News

Purdue U Calumet Trades in Bulletin Boards for Digital Signage

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 03/24/09

Purdue University Calumet has replaced its campus bulletin boards with a new digital signage system using equipment from Westinghouse Digital Electronics. The setup features neonSource software loaded on a neonPlayer media player and displayed on a 42-inch 1080p LCD monitor.

"We needed an effective solution that would command the attention of the students and staff. Westinghouse's neonSource software provided the flexibility to display video messages and broadcast content while inserting custom communication ads on slim LCD screens," said David McLees, technology administrator. "We needed to ensure that students were kept up to date on new university programs, courses, and advisors' names. neonSource, along with a large, eye-catching 42-inch LCD monitor, proved to be the ideal solution. Additionally, neonSource's ease of use allows us to quickly and effortlessly create weekly updates to keep the information current, guaranteeing that students will constantly check back to see what new information has been displayed."

According to McLees, the weekly updates take 10 minutes and larger monthly updates take about 20 minutes. He develops graphics shown on the signage using PowerPoint or Photoshop and then exports them as JPEG files. In the future he expects to hand over the update work to a student in the university's computer graphics technology department.

Located in Hammond, IL, the school has about 9,600 students and is part of the Purdue University system.