Hello all, the first thing I want to explain is that I'm not a web site designer, the reason I have joined this forum is so I can ask for feedback on a device which is intended to get new business for web site designers.

 

This device (or rather the version of it which is intended for web site use) is not finished yet, and I would be grateful for feedback and suggestions to make this unit as useful as possible.

 

To explain what this thing is quickly, have a look at this web site:

 

www.group94.com

 

When you click on "News", "Work" or "Contact" the page shows a simulated dot-matrix display with an eye catching animation.

 

This gave me the idea of developing further a stand alone display unit which can be output to a large TV screen. This could be of interest to firms who want their web site to be more than just a web site, as it could take a "news feed" and display it at company HQ and local sites on a large screen.

 

The advantages of using this over using a laptop or desktop machine connected to a display are:

 

* The display unit is about the size of a large matchbox, and so can be simply attached to the back of the display.

* Not in itself an item which needs to be secured from a security point of view, unlike a laptop for example.

* Totally self contained, requires no user set-up.

 

The "news feed" or whatever needs to be displayed, can be sent to the display in different ways.

 

1. Sent via a USB connector from a laptop or desktop computer. In this case the machine needs to run a program which feeds the display data, and only needs to be run when the display content changes - might be once a day, or once a week for example.

 

2. The display unit itself can be connected to and updated via the company internet or intranet.

 

There are a lot of different options for how this device could be used, I'm an electronics design engineer not a web site designer, I would appreciate your comments and suggestions.

 

Thanks!

Do a search for 'digital signage' and you will see there is a lot out there already for corporate communications and often over their network already. eg. www.scala.com

The link you gave looks good, nice effect, but will it be readable from a distance on a plasma display for example?