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Latest updates, features, and insights from the Revel Digital team

Platform Update (1.9.4.0)

Platform Update (1.9.4.0)

We're excited to announce the release of Revel Digital platform version 1.9.4.0, bringing enhanced functionality, improved user experience, and powerful new features to help you maximize your digital signage deployment's potential. What's New in Version 1.9.4.0 Expanded Localization: Three New Languages Added Building on our existing multi-language support, version 1.9.4.0 introduces three exciting new language options, significantly expanding Revel Digital's global accessibility: New Language Support Added: Português (Portuguese) - Complete localization for Brazilian and European Portuguese markets Français (French) - Full French language interface for our francophone users Deutsch (German) - Comprehensive German localization for the DACH region Existing Language Support: English, Español (Spanish), Русский (Russian), and 中文 (Chinese) This expansion brings our total language support to seven languages, making Revel Digital accessible to an even broader international audience. Users in Europe, Latin America, and other Portuguese and French-speaking regions can now navigate and manage their digital signage networks in their native language, improving usability and reducing implementation barriers. The new language options are seamlessly integrated into the platform interface, allowing users to easily switch between languages based on their preferences or regional requirements. Automated Task Scheduling: Streamline Your Digital Signage Operations Version 1.9.4.0 introduces a new Scheduled Tasks feature that enhances how you manage your digital signage network. This automation capability allows you to schedule various operations to run at predetermined intervals, reducing manual administrative work. Schedule automated tasks Key Scheduled Task Types: Send Commands - Automate device commands and configurations Device Reboots - Schedule regular device restarts for optimal performance Report Generation - Automatically generate and distribute reports on specified schedules Features Include: Flexible scheduling with cron-like syntax support Real-time task status monitoring (Enabled/Disabled) Complete task history with "Last Run" and "Next Run" tracking Easy task management with start, stop, and delete actions Account timezone-based scheduling for accurate execution timing This feature is particularly useful for network administrators managing large-scale deployments, enabling proactive maintenance, regular reporting, and consistent device management without manual intervention. Tasks can be created, modified, and monitored through the new Scheduled Tasks interface accessible from the main configuration panel. MCP Server and AI Agent Integration: Natural Language Digital Signage Management Version 1.9.4.0 introduces support for the Revel Digital MCP Server, enabling AI-powered management of your digital signage infrastructure through natural language commands. This integration with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) allows you to control your digital signage network using conversational AI. Key Capabilities: Natural Language Control - Manage complex operations through simple conversational commands Headless CMS Functionality - Enable programmatic control without traditional UI constraints Multi-Platform Compatibility - Works with Claude Desktop, BoltAI, and other MCP-compatible AI assistants Open Source - Available on GitHub for community contributions and customization AI Agent Functions Include: Device management and monitoring Content operations and media library management Automated scheduling and campaign setup Analytics and reporting access Real-time system monitoring and troubleshooting Example Usage: Instead of navigating multiple dashboard screens, you can now use commands like: "Show me all online devices and their current status" "Create a new playlist called 'Holiday Promotions' with all holiday-themed images" "Schedule the morning announcements to run on lobby displays weekdays from 9 AM to 6 PM" This feature is particularly beneficial for teams managing multiple locations or complex scheduling requirements, as it reduces the learning curve for new users and enables efficient network management through AI assistance. The MCP server requires API credentials from your Revel Digital account and can be configured with various AI platforms for seamless integration. Enhanced Developer Tools: Simplified Gadget and Webapp Development Version 1.9.4.0 introduces significant improvements to developer tools, making it easier to create and publish custom gadgets and webapps for the Revel Digital platform. These enhancements streamline the development workflow and provide better integration capabilities. Key Developer Enhancements: Updated Revel Digital Client SDK - Enhanced JavaScript library for seamless player/client integration New Gadgetizer CLI Tool - Command line utility for rapid SDK integration with existing projects Multi-Framework Support - Compatible with Angular, React, Vue, and vanilla JavaScript Simplified Publishing Process - Streamlined workflow for deploying custom applications Improved Development Tools - Better debugging and testing capabilities for gadgets and webapps Enhanced Documentation - Comprehensive guides and examples for faster development Revel Digital Client SDK Updates: The updated client SDK, available on NPM, provides developers with: Simplified player interface integration Access to player-specific information and functionality Better error handling and debugging capabilities Enhanced compatibility with modern web development frameworks New Gadgetizer Command Line Tool: The new Gadgetizer CLI tool, available on NPM, enables quick integration of the Revel Digital client SDK with new or existing projects: Framework Compatibility - Works with Angular, React, Vue, and vanilla JavaScript projects Rapid Setup - Quickly scaffold new gadgets or integrate SDK into existing applications Development Acceleration - Reduces setup time and boilerplate code requirements Best Practices - Automatically implements recommended integration patterns Benefits for Developers: Faster time-to-market for custom digital signage applications Reduced complexity in player integration and project setup Better separation of concerns between UX development and network management Improved testing and deployment workflows Framework-agnostic development approach These improvements make it easier for development teams to create sophisticated digital signage applications while maintaining the enterprise-grade reliability and security that Revel Digital provides. Security and Compliance Revel Digital remains committed to maintaining the highest security standards. Our ISO 27001 certification ensures that your digital signage infrastructure operates with enterprise-grade security protocols. Performance and Reliability As part of our standard development practices, we have ensured our tooling and project dependencies are up-to-date with current patches. This ensures our software is at its best both in terms of performance and security. Looking Ahead This update represents our ongoing commitment to providing the most advanced, user-friendly digital signage platform available. We continue to invest in AI-powered features, enhanced analytics, and streamlined content management to help businesses of all sizes succeed with digital signage. Support and Resources Documentation: Visit our support center for detailed guides and tutorials Developer Resources: Check out our developer documentation for API and integration information Thank You As always, we appreciate your continued support and feedback. If you have questions about the new features or need assistance with your digital signage deployment, our support team is ready to help. Ready to experience the latest Revel Digital platform features? Start your free trial today or contact our team to learn more about how Revel Digital can transform your digital communication strategy. About Revel Digital Revel Digital is a next-generation platform for digital signage and media distribution, offering cloud-based management with enterprise-class features. Our platform supports Android, Windows, BrightSign, and Linux devices, providing unlimited design capabilities, powerful audience analytics, and ISO 27001 certified security. Trusted by thousands of businesses worldwide, Revel Digital delivers the tools necessary for successful digital signage deployments of any size.

