Open Forum

Hello folks,

Has anyone used a push button mechanism to play short audio clips in a museum exhibit?

We are envisioning the museum viewer seeing images of people and then hearing short audio clips when a button below or next to the image is pushed.

If you use such a mechanism, was it designed in house, or was it outsourced to an exhibition designer.

Thanks,

Daniel

------------------------------
Daniel Carey-Whalen
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso TX
------------------------------

We use the Brightsign units with a GPIO adapter for the buttons.  It's very easy to setup and configure which video's or audio clips it plays when you push a button.  I use them for kiosks as well and we haven't had any major problems with them in the last 8-10 years that we've been using them.  If you ever need any help with them send me a message and I'd be more than happy to help out.

------------------------------
Alan Byler
Media Specialist
State Museum of Pennsylvania
Harrisburg PA
(717) 783-9913

I would take a look at Technovision's line of players. They are affordable and we have had a number of interactives running their players (both video and audio) activated by switch and push buttons for years. The most we've had to do to them is simply restart them. Very solid. Technovision - Registered Trademark of Technovision Interactive Inc.

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John Tweedie
Exhibitions Manager
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Skokie IL

Original Message:
Sent: 05-13-2016 08:49 AM
From: Alan Byler
Subject: Push button mechanism to play short audio clips

We use the Brightsign units with a GPIO adapter for the buttons.  It's very easy to setup and configure which video's or audio clips it plays when you push a button.  I use them for kiosks as well and we haven't had any major problems with them in the last 8-10 years that we've been using them.  If you ever need any help with them send me a message and I'd be more than happy to help out.

------------------------------
Alan Byler
Media Specialist
State Museum of Pennsylvania
Harrisburg PA
(717) 783-9913

------Original Message------

Hello folks,

Has anyone used a push button mechanism to play short audio clips in a museum exhibit?

We are envisioning the museum viewer seeing images of people and then hearing short audio clips when a button below or next to the image is pushed.

If you use such a mechanism, was it designed in house, or was it outsourced to an exhibition designer.

Thanks,

Daniel

------------------------------
Daniel Carey-Whalen
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso TX
------------------------------

Hi Daniel,

Alcorn McBride sells push button audio equipment Audio Players

or BrightSign BrightSign :: Products

. We also buy a lot from Amazon. We offer a lists of other sources for all things exhibits if you would like to get our report http://www.taylorstudios.com/improve-exhibits-secrets-experts/

------------------------------
Betty Brennan
President
Taylor Studios, Inc.
Rantoul IL

Hello Daniel,

Your question asked about audio only--for that we've used Eletech digital audio repeaters for years with no issues at all Products

For both audio and video, I highly recommend Brightsign, players, which can be configured to do nearly anything including switching on other effects, lights, whatever.

------------------------------
Curtis Morris
Exhibits Manager
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
Springdale AR

Original Message:
Sent: 05-13-2016 09:33 AM
From: Betty Brennan
Subject: Push button mechanism to play short audio clips

Hi Daniel,

Alcorn McBride sells push button audio equipment Audio Players

or BrightSign BrightSign :: Products

. We also buy a lot from Amazon. We offer a lists of other sources for all things exhibits if you would like to get our report http://www.taylorstudios.com/improve-exhibits-secrets-experts/

------------------------------
Betty Brennan
President
Taylor Studios, Inc.
Rantoul IL

Hi Daniel, 

We use Videotel's PUSH solution which includes the digital signage media player and a custom harness wired for as many buttons as you need.  The buttons come in all sizes and colors.  The solution right out of the box is $443.  

------------------------------
Lisa Schneider

Videotel, Inc.
Chula Vista CA

This may not interest you, but if you're looking for a really inexpensive solution, you can get a Nutone doorbell, the kind that lets you play your own mp3 file. Of course, most homeowners would just put in "Welcome to the Jungle" or some other winky tune, but we recorded a one-minute explanation of the naming of our exhibit hall and uploaded it to the former-doorbell, now-standalone player. The pushbutton itself is wireless so it can be some distance from the doorbell unit. If you want high-fidelity, it's not your answer, but it solved a little problem for us for less than $100.

------------------------------
Frank Smoot
Executive Director
Coos History Museum
Coos Bay OR

Amazon sometimes sells the Fire tablet for $40.

Add a student looking to get extra credit and you could have your own custom app which tracks metrics of how often what button gets used.

------------------------------
Michael Kan
Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience
Seattle WA

Original Message:
Sent: 05-13-2016 03:06 PM
From: Frank Smoot
Subject: Push button mechanism to play short audio clips

This may not interest you, but if you're looking for a really inexpensive solution, you can get a Nutone doorbell, the kind that lets you play your own mp3 file. Of course, most homeowners would just put in "Welcome to the Jungle" or some other winky tune, but we recorded a one-minute explanation of the naming of our exhibit hall and uploaded it to the former-doorbell, now-standalone player. The pushbutton itself is wireless so it can be some distance from the doorbell unit. If you want high-fidelity, it's not your answer, but it solved a little problem for us for less than $100.

