NanoSessions

The concept of security is a well-worn trope in all industries. However, the weakest link of any system is fairly easy to determine. On this episode of the NanoSessions podcast, NanoLumens IT Director Tony Tran sat down with Sean Heath to discuss surprising facts regarding most security vulnerabilities. Quite often, the simplest explanation is the most accurate, according to Tran. “Your weakest link is always going to be the end user and awareness," he said. "An untrained user is always the weakest link to any security system.” Another challenge that content managers face is the somewhat unavoidable vulnerability inherent with cloud-based access, Tran explained. “Basically, you have to operate under these pretenses that it’s not a matter of if it happens, but rather when,” he said. Taking time to plan for those possibilities during the development stage definitely makes for a better end product, detailed Tran. “We typically take a little bit longer to deploy our products, because we have to think about all of

Founded with a mission to create a digital wallpaper that would transform the way audiences engaged with their surroundings, NanoLumens pushes the limits of media architecture further and further each year. We’ve found that as digital display technologies grow more prevalent in all facets of daily life, audiences not only expect to see screens in just about every room they enter but also to see these screens integrated into the very fabric of a building’s architecture. Working with renowned content creators like the digital sculptor Refik Anadol and the experts from Second Story and Moment Factory, NanoLumens has helped some of the world’s most sophisticated clients in transportation, communications, and commercial real estate evolve their space from simply a building into an immersive, future-proofed digital environment. We’ve written in this space before about the degrees of freedom in design NanoLumens grants each of our clients but its worth briefly touching on the media architecture successes of a few in

A common refrain heard in the Pro AV space is the admiration for all of the newest technological advances. On this episode of NanoLumens' NanoSessions, Joel Krieger, Chief Creative Officer for Second Story, sat down with host Sean Heath and they discussed how the newest disruptive technologies are being used in more subtle ways. Generally speaking, digital displays have followed a path similar to that of the internet, according to Krieger. “In the beginning, the internet was pretty interesting and it was like the Wild West. Eventually, it got commercialized and advertising began to really take over," he said. The digital display industry initially fell into the same pattern of prioritizing the advertising disruption, however, Krieger feels that is changing rapidly. “We once again have a moment to kind of think about how we treat the ‘built environment’ and how we activate these canvases in a way that’s in service of the people and the business,” he explained. The recent unveiling of a massive lobby installati

Not everything is in the cloud. In fact, businesses that handle sensitive data such as financial records, medical records, and travel documents must maintain higher network security than ever before. That's sent these businesses off the cloud and back to on-site hosting for their digital display management systems. Until now. NanoLumens just launched a locally-hosted version of its AWARE digital display management system. Its development was inspired by NanoLumens customers who'd asked for a one-to-one version for local hosting. "We've been asked a few times from clients 'hey is there a locally hosted version of this?'," said Brice McPheeters, Director of Product Line Management and Customer Service, our guest on this new episode of NanoSessions, a NanoLumens podcast. "We made sure we created a true one to one interface. The exact way you interact with the cloud version was one to one with what we reproduced in the locally hosted version." McPheeters says ease of use is important because digital is everywhere

Without a background or steady base of knowledge of Pro AV, it's honestly hard to keep up with all the advanced digital display technology that NanoLumens puts to work in its state-of-the-art displays. Micro LED versus LCD, pixels, pitch, curved display... for a new customer or someone new to the industry, learning and understanding all the terminology is no doubt a challenge. On this new episode of NanoSessions, a NanoLumens podcast, host Sean Heath welcomed senior copywriter Robert Simms to discuss the learning curve and how he goes about writing copy that'll get read. "When you're learning how to learn something, first you have to accept the fact you probably don't know anything about the space you're getting into," Simms said. "That was certainly the case with me. When I came to the industry, I had almost zero understanding of how the technology and the industry worked and how people in the industry communicated with each other." But lacking a background in engineering helped Simms approach learning compl

By their very nature, inventions are the first of their kind. That's exciting for someone like Ted Heske, Director of Intellectual Property for NanoLumens who has devoted his life to emerging solutions. On this new episode of NanoSessions, a NanoLumens podcast, host Maggie Shein welcomed Heske to discuss patents and the intellectual property they work with when creating state-of-the-art display technology. "When you buy a NanoLumens display, that's a significant bundle of unique intellectual property that collectively provides a lot of advantages to our customers," Heske said. The Georgia-based company is known for creating large-format LED displays such as JFK International Airport’s Terminal 4 digital display that measures 30-foot wide by 10-foot high as well as other first-of-its-kind creative technology displays. As a former inventor of consumer products himself, Heske said patents and intellectual property are interesting because it's uncharted territory. "If an idea is worthy of a patent, that means no

