(Charlotte, N.C.) Muzak, the leading provider of music, messaging and video for business, announced today a revolutionary new Digital Signage product: the Encompass DS. The new product represents everything the Digital Signage industry has been waiting for, by combining a small, simple device, premium rich HD content and nationwide service and support-all at an affordable price.

“We’ve closely evaluated the Digital Signage market for several years, paying specific attention to the market’s wide range of use cases,” said Christopher Williams, Executive Vice President of Muzak Media. “While the very sophisticated solutions get the most attention, we felt that a simpler, more elegant solution was missing. The combined specialties of Muzak, BrightSign and Scala have created a truly unique solution that will satisfy the needs of today’s savvy business owners.”

The Encompass DS was developed in partnership with BrightSign, a leader in video hardware, and Scala, one of the world’s largest digital signage companies. The partnership creates strategic opportunities by uniting premium content, leading technology and nationwide support for the very first time.

Compelling, effective content was once a barrier to those without a large marketing budget. With the Encompass DS, options are diverse, dynamic and affordable. Users can log in from any Internet-connected computer to manage and monitor their content quickly and simply. With 1,000 unique content-rich feeds from top weather, news and fashion outlets including The New York Times and People Magazine, and dozens of easily customizable templates, users now have the power to create custom rich content plans in minutes.

“We’re honored that Muzak selected BrightSign technology for the new Encompass DS,” said Jeff Hastings, BrightSign CEO. “The solid-state hardware platform we developed for Encompass DS is based on BrightSign’s HD210 network-enabled player.”

Muzak customers expect quality and performance-and the Encompass DS delivers, with full HD video and premium-quality images, all without the complexity of a PC-based solution. With no moving parts, the controller is also more reliable, more affordable and offers a lower operating cost. The hardware for the Encompass DS weighs just 20 ounces and measures a mere 6.6”(w) x 5.9”(h) x 1.2”(d), making it easy to ship and small enough to deploy virtually anywhere.

“We’ve spent the last 18 months improving every facet of Muzak-with a specific emphasis on our products and service,” said Steve Villa, CEO of Muzak. “The launch of the Encompass DS is another proud milestone for our company.”

For over 75 years, Muzak has been at the forefront of the sensory branding industry. By acquiring, designing and delivering rich media-based solutions to clients worldwide, our services reach 100 million people every day. Through nearly 200 sales and service offices, Muzak designs, delivers and installs custom music, voice messaging, Digital Signage networks, leading drive-thru equipment and professional sound systems to a variety of clients in the retail, hospitality and restaurant industries. For more information, visit www.muzak.com <

A division of Roku, Inc. and based in Saratoga, California, BrightSign develops products and software for digital signage. BrightSign solid-state digital sign controllers set new standards for both stand alone and networked digital signage applications with their superior video quality, reliability, affordability, ease of use and interactivity. Online information about BrightSign units is available at www.brightsign.biz. For sales inquiries, please contact sales@brightsign.biz or call 408-852-9263 in the USA and +44-1223-911842 internationally.