------------------------------
Frank Smoot
Executive Director
Coos History Museum
Coos Bay OR

Approximately ten years ago I purchased a digital pushbutton device that
was easy to program with an audio message and easy to install, just
connecting the pushbutton, speaker, and a plug-in power supply. It has
worked without failure since installed and almost everyone who walks by
pushes the button, listens, and reacts with a further visual
observation/scrutiny of the exhibit and then enters, in this instance the
cab of a locomotive. The message is about 60 seconds in length,
(shouldn't be any longer), and well written. It's a good device that
delivers the message efficiently and accurately, (important), and is
there when someone from the museum may not be. Highly recommended!

Al Frank, Transportation Museum Consultant, Denver, Colorado

____________________________________________________________
The New York Times
Why You Can't Lose Weight On A Diet
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/57369374cfd3d137430c4st03duc

------Original Message------

Hello folks,

Has anyone used a push button mechanism to play short audio clips in a museum exhibit?

We are envisioning the museum viewer seeing images of people and then hearing short audio clips when a button below or next to the image is pushed.

If you use such a mechanism, was it designed in house, or was it outsourced to an exhibition designer.

Thanks,

Daniel

------------------------------
Daniel Carey-Whalen
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso TX
------------------------------

A couple other people have suggested Brightsigns. We use them extensively, and they would work well for this. However, they are somewhat expensive (though the newish LS322 has brought the price down) and do require either a powered speaker or an amp+speaker.

A much lower cost, but more labor/tech intensive option are the Adafruit Audio FX boards. 8 to 11 different trigger buttons (depending on the model), and they are easy to "program" (it's based on file names). It does take a bit of soldering skill to put together, and you'll need to source a housing and 5v power supply, but it could be a fun project for the right person- and still be a fraction of the price of a Brightsign. Now that I'm looking, it seems they've discontinued the version with a built in amplifier for QC reasons. They still have a 2mb and 16mb version with a line-out.

------------------------------
Jordan Lucke
AV Senior Technician
Museum of Flight
Seattle WA

We use BrightSign players mainly now. They are easy to program, install and seldom have we had any issues. We use for standard and HD output with up to 8 buttons - their customer service is also wonderful.

Have a THD002 from Technovision in our of our HD Theaters which has functioned reliably. 

We have also used  MedeaWiz's DV66 (which are no longer in production) and DV68 which are great and reliable for many years, but require more than just a simple plug and play - adding a button controller and housing. 

RECOM group's players (7078, 7023, 7111) we had issues with their button interface fairly frequently (this may be improved now as this was several years ago) and so though we still have a few in use the majority are the non pushbutton players 7022 which have been incredibly reliable over the last 7 years. These required installation of specific software (MPO) and were very easy to program.    

------------------------------
Kate Baillon
VP, Exhibitions
Levine Museum of the New South
Charlotte NC

Count me as another vote for Brightsign! The last place I was at had about a half dozen or so - some triggered, some touch-screened. Good stuff with no issues. 

Oh, and Go Miners!
Dave Kennedy
UTEP (BA-History '98)
If you run into Dr. Nat, tell her Student Senator "Ted" Kennedy says Hi!

------------------------------
David Kennedy
Curator of Collections and Exhibits
US Marshals Museum
Fort Smith, AR

As you can see there are several ways to do what you are looking to achieve.  Here is a breakdown of what I have used in the past and what I would recommend, in the end you will need to decide what you want to do.  Most of the options may require so soldering knowledge to make connectors and some level of programming.

Brightsign players: They are reliable and to do what you want possibly the easiest solution, but to just play audio they are too expensive. Also you will need to learn BrightAuthor, its not hard but there is still a learning curve.

Windows PC (Intel NUC, Compute Stick or other types of mini computers): These types of computers can be cheaper, but unlike the Brightsign players they have more flexibility which makes them a better option (in my opinion). Both a PC and Brightsigns can play interactive audio & videos but where the PC will outperform a Brightsign player is in interactive Multimedia, it is far easier to program multimedia an a PC then on a Brightsign; is it far easier to integrate other devices with a PC then a Brightsign, e.g. I use a Micro Arduino to detect motion so I can raise and lower the volume of a video and for about $300 less then an equivalent Brightsign setup which I could not get to work correctly.  As you get more complex with BrightAuthor the harder it is to program.  

To do an Audio Button push on a PC you can get a USB button interface for about $40.00. This will give you 20 buttons and there are mapped using the keyboard numbers 1-20.  There are several ways to program this, you can use a program like Flash or even HTML to play the sounds or you can use a Windows Macro utility that allows you to program any keyboard button to do a task in this case play audio.

Android Mini PC: By far the cheapest option are the Android Mini PCs, I use them as a cheap audio/video players (they cost about $60) I have had one unit playing a video loop for over 3 years without issue and another running a Flash App for about 3 months.  There are a bunch of free apps to do the audio and video loops.  As for push button, I have not tried it but the USB button interface should work because it is technically a joystick with a lot of buttons.  You can also use Flash with AIR to create native Apps or HTML to program these features. 

