Digital Signage Player Case Study – News Break Network
Digital Signage Player Case Study – News Break Network
SureVues Entertain and Inform at the Gas Pump
News Break Network is an innovative gas pump-top network that delivers fresh local news, weather, public service alerts and entertainment to service station patrons in the Knoxville, Tennessee region. Each day, the region’s leading network affiliate records video loops specifically for the audience at the gas pumps. These video reports are updated four times every day and combined with text news headlines and a sports crawl. Launched in November, 2009, News Break Network has already grown to 210 screens in 19 locations. The network has more than 400,000 viewers per month.
News Break Network chose Scala 5 digital signage software and SureVue3A fanless player PCs from MediaVue Systems to keep the network playing 24 x 7.
The Challenge
“We needed a compact, durable player that wouldn’t fail after a year and bring our project to a screeching halt, but we also needed something powerful enough to handle our demanding content.” - Dave Southard, Managing Partner
News Break needed a compact player that could easily be installed high on a wall in the manager’s office and trusted to reliably output high quality Scala content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With a network of over 210 displays, News Break needed a solution that could survive the convenience store environment – where grease, dust, and dirt often collect – so any fan-cooled player was out of the picture.
The fact that there were so many locations over a wide geography meant that service dispatch would be difficult and that the PC’s would need to feature a stable image free of error messages and other problematic Windows features. Simply put, failed or downed players would be disruptive and costly. News Break needed a reliable player powerful enough to handle its complex Scala content featuring video reports, news headlines, and sports crawls to its viewers at the gas pumps.
The Solution
sureVue3A digital signage PC player
“MediaVue has been with us every step of the way. Any time I have a question, MediaVue’s Technical Support is prompt and happy to help me.” –Dave Southard
By utilizing high quality industrial grade equipment and combining it with the world leader in digital signage software, the network has been noted for the clarity of its video content and the sharp stereo audio that accompanies it. The SureVue3A’s small size and built-in mounting tabs made it easy to install in the given space, and its silent fanless design made it much more reliable over extended periods of operation. The blue LED on the SureVue3A was an easy way for managers to check and make sure the player was still operational while maintaining a low profile and making the PC less of a target for theft. With its integrated ATI graphics and powerful dual-core CPU, the SureVue3A was able to deliver the performance required to drive News Break’s vast range of content. The SureVue3A was recommended by Scala, and featured a customized Scala Windows Embedded image that ensured reliability and compatibility between the player and the content, as well as minimized downtime due to problematic features in the Windows operating system. The network has been amazingly successful, and continues to excite both new and returning gas station customers.
“My network is doing very well. We now have 19 locations with 210 screens, reaching 400,000 viewers monthly. I think our picture quality is as good as or better than any other pump top network and our advertisers are very pleased. We are getting very close to launching an initiative to open another market in this region and will of course be in touch [with MediaVue] when it is time to put in an order!” –Dave Southard
About News Break Network
News Break Network is owned by Innovative Broadcast Partners, LLC, a Tennessee company. Launched in Nov. 2009 and managed by Jim Grant and Dave Southard, News Break brings 2.5 minutes of current headlines and weather in each of its five minute programming loops. These loops are updated four times daily and are composed of video, text news headlines, and a sports crawl. Proudly partnered with the leading convenience stores, News Break Network is the out-of-home source for Knoxville news, weather, and sports.
About MediaVue Systems
Every one of our SureVue models is designed to meet the unique combination of design and operational requirements facing digital signage player PCs. Strong video performance, high reliability while operating continuously under heavy loads in harsh environments and a small, convenient form factor. SureVues are designed and built as complete systems for digital signage applications. Our high-performance fanless designs, ultra-reliable drives and our custom-engineered system images deliver the highest possible level of operating stability, performance and functionality. At MediaVue, digital signage is our business. MediaVue is headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, and has systems deployed in Canada, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Columbia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Vietnam, New Zealand, UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Portugal, UAE, Kuwait, Oman and India. Key clients include Telefonica, New Zealand Lottery, Bank Muscat, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, UniqLo, Invensys, Corbett’s Bookmakers, Taco Bell, Burger King, US Navy, Dow Chemicals, American Electric Power and Irving Convention Center.