Look around a college campus today and you will be hard pressed to find a student walking around without a cell phone, MP3 player or other wireless device. With students being more on the go and tech-savvy than ever, the days of disseminating information by posting campus news on the doors of dormitory bathroom stalls and community bulletin boards are quickly coming to a close.

To that end, many universities have embraced digital signage as a way to place critical and time-sensitive information in the hands of students, faculty, and other members of the university community. Digital signs allow schools to communicate information in a modern, attention-grabbing way that reaches its audience immediately. And most importantly, these networks can be managed easily by a single university staff member or administrators can give virtually anyone in the campus community the ability to contribute relevant news.

On the surface, digital signage appears to be a network of plasma or LCD TVs broadcasting the latest news. But behind the scenes, these networks consist of specialized software that allows campus administrators to easily create and manage content.

Digital signage software typically consists of three pieces: a designer, a content manager, and a media player. To make things simple, each type of software does precisely what its name denotes.

Designer software allows an administrator to create a template for the campus network. This could be a blank template in which to place information, or it could consist of multiple frames so different organizations with access to the network can have a specific area for its news, which can be updated in real-time. In the latter scenario, administrators limit organizations’ access so that they can only update the section of the digital template that belongs to them. Once information has been entered, the content management software takes over.

Content management software is a server-based application that schedules and manages the multimedia content submitted by campus organizations or administrators. It is the brains of a digital signage network. It can manage digital signs on a network from any computer connected to the campus internet or intranet, and the software supports plan-based content distribution, timetables, playlists and templates created with the designer software.

The content management software then communicates with players to run what the university community sees on digital signs. The players run continuously and update the content on digital signage displays based on the text graphic, sound and video transmitted by content manager. A university can purchase multiple player licenses so that digital signs in different locations can feature varied content. For example, if content playing on screens in a student union differs than the type of information that may be created for the admissions office, these two locations would require separate software licenses. By increasing the number of licenses, universities can ensure the content on its screens is more useful and targeted to viewers.

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