All of the unites have pros and cons but I find that using a PC gives you the most flexibility for future use and access to other technologies that are not available on a Brightsign.  

Good luck with your decision

Raymond

------------------------------
Raymond Stivala
Manager of Web/Multimedia Development
The Newark Museum
Newark NJ

The two big differences I found between Brightsign and PC applications was whether or not a database had to be used and the space available. If something was simply media (music, images, video), it usually went to a Brightsign.

The space sometimes did not allow a PC. Sometimes due to volume, sometimes due to a lack of ventilation. 

------------------------------
David Kennedy
Curator of Collections and Exhibits
US Marshals Museum
Fort Smith, AR

Original Message:
Sent: 05-17-2016 10:55 AM
From: Raymond Stivala
Subject: Push button mechanism to play short audio clips

As you can see there are several ways to do what you are looking to achieve.  Here is a breakdown of what I have used in the past and what I would recommend, in the end you will need to decide what you want to do.  Most of the options may require so soldering knowledge to make connectors and some level of programming.

Brightsign players: They are reliable and to do what you want possibly the easiest solution, but to just play audio they are too expensive. Also you will need to learn BrightAuthor, its not hard but there is still a learning curve.

Windows PC (Intel NUC, Compute Stick or other types of mini computers): These types of computers can be cheaper, but unlike the Brightsign players they have more flexibility which makes them a better option (in my opinion). Both a PC and Brightsigns can play interactive audio & videos but where the PC will outperform a Brightsign player is in interactive Multimedia, it is far easier to program multimedia an a PC then on a Brightsign; is it far easier to integrate other devices with a PC then a Brightsign, e.g. I use a Micro Arduino to detect motion so I can raise and lower the volume of a video and for about $300 less then an equivalent Brightsign setup which I could not get to work correctly.  As you get more complex with BrightAuthor the harder it is to program.  

To do an Audio Button push on a PC you can get a USB button interface for about $40.00. This will give you 20 buttons and there are mapped using the keyboard numbers 1-20.  There are several ways to program this, you can use a program like Flash or even HTML to play the sounds or you can use a Windows Macro utility that allows you to program any keyboard button to do a task in this case play audio.

Android Mini PC: By far the cheapest option are the Android Mini PCs, I use them as a cheap audio/video players (they cost about $60) I have had one unit playing a video loop for over 3 years without issue and another running a Flash App for about 3 months.  There are a bunch of free apps to do the audio and video loops.  As for push button, I have not tried it but the USB button interface should work because it is technically a joystick with a lot of buttons.  You can also use Flash with AIR to create native Apps or HTML to program these features. 

All of the unites have pros and cons but I find that using a PC gives you the most flexibility for future use and access to other technologies that are not available on a Brightsign.  

Good luck with your decision

Raymond

------------------------------
Raymond Stivala
Manager of Web/Multimedia Development
The Newark Museum
Newark NJ

You no longer have issues with lack of space or ventilation with PC.  There are several small (intel NUC) or Micro (also know as Gum stick PCs, Intel Compute Stick) that are smaller then the Brightsign.  You also have the option of fan-less PC which are about the same size of a Brightsign player.  I still can't justify spending $350+ for a Brightsign that will just play music or videos.  You can get more mileage from a PC, once the exhibit is closed and move that PC to do anything else.  I have about 6 Brightsigns sitting here while all my PCs are in use doing other multimedia that a Brightsign can't do. 

------------------------------
Raymond Stivala
Manager of Web/Multimedia Development
The Newark Museum
Newark NJ

Original Message:
Sent: 05-18-2016 09:22 AM
From: David Kennedy
Subject: Push button mechanism to play short audio clips

The two big differences I found between Brightsign and PC applications was whether or not a database had to be used and the space available. If something was simply media (music, images, video), it usually went to a Brightsign.

The space sometimes did not allow a PC. Sometimes due to volume, sometimes due to a lack of ventilation. 

------------------------------
David Kennedy
Curator of Collections and Exhibits
US Marshals Museum
Fort Smith, AR

Thanks for bringing these up! I'll definitely look for them when the application needs it!

------------------------------
David Kennedy
Curator of Collections and Exhibits
US Marshals Museum
Fort Smith, AR

Original Message:
Sent: 05-18-2016 11:40 AM
From: Raymond Stivala
Subject: Push button mechanism to play short audio clips

You no longer have issues with lack of space or ventilation with PC.  There are several small (intel NUC) or Micro (also know as Gum stick PCs, Intel Compute Stick) that are smaller then the Brightsign.  You also have the option of fan-less PC which are about the same size of a Brightsign player.  I still can't justify spending $350+ for a Brightsign that will just play music or videos.  You can get more mileage from a PC, once the exhibit is closed and move that PC to do anything else.  I have about 6 Brightsigns sitting here while all my PCs are in use doing other multimedia that a Brightsign can't do. 

------------------------------
Raymond Stivala
Manager of Web/Multimedia Development
The Newark Museum
Newark NJ