Digital menu boards will change restaurant industry

Last Updated on Monday, 25 July 2011 08:26 Written by victorB Monday, 25 July 2011 08:26

Using Digital Signage In Restaurants

To begin I would like to state I am not stupid enough to believe the development of digital menu boards or digital signs are nearly as important as the development of computers. However, I do believe it is valid to make some comparisons.

If you are old enough to remember when personal computers first became available you know it took a long time for most people to start using them, even in business. In the beginning, we were told the primary benefit was to save time and reduce costs. What we later learned was they did not save time. Instead, they greatly increased our individual capability, capacity and quality of work. They allowed us to do much more, more quickly and more accurately. Computers allowed us to do many things we could not do without them. I delayed using them because it seemed like too much work to download the data and get the programs set up. Today, I don’t think we could survive without personal computers. Try taking them away and see what happens.

I can remember a few years ago when every executive had a secretary; now there are very few. As an example, it would take me all day working with my secretary and several other people to get a large proposal or important document composed, typed and ready to be delivered by overnight service to a customer. I can do the same thing today by myself, do it better and have it delivered in a matter of minutes.

Let’s compare personal computers to digital menu boards. Think about how much time and how many people it takes for a restaurant chain to make changes to the content in a traditional menu board system and have it displayed properly in the restaurants. It takes several weeks or a couple months. With digital menu boards it takes a matter of hours. One person can do it easily, better and the content is more effective. Consider how much more you can do with digital menu boards than with traditional boards. I won’t list them here, but the list is long. These are features you can compare with computers.

A true test of the value of a new technology is to see what would happen if you take it away after people have used it long enough to utilize its full capabilities and have them switch back to the old technology. Consider what would happen if you took away personal computers today. It would be a disaster. Although it would still be difficult to find someone utilizing the full capabilities of digital menu boards, how do you think they would react if they had to switch back to the old technology? Although I would say McDonald’s has not used its digital menu boards long enough to utilize their full capabilities, it is the best example I can think of. Ask its management how they would feel about replacing the digital boards in their McCafe units with the old menu board technology. It would be a huge problem.

I believe digital menu boards will eventually replace all the old boards, and many new capabilities will continue to be developed and utilized.

Mexican Restaurant Uses iPads as MenusiPads at Temazcal Cantina feature rich photography, detailed information

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 07:53 Written by victorB Tuesday, 19 July 2011 07:50

“Table for two?”

“Right this way. And here are your iPads.”

Ever since Apple’s iPad launched, we’ve been hearing about how it will
replace things – books, newspapers, computers and even restaurant menus.

Indeed, a smattering
of restaurants have supplemented their old-fashioned paper menus with
interactive iPads.

Temazcal Cantina, a traditional
Mexican restaurant in Boston, offered Commercial Integrator a look at
how it’s planning to take the iPad menu experience a step further when it opens
in April with an innovative digital menu approach.

Chef Todd Hall and primary investor Jon Cronin use the iPad to provide
customers with rich information about menu items, including great photography.

Customers will be greeted by, essentially, a home page featuring tabs for
entrees, appetizers, tequila, etc. Clicking on a tab and then a menu item calls
up images of the dish. The photos – all taken by Hall, a photography enthusiast
- are remarkably good.

Since some people like to know what they’re eating, each menu item
also has a “recipe” tab so customers can view a photo of the ingredients Hall
uses for each item and they can even see nutritional information.

Each menu item also has a “history” tab with long descriptions of the dishes’
origins, traditions and influences – all written personally by Hall.

Photos: See
iPad Images of Menu Items

The iPads aren’t in lieu of a wait staff at Temazcal Cantina. In fact, part
of the wait staff’s jobs will be to introduce and explain the iPad menu even
though “it’s easier to use than an ATM,” Hall says.

There is no “order” button on these iPads so customers still place their
orders the old-fashioned way – verbally to a waitress or waiter.

And yes, if customers don’t feel like dealing with an iPad, there are paper
menus available.

On Integration & Security
The pessimists out there are probably
saying: “Really? They’re going to hand out iPads in a crowded room where
everybody is drinking tequila … and expect to get them back? Really?”

Really, Hall says. “We have faith in people.” That being said, there are
several security measures in place.

