A gala party with more than 800 guests marked the opening of Uniqlo’s European flagship store in the trendy Opera District of Paris, on Rue Scribe only steps away from the famed Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. Uniqlo is Japan’s leading clothing retail chain with more than 800 stores currently open. The multilevel 23,000 square foot flagship store features innovative digital signage as an integral element of its merchandising strategy. Wrap-around LED panels and fifty-three 50” Panasonic plasma displays are integrated into the sleek contemporary interior design. Panasonic digital signage software is installed on fanless player PCs from MediaVue Systems.
A gala party with more than 800 guests marked the opening of Uniqlo's European flagship store in the trendy Opera District of Paris, on Rue Scribe only steps away from the famed Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. Uniqlo is Japan's leading clothing retail chain with more than 800 stores currently open. The multilevel 23,000 square foot flagship store features innovative digital signage as an integral element of its merchandising strategy. Wrap-around LED panels and fifty-three 50” Panasonic plasma displays are integrated into the sleek contemporary interior design. Panasonic digital signage software is installed on fanless player PCs from MediaVue Systems.
The store was built inside an existing 19th century Parisian landmark building. The 53 displays are cased in fascias which blend perfectly with the contemporary interior design of the store. However, this meant that installation space, ventilation and access to components were often very limited. Accessing displays and players generally requires extensive disassembly of cabinetry and frequently removal of equipment. Failed displays or players would be costly and disruptive to store operations. Additionally, the confined spaces and limited ventilation created a difficult operating environment for PCs.
The varying display enclosures meant that the players also needed to be installed in different ways in various locations. Some needed to be mounted directly to the backs of displays. Others needed to be mounted on walls or in nearby equipment cabinets.
The high-quality video output produced by NM Stage also required a PC player with significant performance. Player PCs with low-power, low-performance CPU's could not meet the requirements.
Panasonic Systems Solutions Europe turned to MediaVue to provide a PC player solution. The solution is designed to perform reliably in difficult environments, particularly dusty, dirty and hot environments like those inside the Uniqlo display cabinets. There are no fans that can clog and fail. The special Seagate drive used in SureVues is the only 2.5 drive designed for continuous duty operation in rugged conditions. The passive cooling system on the solution can maintain proper operating temperatures even under heavy loads in with limited ventilation.
And the compact size of the player PC together with the built-in mounting tabs enabled installation of the units in the varying conditions inside the Uniqlo store.
With its integrated ATI graphics and powerful dual core CPU, the solution delivered the performance required to drive NM Stage and wide range of content that would be presented.
MediaVue also provided assistance to Panasonic to develop the project software image that included NM stage and an initial content load. This image was then factory installed on all units. The SureVues were then shipped directly to the installation contractor ready for installation and network activation.