When an outdoor LED board caught fire in New York's Time Square earlier this summer, experts turned new attention to fire safety and flame resistance of LED screens. On this episode of NanoSessions, a NanoLumens podcast, host Daniel Litwin welcomed Adam Dixon, operations director of electrical engineering for NanoLumens, to give his perspective on designing fire retardant LED displays. That fire "raised some eyebrows" among experts like Dixon because health and safety in public spaces where LEDs are often displayed are of utmost importance. "For any environment where the LED display is considered the building material, such as equipment in a transportation space where large crowds of people in small spaces, health and safety is a concern," Dixon said. NanoLumens has been well ahead of the curve in flame retardant LEDs. For about three years now, Dixon has been helping design and test fire retardant LED displays in collaboration with fire research companies and institutions. "Fire dynamics are incredibly compl

On today's episode of NanoSessions, host Sean Heath sat down with Joe' Lloyd, NanoLumens vice president of global marketing and business development about the company’s recent study on competing value propositions of LED vs. LCD display technology and shared what the future looks like for LED display. “The weird and the wow, we sometimes call them,” said Lloyd. “We’re the company that people come to with a paper napkin drawing and a really amazing idea, and they’re looking to bring that to life.” The Georgia-based company is known for creating large-format LED displays such as JFK International Airport’s Terminal 4 digital display that measures 30-feet wide by 10-feet high, among others. But NanoLumens tackled a new challenge with this industry-wide survey, conducted over three months with 450 integrators, direct buyers, architects, and end users of LED and LCD display products. While price and size often lead the conversation, serviceability and hours of use are two important factors that consumers said they

There is such an impressive digital display at JFK International Airport’s Terminal 4 that it’s become an iconic piece of content and likely a favorite among first-time visitors to the Big Apple. On this new episode of the Nanosessions podcast by Nanolumens, Dana Michaelis, vice president of sales for Nanolumens shares how a digital display project comes to life from concept and what’s really possible with Direct View LED at the world’s largest airports. “What has happened in other cities around the country, if not around the world, is that the bar gets continually raised,” Michaelis says. “It’s all about the passenger experience, and visualization is a key component of that.” The double-sided 30-foot wide by 10-foot high NanoLumens Nixel Series LED video board displays flight information for arriving flights, the time, news and weather information, as well as marketing messages from advertisers, on the convex side for travelers inside the terminal. On the other side, directly opposite the door from customs,

Digital cinema technology in the Pro AV industry is changing at an ever-accelerating rate, no one is arguing that. What makes this shift unique, though, is the fact that evolving cinema technology is changing the consumer experience on a wholesale level, not simply changing the technology that the consumer uses. To explain what this means for the Pro AV industry, NanoLumens' chief technology officer Gary Feather sat down with host Sean Heath on this new episode of NanoSessions. They broke down what made DLP projection revolutionary at the time, how the motion picture industry has come around to digital cinema, and what’s possible with new direct view LED cinema in Pro AV. “It’s all about creating new experiences for customers and for creatives, it’s about a story well told,” Feather said. That might be unusual to hear from a CTO — focusing on what he calls “the creative's” story and the customer's cinema experience, but that’s what makes Feather a sought-after expert in this industry. Feather began his career

LED screens are no longer just in the box. With sophisticated technology, digital displays now have the ability to become digital wallpaper, and that’s exactly how NanoLumens thinks of their displays. To discuss this topic today is expert Joey Commander, Senior Business Development Specialist at NanoLumens. Joey’s role at NanoLumens has grown since he started there four years ago, and he’s found that his unique educational background made the company a great fit. “I have a business communication background as a PR major in college, and that has helped me be able to communicate well in this sometimes-complex sales process. With a film and video minor, this fit right into the AV world, as I already had an understanding of video production and the hardware involved,” Joey shared. He was able to parlay his education and experience, now guiding clients through projects, as he did with an installation for Nestle. “The project with Nestle is a great example of how we think about direct view LED. We consider it as a

Much of the focus on LED technology has been about resolution, but there comes a point where screens may have a sharper resolution than what the eye can see. In this episode of NanoSessions, Dan Rossborough, Director of Strategic Projects with NanoLumens, explains that the Pro AV industry has reached this peak, but at the end of the day it's all about perception. “Resolution is directly tied to pixel pitch or the density of pixels in an area. Resolution is also in the context of viewing distance. So, yes, we’ve come to a point where resolution is probably at its max, but what we’re most concerned with is helping architects and designers find the appropriate products based on viewing range and resolution,” Rossborough said. While in most scenarios, LED screens are flat, NanoLumens began to look at screens from a different perspective. “LEDs have been traditionally flat. But if you look at the roots of NanoLumens, the company’s foundation has always been around R&D. We have many more engineers than sales pr

