Cinema Scene Marketing, one of the nation’s leading providers of in-lobby media and promotions, announced today it is extending its strategic partnership with Popstar Networks to provide digital signage software and digital media services in support of the company’s growing Digital Media Network, now exceeding 350 displays within more than 120 theater locations nationwide.

Leveraging the Popstar Networks Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery of digital media products, along with extensive network services understanding, Cinema Scene is effectively distributing eight terabytes of media-rich data annually from one central location.

“Major Hollywood studios and corporations of all types rely on us to reach and interact with consumers every day through our digital signage network,” said Joe Ross, Managing Principal of Cinema Scene Marketing. “Our relationship with Popstar Networks allows us to meet this need by speeding content development and effectively delivering bandwidth-intensive media to specific locations across the country. Ongoing use of Popstar Networks digital signage software and digital media services gives us confidence to know we can continue our growth by delivering highly relevant content to even more theaters and theater-goers.” Read the rest of this entry »

3D – It’s the quintessential root of all that is exciting and good, at least in my world. Few things can command attention better than an object flying straight at you from behind an LCD screen. That’s exactly what Popstar’s 3D display technology is all about.

What is a 3D display? I’ll spare you the nitty gritty details and get right to the gravy – It’s an LCD screen that gives you the illusion of 3D as if you were wearing 3D glasses … except you don’t need the glasses! The screen sports a special multi-view lenticular lens, which is a fancy way of saying that it shows each eye different things. By doing this, a pretty grass valley becomes a deep, breath-taking moment as each viewer experiences the depth that only a beautiful 3D scene could provide.

This exciting technology is perfect for industries who want multiple viewers to see every aspect of their product at the same time, on every side that can’t be viewed in a picture, magazine or even a traditional 2D animation. Take an engine apart and spin it around in 3D, zoom in and out on parts from a complicated surgical procedure, visualize the next openGL-capable 3D shoot-em-up game at a conference, these are all possible scenarios with Popstar’s 3D display technology.

I read things like the above in all sorts of marketing campaigns on the Internet and they all sound great. But being the senior technologist with my company, I don’t have the luxury of engaging in fantasy. What does it actually take to put one of these presentations together – what are the steps I need to do to make this sort of thing happen?

Screen rental and content creation.

Screen Rental
Like all transactions, you have the option of buying or leasing. If you’re like me you’ll know immediately what your budget allows. The advantage to buying vs. renting is cost, if you have a lot of uses for the screen that is. If you host lots of events (or handle the hosting for others) each year, then purchasing a screen like this may be in the cards. On the other hand, if you have two tradeshows a year, renting is probably a better option.

Sometimes I’m asked for my opinion on purchasing decisions, my response is usually to rent, at least at first. For any technology whether it’s 3D, grass seed or bubble wrap, I don’t buy a lot of anything until I’ve had a chance to test it – if it’s a good match then I’ll make some decisions as to buy or rent again. That’s one of the reasons we partner with rental companies who offer, among other things, 3D screens. This eases the hassle of scheduling delivery and setting up the screen at your event. But getting the screen to you is only half of the puzzle, what about the content?

Content Creation
By nature of my career I’ve learned a lot about many different technologies, and I can say with few exceptions that content creation can be one of the most rewarding and beneficial sides to building a business. It can also require some experience to make even the simplest jobs beautiful. From resolutions to color palettes to page layout to software applications, multiple facets of weirdness gel to make a presentation that is either unforgettable or annoying, effectively communicated or intentionally ignored. Creative types are experimental, curious and most of all masochistic, so this type of work appeals to us. If you decide you’d like help creating content, 3D or other, you know which weirdos to call. Whatever you do keep this in mind - Content Is King. Choose your creative team wisely.

As far as the content files themselves, they use familiar formats like mpg and wmv (windows media files). These file formats are very established and common in the video and graphics industry. If you have a video or piece of content anywhere on DVDs or the web, it’s likely your content has seen one of these formats. That’s the beauty of this 3D technology, you can re-use familiar material and with a little more work, display it in unfamiliar  and completely unique ways.