The first line of defense is what Hall calls “iPad renters.” Before parties
are taken to their tables, this person hands each member a numbered iPad and
registers the numbers.

After a party places its orders, the iPad renter is sent to the table to
retrieve the tablets. Understandably, some patrons will want to hang onto the
iPads and peruse items and dish histories, Hall says. “We’ll be cool about it if
they want to hang onto them for a while.”

But before any checks are closed, “we make sure all iPads are returned.”

Additional security is more technical in nature. All iPad features beyond the
menu ordering program have been disabled from Temazcal Cantina’s tablets. So
customers can’t use the products to play games, browse the Internet, etc. –
something that has reportedly
been a problem at other restaurants that offer iPad menus.

Click
for schematic of how the system works.

Perhaps most importantly, Hall says, all of Temazcal Cantina’s iPads are
programmed to shut down when taken beyond a small radius from the restaurant.

Even more security is being put in place, according to Rich Cronin of RPC Consultants, Jon’s brother. RPC is
part of a small Ireland-based team that worked closely with Hall and Jon to
create a software solution for their vision.

RPC worked with graphic design company Dogfish and digital media developer and
consultant Iolopearse.com.

From the restaurant’s point of view, one of the big benefits of iPad menus
appears to be the ease in which information can be updated. This may be
particularly appealing to restaurants impacted by a provision
in the health care reform law requiring them to provide rich nutritional
data in their menus.

Rich explains the updating process:

“The iPads periodically check a local server to see if there are menu
changes. If there are, they update themselves.
“The menu itself is managed via a Silverlight-based website where Todd can
add/edit his menu, including adding pictures etc.
“Naturally he can also adjust the order in which dishes are displayed, the
pricing, etc. When he publishes a new version of the menu the local server
updates its local cache, and feeds it to the iPads when they look for changes.
“The local server is purely to reduce the load on the broadband connection.
So it should be very easy for Todd to update the menu, in fact he has added all
the information to date.
“The public website for Temazcal will also show the same menu as the iPads.
So the public website will always be immediately up to date, the iPads may be 30
minutes or so behind.”

Photos: See
iPad Images of Menu Items

Interested in Ipad integration for your business?

Call us at 434-985-2855, ask for Victor

AV Services of VA is now a ZeeVee dealer. Distribute HD video over existing coax cabling – No new wires technology!!!

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 June 2011 11:48 Written by victorB Thursday, 19 May 2011 05:43

Applications: Digital Signage

 
Every ZvBox/player combo is distributed as a unique HDTV channel on the same COAX cable. At any display, just tune in the channel of the player you want to see.

Distribute VGA and HD Video for $0 per Display

Installing a player at each display in a digital signage system is equipment (and cost) overkill where multiple displays share the same messaging. A ZvBox lets one signage player feed an unlimited number of displays, with no set-top boxes required. It does so by converting the output of the player into an HD cable TV channel, and broadcasting it over existing coaxial wiring to all displays. To view the channel/player, simply tune it in at any display, using the display’s HDTV tuner.

Who’s Using ZvPro? Here are just a few.

Using ZvBoxes to send HD video and digital signage over existing coaxial cabling is an irresistible value; here are just a few well-known organizations using that value to their advantage:

ZvBox™ – Send HD Video Over Your Home’s Coax Wiring

NEW ZvBox^® 170

ZvBox^® 150

Based on the same technology used by TV stations and cable companies, ZvBox^® turns the output of a VGA or HD source into an HDTV cable channel and broadcasts it over coax cabling to all connected HDTVs. To view the HD source, simply tune in your new Zv channel at any of the HDTVs. Compatibility with existing coax cabling means ZvBox is ideal for retrofit applications.

Use a ZvBox to:

• Perform whole-house HD video distribution with no new wires!
• Connect a computer for unlimited Internet video on demand.
• Deliver digital signage in light commercial applications.

The Key Benefits of Coax:

• Coax already in place in vast majority of homes- reduces or eliminates the need to cut holes in walls or run new wires.
• Proven method: cable companies light up entire cities with coax
• Easy to deploy and expand coax systems using simple hand tools
• System parts (splitters, amps, etc.) inexpensive and widely available
• Connects to off-the-shelf HDTVs without additional set top boxes at each TV
• Handles up to 135 simultaneous channels