Price is always a factor in every purchase. Every business wants to ensure they stay within budget, but, of course, cheaper is rarely better, except for the pocketbook. Professional LED display solutions are no different. While LEDs are widespread today, they aren’t all equal. So, the question becomes, is the price worth the value? Discussing this topic with us today is Eric Techo, Director of Global Marketing & Sales Operations for NanoLumens. “Price always comes to the forefront in AV. Everybody’s always looking to save money, but it’s critical for buyers to consider the return on investment. It’s not just the screen itself; it’s the service, the warranty, and more,” Eric said. At NanoLumens, they consider their products to be high-end, which means they cost more than most LED screens. “First and foremost, we try to educate our customers about the value of the screens. We want to know what they are going to be doing with the screen; will it play HD content or text or something else? We provide recommend

This podcast originally aired on the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast. Some wow-inducing digital displays are going up in a most surprising places: Airports. On today’s episode of the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast, brought to you by Marketscale, host Shelby Skrhak sits down with Brett Farley, director of strategic business development for NanoLumens, to discuss how digital displays range from everyday way-finding signage to dynamic art and spectacular displays. “Everything from emergency alert systems, to dynamic signage from different CMS’, dynamic airport displays are both functional for safety and way-finding, and spectacular for art displays,” Farley said. Farley pointed to large format digital display technology making some amazing installations possible at airports worldwide. Places such as Toronto Pearson Airport, Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and New York’s JFK International are leading the way in digital installations. On the podcast, Farley went into detail about the particular innovation happ

This podcast originally aired on the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast.The most innovative uses of digital dvLED technology being implemented across the world, from airports to public stadiums, are made possible by the best possible tech — not the cheapest. “The key is educating the consumer so they can make the best possible decision,” said NanoLumens Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development Joe’ Lloyd. Lloyd understands that customers are looking for the highest quality solutions that truly meet their needs today as well as for years to come. That is why understanding the jargon and technology in an LED solution will help buyers make the most informed buying decision possible. On today’s MarketScale Pro AV Podcast, Lloyd breaks down her thoughts on quality versus price. She offers an interesting analogy for the connection of price and quality in technology, likening LED solutions to mobile phones that have risen in quality and price commensurately. NanoLumens’ quality is on display throughou

This podcast originally aired on the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast.Digital signage in the sports market has reached ubiquity, meaning applications are getting more creative. Whether it’s for interactive stations to bring fans to the stadium, jumbotrons that display real-time social media feeds, or LED art displays that inspire and put local retailers in the eyes of fans, applications seems limitless.  To get perspective on this market growth, we sat down with Patrick Jackson, Senior Business Development Specialist at NanoLumens. Patrick is a business development veteran in the audio-visual world and has helped bring visions and goals to life in the signage market. On this episode he’ll talk about how digital signage has changed arena design and construction, why it’s been so successful, how it can convert a “dead space,” and about some of his favorite digital signage solutions in different stadiums and arenas. “Once people really started seeing some of these dead spaces, these little utilized spaces, get t

This podcast originally aired on the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast. With the ubiquity of digital signage on the rise, new frontiers like the convergence of AV and IT and the explosion of VoT are on the horizon. Larry O’Hagan, Inside Sales Associate for NanoLumens, joined us this episode to talk about why AV and IT need to learn from each other, why he thinks VoT devices are the future. “This makes a visual impact statement upon people,” O’Hagan said. He gives us some examples of how digital signage is evolving and innovating in different industries. In addition, Larry also opens up about why color spacing and flexibility are given such great focus at companies like NanoLumens. “Typically, it’s the first time they’ve seen something like this [and] they tend to remember the content that’s being displayed to them, simply because it’s on an unusual background, whether they consciously realize that or not,” O’Hagan said.

This podcast originally aired on the MarketScale Pro AV Podcast.University campuses are constantly looking for new and fresh ways to stimulate learning and encourage growth in their students. As the needs and expectations of students change, campuses have to adapt along with them. Increasingly, universities are turning to pro AV and LED screens to help create experiences that foster learning and community within their spaces. Bob Haefke, Senior Business Development Specialist at NanoLumens, joined the Pro AV Podcast to explain how they’re working to meet the AV needs of these institutions of higher learning. “Well we try to understand what the client wants…and what their vision is, and then try to interact with our technology to make sure we can bring it from a concept to a reality,” Haefke said. He says LED screens are frequently used as tools to communicate messages to students about events and other opportunities on campus. They’re also frequently used in the classrooms as tools to further learning and