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| The flexibility of Moxa's all-in-one router allows Media Resources to grant access of the IP camera to clients |
Media Resources is an industry leader in large-format digital displays such as billboards and video scoreboards. Recently, they have reported a significant enhancement to the reliability of their control systems that corresponds to a large reduction in maintenance costs, thanks to the deployment of Moxa communications and networking equipment.
The majority of Media Resources' products, including its 48-foot digital billboards, are located on the side of freeways and other remote locations. This creates unique engineering challenges since these remote electronic units are required to run 24/7 for the entirety of their lifetime, which typically runs 15 to 20 years. Since each advertisement typically runs for around 10 seconds, even very short periods of downtime can negatively impact the revenue of Media Resources customers and can mean the difference between success or failure of the project.
To build on their reputation as an industry leader in customer service and reliability, Media Resources partnered with Moxa to improve the reliability of their display control system. Not only would this benefit customers, enhanced reliability and redundancy would also help Media Resources reduce expensive service calls to remote displays, where large lifts would be required to access and service the control systems. After reviewing their operational and maintenance costs, Media Resources determined that a smarter remote monitoring solution would allow them to ensure greater uptime for their products and minimize expensive service costs.
Requirements
- Minimal downtown. A downtime of over 10 seconds (contiguously) can result in lost revenue.
- Remote diagnostics and ability to remotely monitor and cycle internal components from off-site.
- Ultra-high network security, with VPN access.
- Webcam monitoring. One webcam should be able to view a 14'x48' billboard from the shortest distance away possible.
Moxa's Solution
Moxa and Media Resources engineers worked closely together to overhaul the control system with a focus on reliability, redundancy, and self-monitoring. In the new system, a Moxa remote I/O unit, the ioLogik E1214, monitors the performance of all components. If an error is detected, the unit is able to automatically cycle the component.
“The money that Moxa's reliability has saved our company in support and service alone has more than paid for the Moxa equipment that we use” |
If the error persists, a Moxa all-in-one router and managed switch, the EDR-810, allows a technician to remotely and securely create a VPN tunnel to remotely assess the situation, with the assistance of a Moxa IP camera, the VPort P06-M12-CAM25. The flexibility of Moxa's all-in-one router and managed switch allows Media Resources to grant access of the IP camera to clients who wish to personally monitor the products they have purchased from the company. Furthermore, Media Resources is able to offer high resolution video images no matter where their billboards are installed, thanks to the essentially bulletproof enclosure and extra-wide angle lens, which can capture extra-large signage products up to fifty feet wide from as close as 8 feet away.
Customer Results
With the help of Moxa hardware, Media Resources is now able to offer their technicians and clients enhanced remote management functionality, and the improvements in product reliability and reduction in remote service calls has saved the company both time and money.
According to Jeff Rushton, President & CEO of Media Resources, Moxa's engineering team was a clear differentiating factor in the success of this deployment: "The Moxa team is always willing to help us obtain a solution to problems we otherwise would have dismissed as unsolvable. Any time we have an issue, they are willing to go above and beyond to ensure it is resolved, and if the issue cannot be resolved with an off-the-shelf product, Moxa has worked with us to design a custom product to meet our exact specifications."
Rushton continues: "The money that Moxa's reliability has saved our company in support and service alone has more than paid for the Moxa equipment that we use. More importantly, their products offer a peace of mind and confidence in our products' performance, an invaluable asset that has allowed us to excel in our industry. We currently use products from the entire range of Moxa's product line - serial connectivity, secure Ethernet, remote IO, and video cameras - and every Moxa product we have tested has demonstrated the same reliability, security, performance, and surprisingly, cost-effectiveness, that makes Moxa our go-to choice for industrial grade products."
