lum news article, page-2

re: lum news article - sundaytimes link here it is

http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/1,7034,15140974%255E951,00.html

PERTH-BASED sign technology firm Lumacom has unveiled its latest flagship product – a Manhattan billboard claimed to be the highest in North America.







The 272sq m flashboard was unveiled atop 4 Times Square, New York, this week, with founding advertiser Disney Theatrical promoting its Broadway production of The Lion King.

The electronic sign, which is visible for up to 3km around New York, also promotes the city's 2012 Olympic bid, as well as property developer, The Durst Organisation, and Australian fashion.

Images can be changed remotely and instantly via the internet.

Lumacom, which posted a $1.5 million first-half loss this financial year, claims the sign is the "lightest, cheapest and most evironmentally friendly system in the world".

The LED screen uses just 10 per cent of the pixels required for conventional screens.

Lumacom chief executive Rodd Sala said from New York: "Those 10 per cent of pixels provide 100 per cent of the image.

"They trick the brain into seeing more pixels than are actually there.

"So the bottom line is you end up with a high-resolution colour display that costs a lot less to manufacture, and most importantly uses only 5 per cent of the electricity of conventional displays, which also use fans to cool them.

"It is one of the most environmentally friendly screen products available today."

Mr Sala said it was the green aspect that attracted its US buyers.

"When The Durst Organisation built 4 Times Square, it was the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced building in Manhattan. They chose our technology because of the green aspect to it.

"This is a sign that is on top of Manhattan and it clearly comes across as that way.

"For a Perth company to achieve a change like this is quite significant.

"It will play a very important role for us – not only for the benefits of the site commercially, but the effects it will have in terms of Lumacom's promotional ability."

Mr Sala said Lumacom would continue to push into the US and Europe.

"We see this as a major launch point towards our goal of having a large network of signs throughout the region," he said.

"We are technically still a start-up, so the installation of 4 Times Square and Istanbul represents a major breakthrough into those markets, which should be the start of a big rollout."