White Space turns to Onelan for the digital signage of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona

La empresa White Space Productions, offering creative production services for awards ceremonies, conferences, exhibitions and video production, has opted for Onelan digital signage solutions to implement the digital signage system of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2012, the meeting point of the mobile phone industry held every year at Fira de Barcelona.

White Space is a creative production management company providing a wide range of production services. The company offers a portable digital display system for events; all the equipment required to create a solution for the duration of an event. One of the most important events to which White Space has supplied its digital signage solution is the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona., the annual meeting of the telephone industry that brings together thousands of experts and almost all the big brands for four days at the Fira facilities to present all the latest developments in the sector. Con 60.000 assistants of 200 countries and more 275 million euros of economic impact, Every year Barcelona hosts one of the most important technology fairs in the world, that makes it the world capital of mobile. The next edition of the contest will be held on 25 al 28 February 2013 at the Gran Vía venue of the Fira de Barcelona, located in Hospitalet de Llobregat.

It was very important for the GSMA to have flexibility at its global congress. They chose digital and electronic signage to help them respond to the ever-changing needs of a live event with particular emphasis on 'ad hoc' site changes.. The GSMA also wanted the ability to communicate effectively with its delegates.. Digital signage was the only way to display the dynamic digital information that the GSMA wanted to share with its delegates.. The system Onelan It was the only system capable of offering a combination of digital signage and IPTV in real time.

Numerous requirements

GSMA required digital signage in several locations within the venue, capable of displaying various types of media, not just PowerPoint style information. Specifically, the GSMA required:

• In external conference rooms:
– At least 2 screens outside each meeting room detailing the program for that cycle of sessions.
– Potential to show what is happening inside the room if it becomes full.
– Potential to promote other events, as, For example, the GSMA Awards Gala and seminars, etc

• In the exhibition halls:
– Event Lists
– Clear display
– What is happening and where?
– Advertising of other events

There were several fundamental requirements for the system:
• The ability to stream IPTV across a much larger network of screens
• The control system needed to be housed in the speaker test room at the event.
• The system had to include plasma screens 22 x 42″ grouped in 10 work groups throughout the premises.
• The transmitted information had to be formatted in the form of an agreed template in line with the Mobile World Congress branding.
• A central control center package located in the speaker's test room had to control and send basic information to these screens
• IPTV feeds had to include:
o 5 mixed live cam auditorium feeds channels
o 1 CNN o CNBC
o 1 MWLive event TV feed

Two Onelan Net-Top-Boxes were used (NTB) 5500ps: one to supply content to the Onelan NTB 620S that manage the screens and one for use as a spare editing station, for tracking and as free NTB. A central control area was established at the site.

As a final result, the system exceeded GSMA expectations. During the four days of the event, the system transported more than 1.500 unique digital messages on ten groups of screens, also responding to numerous ad hoc updates.