to sell hardware in the context of a full solution," said Jeff Volpe, ViewSonic's vice president of marketing. "Now we're bringing the hardware, software and partners together to drive a solution."
ViewSonic is initially targeting about 180 of its audio-visual partners to sell the solution, expected to hit the streets sometime during the fourth quarter but also will roll it out to IT solution providers once the company chooses distributors to support it, Volpe said. "This solution plays right in the middle of the IT and AV guys," Volpe said. "They're excited about it because it's easy to install, reliable and affordable. It's an enhancement to both of their businesses."
The basic bundle, which includes the display and media adapter, will retail for about $1,000, Volpe said. That solution, driven through a PC, is designed to deliver messages and presentations to a single screen. Future packages will include a variety of display sizes. By adding the Wireless Gateway, which includes a 120 Gbyte hard drive, the solution can handle up to 10 displays from a single PC.
ViewSonic also plans to release toward the end of the year an enterprise solution that will handle more than 10 displays. The solution will include the Tivella Administration Server for Cisco (TASC) and will support remote management, provisioning, control and scheduling for dynamic media content, as well as realtime IP TV broadcasts.
ViewSonic originally launched the Wireless Gateway and Wireless Media adapter to enable consumers to stream digital content from a PC in one room to a display in another. But the company soon saw that a similar setup could fit well into a commercial environment.