Samsung was focusing strongly on LFDs at Gitex and had a booth that was organised more around the vertical markets that the company is now trying to address. There were three of the new 95″ UltraHD displays shown together for high end applications – the life size demonstration looked good.
The main news at the show was the new range of LFDs that are designed as “out of the box” entry-level digital signage solutions. Samsung has developed two monitor/TVs (RM40D/RM48D) which were launched in August ((Display Monitor Vol 21 No 33). The sets have the Samsung SmartSignage platform, a full TV tuner and a mount, all bundled into a single pack that can be bought through any retailer. Widget and template software allows the use of TV along with signage data on the same screen. The monitors support Wi-Fi Direct, so they do not need to be part of a network or connected to an access point and can be controlled and programmed directly from a smartphone or tablet. Staff told us that pricing is just around 10% more than a regular TV.
Warranty is for 16/7 operation and can be supported in commercial premises. At the moment, if a Samsung TV is installed in commercial premises, even during the one year normal warranty period. On the other hand, the new sets have a three year warranty in commercial operation.
The new sets will start to ship in MEA in November.
Display Daily Comments
This development could be very significant for the development of the digital signage market. It has long been understood that many small users of digital signage are just buying TVs. Now, those buyers have a clear product to buy that should allow Samsung to take large parts of that market, from a warranty point of view, if nothing else. Furthermore, the launch will mean that the market will be extended downwards. Small businesses that might have been thinking about some kind of digital signage will feel that it’s safe to enter with this kind of product. I suspect that the development will mean a significant boost to the size of the market.
Clearly, LFD companies that also have TV businesses will be able to respond (LG, Philips, Panasonic, Sharp) but the pricing looks very aggressive. (BR)