Revel Digital

Introducing the Revel Digital MCP Server: AI-Powered Digital Signage Management

Introducing the Revel Digital MCP Server: AI-Powered Digital Signage Management

We're announcing the preview release of the Revel Digital MCP Server, a groundbreaking integration that brings the power of AI agents to digital signage management. This new tool transforms how you interact with your digital signage infrastructure by enabling natural language control through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Revolutionizing Digital Signage with Headless CMS Capabilities The Revel Digital MCP Server represents a paradigm shift in digital signage management. By exposing our comprehensive REST API through MCP, we've enabled true headless CMS functionality that can be controlled entirely through AI agents. This means you can now manage your entire digital signage network using conversational AI, making complex operational tasks as simple as describing what you want to accomplish. What Makes This Special? Conversational Control: Transform complex API calls into natural language commands. Instead of navigating through multiple dashboard screens or writing API scripts, simply tell your AI assistant what you need. Headless Architecture: Leverage Revel Digital as a headless CMS, allowing AI agents to programmatically manage content, schedules, devices, and analytics without traditional UI constraints. Universal AI Compatibility: Works with popular AI platforms including Claude Desktop, BoltAI, and any other MCP-compatible AI assistant. Key Capabilities Through the MCP server, AI agents can help you: Device Management: Monitor device status, configure settings, and deploy updates across your network Content Operations: Upload media, create playlists, and manage digital assets Schedule Automation: Set up complex scheduling rules and campaigns Analytics & Reporting: Access performance data and generate insights Real-time Monitoring: Track system health and troubleshoot issues Getting Started with Claude Desktop Setting up the Revel Digital MCP Server with Claude Desktop is straightforward. Here's a complete example: Configuration (Claude Desktop) You can find the MCP server config in the Claude Desktop settings under the Developer section. Click the Edit Config button to open the file. Configure Claude Desktop to utilize the Revel Digital MCP server Or, locate and edit your Claude Desktop configuration file directly from these locations: macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json Add the server configuration: { "mcpServers": { "revel-digital": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@reveldigital/reveldigital-mcp-server@latest"], "env": { "API_KEY_APIKEYINHEADER": "your-revel-digital-api-key-here" } } } } Usage Example Once configured, restart Claude Desktop and you can start managing your digital signage with natural language: You: "Show me all my online devices and their current status" Claude: Uses the MCP server to fetch device data and provides a formatted summary of all online devices, their locations, last check-in times, and current playlist status. You: "Create a new playlist called 'Holiday Promotions' and add all images from my media library that have 'holiday' in the name" Claude: Creates the playlist, searches your media library for holiday-themed content, and adds matching items to the new playlist. You: "Schedule the Holiday Promotions playlist to run on all lobby displays from December 1st through January 2nd, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM" Claude: Sets up the scheduling rules and applies them to the appropriate device group. Beyond Basic Management: AI Agent Ecosystem The true power of the headless CMS approach becomes apparent when combining multiple AI agents to create comprehensive workflows. Here's an example of how different agents can work together: Multi-Agent Workflow Example Scenario: Creating a complete promotional campaign for a restaurant chain Step 1 - Content Creation Agent: You: "Create a promotional image for our new winter menu featuring warm soups and seasonal ingredients" AI image generation agent creates custom promotional graphics Step 2 - Content Sourcing Agent: You: "Find high-quality stock photos of winter comfort foods that match our brand aesthetic" AI agent searches stock photo databases and curates appropriate images Step 3 - Revel Digital Integration: You: "Upload these images to my Revel Digital media library, create a playlist called 'Winter Menu 2025', and schedule it to display on all restaurant locations during lunch hours" Claude with Revel Digital MCP server handles the technical implementation API Credentials Setup You'll need API credentials from your Revel Digital account which the MCP server uses to perform its actions: Log into your Revel Digital dashboard Navigate to Account Information > Developer API Generate an API key Use this key in your MCP server environment configuration Here be Dragons🐉 Note that AI can and will interpret your requests in sometimes unexpected ways. This includes the ability to move and/or delete devices, media, etc. It's recommended to always restrict the permissions of the API role to read-only when not expecting to utilize AI for updates or deletes. Restrict your API role to read-only when testing, or not utilizing read/write operations The Future of Digital Signage Management This release represents more than just a new tool—it's a glimpse into the future of digital signage management. By combining AI agents with our robust CMS platform, we're enabling: Reduced Learning Curves: New team members can manage complex signage networks through natural conversation Increased Efficiency: Automate routine tasks and complex workflows through AI-driven processes Enhanced Accessibility: Make digital signage management accessible to non-technical users Scalable Operations: Manage large networks more effectively with AI assistance Open Source The Revel Digital MCP Server is open source and available on GitHub. We encourage community contributions and feedback as we continue to expand its capabilities. GitHub Repository: https://github.com/RevelDigital/reveldigital-mcp-server Developer Resources For complete documentation, authentication details, and advanced configuration options, visit our developer portal: 🔗 https://developer.reveldigital.com The developer portal includes: Complete REST API documentation Authentication and security guidelines Code examples and SDKs Integration best practices Get Started Today Ready to transform your digital signage management experience? Install the Revel Digital MCP Server today and discover the power of AI-driven CMS operations. Whether you're managing a single display or a global network, our MCP server makes complex tasks simple and routine operations effortless. Join us in ushering in the next era of digital signage management—where AI agents and headless CMS architecture combine to create unprecedented efficiency and capability. For support and questions, visit our support site or contact our developer support team. We're excited to see what you build with this new capability!

