October 5, 2010
CLEAR DIGITAL SIGNAGE ENSURES
A HAPPY LANDING
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11 Clarity Matrix LCDs by Planar
were installed to provide
entertainment and up-to-the minute
flight information for passengers.
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Huntsville International Airport
in Alabama is among the rapidly
growing regional airports in the
U.S., with annual passenger traffic
volume now exceeding the 1.2 million mark.
Key to the airport’s mission is providing travelers
with top amenities, which is why the airport
has invested in next generation digital signage
technology. The new signage, a Planar
Clarity Matrix LCD video wall, communicates
timely and important information about departures and
arrivals, but also sneaks in a football game or two to
make passengers feel right at home.
In a newly renovated waiting area of the airport, the
video wall system provides a sleek, virtually seamless
visual messaging field. Continually updated flight
arrival and departure information is presented along
with a variety of HD content, ranging from real-time
television news feeds, to weather conditions in destination
cities, to airport information and advertising by
retailers serving the terminal.
AN INNOVATIONS SHOWCASE
Laura Gipson, public relations manager, Port of
Huntsville, says that traffic through the airport has been
steadily increasing this year. “We’ve seen an increase in
passenger traffic last month, a 7.1 percent increase in
2010 over 2009. Our year over year figures are also
promising, a 3.3 percent increase over last year.”
Critical to Hunstville’s success is their expansion of carrier options and investment in the airport
itself. “We worked diligently to bring in competitive
fares,” Gipson says. “Business travelers
are a major category of travelers coming
through Huntsville, and the presence of our
low-cost carrier, Air Tran, has helped drive new
traffic [through the hub].”
Their $65 million capital improvement project
turned into a $90-plus million capital
improvement. While the digital signage is at the
forefront of the new design, there is more technology
within the concourse that also showcases
Huntsville innovation. Strategic partnerships
with ClearChannel and other content providers
further augment the experience for passengers.
Tom Perry, information systems manager,
says that the airport community considers themselves
as stewards of the Hunstville area. “We do
a tremendous job of showcasing new technology
and representing the area. We started to offer
free wireless service way early in the game. We
utilize a 100-percent automated system that
shows within a three-minute window where a
plane is at any given time.”
Gipson adds, “At the heart of our core values
is superior customer service. Cutting-edge technology
is part of the differentiation. We are forward
thinking; this technology reflects that.”
The airport team says they are proud to be a
part of Hunstville’s growth, and it behooves
them to represent the dynamism of the region.
“There are more engineers per capita in
Hunstsville than anywhere else in the U.S.,”
Gipson states. All of the industries in the area,
from defense to engineering, are growing.
SIGNAGE, SIGNAGE ON THE WALL
The new signage wall consists of 21 Planar Clarity
Matrix displays, the latest products in company’s
LCD line. They are 46 inches in size, tiled together
in a nearly seamless array, with a 7.3mm imageto-
image gap. At 4.5 inches in depth, they meet
the tight space requirements for the installation.
The Matrix wall utilizes the Planar Big
Picture Plus software, which enables images to
be displayed on certain screens or across the
entire wall as needed. Matrix also features frontservice
access, off-board rack-mounted electronics
and power supplies, and the six-way EasyAxis
mounting system that enables perfect screen-toscreen
alignment.
“Clarity Matrix by Planar was the perfect digital
messaging system choice,” said Rick Tucker, executive
director of Huntsville international Airport.
“The displays are big and bright and deliver the
high-definition content that adds to the airport’s
image as a forward-looking facility and a provider
of first-class services to our passengers and visitors.
And there are so many other attributes of this system
which, when all are taken into consideration,
give us a solution that can hardly be matched in
performance and total cost of ownership.”
Though digital signage is a super-saturated
category, Perry said that selecting the Clarity
Matrix was the obvious choice. “Several factors
went into the decision,” he says. “[We explored]
serviceability, how much maintenance does it
require, and how much work goes into it? We don’t have a huge staff, so we have work smarter.
We needed a reliable solution.”
The 21 46-inch flat panels are
broken into three segments, and
each segment displays a different
image. “It’s a great viewing size for
key information,” Gipson adds, “but
we also used the Jumbotron to
show the Winter Olympics, and
more recently, Auburn and Alabama football
games. The passengers just love it.”
info
CLEARCHANNEL
COMMUNICATIONS
clearchannel.com
HUNTSVILLE
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
hsvairport.org
PLANAR SYSTEMS
planar.com
KEY ELEMENTS / / /
FOR THE END USER
ROI
There is not a tangible way to measure
ROI. We didn't look at it in that
particular way. This is informative and
it's a great way to showcase the airport.
You come through Huntsville
and you know it's high-tech. We
leave an impression.
NETWORK IMPACT
Not at all. For example, I receive
flagged alerts if a particular panel is
getting hot somewhere, so if there is an
operational issue, I know immediately.
EASE OF USE
Extremely. We have been very
impressed.
—Tom Perry, Huntsville
International Airport
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