Sony is highlighting is full range of digital signage technologies for digital cinema applications at CinemaCon 2011, including the Prodokol® Cinema™ digital media platform and the newly updated (version 7.1) Ziris™ family of web-based digital signage software solutions.
Each is designed to be highly flexible and scalable to meet exhibitors’ evolving digital signage needs, as well as offer ease-of-use to streamline a theater’s operation.
Prodokol Cinema is a digital media platform that transforms traditional menu board, box office, movie poster and auditorium entrance signage into a dynamic customer experience. The simple user interface allows exhibitors to manage, schedule and target video content to any display in your theater. Prodokol Cinema’s single platform approach can also be interfaced with a theater’s point of sale (POS) system for real time updates throughout your theaters.
“Prodokol Cinema provides the flexibility and reliability theaters need and is scalable from one theater to thousands of theaters,” said Ken Boyle, vice president, strategy and media, at Sony Electronics. “Prodokol Cinema is more than just hardware and software. It is a fully managed, end-to-end, digital media platform that supports the creation, management, distribution and playback of digital content
throughout a theater.”
Prodokol Cinema offers four applications:
• Digital Box Office
• Digital Menu Board
• Digital Movie Posters
• Auditorium Entrance
Digital Box Office
By integrating the application into a POS system, Prodokol Cinema delivers real time updates to movie times, auditorium locations and the number of tickets sold to alert customers if a movie is sold out or near sold out.
Digital Menu Board
With just a couple clicks of a mouse, exhibitors can change products, pricing or descriptions. And the simple interface makes it easy for anyone to make changes. Access to the system is restricted to role type to allow varying levels of access. And because it’s web-based, a theater can make changes from anywhere at any time.
Digital Movie Posters
Digital movie posters draw attention and connect with customers in a way traditional signage cannot. By using a mix of video and still images, Prodokol Cinema can transform a lobby into a movie showplace. The Prodokol Cinema platform makes it easy to select when and where to show specific titles.
Auditorium Entrance
Like the digital box office, auditorium entrance displays can integrate directly into your POS system to automatically update titles playing in each auditorium. Prodokol Cinema also provides flexibility in auditorium messaging. Use the signage to display “Now Showing” or “Next Show” or even customize a message for an auditorium rented for a special event.
The Prodokol Cinema look and feel is completely customizable to meet your specific needs and brand requirements. All content is centrally distributed and supported by the same network operations center (NOC) that monitors and supports Sony 4K projectors. With 24x7 monitoring and technical support we can spot trouble issues immediately and work quickly to resolve them.
Sony Ziris
Sony’s Ziris™ family of web-based digital signage software solutions is now available with a new software update (version 7.1). New features include 64-bit OS support, multi-language capability, centralized management of licensing content and compatibility with displays that use the BRAVIA Pro engine.
The Ziris system is scalable from single HD displays to elaborate video walls of nearly any size, layout or orientation. It can also be used to generate impactful visuals to energize high traffic areas -- retail locations, lobbies, stadiums, museums and more. A Ziris system is able to connect directly to a number of Sony display devices, plug-in signage adaptors, and PC-based signage players. Ziris integrates a user’s digital signage content; scheduling delivery and serving the content where users want it, when they need it - static or dynamic; Flash or HTML; multicast video network streams or even live TV.
Sony also provides complete solutions including content development and distribution, network management, and support services to drive measurable benefits.
Users can store assets and then play the content on connected displays according to pre-defined schedules. With several set-up options, Ziris fits nearly every network architecture and connects via LAN (local) or WAN (remote) enabling both push and pull network workflows. Because of the integration within the Sony Ziris suite, the communication between all modules is seamless and easy to define.
The system also helps users keep track of all play-out devices, public displays and other Sony professional devices on a network, from anywhere via the internet. Enabling users to monitor the current status of all devices in real time, Ziris shows the current item being played back, status of the displays and much more. Additionally, Ziris is able to generate status reports of all play-out devices; specifying content delivered and metrics related to when and where content is effectively shown.
