Anthony Uhrick

VP Large Format Displays, NextWindow

Anthony Uhrick heads up sales for the large-format display products for NextWindow. The products he covers include the new 2700 Touch Overlay, which turns any large display into an interactive multi-touch screen, and supports Windows 7. Prior to joining NextWindow in 2005, Chicago-based Uhrick (see full bio) spent more than 8 years in business development focused on the touch screen market for Planar Systems and 3M Touch Systems.

1. How has the display industry changed over the last two years in terms of technology trends and customer demand?
The biggest change in the display industry is substantial price reductions, increased resolution and brighter, longer lasting backlights. With cost and technology improvements driven primarily by the demand for consumer flat screens, the commercial market is also reaping the benefits from a significant downward trend in the price and performance of large format displays. One notable example is with high-resolution displays; a user standing a foot away from a large-format touch screen display will now see a crisp, clear image, whereas the lower resolution of the past image was granulated and difficult to see. This allows for more detailed information and better quality images.

2. What are some examples of businesses which are now able to take advantage of these technology and cost advantages?
Displays with backlights rated at 60-100K hours are common place and offer lower power consumption. Such attributes are critical for commercial applications with long runtime requirements, such as way-finder kiosks in hotels, business lobbies or shopping malls. Adding a touch screen to a digital signage application in for instance, a WalMart store, offers an intuitive, natural interface to use for a product search, and with that interaction, comes information about the user’s needs and desires. Marketers can then use this data to precisely target the most appropriate demographic and obtain instant feedback on a product or service. With specific demographic data provided through customers’ interaction, one could determine which display, at what time of day, attracts the most viewers that results in a sale at a particular location. And that in turn could attract advertisers for the display.

3. NextWindow products use something called optical touch, which is a different technology than that used in the iPhone. Why optical?
Optical touch uses optical scanners on the corners of the screen with infrared illumination to detect touch. When an object or finger approaches the screen and disrupts the infrared light, the scanners pick this information up to determine where the touch happened. The optical touch system can detect multiple touches in this way. Unlike resistive and capacitive screens on products like the iPhone, there are no coatings or laminated layers to distort the image; it uses clear glass. The best thing is that the optical touch overlay can be placed on top of any display to activate the touch sensing.

4. NextWindow makes the 1900, a PC touch system, and the 2100, an integrated-touch system for large-format displays. What does the 2700 model offer?
The NextWindow 2700 series (30-82 inches) is an overlay designed to fit over a standard LCD or plasma monitor enclosure and quickly mounts using adjustable straps. The 2700 is simple to install by the end user or system integrator without opening the enclosure or potentially voiding the display warranty. As well, the touch screen provides single-touch mouse emulation without installation of proprietary drivers, ensuring compatibility with most any software application. One of the newest features is Windows 7 multi-touch compatibility, making the 2700 overlay one of the first multi-touch products developed for large-format displays. The Windows 7 multi-touch driver for the 2700 is available now on the NextWindow website. Finally, the 2700 doesn’t need an external power supply: it’s USB-powered so you have simplified set-up and wiring, and better reliability.

5. Can you share a story about innovation from one of your customers?
A large retail chain in the UK installed a digital signage network with screens throughout one of its stores, displaying information about products customized to that particular location. Initially the chain saw an increase in sales at the pilot store. However, shortly thereafter, sales dropped to previous levels. What they discovered was that for first-time customers it did attract their attention, but with each additional exposure, the ability to influence customers became less effective until finally the displays became background noise. So they made a change to bring the displays down to eye level and then added interactive, touch-enabled content so that people could actually conduct their own product searches on the screens, and even obtain coupons at the point-of-sale. The chain has now seen an increase in sales that is sustainable and long-term, and is expanding the concept to other stores.

Want to learn more about our latest large-format touch screens? To learn more, just visit our 2150 or 2700 product pages.