Five Content Management Solutions For Your Digital Signage System – Memphis Audio Video Solutions

Digital signage has become a great way for companies to inform visitors of their mission, greet them when they come to the door, and provide an overall wow factor to their corporate lobbies and communal spaces. More companies are utilizing digital signage, in tiled video display systems, touch multiple screen systems, or complete display screen overhauls to increase customer excitement in company products.

There is a lot more than goes into digital signage systems than simply purchasing a video wall and hanging it for all visitors to see. Companies want to create content that engages viewers and informs them about things that they need to know. This means more than simply running a ten-minute video on loop throughout the day. Social media, company schedules, welcome messages to visitors, and more fun and creative engagement strategies go into creating custom content for different digital signage solutions.

 If you purchase the right system, you can show multiple video feeds that will entertain, while scrolling text informs, imagery flashes by to give example of company accomplishments, and photos of employees flash throughout to create familiarity with visitors. How, then, do we know what we need in order to purchase the right system? Corporate Tech Decisions gives you five things to consider when integrating content management solutions into your digital signage system.

Content Management Software
A digital signage content management system is essential for those companies that wish to display a variety of information in a variety of different media. Content management systems can allow you to display scrolling text in one area of the screen, a rundown of activity of social media sites such as twitter in another area, a video displaying company goals and values in yet another area, changing images of company activity in another, and so on and so forth. It provides a way to arrange this information and schedule when new information appears.  It will also provide a space to store and manage content for future use.

Encoders
An encoder is a device or program that takes your digital media and converts it into a smaller file that is then able to be stored or transferred. Different types of encoders can provide solutions for a variety of solutions for distributing your digital media. An uncompressed AV encoder is good for in-room distribution systems. A JPEG encoder readies files to be distributed on a local area network (LAN). It can support HD and cinema-grade files for distribution. An H.264 encoder is able to convert files for wide area network (WAN) distribution and storage.

Decoders
A decoder exists to complete the process that the encoder began. They decode the encoded files and make ready them for display for your video wall or projection system. You will need to purchase one decoder for every display. Make sure that the decoder works in conjunction with the encoder. Use an AV decoder for in-room systems, a JPEG decoder for LAN systems, and an H.264 decoder for WAN systems.

Matrix Switches
A matrix switch is needed when multiple audio-video sources are being broadcast to one or more display systems. Matrix switchers accept signals from a variety of input sources, from DVDs to Blu-rays to apple-TVs to decoders.  They then route the output of these signals top the different destinations to display your content. A user then controls the matrix switch to bring up single displays, switch between content, display multiple content on multi-screen systems, or blow up content to display over the multiple screens. Again, make sure that you are using the correct switch for your in-room, LAN, or WAN systems.

Digital Content Distribution
For systems that are more complicated than simply streaming video files to different displays, a digital content distribution software can come in very handy. This will allow you to manage the different displays across your system. You can choose what appears on different screens, schedule information to appear and change as you see fit, and manage content throughout the day. One of the biggest benefits of such software is being able to take over all screens and display a unified message. For security breaches or severe weather warnings, this software could potentially be a lifesaver.

Contact MCC’s Audio Visual Solutions Division today to learn more about Digital Signage!

- See more at: http://www.memphiscommunications.net/blog/#sthash.rLHILH7m.dpuf

For more details please contact us at:

Memphis Communications Corporation

4771 Summer Ave

Memphis, TN 38122

Tel:  901.725.9271

Fax: 901.272.3577

Toll Free:  866.805.5893

Service and Supplies:  901.257.2500

Email: sales@memphiscommunications.net

Website: http://www.memphiscommunications.net

Using VoIP for Enterprise Security - MCC’s Telecom Division

Voice over IP (VoIP) provides businesses with lower cost calling, more powerful and robust private branch exchange functionality, and the ability to add numerous value-added services to basic calling. Tools and techniques exist for using VoIP to enhance enterprise security, including call recording, voice biometrics, and voice analytics.

Call recording is the most basic VoIP service to support enterprise security. Businesses with regulatory compliance needs (such as financial, legal, and health care) record all calls made on company phones, including mobile devices. Vendors in this space sometimes refer to call recording as voice documentation because it provides a complete electronic record of what is said between parties during phone calls. In legal disputes, call recording can provide evidence that best practices and proper procedures are followed.

