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This would go a long way in Medical Kiosks, Digital Art and Signage.

The digital art thing is big in hospitals (Source: I was the technology designer for SFGH, UCSF, and the technology implementation manager for El Camino Hospital - and director of OPs for Vizio (TV))

Ive evaluated, purchased and installed systems such as this, and wayfinding in hospitals - paying hundreds of thousands for digital artwork to be looped in elevator lobbies, room screens etc - they, like you said - had rubbish software.

For the lobbies in El Camino Hospital, I had to replace some units with Mac Mini's playing an MP$ on loop via VLC because the digital signage system was so crappy.

So, having this with a piZero would be great.

However - wayfinding would also be elegant with this - so long as when you say "interactive" surely it could display a webapp/app via the PI, and "screen-saver" to your digital art loop when idle...

But - seriously, the digital art/signage/wayfinding market needs a fiesty upstart like you to ruffle their muffins - I dont have any PIs currently else, I'd be using this....

I wonder if I could install it on my shitty android TCL tablet from T-Mobile...?

(Also look at controlling Feit Electric bulbs)

EDIT:

I think the most lucrative option for a device/OS like this would be travel signage at BART, any 'regional transit' -- find the dumbest person at that organization and train them to install and configure and display something in a fool-proof manner...

Look at Sacramento (california) regional transit - they have so many screens with zero usable information...

Have you been in a train in APAC? THey have LCD screens with status maps on the upper walls...

Have you been in a train in the US? THey have pee and poo on the upper walls, and zero map status anyplace.




> Have you been in a train in APAC? THey have LCD screens with status maps on the upper walls... Have you been in a train in the US? THey have pee and poo on the upper walls, and zero map status anyplace.

It sounds like installing screens on US trains would just end up with pee and poo on the screens...


Yep, that's not a technology problem, it's a culture problem.


Installing Mac Mini just to play MP3 files? That's a gross waste of money. You can use a dirt-cheap portable MP3 player for $10!

It's crazy how much money is wasted in the US, where other people are begging for food on the streets.


I believe the OP here is not playing 1999s music formats on a TV, but referring to MK4 and similar _video_ formats that a portable music player definitely can't play.


Do you mean MP4? There are many cheap MP4 players or even RPi should be enough, no need for Mac Mini.


Yes, MP4, sorry for the typo :).

I believe in such places the cost of service and maintenance is many multiples the cost of the initial installation. A $20 "720p hdmi stick" from aliexpress vs a $300 mac mini is a no brainer. 100 mac minis will work reliably and predictably for years to come, whereas 100 random $20-$50 sticks sounds like something that needs constant supervision and maintenance.

That said, a RPi might be enough, depends on the software. That's why FrameOS has HDMI support, to work for such cases. It's still pretty far from being a turnkey solution today, but we could easily get there with some focus at the right time.


What is your opinion on brighysigns? While the default software is kinda crap the programability of them has been great for us. But we aren’t very far in.




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