Revel Digital

From Proximity to Purchase: How Revel Digital's AdHawk Analytics Transform Customer Journey Insights

From Proximity to Purchase: How Revel Digital's AdHawk Analytics Transform Customer Journey Insights

In today's competitive retail landscape, understanding your audience isn't just about knowing who walks through your doors—it's about comprehending the entire customer journey from the moment someone enters your vicinity to the point of purchase. Revel Digital's AdHawk audience analytics platform provides unprecedented insights into this journey, with comprehensive data visualization and reporting tools built directly into the Revel Digital CMS, enabling businesses to optimize their digital signage strategy and maximize ROI. The Evolution of Audience Measurement Traditional retail analytics often miss the crucial early stages of customer engagement. While point-of-sale systems capture transaction data and foot traffic counters provide basic visitor counts, there's typically a significant gap in understanding what happens between initial awareness and final purchase decision. Revel Digital's AdHawk analytics platform bridges this gap with sophisticated audience measurement capabilities that track and analyze customer behavior throughout the entire engagement funnel, with all data seamlessly integrated and visualized within the Revel Digital CMS. Mapping the Complete Customer Journey Stage 1: Proximity Detection and Initial Awareness The customer journey begins the moment someone enters the vicinity of your digital display or kiosk. AdHawk's geolocation reporting capabilities can detect when potential customers are in the area, providing the foundation for understanding your location's reach and attraction power. These insights are visualized in near real-time within the Revel Digital CMS through interactive maps and proximity heatmaps. Key Metrics: Geographic reach and coverage areas Peak proximity hours and patterns Location-based engagement opportunities Stage 2: Demographic Profiling and Targeting As customers move closer to your displays, AdHawk's advanced analytics engine begins building detailed demographic profiles. The platform's sophisticated reporting dashboards within the CMS analyze: Age Demographics: AdHawk's age detection algorithms provide detailed breakdowns that are instantly accessible through the CMS's intuitive charts and graphs, helping you understand whether your content resonates with young adults, seniors, or specific age groups. Gender Analytics: Real-time gender analysis is displayed through dynamic visualizations in the CMS, enabling content managers to see audience composition at a glance and adapt messaging accordingly. Temporal Patterns: AdHawk's hour-by-hour analysis reveals when different demographic groups are most active, with trend visualizations in the CMS allowing for strategic content scheduling based on historical patterns. It's important to note that face detection is not the same as face recognition. Revel Digital does not capture or store unique identifying facial information in order to ensure customer privacy. Stage 3: Engagement Depth Analysis AdHawk goes beyond basic demographics to measure actual engagement levels, with comprehensive visualization tools built into the Revel Digital CMS: Dwell Time Metrics: Average dwell time indicators are displayed through easy-to-read charts within the CMS, showing content effectiveness and audience interest levels. Longer dwell times often correlate with higher purchase intent. Interaction Frequency: For interactive displays, the CMS displays real-time interaction analytics through AdHawk's touch event visualization, providing insights into which content elements drive engagement through interactive charts and user flow diagrams. User flow diagrams describe the user journey Stage 4: Behavioral Pattern Recognition AdHawk's sophisticated reporting engine identifies behavioral patterns that indicate purchase intent, with all insights accessible through the Revel Digital CMS's comprehensive dashboard: Session Duration Trends: The CMS displays detailed session analytics from AdHawk, showing how long customers engage with different types of content through interactive timeline visualizations that help identify which messaging drives deeper interest. Peak Engagement Windows: AdHawk's temporal analysis tools within the CMS provide heat-map style calendars and time-based charts, enabling strategic timing of promotional content and calls-to-action when your audience is most receptive. AdHawk analytics tracking of events and session details Converting Insights into Revenue Dynamic Content Optimization Armed with real-time audience data from AdHawk, businesses can dynamically adjust their content strategy directly through the Revel Digital CMS: Demographic-Responsive Content: The CMS integrates with AdHawk's real-time analytics to automatically display age or gender-appropriate messaging based on current audience composition detected by the system Time-Based Campaigns: Schedule specific promotions during peak engagement windows identified through AdHawk's temporal analysis tools, with automated scheduling features built into the CMS Location-Specific Messaging: Tailor content based on geographic patterns and local preferences using AdHawk's location intelligence, all manageable through the CMS's centralized content management interface Strategic Decision Making AdHawk's comprehensive reporting within the Revel Digital CMS provides actionable insights for strategic decisions: Inventory Management: Understanding which demographics show interest in specific products through AdHawk's detailed analytics helps optimize inventory levels and product placement, with reports accessible directly in the CMS dashboard. Staff Scheduling: Aligning staff schedules with peak audience engagement times identified by AdHawk ensures optimal customer service delivery. Campaign Performance: AdHawk's detailed analytics enable precise measurement of campaign effectiveness and ROI calculation, with comprehensive performance dashboards integrated into the CMS for easy monitoring and optimization. AdHawk Technology: A Conversion Funnel Approach Revel Digital's AdHawk audience analytics platform is powered by five key technologies that work together to create a comprehensive conversion funnel, tracking critical analytics at each stage of the customer journey: The Digital Signage Conversion Funnel These technologies essentially create a conversion funnel specifically designed for digital signage environments, where each stage provides deeper insights into customer behavior and intent: Stage 1: Vicinity Awareness - WiFi MAC Harvesting Stage 2: Opportunity to See - Proximity Detection Stage 3: Attention & Demographics - Face Detection Stage 4: Active Engagement - Touch Event Tracking Stage 5: Conversion Measurement - Session & Conversion Tracking 1. WiFi MAC Harvesting: Top of the Funnel At the widest part