Once your creative is approved and your screen is rented or purchased, getting it set up is a simple phone call and you’re off and running. With a 3D screen complementing your presentation, be prepared to receive a lot of attention. The 3D screen will draw them in, then it’s up to you to wow them with your product or service.

Visit this page for a complete interactive on how 3D can help bring your product or presentation to life!

http://www.popstarnetworks.com/digital-signage-products/3D.php

Dave Hutton
Senior Technician & 3D Artist

Dave Hutton is the Senior Technician & 3D Artist for Popstar Networks. In this position he is responsible for training and documentation as well as 3D & general technical work. Dave enjoys working with people and has a technical background building systems, programming scripts and automation tools, video editing & motion graphics as well as 3D modeling and animation. Dave spent over ten years in the advertising and computer industries and loves all things graphics & technical. A Missouri native, Dave is a self-professed computer junkie and loves gadgets, new technology, biking and frisbee.

Popstar Networks, a leader in the digital media industry, announced that it recently has expanded its sales and business development staff with three new hires. Jeff Dahlstrom has been named Vice President of Strategic Business Development, while Angela Van Camp and David Owens have joined the company as Senior Sales Directors.

Dahlstrom has more than 15 years of experience in the digital out of home (DOOH) and media business markets. Before joining Popstar, he was Vice President of Business Development at BroadSign International. At BroadSign, he led the company’s channel initiative and business development functions, and he had global responsibility for key technology alliances and strategic initiatives. Previously, Dahlstrom founded Harbor Digital Services (HDS), a division of Harbor Industries and one of the largest fixture and interactive companies globally. With HDS, Dahlstrom helped McDonald’s launch its first digital signage initiative. Dahlstrom brings a solid history of developing key relationships with large clients, including Coke, IBM, ABC, FOX, and Nestle. Dahlstrom will be focused on building relationships with key strategic partners and clients and expanding penetration in strategic vertical markets.

Van Camp brings more than 15 years of Senior Sales and Account Management experience to Popstar Networks. Prior to joining Popstar, Van Camp was Director of Sales, North America, for Helius and most recently BroadSign International, where she was responsible for leading the Digital Signage business. At BroadSign, Van Camp was awarded the 2008 “Top Sales Producer” honor. In her previous roles, Van Camp successfully established relationships with clients and network operators that include Merrill Lynch, Subway, Diabetes Network, Digital Promo Network, Impact Media, and Zoom Media.

Owens brings more than 18 years of business development experience to Popstar. He has sold multi-million dollar projects to Boeing, Amtrak, the United States Department of Defense, Harley-Davidson, and McDonald’s, as well as numerous universities. Previously, Owens worked as a sales executive at Nanonation, UGS (a software division of Siemens), Compaq, and Apple Computer, where he was ranked #1 in North America for Business Development Executives, and where he received numerous awards, including the Golden Apple Club and the company’s most prestigious honor, The Odyssey, for outstanding commitment to excellence.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome David, Angela, and Jeff to Popstar,” said Don Selmon, Popstar’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Each of these outstanding individuals brings significant industry experience, prior success, and a customer-first approach to our team. I truly believe their focus and leadership will help Popstar form the nucleus of the digital signage industry’s most recognized sales team.”

Popstar Networks, Inc., headquartered in Olathe, Kansas, is a leader in designing and implementing customized digital media solutions – enabling clients to communicate their unique messages and incorporate digital signage into overall marketing and communications strategies. Since its founding in 2003, Popstar has revolutionized the digital media industry with its customer-first process for developing dynamic and interactive digital signage networks. Popstar has also set a new standard for engaging audiences with exciting interactive media applications. Its flexible technology, software development, and creative visual designs have set the trend for the industry, led by the FrontStage™ Player, FrontStage™ Server, and SmartContent™ products and complemented by BackStage℠ – their comprehensive strategic consulting process. For more information, please visit us at www.popstarnetworks.com.

