PRWire

With a view to improving the way in which it receives its customers and delivers customer information, La Poste, the French Post Office, has entrusted Sony with the task of installing a complete dynamic audiovisual communication solution at its service outlets. The system will transmit content (post office services, entertainment programmes, advertisements etc.) on Sony terminals. Each of the terminals – which will be installed in all public areas – will consist of a 40-inch professional flat screen linked to a multimedia player and an exclusive audio system.

The solution, developed by Sony PSE, the professional solutions division of Sony, has been designed using Sony’s own software and equipment and is a sustainable and evolutionary system. The terminal is linked directly to the network and, thanks to the Sony Ziris software, the user can control the terminal, perform simultaneous media transfers and carry out maintenance, all from a single site in Nantes, France.

For Arnaud Buannic, Sales Manager at Sony PSE France, “This project that La Poste is conducting is the most ambitious project ever attempted in Europe. The figure currently stands at 800 terminals spread over 500 post offices, and the goal for the end of 2008 is to install almost 5,000 terminals in 2,500 outlets.”

The system needs to meet all the functional expectations of La Poste, but the guiding principle in this project has nevertheless been simplicity:

* No software needs to be installed in any of the post offices for the solution to work;
* Regardless of the number of terminals, the architecture of each post office will remain exactly as it is (no external drive; only one connection to the network is required);
* A single management and transmission point is sufficient to control the entire fleet of terminals;
* Connector technology and cable requirements are minimal, which in turn minimises the risk of system breakdown;
* Energy savings with this solution are anticipated to be close to two million euro over five years, when compared with other systems on the market.

In a recent interview conducted by Sony France, Pascal Gilardi, La Poste’s Market Director for Network Products and General Manager of LP Media said: “This new medium has received very positive reactions from both our staff and the customers. It has already started to have an impact upon the customers, reducing anti-social behaviour on the premises, and it gives an innovative and modern image to our points of sales. All this should allow us to boost our sales.

“The main benefit of the Sony solution is the quality of these displays, and especially the image quality they offer. They are also easy to implement with their built-in player. So it is really a plug-and-play solution.”