of the conversion funnel, WiFi MAC harvesting captures the total addressable audience by detecting mobile devices in the vicinity of displays. This technology identifies the maximum potential reach of your digital signage, creating the foundation metric for all subsequent conversion calculations. Every unique MAC address represents a potential customer who could progress through your funnel. This is a course grained metric especially with many mobile devices rotating MAC addresses resulting in overcounting, however the idea is to get a general sense of activity in the area. 2. Proximity Detection: Qualified Prospects The funnel begins to narrow as proximity detection identifies which individuals move into actual viewing range, creating OTS (Opportunity to See) events. This stage filters the general vicinity traffic down to qualified prospects who have a genuine opportunity to engage with your content. The conversion rate from vicinity to OTS provides crucial insights into your location's ability to attract and draw potential customers. 3. Face Detection and Demographic Analysis: Engaged Audience Face detection technology captures the next critical funnel stage by confirming actual attention and engagement. This system not only validates that someone is actively viewing the display but also provides demographic profiling and dwell time measurement. The progression from proximity to face detection represents customers who have moved from mere opportunity to actual engagement, significantly increasing their likelihood of conversion. 4. Touch Event Tracking: Active Interaction For interactive displays, touch event tracking represents the highest level of engagement before conversion. Customers who progress to this stage have demonstrated clear intent by actively interacting with your content. This technology captures the quality and depth of interaction, providing insights into which content elements drive the strongest engagement and move customers closest to conversion. 5. Session and Conversion Tracking: Funnel Completion At the bottom of the conversion funnel, session and conversion tracking measures the ultimate success metric: whether engagement resulted in a desired outcome. This technology connects all previous stages to actual business results, enabling precise ROI calculation and conversion rate optimization across the entire customer journey. Funnel Analytics and Optimization This conversion funnel approach provides powerful analytics capabilities: Conversion Rate Analysis: Track progression rates between each funnel stage to identify optimization opportunities Funnel Drop-off Points: Identify where customers typically exit the journey and optimize those specific touchpoints Demographic Conversion Patterns: Understand which demographics progress furthest through the funnel Content Performance Impact: Measure how different content types affect funnel progression rates Temporal Conversion Trends: Identify peak conversion windows for different audience segments Integrated Intelligence These five technologies work in concert to create a complete conversion funnel picture. WiFi MAC harvesting establishes the total audience pool, proximity detection qualifies prospects, face detection confirms engagement, touch event tracking measures interaction depth, and session tracking measures final conversion outcomes. This integrated approach ensures that businesses can optimize not just individual touchpoints, but the entire customer journey from awareness to conversion. Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators To maximize the value of audience measurement, focus on these critical KPIs: Engagement Rate: Percentage of proximity detections that result in meaningful interaction Conversion Funnel: Progression rates from proximity to attention to engagement to action Demographic Alignment: How well your actual audience matches your target demographics Content Performance: Which content types and formats drive the highest engagement rates Temporal Optimization: Identification of peak performance windows for different content types Implementation Best Practices Start with Clear Objectives Before deploying audience measurement, establish clear goals for what you want to achieve. Whether it's increasing dwell time, improving demographic targeting, or optimizing content performance, having specific objectives guides effective implementation. Integrate with Existing Systems Maximize value by integrating audience measurement data with your existing POS, inventory management, and customer relationship management systems. Regular Analysis and Optimization Audience measurement is most effective when used as part of an ongoing optimization process. Regular analysis of trends and patterns enables continuous improvement of your digital signage strategy. The Future of Customer Journey Analytics As technology continues to evolve, audience measurement capabilities will become even more sophisticated. Emerging trends include: Predictive Analytics: Using historical patterns to predict future customer behavior and optimize content preemptively Cross-Platform Integration: Connecting digital signage analytics with mobile apps, social media, and e-commerce platforms for complete customer journey mapping. Check out QRaaD for more information on the mobile capabilities of our platform. AI-Powered Insights: Advanced machine learning algorithms that automatically identify optimization opportunities and recommend strategic adjustments Conclusion: Transforming Data into Growth Revel Digital's AdHawk audience analytics platform represents a fundamental shift from intuition-based decision making to data-driven optimization. By providing comprehensive insights into the complete customer journey—from initial proximity detection through demographic analysis to final engagement measurement—all seamlessly integrated within the Revel Digital CMS, businesses can make informed decisions that drive real results. The ability to track and analyze the entire customer journey through AdHawk's sophisticated analytics, combined with the intuitive data visualization tools built into the CMS, transforms digital signage from a simple advertising medium into a sophisticated customer engagement and conversion tool. With AdHawk's comprehensive analytics platform accessible directly through the Revel Digital CMS, businesses can finally answer the critical question: "What happens between the moment a potential customer notices our display and the moment they make a purchase decision?" In an increasingly competitive marketplace, this level of insight isn't just valuable—it's essential for sustained growth and success. Ready to transform your customer journey analytics? Discover how Revel Digital's AdHawk audience measurement platform and sensor technologies can provide the insights you need to optimize engagement and drive conversions, all through an intuitive CMS interface. Contact us today to get started.

