#CETW – X2O Media’s New Products

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

“At Customer Engagement Technology World 2010 – in New York, Nov. 10-11, Booth- 438 attendees can expect a whole new suite of solutions from X2O Media that take digital signage to the next level,” says David Wilkins, president and CEO of X2O Media.

The Montreal-based company will showcase a new Microsoft PowerPoint add-in that greatly simplifies the content creation process, allowing users to build their own wayfinder maps for corporate facilities, campuses, airports, public venues, and more. With the new wayfinder add-in, users of X2O’s Xpresenter digital signage platform can easily import floor plans and create digital, interactive wayfinder maps – with start and end points and animated directional arrows that indicate the path – directly inside PowerPoint, and publish them to the X2O network. The maps can include a video or an image for both start and end points, and on-the-go signage viewers can even e-mail directions to themselves directly from the interactive screen.

X2O Media is also taking dynamic communications on digital displays to the next level, combining ease of use with the broadcast-quality video graphics. Xpresenter is a complete suite of applications that allows users to create dynamic content for their digital displays quickly and easily, distribute the content, and then monitor activity on the displays using powerful remote management tools. The Xpresenter Template Maker 3.0 authoring tool has been bolstered to integrate content management, making it more efficient than ever to create and schedule compelling content straight from the familiar PowerPoint interface. In addition, it includes an extensive ‘smart’ object library for the quick and simple creation of content featuring videos, images, PowerPoint slides, RSS feeds, live information sources, and much more.

Version 3.0 also includes support for 3-D effects, enabling the creation of innovative elements such as rotating graphics. And other enhancements to the platform include a more powerful digital asset management system, ad campaign management tools, and advanced rule-based scheduling tools.

Xpresenter 3.0 also features Microsoft Office add-in tools for PowerPoint, Word, and Excel, making it easier than ever for users to update content. The Xpresenter Office add-ins appear as custom toolbars directly inside the Office Ribbon. This tight integration allows Xpresenter users to publish content directly from their favorite Office applications to display screens on the X2O network.

When it comes to digital signage solutions, one size does not fit all, which is why X2O Media is introducing three new cost-effective versions of its Xpresenter Xe digital signage system. Designed for any budget, the new high-quality solutions allow users to select the features they need, without paying for those that they don’t. All new Xe versions offer the same intuitive point-and-click content management tools, while providing varying levels of output complexity to meet the needs of any application. New Xpresenter Xe versions include the Xe Digital Poster for still images, Xe Video Poster for stills and video, and Xe Dynamic DS for stills, video, and data-driven graphics, enabling users to choose the application they need now and upgrade as future needs arise.

In addition, X2O offers a new Xe Desktop add-in for the Xpresenter Xe Series, which extends the reach of communications beyond digital signs by allowing users to receive information such as messages, video, and alerts via a user-friendly player right on their desktop computer screens.

X2O’s Wilkins will moderate the CETW digital signage session Nov. 10 from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. on the topic ‘Beyond Digital Displays: Strategies for Effective Digital Communications’. Featuring Bill Powell, manager, communication planning and delivery, Air Canada, this session will examine how real-time communications can be delivered cost-effectively not only to digital screens throughout an organization, but also directly to employee desktops, mobile devices, and kiosks. allowing companies to deliver the ‘right’ information at the ‘right’ time.


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