Sound Level Media installed electronic signage on all four University of Johannesburg (UJ) campuses. The client was looking for a turnkey solution that offered a user-friendly software interface to run digital signage for the university.
Hilton Sebulela, general manager at Sound Level Media, was responsible for the installation. The brief was to install two screens per library at each campus, eight screens in total. Sebulela went for NEC 65-inch and 55-inch screens, with a DC Media Player per screen. NEC is a leading producer of display screens, and a favourite for Electrosonic SA clients. The 65-inch NEC MultiSync V651 boasts a double-sided, anti-reflective glass coating that protects the panel, prevents mirrored imaging and allows for brighter transmittance. The 55-inch NEC MultiSync P553 offers LED backlighting technology that improves power efficiency and ensures slimmer cabinet depth.
Sebulela put his faith in the NEC products because he says they are robust, and hold a longer lifespan than competitors in the same class, and at a reasonable cost. NEC delivers quality at a reasonable cost. When Sebulela proposed NEC displays to the client they were more than happy to go with the recommendation as they already use NEC products and they trust the brand.
Electrosonic’s quarterly magazine Promag interviewed the UJ executive director of the UJ library Rookaya Bawa, who explained that the screens are part of a drive to ensure UJ stays at the cutting edge of the IT revolution: “Everyone at UJ has a smart device, and we help them to get one if they can’t afford it. All our libraries are WiFi areas, and each student gets free broadband.’ Bawa is proud of the fact that UJ is driving a vision to have the largest collection of e-books on the African continent. “Our Sierra library system, that issues e-books, is one of the zootiest in the world, and our number of visits, both virtual and electronic, is over 3 million.’
The installation of the screens was part of a drive to make the UJ libraries areas of social interaction and information sharing. The screens function as sophisticated information bulletin boards that provide students and staff with important information that can be updated from a central point and in real-time. As for the in-between content, the screens also display DSTV programming.
According to Bawa, although used extensively overseas, electronic bulletin boards of this nature are a first for a South African university; and such is their success that UJ is keen to extend them to other areas across the four campuses.