Revel Digital

🤖 AI Powered Content Scheduling

🤖 AI Powered Content Scheduling

Adding to our suite of AI tools, we now support AI assisted schedule creation. As with our template and image generation tools, you can now simply provide a description of what you want scheduled and our AI agent does its best to accommodate. This is a great time saver, particularly when building complex schedules with multiple conditions. Generate with AI now available as a scheduling option The primary advantage of using AI for schedule (and template generation for that matter), is in its inherent knowledge of all the scheduling condition types (or in the case of template generation zone and gadget types). This saves you the trouble of identifying appropriate conditions for a schedule, applying the correct values for those conditions, and ultimately building the set of conditions necessary to achieve the desired outcome. That's not to say the AI agent will always get it 100% correct, but will certainly help with surfacing applicable conditions which can easily refined to meet your exact requirements. Here are a few examples: "Schedule the July 4th template on all devices in the Office group. Schedule it for 3 days before and on the 4th of July."   AI provides an overview the suggested schedule Actual generated schedule ready for use "Play my coffee shop template starting next Monday. Play it from 7 AM to 6 PM every day except Sunday." Date and time ranges are determined automatically Generated schedule can always be refined after generation "I want to create a smart schedule for our summer promotional campaign in our shopping mall locations. We have new video content in the Summer Fest playlist. I'd like these to play on our outdoor displays during mall hours, which are 8 AM to 10 PM, Monday through Saturday. The campaign runs from June 1st to August 31st. We want to target young adults." More sophisticated schedule with a number of specific conditions to be met   Actual generated schedule ready for use   "I need to create a schedule for our holiday sale campaign at our downtown store locations (within 5 miles of downtown Minneapolis). We have a new animated holiday-themed template that I want to display on all screens in the electronics department. The sale runs from December 20th to January 5th, and store hours are 9 AM to 9 PM every day. However, I want the template to only show when there are at least 10 viewers in front of the screen, and the viewers are primarily adults (over 60% adult viewers)."  Schedule taking advantage of audience analytics and geolocation Combine conditions any way you like to fine tune your content targeting You can see where AI generation comes in handy when determining exact dates for use in date/time range conditions, or when building up combinations of conditions. The goal is to target your audience with the right content at the right time and we think these tools will help to that end. As always, please let us know if you find these features valuable or how we might improve on them.

Revel Digital

🤖 Transforming your digital signage with AI - A new suite of AI tools are now available for content creation

🤖 Transforming your digital signage with AI - A new suite of AI tools are now available for content creation

Today we are rolling out a suite of new features leveraging AI specifically for the content creation side of the digital signage equation. Sourcing content for digital signage can be a challenge and often involves a combination of stock media, pre-defined template layouts, and design tools such as Canva. It can be difficult to craft an effective message especially when not having much experience in the design world. These new tools will go along ways towards overcoming those challenges by essentially building an entire layout based solely on your description of what you want. This includes not only the content zones such as weather, news, slideshow, etc. - but also the background graphics and color scheme matching the requested theme. Describe your template and let AI handle the design work There are three main functional elements of this feature release: AI-Powered Template Generation - Complete multi-zone layouts from simple descriptions AI-Based Image Generation - Custom visuals created on demand AI-Assisted Template Script Creation - Coding assistance for those utilizing template scripting 🎨 AI-Powered Template Generation Transform Ideas Into Professional Layouts Instantly Simply describe your vision, and our AI creates complete multi-zone digital signage layouts optimized for your specific use case. Examples: "Create a restaurant menu board with today's specials, weather, and social media feed" "Design a corporate lobby display with company news, visitor information, and meeting schedules" "Build a retail promotion display with product showcase, QR code, and store hours" Key Benefits: Instant Professional Results - No design experience required Multi-Zone Intelligence - Smart content organization across different zones Context-Aware Design - Industry-specific optimization for maximum impact Customizable Foundation - Full control to refine and brand your layouts When creating your design, include comprehensive details to meet your requirements. Refine your work through multiple iterations until you achieve your desired outcome. Templates remain fully editable for any future modifications. 🖼️ AI-Based Image Generation Create Perfect Custom Visuals for Any Display Our AI image generation creates stunning, original visuals tailored to your exact specifications and display requirements. AI image generation Multi-Aspect Ratio Support Generate images perfectly sized for any screen configuration with support for landscape (16:9), portrait (9:16), and square (1:1) aspect ratios. Real-World Applications: Restaurant Industry: "Generate a mouth-watering image of our signature burger for the main menu display" "Create a cozy coffee shop atmosphere image for our entrance display" Retail Environments: "Design a summer sale background with beach vibes for our ultra-wide storefront display" "Generate product lifestyle images showing our athletic wear in action for square social zones" Corporate Communications: "Create professional team collaboration imagery for our conference room displays" "Generate abstract corporate background patterns in custom dimensions for our lobby video wall" Advanced Features: Brand Consistency - Use your brand colors, style, and aesthetic preferences Seasonal Adaptation - Automatically adjust imagery for holidays and seasons Real-time Generation - Create new visuals on-demand as your content needs evolve Quality Optimization - Images generated at optimal aspect ratio for your specific display needs ⚡ AI-Assisted Template Script Creation Simplified Custom Template Functionality Transform static displays into intelligent, responsive experiences with AI-generated scripts that react to real-time data, user interactions, and environmental conditions. Template scripting is generally reserved for special use-cases where low level access to the system and individual template elements are required. Now with AI assistance, you can simply describe the functionality you require and AI will generate the necessary scripting. While we still consider scripting a job for those with some technical background, this feature saves a tremendous amount of time when building out new functionality. What You Can Create: "When the user clicks the Hot Spot, show the 2nd item in the slideshow" "Display the QR code zone only when the playlist is on the 3rd slide" "Refresh the web zone every 5 minutes, and also when the template is initialized" "When serial data is received, show the slide with tags corresponding to the serial data" ** Currently limited to our Android based players Available Now All three AI-powered features are free to use and are rolling out now. Note the template generation and scripting are only applicable for multi-zone templates which are not available on Basic service levels. Ready to experience the future? These aren't just incremental improvements – they're fundamental changes in how digital signage content is created, managed, and optimized. We see tremendous potential for AI across the Revel Digital platform and are excited to unveil new capabilities as our technology advances and integrations become more refined. Please let us know what you think, we always appreciate your feedback.

