News and New Products

Network-media player drives multiple displays

By Warren Webb, Technical Editor -- EDN, 2/12/2008

Video displays showing advertising-laden content are popping up in strategic locations where you might have a few idle moments, such as gas stations, supermarkets, fast-food dining areas, and airport waiting areas. One company in this market, Apollo Display Technologies, manufactures many of the electronic systems driving these displays, including the recently released ArtistaMedia single-board network media player. The board includes a TFT (thin-film-transistor)-LCD controller for playback of videos from a Compact Flash card, 2.5-in. hard-disk drive, or streaming server. You can load or update your stored MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 videos using Ethernet, a Compact Flash card, or a USB stick and play them back in a continuous loop on an unlimited number of displays. Playback is also possible from a streaming-video server without local storage.

ArtistaMedia features onboard audio support and display resolutions of 640×480 pixels to full high-definition 1080p. The board allows direct Ethernet connection of TFT LCDs and eliminates the need for a client PC and operating system at each display. If you don’t have or want a network, you can operate ArtistaMedia as a stand-alone player from the supplied Compact Flash card or an optional hard disk. Other options include an onboard touch controller, a keypad interface, and remote control. The ArtistaMedia player and application software sell for less than $300 (1000). Delivery is in four to six weeks.