TechMedia Reduces Downtime & Cuts Maintenance Costs in Retail and DOOH Digital Signage with ASUS NUC

Building Custom Digital Signage for Bustling Public Spaces

Digital signage users and digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising networks need to focus on delivering dynamic content, analyzing ad metrics to improve performance, and driving revenue from fleets of displays. The last thing they want to worry about is the underlying hardware infrastructure—from choosing the right computing and display platforms to system deployment and management.

Major organizations in market segments like retail, transportation, sports, and entertainment turn to TechMedia. Unlike its competitors, TechMedia’s digital signage and ad management systems integrate audience measurement and reporting tools tailored to a customer’s specific business needs.

TechMedia customer installations scale anywhere from dozens to hundreds of networked displays—deployed in a single shopping center, throughout a city, or even across a country. Many also remain in service for up to 10 years, delivering high-quality, sometimes even interactive, content throughout their lifecycles.

Given the breadth of its customer use cases and deployment requirements, TechMedia requires performant, reliable hardware infrastructure capable of continuously driving immersive DOOH and digital signage experiences. For that, the company relies on the ASUS NUC 14 Pro family and the slimline ASUS NUC 13 Rugged Kit, which deliver 24/7 operation and superior performance in compact form factors as the engine of their growing digital signage empire.

“For new deployments, ASUS NUC covers 95% of all our digital signage use cases. We know that ASUS extensively tests these computers during development, and the result is a level of reliability we just don’t see with other suppliers.”

—Nicholas Milakovic, Head of Technology Operations, TechMedia

Partnership Highlights

• High-performance video and graphics of the ASUS NUC 13 and 14 Pro encourage audience engagement and interaction while driving DOOH advertising network revenues
• Ultra-reliable NUC hardware platforms pair with remote management capabilities via technologies like Intel vPro^® Technology to ensure digital content keeps rendering, 24/7
• The robust NUC product design minimizes hardware refresh and replacement cycles in support of long-life deployments of five-to-seven years or more
• The compact NUC form factor fits almost any display or space constraint, streamlining deployment of high-end digital signage systems and DOOH advertising networks

Tech Media powers reliable DOOH displays in shopping centers with ASUS NUCs, minimizing downtime and ensuring smooth operations.

The Challenge: One Computing Platform for Diverse Signage Installations

To support the digital signage initiatives of its diverse clientele, TechMedia personnel monitor system status and resolve technical issues from a centralized Network Operations Center (NOC). With this capability, TechMedia can fix problems before a customer even knows one exists.

Quickly and remotely remediating issues in the field can be streamlined by standardizing on a high-performance, modular, and flexible digital signage compute platform. Display computers capable of dependable, non-stop operations that minimize display downtime and costly on-site service calls are therefore a critical requirement.

Other TechMedia must-haves include:

• An ultra-compact, power-efficient design that fits comfortably into the TechMedia display screen chassis with plenty of room for cabling.
• Support for almost any Content Management System (CMS), analytics software, or third-party applications.
• Minimizing need for physical computer upgrades, which requires costly on-site visits.
• A system that can run both indoors and outdoors, in extreme temperatures and dirty environments.

The Solution: Dependable, Reliable ASUS NUCs Streamlines Custom Display Development

TechMedia turned to ASUS for a computing platform that could serve as the heart of its digital display solutions across almost every customer project. The company chose the ASUS NUC 14 Pro family and the ASUS NUC 13 Rugged Kit to power its indoor and outdoor display installations.

The ASUS NUC 14 Pro Mini PC

The ASUS NUC 13 Rugged

The ASUS NUC family provides the solution that TechMedia needs. The NUCs’ compact form factor and standardized mounting solution allow TechMedia to easily install the devices inside the company’s own custom display chassis without any modifications. Once inside, robust environmental specifications of the NUC platforms enable TechMedia to deploy systems almost anywhere, with features such as:

• Fanless architecture that provides both durability and quiet operation
• Power-efficient design that avoids overheating problems common in other mini-PC solutions.
• Select ruggedized kits operate in 0° to 50°C external ambient operating temperatures.

This pairs with the exceptional reliability and long-lasting operations of the NUC 13 Rugged and NUC 14 Pro, backed by a standard three-year warranty that can be extended to as much as 7 years of service. TechMedia display cabinets and chassis are typically viable for 10 years, meaning an ASUS NUC platform contained within it only needs to be replaced once per system deployment. Swapping out NUCs for replacement or upgrade takes minutes.

Finally, remote management—such as OS patching and out-of-band BIOS updates enabled by Intel^® vPro^® Technology native to select Intel^® Core™ Ultra processors on the ASUS NUC 14 Pro—provide building blocks of TechMedia’s 24/7 centralized management, support, and system maintenance.

“With many computing devices to choose from, the ASUS NUC provides us with great flexibility to meet the precise design requirements for our custom display systems.”

—Nicholas Milakovic, Head of Technology Operations, TechMedia

Maximizing Advertising Impact through Reliable Digital Signage

In the world of digital signage and DOOH advertising, success depends on one or a network of displays running like clockwork. Digital signage operators and DOOH advertisers depend on companies like TechMedia to deliver custom solutions and services that help them maximize the value of every marketing and advertising dollar.

ASUS enables TechMedia to scale and streamline its digital signage business and serve customers with confidence. The reliability, quality, and performance of the ASUS NUC family make it the go-to solution for almost every TechMedia digital signage deployment. And the partnership between the two companies illustrates how the right mix of off-the-shelf display computer hardware and bespoke engineering services and software can deliver measurable return on investment (ROI) and business value for their partners.

With ASUS NUCs modular and power-efficient design, Tech Media is able to cut display downtimes, a critical factor for the success of DOOH advertising

To learn more about how ASUS NUC products like the Slimline NUC 13 Rugged Kit or ASUS NUC 14 Pro Family are transforming digital signage applications, visit www.asus.com/kr/content/nuc-overview.

About TechMedia

Based in New South Wales, Australia, TechMedia has more than 23 years’ expertise designing and delivering DOOH and connected digital signage solutions into commercial applications across Australia and New Zealand. The company’s consultative, end-to-end approach spans everything from system design and deployment to integration and maintenance to bespoke audience measurement and reporting that helps customers achieve specific business outcomes.

Using the power of analytics to demonstrate how different combinations of content, connectivity, and displays can improve business outcomes through digital signage technology that persists for years or decades into the future.