Revel Digital

Introducing Acquaint - an AI sidekick for digital signage

Introducing Acquaint - an AI sidekick for digital signage

Today we are rolling out Acquaint, a unique addition to the Revel Digital ecosystem which leverages agentic AI on the edge to provide a truly interactive experience for your users. AI has seen dramatic, exponential growth recently and for good reason. The latest AI models have reached a point to where interacting with an AI agent is largely indistinguishable from a human. While AI, or something akin to AI, has been utilized in some form or another for a number of years in the digital signage space, it has mostly been for object/face detection, people counting, or more recently image generation. The next gen AI models have much more capability in the agent space where AI is used as a tool for interpreting user requests, analyzing various forms for data, potentially acting on that data, and generating a response in a human friendly format. The general term for this is agentic AI and is commonly utilized alongside LLMs, or large language models, and various tools for retrieving and acting on data. So what is it? Essentially Acquaint is a side-kick for digital signage which can provide a human like interface to your kiosks, signage, or even in a headless environment. Acquaint is able to listen for and interpret a question, infer a response based on scheduled content, and provide a concise, human friendly response either to a display, or audibly. While there is no strict requirement for an actual display component (e.g. kiosk), the Acquaint bot is able to trigger content or perform other actions on your signage based on the context of the user interaction.  Use cases Food lockers An example use case for Acquaint are self-service food lockers which are gaining popularity as a way to provide hot food options in corporate break rooms or for restaurant take-out. These are fully automated with a kiosk for food selection and purchase. In this instance Acquaint has been integrated as an agent for answering questions not only on the available food items, but also on any other aspect of the interaction including questions on how to make a purchase. When someone approaches the locker, Acquaint will initiate a conversation. The user has the ability to simply ask questions with Acquaint both answering audibly and triggering specific actions on the kiosk such as presenting the purchase screen for a specific food item. Hotel concierge Another example is a hotel kiosk which acts as a concierge. Hotel operators would schedule content for Acquaint which might include local entertainment and food options, shuttle schedules, available hotel amenities, etc. When paired with digital signage, Acquaint would be able to present on the display information related to the users query such as a website or a video managed by the Revel CMS. As with the food locker use case, the convenience is the ability to simply ask a question without having to navigate the traditional menu systems that would found on traditional touch screen kiosks. How does it work? Acquaint has been integrated into the Revel Digital ecosystem as a first class device with manageability similar to any other device in the CMS. Content is scheduled to the Acquaint bot similar to a traditional signage player, which the bot then uses as reference material for it's intelligence. For example, let's say you have a number of PDF's with marketing material you wish to associate with the bot. Simply upload those PDF's to your Revel Digital account, add those items to a playlist, and schedule the playlist to Acquaint. This scheduling allows for fine grained control over what the bot 'knows' based on your scheduling conditions such as date and time. Say for example you have a restaurant kiosk with separate menus for lunch and dinner. It would make sense to schedule the two menus based on time of day in order to limit Acquaints knowledge to only the relevant menu items. The technology Acquaint is using the latest hardware from Nvidia to power AI on the edge with the ability to run 100% offline - no internet connection required. Edge based AI provides faster response times than cloud based solutions by eliminating the latency and sometimes intermittent nature internet connections. Acquaint is also utilizing the very latest AI models to ensure not only quality inferencing, but also high quality text-to-speech audio. Specialized AI hardware from Nvidia The future? It has become clear that AI is here to stay, the question becomes where does it actually have utility and long-term value. We think these conversational AI agents certainly have a place, especially with the recent advancements in AI which are remarkable in their ability to understand and communicate in ways that feel surprisingly natural. As these technologies keep improving, we see many ways they could shake things up — from customer service and education to healthcare and creative work. It’s an exciting time, and we’re just starting to see what’s possible. For more information on Acquaint please visit our website: https://www.reveldigital.com/acquaint-agentic-ai-for-digital-signage

Revel Digital

Announcing Support for Amazon Signage Stick

Announcing Support for Amazon Signage Stick

Revel Digital is happy to announce availability as an out-of-the-box CMS option on the new Amazon Signage Stick. This new hardware from Amazon is derived from the Fire TV stick, but with a singular focus on digital signage applications. This new hardware has a number of important features critical for a successful digital signage deployment. Designed specifically for digital signage Easy Set up Deploy a device in minutes with intuitive out-of-the-box setup and registration. Kiosk Mode Unattended operating environment for ensuring the Revel Digital player app is always running. High performance Quad-core SoC, 4K video streaming and playback and high-bandwidth Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. Engineered With Security In Mind Secure boot loader, data encryption and regular updates keeps your signage safe and running smoothly. Easy to install and conceal from view Simple to Deploy & Manage The Revel Digital player app works out-of-the-box on Signage Stick for streamlined deployment. From initial startup to live content, setup in most cases can be performed in less than a few minutes. The user friendly nature of its design and strong feature set make the Amazon Signage Stick well suited for a wide variety of applications and various sized deployments. Feel free to contact us with any questions or head over to the Amazon site for more details.

