Who says you can’t be in two places at once?
IT Administrators really know their stuff when it comes to IT and AV systems and devices, but quantum physics is likely not within their skill set! Many stretched IT Departments dream of unlimited resources at their disposal, cloning staff to be in two places at once . . . and back to the real world!
If only there was a way to work more efficiently, enabling one person to replicate tasks multiple times across the entire IT estate, as if he were in every location at the same time . . .
OK, you get the point! This article presents a very clever piece of software which could save you considerable time and resources - working smarter, not harder. Its also free of charge.
So, what is this wonder tool? NaViSet Administrator 2
Monitor and control all your display devices across your entire network
NaViSet Administrator is a network-based monitoring and control system. Managed from a central location, NaViSet provides monitoring, asset management, and control of remote displays and Windows computers.
Your entire estate of NEC desktop displays, large format displays, and projectors, as well as Windows computers and even non-NEC desktop displays can be managed via NaViSet.
By accessing configuration settings for displays remotely over the network, allowing many problems to be diagnosed and corrected without having to physically access the device, means technical support and IT administration efforts are dramatically reduced.
An example of how NaViSet brings tangible benefits is where an organisation operates across multiple locations. The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has a satellite campus located in London. The technical infrastructure for all locations is managed by the AV team based in Scotland.
I am located on our Paisley campus, 430 miles away - I can’t just nip down the corridor to fix issues at our London campus!’ says Finlay Wilson, Technical Developer at UWS.
‘Through NaViSet, I can change schedules, alter inputs and check on the usage of the equipment.’
Proactive maintenance reduces downtime
Unplanned equipment outage could reflect badly on your brand in a public environment, and non-functioning meeting room equipment will impact productivity and give a poor impression to visitors.
To be sure your assets are giving you maximum ROI, you want them to be fit for purpose for their entire lifecycle, and beyond.
Regular maintenance and servicing are all part of keeping your equipment performing optimally. If you don’t take care of your assets, much like your car, you could suffer an impromptu breakdown requiring urgent attention, diverting resources from other planned activities. You want to be in control of when maintenance takes place, not have it thrust upon you.
With NaViSet Administrator, alert conditions can be automatically generated if a parameter on a device goes outside a specified range or value. For example, an administrator can be notified via email if a projector’s lamp is reaching the end of its operational lifetime or has failed.
Alert conditions can be followed up with automatic actions to change the settings. For example, if the internal temperature reaches a certain limit, then turn on the cooling fans.
Operators at Stuttgart Airport rely on NaViSet to monitor its Flight Information Displays which deliver vital information to passengers.
“We can always control the NEC displays without any problems”, explains Fabian Braack, Project Manager, IT Services for Traffic and Security.
Stuttgart Airport operators are consistently impressed by the long-lasting quality of NEC’s displays and by using NaViset, any servicing required can be managed at times of low footfall.
“Apart from occasional calibrations, changes in brightness, we never have to worry about the equipment”.
Read the Stuttgart Airport case study
Ease of deployment
When you’re deploying large numbers of devices, the individual setup of each unit is vastly time consuming. Often the settings are the same across multiple displays and this can be managed remotely by creating a task within NaViSet with the required setting values and replicating this across any number of devices. Subsequently, any changes to the settings can be managed in a similar way.
If you don’t want these settings to be changed, either unintentionally or through sabotage, NaViSet can disable the On-Screen Display (OSD) control buttons on the physical display, all done remotely.
Most controls available via the OSD of a display monitor can be accessed by the NaViSet Administrator application. These controls can be adjusted remotely or be made to perform customised operations at specific times or intervals. This allows powerful automation functions to be performed easily.
At Eden Court, Scotland’s largest arts venue, an array of NEC large format displays is utilised to communicate its extensive entertainment program. The daylight-saving adjustment particularly appeals to the operators who use NaViSet to control display functions ensuring consistent operational performance.
Read the Eden Court Theatre case study
Asset Management and Reporting
NaViSet offers powerful asset management with the use of an electronic Asset Tag that allows a text string to be permanently stored within the display’s memory.
This text string could, for example, be a conventional asset tracking code, company name, department name, phone number, etc. This can then be read by NaViSet Administrator and used for asset tracking over a network. It can normally only be altered or erased with the use of NaViSet Administrator.
Sharp/NEC complements NaViSet’s electronic asset tagging with a more visible laser branding service. Find out more here.
Settings and parameters can be read directly from a display, providing detailed information about the display and its usage. The current setting values of all the available controls in a display can be read, stored in the database, and reported, thus providing a convenient snapshot of the configuration of each display. Reports can be generated by compiling information from any connected device for asset management or monitoring usage.
Proof of Play
By reporting when things go wrong, you can also prove when things go right. In a Digital Out Of Home scenario, you’ll need to provide ‘Proof of Play’ that an advertisement was broadcast as scheduled, and therefore presented to eyeballs.
Proof Of Play events can be read from supported large format displays, allowing detailed logging of events that may impact the video or audio output of the display such as loss of signal, or a change in video input selection.
@ Dak Photography
Minimising your footprint
By law, organisations must report their carbon footprint and are tasked to reduce their impact on the environment. NaViSet can be a useful tool for organisations as they work towards achieving their sustainability goals. Organisations can significantly reduce their power consumption through NaViSet’s remote power management functions in order to turn displays on or off. This feature can be fully automated so that the power state for multiple displays can be controlled at specific times of the day.
This functionality has a big impact at The University of the West of Scotland:
‘As a ‘green’ campus, being able to switch the equipment on and off to minimise power consumption supports our sustainability goals.’
NaViSet can be used to monitor and report on usage and power saving functions across all connected devices helping organisations to quantify their carbon footprint.
We are offering NaViSet Administrator to our customers Free of Charge. We want our customers to enjoy all the benefits and long life operation that comes with our reliable display technology, and NaViSet is a very useful added-value tool to support you in saving costs and resource and achieving the best possible ROI.
Download NaViSet Administrator 2