Voice biometrics provide a layer of security to authenticate individuals. Avaya, NICE Systems, and others provide solutions that are used for basic authentication during call center transactions, securing applications and transactions, and mobile applications. Using voice also provides the ability to replace personal identification numbers, passwords, and challenge questions with a faster method of authentication, saving time for customers and businesses while providing better security. Financial institutions such as Barclays, Banco Santander Mexico, and U.S. Bank all use voice biometrics to provide secure customer authentication.

Businesses and organizations can use voice biometrics to provide authentication to field service personnel interacting with a dispatch center and other daily communications where there is potential for a third party to gain access to internal business processes through social engineering. An attacker will call into an organization posing as a company employee and use a series of techniques to build trust and gather information on a target. Voice biometrics can be used to provide an automated gatekeeper function to screen inbound and in-house calls for bad actors.

In combination with call recording and voice biometrics, voice analytics can provide in-depth defense against social engineering attacks. Traditionally, voice analytics has been used as a big data–style application to monitor call center performance, gauge the success of new products, and provide competitive intelligence through the ability to look for key words and phrases. Existing processes can be tuned to look for social engineering attacks phishing for passwords and other sensitive information as a part of the nightly and weekly analytics batch runs.

Once an attack instance has been identified, the attacker’s voice biometric information can be identified and used to search through the archive of daily calls for other instances to build a picture of the type of information being sought and what departments are being targeted. The voiceprint then can be incorporated into blacklist processes to flag and block calls from an identified attacker. Other information can be gleaned from the characteristics of the calls themselves, including length of call, time of day calls are made, and the IP address of origin if it’s VoIP from end to end.

Until recently, call recording and voice biometrics have only been available as dedicated solutions. Cloud-based services are now making recording and biometrics both more available and more affordable than expensive solutions tailored to large call centers with a substantial number of calls per hour. Voice analytics is becoming an option for cloud-based call center offerings, but the effectiveness of the technology as a security measure is dependent upon being able to process through all calls within the business. If limited to the call center, voice analytics will not catch attackers calling to internal extensions while posing as employees.

Voice technology being rolled out this year will enable real-time machine actions to be triggered on key words or phrases, speeding up the process of identifying an attack. A request for a password during a phone call could send an immediate text or e-mail message or bring in the IT security desk to monitor the call as it takes place.

None of these solutions are magic bullets to prevent security breaches. Instead, view them as potential components of a holistic security plan. Determined attackers will figure out ways around security schemes, so the objective within a larger enterprise security plan is to provide as many barriers to entry as possible to deter break-in attempts.

Contact MCC’s Telecom Division today to learn more about VoIP and how it can benefit your organization! 

- See more at: http://www.memphiscommunications.net/blog/#sthash.JvYYAW0F.dpuf

For more details please contact us at:

Memphis Communications Corporation

4771 Summer Ave

Memphis, TN 38122

Tel:  901.725.9271

Fax: 901.272.3577

Toll Free:  866.805.5893

Service and Supplies:  901.257.2500

Email: sales@memphiscommunications.net

Website: http://www.memphiscommunications.net

The Basics of Structured Cabling – Memphis Communications Corporation

A structured cabling system is a complete system of cabling and associated hardware, which provides a comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure. This infrastructure serves a wide range of uses, such as to provide telephone service or transmit data through a computer network. It should not be device dependent.

We further define a structured cabling system in terms of ownership. The structured cabling system begins at the point where the service provider (SP) terminates. This point is the point of demarcation (demark) or Network Interface Device (NID).

For example, in a telephone system installation, the SP furnishes one or more service lines (per customer requirements). The SP connects the service line at the point of demarcation.

Every structured cabling system is unique. This is due to variations in:

• The architectural structure of the building, which houses the cabling installation
• The cable and connections products
• The function of the cabling installation
• The types of equipment the cabling installation will support – present and future
• The configuration of an already installed system (upgrades and retrofits)
• Customer requirement
• Manufacturers warranties

The methods we use to complete and maintain cabling installations are relatively standard. The standardization of these installations is necessary because of the need to ensure acceptable system performance from increasingly complex arrangements.

The U.S. cabling industry accepts the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), in conjunction with TIA/EIA, as the responsible organization for providing and maintaining standards and practices within the profession. It has published a series of standards to design, install, and maintain cabling installations. These help to ensure proper cabling installation.

The benefit of these standards include:

• Consistency of design and installation
• Conformance to physical and transmission line requirements
• A basis for examining a proposed system expansion and other changes
• Uniform documentation

The industry standard term for a network installation that serves a relatively small area (such a structured cabling installation serving a building) is a local area network (LAN). There are also metropolitan area networks (MANs) and wide area networks (WANs).