Revel Digital

Changes to SMS notifications and command publishing

Just a notice that the phone number associated with our SMS based functionality has changed. This number is associated with messages you may receive related to our automated alerts as well as the number used to send commands to your devices. Old number: +1 702-872-2887 New number: +1 269-468-0908 Note that no action is required regarding this change other than possibly whitelisting the number on your mobile devices. For more information on how SMS can be leveraged see our articles here: Triggering content via SMS: https://support.reveldigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/360056401931-Sending-commands-via-SMS-text-messaging Managing automated alerts: https://support.reveldigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/28241962376461-Alerts-and-Network-Monitoring

Revel Digital

Into the Fediverse! New social feed gadget for Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and more

Into the Fediverse! New social feed gadget for Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and more

A number of new social networking platforms are gaining traction, emphasizing free and open architecture. With the launch of our new social feed gadget, we now support several of these platforms, including Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and others that utilize federated social protocols, collectively known as the Fediverse. These protocols provide users with greater control over their content, empowering creators and offering an alternative for those seeking a fresh social networking experience. Logos of newly supported social networks left to right: Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, & the Fediverse Sharing posts on your digital signage is as easy as adding the user ID, feed link, or social address from your platform of choice and that’s it! Your gadget is now configured to showcase all the latest posts from your favorite curator, organization, or online personality.  A Bluesky post displayed by the gadget shows 'card' element, author, date, body, & QR code For greater flexibility, the gadget can be tailored to meet your exact digital signage needs with support for dynamic screen orientation, content filters, custom text or image style, and more. For more detailed setup instructions, please see our social feed gadget support article. We hope you find this new gadget to be a welcome addition to our current offering of social gadgets. Please note, that our gadget library currently includes solutions for social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and now Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, and more, via the new social feed gadget. At this time X/Twitter isn't supported due to restrictions with their API usage. We hope you like the new gadget and get a handle on it soon. As always we appreciate any feedback to help us better improve our services. Happy posting!

Tyler

Platform Update (1.8.4.0)

Platform Update (1.8.4.0)

Our latest platform release includes some great features to improve the quality of life for developers as well as a new core feature of the CMS related to network monitoring and alerts. We are also happy to report our latest ISO 27001 audit has been successfully completed, reaffirming our commitment to best in class security standards. New tools for development and publishing of Webapps Modern HTML5 based application frameworks are a great option for advanced UX designs. The flexibility offered by the wealth of libraries and tools available make it possible to achieve design goals without compromise. New tools to streamline web app development and deployment on the Revel Digital platform While it's always been possible to utilize web based applications within the Revel Digital platform, we have expanded on this aspect in order to streamline the development and deployment process. Enterprise Workflows with GitHub Actions We have published a new GitHub Action to support deployment of Webapps directly from within your CI/CD workflow. This Action automates the process of packaging and uploading your Webapp to your Revel Digital account. Tags are automatically applied for build version and release type for simplified management of your Webapp assets with the Revel Digital CMS. With Workflows you are able to maintain a clear separation of concerns between the UX development team and the network management team. Whenever a new build is published it is immediately available for deployment within the CMS. For more on this please see our developer documentation here: https://developer.reveldigital.com/webapps/ New Player Client Javascript Library We have published a new library for use within Webapps or Gadgets designed to simplify the player / client interface. This interface is the bridge between the Webapp and the underlying player application providing access to player specific information and functionality. While it's not a requirement to utilize this interface, in most cases it's beneficial for the app to be aware of the current player state, player information (e.g.. location), or to call player methods for event tracking or sending commands. This library is compatible with most any modern Javascript framework including Angular, React, Vue or just plain vanilla JS. Docs available here: https://reveldigital.github.io/reveldigital-client-sdk/ NPM: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@reveldigital/client-sdk Example projects: https://developer.reveldigital.com/webapps/#getting-started New top-level section of the CMS for alert monitoring Our new Alerts feature section of the CMS provides instant insight into the current health of your network. Fully customizable alert rules allow you to target specific metrics such as network usage or time offline. Our existing network monitoring will continue to provide our standard set of alerts for offline, hardware utilization, and 'no content'. New CMS feature dedicated to the monitoring of network/device alerts By defining your own alert rules you can target just the metrics that are most critical to your operations. For example, networks relying on 4G cellular for connectivity may want to create a rule for alerting when data usage is over a certain limit. Customize alert rules to target specific device metrics This new functionality also adds the ability to target specific users within your organization for alert notification, as well as the ability to send alert details to 3rd party services via webhook. ISO 27001 Maintenance Audit Our ISO 27001 has been successfully audited renewing our commitment to the highest levels of security and disaster recovery. Along with re-certification, we have also undergone our annual penetration testing performed by A-lign and are happy to report no remediation is required. More information on our security along with access to your certification is available here: https://www.reveldigital.com/trust Thanks again for using Revel Digital!

Revel Digital

New Jumbo Weather Gadget

New Jumbo Weather Gadget

We've added a new weather gadget to our collection, this time specifically designed with a bigger footprint. This gadget is a great option for when weather is to be a central component to your signage, (e.g.: ski resorts, theme parks, charter services, etc.). This gadget is unique in that it includes an always visible extended forecast, along with other useful information such as date/time, 'feels like' temperature, and conditions. There are layout options to accommodate landscape and portrait orientations, as well as the standard options for font format, temperature units, etc. The new Jumbo Weather gadget in design mode     This gadget is available now in the gadget library and is free to use with any of our multi-zone service tiers.     Thanks for your continued support and feedback. If you have a minute, please provide a review of our product which goes a long way towards helping us continually improve our product and services.

Revel Digital

New Integrations for Slack

New Integrations for Slack

Slack is a fantastic tool for communications and is widely used in the corporate space to maintain up-to-date messaging across teams or entire organizations. Driving factors for its usage are its simplicity and the ability to disseminate information quickly. Digital signage is of course another method for disseminating information and combining the two makes for a powerful way to get your messaging across to a wider, more public audience.     We are introducing our new Slack integration with the goal of providing a simplified method of distributing Slack messages across your digital signage network. Now you can post a new message on Slack and it will appear on your signage with proper formatting, emojis, and with any associated media items. Post corporate events, employee birthdays, meeting schedules - any number of use cases which Slack is great for. Messaging can include images or video     For more advanced users we have included support for triggers which can be used in a variety of scenarios from simple conditional content activation to more advanced functionality utilizing scripting. Each new Slack message posted to a channel is instantly delivered to players in real-time as a command with the message as the payload.     Enabling this new functionality is a matter of activating the Slack integration in your Revel Digital account settings, then adding our Slack bot to any of your Slack channels. Our gadget library contains the new Slack gadget which can be added to any template or playlist. Click here for more detailed information on getting started. We hope you find this functionality useful and as always we appreciate your feedback and support!