Download release as PDF.

Hello and welcome to the new Popstar Blog! My name is Maria Scarpello and I have been a part of the digital signage industry and with Popstar for four years. I have a background in graphic design and work with our clients to define the creative strategy for their digital signage applications. I am drawn to the industry because of the vast opportunities technology has given us and will continue to explore the newest ways to push your network forward. I truly enjoy working here at Popstar, we have some of the most intelligent people in the industry working to build the greatest products for our clients. Everyday I am continuously amazed at the things we can do and our clients tell me the same. I think our greatest advantage here at Popstar is the fact that we work so closely with our clients to build the network that is right for them. No two systems are the same and content is such an important part to a network, it makes me tackle something new everyday and I love it!

If you are new to digital signage, and are feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t worry you’re not alone. There is a ton to learn about building your own network, everyday there is something new, but that’s why we are here, to help you learn and guide you through the path of success! Okay, enough with the cheesy marketing pitch, here is my contribution for my first 2009 post:

Meet the Chumby! I purchased mine over Christmas and love it! It is a great introduction into the power of digital signage content. In fact, I call this personal digital signage. It is a small bean bag looking device with a touchscreen. You go online to www.chumby.com and manage your content. You add widgets to a channel, organize the playback, and wallah! Your own personal digital signage channel. Because it connects wirelessly to the internet, you have up to the minute news, weather and stock information. There are also tons of fun games and humorous widgets you can add for your amusement. The great thing is, you don’t even have to buy one to play around with it. You can create an account and start to browse content immediately. Sign on today and play around! Below you can preview our Popstar Chumby Channel!

Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to read the Popstar Blog! My name is Steve Hagenlock, I am one of the founders of Popstar Networks, where I’m the Chief Technology Officer. I plan to use this space to carry on a dialog on topics concerning the Art and the Science of Digital Signage.

For nearly 20 years, I’ve been involved in the creation of products which display computer generated graphics on televisions. From the earliest Interactive Television applications, to cutting edge Broadcast Animation software to the state of the art Digital Signage software products we have available today, I’ve been privileged to be involved with this business of digitally turbo-charged mass communication technology.

Looking back, many of the communication challenges that we faced are the same as today, such the effective use of text and graphics formatting for specific resolutions. The lack of computing horsepower, broadband networks and modern core technologies focused your energies, as a producer, toward making sure your message was delivered clearly through the limited capabilities available. This often meant tight loops, low resolution graphics, highly compressed audio loops and very creative packaging techniques.

Looking forward, our industry is faced with a dizzying array of options for digital communications on large format television screens. Our industry deals with an acronym soup that would bring even the most hardened government bureaucrat to declare alphabet bankruptcy. Want some MPG you say? H.264, DiVX or MPEG2? Making sense of all of this activity can be a mentally draining and time consuming task; this space will help demystify the Art and simplify the Science of Digital Signage. After all, it’s all about communication, and effective communication is what we do around here!

As mentioned, I plan this space to be a dialog, so please feel free to ask a question if you wish to. I’ll do my best to respond without using acronyms. Next up is “The effect of Internet Scale on the Digital Signage Industry”. Until then, keep your screens lit and your weekends free!

As we approach 2009, we are pleased to be launching our new and improved website. Please check back frequently for updates and useful information on industry trends, product development news, new customer case studies and cool content. The entire team at Popstar Networks extends their best wishes to you for a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Popstar Networks and SmartSource Rentals, computer and audio/visual equipment rental provider, announced today a strategic partnership to provide a complete digital signage solutions rental package to event organizers and attendees for trade shows, sales meetings and numerous other types of corporate events. Read the rest of this entry »

Popstar Networks and facility services provider C&C Group today announced a strategic partnership to provide a complete digital signage solutions package to clients planning large single or multi-site digital signage projects. Read the rest of this entry »