Focus on JCM Global: JCM’s digital signs offer ‘architectural art’ throughout casino

April 8, 2022 2:00 PM
  • Mark Gruetze, CDC Gaming Reports
April 8, 2022 2:00 PM
  • Mark Gruetze, CDC Gaming Reports

Anyone who’s struggled with syncing devices or adjusting the TV picture would marvel at the challenge for James “Smitty” Smith’s team at Grand Casino in Shawnee, Okla.

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 width=Smith, product manager for audio visual at JCM Global, was in charge of a project that called for designing and installing a digital sign 40 feet wide and up to 10 feet high, with the goal of making it look like one gigantic screen mounted on a wall that curves in and out, displaying a variety of changing creative content and resort information.

The solution: 81 extra-thin LED panels, each no more than 3.5 inches wide, placed 2 inches apart. Each panel is programmed individually to produce the overall images. The display, which the company calls “architectural art,” is up and running. Render Impact, a multimedia studio, produced content for the display, including images of fireworks, abstract fluid art, and lava lamp movements.

With current sign technology, “customers know (we) can customize projects and do just about any idea they can get on paper,” Smith said. “Customers are getting more familiar with the wide ranges of designs that we can do.” Requests for displays with 4K resolution, the same level used in ultrahigh definition television broadcasts, are common, he added.

 width= The curved display was JCM’s third Digital Signage Solution project at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in the past year. Last year, the company installed a 40- by 20-foot double-sided outdoor digital display that is part of the resort’s main sign along Interstate 40. JCM also hung 30 digital display cubes above a hallway connecting the resort’s hotel and casino.

The outdoor sign is bright enough to be visible in daylight and can withstand the elements, the company says. The versatile cubes can be stacked, joined together, or suspended, as the Grand chose.

Render Impact also programmed content for the cubes, which can display a different image or video on each face. That might have opened a revenue possibility for the resort. Smith said a food and beverage provider asked about displaying the company’s logo or products on the bottom panels. Additionally, JCM partnered with Analog Way for each of the Grand projects. Analog Way provided the media server and programming to run the content for both the slim displays and the cubes.

In addition to the exterior signs and cubes used at the Grand, options from JCM’s Digital Signage Solutions branch include interlocking flat panels that form customizable shapes and sizes; screens with up to 8K resolution for use in sportsbooks, stage productions, or convention areas; and flexible panels that can be formed into convex, concave, or cylindrical shapes.

JCM, with U.S. headquarters in Las Vegas, is known worldwide for transaction and payment technologies used in gaming and banking operations. It began in 1955 as Japan Cash Machine Inc., manufacturing cash registers. In 1988, the company released the world’s first side-mounted bill validators for slot machines. Smith said most U.S. casinos use some form of JCM transaction technology, so operators are comfortable turning to the company for digital signage as well.

 width=JCM’s digital display business started about 15 years ago. The Digital Signage Solution branch has completed installations in numerous casinos across the United States, including Resorts World New York City, Motor City in Detroit, Choctaw Casino in Durant, Okla., and Angel of the Winds in Arlington, Wash..

Smith explained that LED (light-emitting diode) displays are energy efficient, requiring less amperage and putting off less heat than those using LCD (liquid crystal display). He noted that the amount of energy required varies by display because each one is custom-made.

“You’re basically giving someone a canvas to put their thoughts on,” said Smith. “Those thoughts, using just that one particular product, can communicate a wide range of ideas.”