Current Issue

May 2012

Print Article     Email Article

  Page 1 of 5   >>

Content for Digital Signage

Before choosing a technological path, consider the messages your church wants to convey.

by Trevor Boyer

Much like a church, a digital signage network is only as good as its message. For signage, that means fresh content - updated regularly, engaging, informative, and relevant to the interests and needs of a congregation. Maintaining the messaging of a digital signage network requires a good deal of planning before a network's adoption, and, once it's adopted, continual communication among church staff and volunteer divisions. No matter how simple the package of hardware and software your church chooses, the signage network will require constant care and feeding in the form of vision and manpower.

The term "digital signage" is actually somewhat of a catch-all term to describe a host of different technologies. At root there's a screen, usually a flat plasma or LCD screen, or a network of screens. There's also the media playback infrastructure that feeds the sign or signs. This is where the technological diversity starts: Signs can be fed by local media players-essentially computer hard drives-attached to the backs of screens. They can be connected via VGA or Cat-5 cables that lead back to an equipment room that houses a rack of servers. Screens can even receive their content via cellular networks that connect them to servers that live hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Given the breadth of the market, this article does not intend to serve as an overview of all currently available options; rather, it focuses on the brainstorming and planning a church will need to do before it goes shopping for a signage system. It's important to start by considering the types of messages your church wants to broadcast over its signage network, and a realistic workflow-involving IT folks, the media team, as well as event planners, and various pastors-that will keep these messages current.

Manufacturers of digital signage software have worked hard over the past several years to make their software-at least the content-updating portions of the software -simple enough to be operated by a non-technical person. But it's also important to understand that at the outset of the adoption of a signage network, there are sophisticated choices to make in order to ensure that the screens' content is attractive and engaging.

"This is a new medium. People think it's either television or a poster, or it's a brochure," says Keith Kelsen, chairman of the board for digital signage manufacturer and service provider MediaTile. He's also the chair of the Digital Signage Association's best practices committee for content. "Content is critical to a successful network. Once a network's set up, then you have years of creating content."

Uses of Signage
According to Kelsen, a digital signage network in a church is going to resemble most closely a corporate communications network. It's not a for-profit proposition, so there won't be the advertisements you see on digital signs in hotel elevators or taxis. It's for internal communication to put everyone on the same page. "It's a fantastic way to help promote events and get everyone informed," he says, "They will watch it. But it's important to keep the content fresh."

  Page 1 of 5   next page >>

Trevor Boyer is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York. He likes to write professional A/V and video production stories (like this one) that can be reported via subway travel.