Structured cabling installations typically include: entrance facilities; vertical and horizontal backbone pathways; vertical and horizontal backbone cables; horizontal pathways; horizontal cables; work area outlets; equipment rooms; telecommunications closets; cross-connect facilities; multi-user telecommunications outlet assemblies (MUTOA); transition points; and consolidated points.

The entrance facility includes the cablings components needed to provide a means to connect the outside service facilities to the premises cabling. This can include service entrance pathways, cables, connecting hardware, circuit protection devices, and transition hardware.

An entrance facility houses the transition outside plant cabling to cabling approved for intrabuilding construction. This usually involves transition to fire-rated cable. The entrance facility is also the network demarc between the SP and customer premises cabling (if required). National and regional electrical codes govern placement of electrical protection devices at this point.

The location of the entrance facility depends on the type of facility, route of the outside plant cabling (e.g. buried or aerial), building architecture, and aesthetic considerations. The four principle types of entrance facilities include underground, tunnel, buried, and aerial.

In an aerial entrance, the SP cables provide service to a building via an overhead route. Aerial entrances usually provide the lowest installation cost, and they’re readily accessible for maintenance. However, they’re subject to traffic and pedestrian clearances, can damage a building’s exterior, are susceptible to environmental conditions (such as wind and ice), and are usually joint-use installations with the power company, CATV company, and telephone or data service providers.

Backbone cabling. From the entrance facility, the structured cabling network branches out to the other buildings, as well as from floor to floor within a building on the backbone cabling system. We use the term backbone to describe the cables handling the major network traffic.

The ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-A standard defines backbone cabling as follows: “The function of the backbone cabling is to provide interconnections between telecommunications closets, equipment rooms, and entrance facilities in the telecommunications cabling system structure. Backbone cabling consist of the backbone cables, intermediate and main cross-connects, mechanical terminations, and patch cords or jumpers used for backbone-to-backbone cross-connection. Backbone cabling also includes cabling between buildings.”   

Interbuilding and intrabuilding are two types of backbone cables. Interbuilding backbone cable handles traffic between buildings. Intrabuilding backbone cable handles traffic between closets in a single building.

This standard identifies two levels of backbone cabling. First-level backbone is a cable between a main cross-connect (MC) and intermediate cross-connect (IC) or horizontal cross-connect (HC). Second-level backbone exists between an IC and HC.

The main components of backbone cabling are:

• Cable pathways: shafts, conduits, raceways, and floor penetrations (such as sleeves or slots) that provide routing space for the cables
• The actual cables: optical fiber, twisted-pair copper, coaxial copper, or some combination of these. (Note: You should avoid areas where potential sources of EMI or electromagnetic interference may exist when planning the routing and support structure for copper cabling.)
• Connecting hardware: connecting blocks, patch panels, interconnections, cross-connections, or some combination of these components
• Miscellaneous support facilities: cable support hardware, firestopping and grounding hardware. Note: The terms horizontal and backbone (previously called riser) evolved from the orientations typical for functional cables of these types. However, the physical orientation of the cabling has no bearing on classifying the cabling as horizontal or backbone.

The useful life of a backbone cabling system consists of several planned growth periods (typically 3 to 10 years). This is shorter than the life expectancy of the premises cabling system.

Cabling connectors. A connector is a mechanical device you use to interface a cable to a piece of equipment or one cable to another. The role of the connector is to provide a coupling mechanism that keeps loss to a minimum.

In the case of fiber, it allows light impulses to transfer from one connector to another. For copper, it allows electrical signals to transfer from one connector to another.

A good connection requires aligning the connectors, preventing the connectors from unintentional separation, and efficient transferring of light or electricity from one connector to the other.

A connector demonstrates durability by withstanding hundreds of insertion and withdrawal cycles without failing. We calculate this as mean time between failures (MTBF).

Connectors are as essential to the integrity of the entire telecommunications network as is the cable itself. Connectors align, attach, and decouple the media to a transmitter, receiver, another media of same or similar type, an active telecommunications device, or a specified passive telecommunications device. 

 Contact MCC today for help with your structured cabling needs!

- See more at: http://www.memphiscommunications.net/blog/#sthash.YKkDSwJ4.dpuf

For more details please contact us at:

Memphis Communications Corporation

4771 Summer Ave

Memphis, TN 38122

Tel:  901.725.9271

Fax: 901.272.3577

Toll Free:  866.805.5893

Service and Supplies:  901.257.2500

Email: sales@memphiscommunications.net

Website: http://www.memphiscommunications.net