Panasonic revamps software for smallest users
Panasonic in Europe is introducing a version of its NMStage software for standalone screens, pitching it as a more flexible alternative to DVD playback.
The move appears to complement an increasing recognition in the screen-media sector that while much attention has been given to high-profile installations in retail chains and the like, many of the products they use are over-specified for a 'long tail' of small applications that may be less glamorous but are collectively at least as numerous.
Panasonic is also upgrading the main NMStage product (pictured in action) to version 3.0.
The standalone version, dubbed NM-Light, is aimed at applications such as hotel lobbies and schools, Panasonic's Claire Millington told SCREENS.tv.
Users install the software on a PC and then plug in their content on a USB flash disk. NM-Light automatically recognises, loads and plays the content, and in a low-tech twist on digital-signage scheduling, users can specify play order and duration through the filenames of each content element.
Supported formats include MPEG-2, WMV, Flash and PowerPoint.
NM-Light will be available through integrators in early March at around £300 ($585), said Millington.
Smooth transitions
At what Millington called the "complete opposite end of the scale", NMStage proper has an enhanced user interface and a few new features in version 3.0.
Black frames between content elements have been eliminated, and transfer speed hiked from 30Mbit/sec to 90Mbit/sec, said Millington.
Network managers can now also see an image of what's currently displayed on each individual screen from the network management centre.
www.nmstage.eu
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