Revel Digital

Platform Update (1.8.2.0)

Platform Update (1.8.2.0)

We've got some great new features included in our platform release version 1.8.2.0 including: Enhanced automated alerts for NWS/EAS/CAP monitoring New alert gadget for embedding an alert gadget in any template or playlist Improved device details page with separate tabs for alerts, telemetry, extensions, and notes Reports now render to PDF by default Device listing now includes the ability to ⭐ your favorites for quick reference Enhanced Automated Alerting Automated alerting received a refresh with a cleaner UX, more information on the alerts received, and the ability to customize the target for the alert. Now each alert can be assigned it's own custom event name which, when used in conjunction with the new alert gadget, will provide greater control over when and where the alerts are to be presented. There is also new functionality for viewing the alert history as well as for testing alerts directly from the alert details page. More info available here: https://support.reveldigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001565711-Automated-Emergency-Alerts New Alert Gadget With the new alert gadget you have more flexibility around when and where to include automated alerts. Prior to this, the alerting was an integral part of the player with little or no customization options. This gadget will make is possible to include alerts in templates or playlists with all the control and stylistic options available with our gadget framework. Enhanced Device Details The device details page has been redesigned to better accommodate the various attributes related to device monitoring and management. A new tab based UX provide more breathing room for the real-time charts related to hardware health and network utilization. There are also tabs specific to alerts, device extensions, and notes. PDF Report Viewer Reports now utilize PDF as the default format for in-browser viewing. PDF provides a better presentation of the report versus the original HTML generator. Reports can still be exported to all other formats including HTML, Image, CSV, Excel, PDF. Device Favorites We've added a simple tool for toggling a device as a favorite. Sometimes it's the little things! As always, thanks for continuing to support Revel Digital and of course for your feedback!

Revel Digital

The Case for QR Coupled Signage

The Case for QR Coupled Signage

The QR code, a magical collection of squares with a secret wealth of invaluable information unlocked by your mobile phone. Well it's not magic, but it is a rather convenient method of accessing information - valuable or not. Usage of QR codes outside of industrial applications has had a slow adoption rate, but as of late and can be found virtually everywhere which, in some cases, could be better thought out. Image courtesy WTF QR CODES. The QR code is indeed useful as a means of distributing content to mobile users without requiring the installation of yet another app. While there are still valid use cases for technologies such as NFC and Bluetooth beacons, in many cases it's simply easier and therefore more effective to simply embed a QR code in your print and/or digital signage. We think the QR code is a great companion to traditional signage, digital or not, and hope to make the case for its expanded use. The QR Code as a Device As a digital signage company we specialize in pushing content to anything with a screen. Enter the QR code, which enables pushing that same content to mobile devices. This is certainly not a new concept, however the merging of both types of distribution methods is something unique. Revel Digital has promoted the lowly QR code to first class device status in the Revel Digital CMS with full support for content scheduling, reporting, and analytics. With just the scan of a QR code, any smartphone user can view your scheduled media on the go, on their device, with options for sharing and interactivity. This capability allows you to easily push content simultaneously to both your digital signage, and your viewers mobile devices, in just one go. Don't forget that these QR codes aren't limited to static images, essentially anything you can publish to your digital signage can also be published to the QR device. This includes video and any dynamic content from our gadget library such as news, weather, flight information, ratings, etc. Let's review some example use cases to better illustrate how beneficial a QR code can be to your signage campaign. Use Cases Say you're a busy restaurant owner. QR codes embedded in table toppers or other signage is a great way to keep your menu accessible and up-to-date. Promotions can be highlighted and scheduled to coincide with special events or holidays. As a bonus, if you schedule the same menu content to both your signage and QR devices you only need to update it in one place. Or what if you're a tradeshow exhibitor. You've got all the time in the world to prepare for your booth, but how do you keep track of everyone who stopped by? Well, QR-Coupled Signage can help with that as well! Whenever someone scans one of your QR codes, not only are you pushing the latest of your media directly to their device, but you're also getting their real-time status and AdHawk analytics directly on your own dashboard. So long are the days of guessing your reach at conferences, now you get that data wherever you need it. And this isn't just limited to expos or conferences, add it to some of your permanent fixtures and you'll get those real-world analytics at the tip of your fingertips. Another great use case would be in a retail setting where the details of a sale event can be included as a QR code in print or digital signage. The QR code itself is static, however the content scheduled to the QR code can always be modified and even scheduled in advance with a defined end date. This could inform customers that the sale is approaching or has already ended. The content presented to the customer is always mobile friendly and shareable which makes it simple to share the specifics of the sale with others. So how does it actually work? As far as the Revel Digital CMS is concerned, a QR code is treated like any other device. This means you can schedule content right along with your traditional digital signage. In fact, digital signage does not even have to be involved if you are primarily concerned with utilizing QR codes for content distribution. Register as many QR devices as you like and change up the content on demand. Schedule content to a QR code device along with any digital signage The analytics piece is critical in order to determine the performance of a QR code campaign. Every scan of the QR code is recorded in AdHawk along with many other valuable metrics including dwell time, individual media views, and even custom events from gadgets. For example, our 'Rating' gadget will record the rating selected by user in AdHawk. Any other custom gadget can also easily record relevant metrics as an event in AdHawk. AdHawk provides valuable insights into QR code campaigns Getting Started As with our digital signage, we offer a 30 day trial of our services. Creating an account is free, no credit card required. For more specifics on creating a QR device in your account, please reference our KB article here: https://support.reveldigital.com/hc/en-us/articles/12722832414477-QR-Code-Device Questions? Please don't hesitate to ask us, we are always happy to assist.

Vincent Casey

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