My take on this year's Digital Signage Expo

Here is my take on the 2014 DSE in Las Vegas.

• The show didn't feel much different from previous ones except for the venue which I found to be a nice change from the Las Vegas Convention Center.  The Sands Expo and Convention Center was conveniently located, specially for those staying around that part of the strip.  Next year it's back to the LV Convention Center.

• It was quite busy on both days.  Wouldn't be surprised if attendance was up over last year.

• The show used to be dominated by software vendors but this has changed over the last few years. All the usual suspects were front and center. NEC, LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Intel...

• Lots of small Android and other non-Windows devices but it all felt more "mainstream" which is an indication the Android market is maturing.  Not a bad thing actually.  Of course, there were many vendors showing off Windows based PCs like Shuttle and iBase.

• Shuttle announced a partnership with Scala at the show, meaning you can now order various models with the Scala player pre-installed.  We see this a lot with software vendors validating PCs and providing disk images that hardware vendors so they can set up and ship units with the least amount of fuss.  

• I was impressed with the dual-sided freestanding display from AG Neovo at the 22Miles booth.  The vertical unit featured a dual 55" LCD panels mounted back to back (one side touch-enabled, the other not).  This makes for a very thin profile (23.4mm) that looks very upscale.  Much thinner than mounting individual screens back to back.

• Speaking of screens.  I was blown away by the Dynascan displays.  Anyone looking for exterior or store window displays should check out Dynascan.  Really nice stuff.

• Word came out during the show that Google is entering the digital signage space via the Chromebox small form factor PCs that were recently launched.  So it looks like the Chrome OS will become another alternative to Windows.  Stay tuned on that one... Lots more to come.

• Maybe I've been to too many of these shows but I didn't see anything that I would consider revolutionary.  Screens and projectors are getting brighter and sharper...  Software solutions continue to improve and add support for new technologies.  Wayfinding solutions are becoming more and more common. It will be interesting to see how things shape up until the next DSE.

• Last but not least, congratulations go out to partner Seenspire who took home 3 content awards (one Silver, two Bronze).  These guys do great content.