HIGHLIGHTS FROM ISE 2023:TRENDS, TECH & INNOVATIONS

This was the third year for ISE at its new Barcelona home, and what a year it was. With 58,107 unique visitors from 155 countries, including a visit from the King of Spain, attendance was up 33% since last year’s post-COVID return. The vibrancy of Barcelona with its welcoming hospitality, beautiful architecture, and shining sun (even in early February) has undeniably become a fantastic setting for the world’s leading AV and systems integration exhibition.

As the doors close on another fantastic year at ISE, we reflect on the emerging trends, latest tech and most inspiring innovations we witnessed throughout the halls.

It Pays to Go Green

Talk of green signage is not something new in the world of AV however, seeing suppliers and subsequently brands putting such talk into action, is. What was striking from this year’s event was the sheer amount of information, campaigns and product offerings dedicated to sustainability and what it means and what it takes to be green in a notoriously not-so-green industry.

In 2022, Jonathan Wharrad, VP Global Brand Experience, Advanced Solutions Group here at Mood spoke as part of the DSS ISE panel on the topic of sustainability in signage and its accelerating move to becoming a non-negotiable. And as Jonathan expressed, for integrators like Mood Media, it all comes down to collaboration with experienced partners who are taking the subject seriously and creating products which meet the consumer’s ever-evolving demands.

Walking through the halls this year, there was an overwhelming sense that green signage has now become fully rooted as said, non-negotiable. Samsung’s entire facade to their registered attendees-only booth was covered in sustainability pledges, promises and proof of their eco-conscious efforts in tackling product life-cycles and reaching zero-net emissions. LG’s approach focused on the benefits for the consumer, with touchscreens embedded into chipboard covered displays showcasing energy saving dashboards based on energy usage that all LG customers will have access to.

Meanwhile DynaScan’s range of high brightness displays proved that bigger and brighter doesn’t have to equate to less energy efficiency. In fact, when comparing watts per nit, DynaScan high brightness displays consume 45% less power than the industry average through the materials used, thermal control, intelligent brightness adjustment, and proprietary algorithms.

On the subject of improving efficiency and saving time (and costs), our own proprietary CMS platform Mood Harmony recently underwent an upgrade to develop a System-on-Chip (SOC) version that supports Philips Smart TV and Samsung Tizen smart screens, as well as BrightSign OS, thereby eliminating the need for an external media player. This means access to and management of content on screens is now simpler and more cost-effective while improving reliability and reducing deployment costs.

New Ways of Working

Another major focus at ISE 2023 was of course the hybrid work experience. There’s no denying the impact the pandemic has had on all aspects of daily life, but especially on the way in which we work. Traditional 9-5 office life is a thing of the past for most with the term ‘hybrid working’ forging its path into the everyday person’s vernacular. But with that comes its challenges; namely unreliable tech, haphazard wi-fi connections and terrible audiovisual quality. What was clear at ISE was that suppliers are not only wanting to save the day from a technological aspect, but also ensure the hybrid work experience becomes a community, rather than a simple workspace, that is inclusive of all the different people involved wherever they are.

Sharp/NEC dedicated the majority of their booth to recreating huddle, board and conference rooms to showcase their latest signage and system integrations (with the likes of Cisco and Microsoft) made to make hybrid working easier no matter the room size or location of conference call participants, more efficient and hiccup free.

Experience First

Although few, some of the more theatrical innovations on display did prove there is still a place for experiential focused solutions in the industry today. Epson’s EB-PU2220B, the world’s smallest 20,000 lumens laser projector impressed viewers with its immersive visitor attraction aimed at venues such as galleries, museums and theme parks, whilst directly opposite, Panasonic boasted its own digital meets art offering.

But in terms of improving the customer experience at a more granular and everyday use level of digital signage, Nexmosphere were among the brighter stars of the show. Their simple yet innovative booth showed a range of interactive solutions perfect for settings such as retail, real estate, and even healthcare. Motion Triggered Sensors, Stock Count notifications via Proximity Sensors and Lift and Learn RFiD Technology were all presented, but new to this year’s ISE were the Hand Gesture Sensors. Camera based sensors that work through glass respond to hand movements such as swipe up, swipe down and even a thumbs up where CTAs can be displayed such as QR codes or wishlists.

Of all the buzzwords floating around the halls at ISE 2023, sustainability was definitely the most recurrent and we imagine will be for the next shows to come. Whilst sustainable practices applied to digital signage products were vital to show, the financial benefits of green signage seemed to be the key point to prove, as leading suppliers took on the challenge of assuring consumers that it really does pay to go green in the long run.

Exciting innovations were present, if not the focal point. Just like last year, this year’s most innovative advancements were in the details, those seemingly small but crucial improvements that make technology smarter, more sustainable, and more data-driven. When viewed in totality, the evolution on display was quite impressive.