inLighten’s ORBIT™ Video Bulletin Board Debuts to Acclaim at Annual EDUCAUSE Conference
Leader of Digital Signage for Higher Education Announces 1st Quarter 2017 Release of Newest Innovation
Dec. 2, 2016
inLighten®, recognized as a leader in the field of digital signage, interactive, self-service and audio solutions today announced that its new ORBIT Video Bulletin Board, targeted initially to the higher education market, would be released for purchase and fulfillment in the first quarter of 2017. ORBIT was created to enable all members of a campus community – student, faculty and staff – to easily create and post image graphics on individual video displays or video wall configurations. According to Matt Welter, inLighten Director of Communications, ORBIT debuted to an enthusiastic reception at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA held this past October and attended by over 7,000 higher education administrators and IT personnel. "ORBIT makes it possible for virtually anybody to compose and post attractive graphic messages for display in a dynamic, bulletin board format that updates automatically, eliminates visual clutter, and solves the problem of out-of-date information crowding out important announcements. Many of the schools we spoke with are still struggling with how to manage out of control posting and papering on their campuses. ORBIT is a great alternative that’s both sustainable and accessible – enabling anyone to participate."
inLighten CEO, Dan Snyder said that ORBIT capitalizes on the digital and graphic literacy that's common to today's students. "Our objective was to take the best attributes of the bulletin board as a communal and democratic information point where all kinds of events, activities and news could be posted by any one and made accessible to everyone, and update the concept to incorporate digital image graphics and provide remote access from anywhere at any time." He went on to explain that, through a web-based interface that participants can access with credentials provided to them by their school, users can upload 'posters' that they've created with their preferred graphic software – or they can spontaneously compose messages with a user-friendly, intuitive editor that's available to them after they've logged in. Snyder added, "We believe that the immediacy offered by ORBIT will encourage more individuals to post content in a more timely fashion, create greater awareness of what's happening and important on campus and, ultimately, increase campus participation for a more active and vital academic and social environment."
ORBIT operates with any screen configuration and features an ORBIT media player that communicates with inLighten's hosted network for retrieval of user posts along with information about when messages are scheduled to appear and when they're to be removed – after the event or activity has taken place. To ensure that all postings comply with campus content policies a secure, stand-alone ORBIT administrative interface also is provided to establish and enforce the boundaries for approved posters. Features include the ability to establish a restricted words list, set up keyword filters and define graphic guidelines, if desired, for graphic backgrounds, message transitions, on-screen duration of messages and other visual presentation parameters.
inLighten's Welter cited the balance that ORBIT strikes between open participation and responsible oversight was an aspect of the product that many of the campus administrators he spoke with valued highly. He highlighted inLighten's attentiveness to the evolving concerns of its clients as one the company's signature strengths, "Serving the number of institutions that we do, we’re very alert to the dynamic of campus conversations, and we built tools for ORBIT that help ensure those conversations are productive and positive."
inLighten is an industry leader in networked digital media solutions including digital signage, self-service kiosks, on-hold and environment audio services and speech privacy solutions that empower clients to effectively and securely communicate with their audiences. Powered by inLighten digital media management software that enables customized content creation, scheduling and distribution controls, inLighten solutions are scalable, cost-effective and exceptionally reliable. Industry-leading consulting, installation, technical support and creative services deliver a superior customer experience and provide a single point of accountability for all aspects of implementation, day-to-day management and continuing network operation.
