US retail sales increased for a 10th consecutive month in July, with electronics and digital products among the strongest-performing categories, according to the latest CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor from the National Retail Federation.

Electronics and appliance store sales were up 12.04% year over year, although they edged down 0.05% from June on a seasonally adjusted basis. Digital products, a category that includes electronic books and games, increased 12.02% year over year and 1.21% month over month. The strong performance in electronics came against more moderate growth across retail. Core retail sales, which exclude restaurants, automobile dealers, and gasoline stations, increased 0.3% from June and 4.72% year over year. 

The electronics figures provide a useful indicator for the digital signage and ProAV sectors, particularly as retailers continue investing in digital experiences and in-store technology. But the broader numbers suggest a steadier rather than booming retail environment.

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Korbyt is expanding its workplace management platform with new AI-powered room and desk booking capabilities, including a conversational agent that lets employees reserve spaces using natural-language requests. The company is also introducing an updated booking calendar and Microsoft 365 add-in, initially aimed at law firms.

The company will demonstrate the additions to its Korbyt Anywhere platform at ILTACON 2026, taking place Aug. 23-27 in Nashville, USA.

ConciergeAI allows users to request a meeting room or desk through Microsoft Teams, Outlook or the Korbyt web app. For example, an employee could request a room for eight people with video conferencing on a particular floor at a specified time.

The system checks available spaces against requirements, including capacity, location, and equipment, and applies an organization’s booking policies before suggesting an option. Users can also modify or cancel reservations conversationally or find and reserve a desk near a specific colleague.

Korbyt is also introducing an updated Booking Calendar that gives reception and workplace teams a centralized view of desks, rooms, and shared spaces across multiple floors, buildings, and offices.

A new Korbyt Booking Add-In for Microsoft 365 allows users to reserve spaces directly from Outlook. It can also handle related requests for catering, AV and IT support and add Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Webex conferencing to reservations.

The tools are initially positioned for legal workplaces, where Korbyt says the platform can manage client confidentiality requirements, billing information, and meeting room availability. Rooms can also be automatically released if attendees fail to check in within a specified period.

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Amped Digital has completed a digital signage upgrade at His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth, Australia, replacing aging static signage with a network of outdoor and indoor displays.

The State Heritage-listed theater, which opened in 1904, previously relied heavily on printed banners to promote its changing performance schedule. The new system allows multiple upcoming events to be promoted simultaneously and gives the theater’s marketing team direct control over content and scheduling.

Three-zone signage network

The installation covers three main areas: the Hay Street facade, theater foyer, and interior wayfinding and promotional locations.

Outside, Amped Digital installed Samsung IP-rated digital poster displays rated at 3,500 nits, along with custom high-brightness LED displays. Ambient light sensors automatically adjust brightness according to surrounding conditions.

Brightsign media players handle playback, while Navori’s cloud-based content management platform allows theatre staff to schedule and publish content across individual zones without technical assistance.

Working With a Heritage Building

The heritage-listed location added another layer to the project. Displays mounted above the busy Hay Street pedestrian corridor required City of Perth approval and independent engineering certification.

Amped Digital developed custom mounts and brackets for the exterior displays, with sections of the footpath temporarily closed during installation. Despite the additional engineering and approval requirements, the installation was completed in approximately one week.

The finished network allows His Majesty’s Theatre to replace a single static promotional banner with rotating digital content across the facade and interior, while retaining the architectural character of the historic venue.

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Digital out-of-home is expected to account for 76% of UK out-of-home advertising spending by 2031 as programmatic buying, audience data and measurement capabilities continue to develop, according to the latest IAB Compass report from IAB UK.

Investment in DooH reached a record £964 million in 2025, representing 67% of total UK OoH advertising spend. That compares with just 32% in 2015.

Programmatic buying gains ground 

IAB UK expects continued investment in digital inventory and increased adoption of programmatic DooH to support further growth. Programmatic still represents a relatively small share of the market but gives advertisers greater flexibility in targeting, campaign optimization, and integration with other digital channels.

The report also points to a shift from primarily location-based planning toward audience-led strategies. Advertisers are increasingly combining DooH with mobile, social, online video and search as part of broader omnichannel campaigns.

Creative capabilities are developing alongside buying technology, with dynamic content, contextual messaging and 3D executions becoming more widely used. IAB UK also identifies AI-powered campaign optimization, agentic technologies and light-touch immersive experiences as potential areas of development.

Measurement still a challenge 

Measurement remains a challenge. While programmatic platforms have expanded measurement and optimization capabilities, IAB UK said greater standardization is needed to provide advertisers with more consistent attribution across the market.

“Digital out-of-home has evolved from being a high-impact awareness channel into a sophisticated part of the digital media mix,” said Elizabeth Lane, head of insight at IAB UK.

The report includes market forecasts, industry trends and recommendations for advertisers, agencies, media owners and ad tech providers.

You can find the full report here.

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Smaller pixel pitches, better image quality? In some respects, one could say Directview-LED is already a mature technology. But the major changes are not happening on the front surface.

Instead, the real transformation is taking place in LED panel production itself – and major shifts are expected in the coming years. “There will be a shift away from packaged LED, IMD and NIB toward unpackaged COB and COG. We are facing a massive transformation,” said Ted Romanowitz, Head of Professional Displays at market research firm Futuresource Consulting, at DSS ISE 2026.

This transition would make high-quality LED more suitable for mass production and standardization – thereby significantly reducing costs. A first indication of this trend came from TCL in mid-2026, when it sharply reduced prices for its MicroLED products in China.

While this move served strategic market purposes, it is likely to further accelerate the push toward cheaper mass production.

Flip-chip gains majority

At the same time, flip-chip LED technology is gaining ground. According to Futuresource, 2025 marked the first year in which more flip-chip LEDs were sold than traditional LED technologies.

Flip-chip is more efficient, produces less heat, and delivers superior image quality – especially in black levels and resolution. In the long term, flip chip combined with COB (chip-on-board) is expected to become the dominant format in indoor DooH applications. More broadly, MicroLED based on COB – such as Samsung The Wall – or COG is becoming increasingly important, according to Futuresource. By 2029, these technologies are expected to account for 57 percent of the fine-pixel LED market, overtaking the currently dominant SMD technology.

New products on display

In the MicroLED COG (chip-on-glass) segment, LG showcased what the future could look like at ISE. The company presented a new chip-on-glass Active MicroLED from its Magnit series.

In the 136 inch display, the TFT-based LEDs are individually controlled, enabling flicker-free performance. Combined with a variable refresh rate of 1,444 Hz, the result is an exceptionally smooth image. The thin glass-panel structure also enables very sharp images.

According to LG, the ultra-precise LED transfer process further ensures long-term stability.

Planar showcased new and interesting solutions at Infocomm 2026. The Everpixel and Trumicro technologies are based on a MicroLED-in-package architecture and were developed to improve reliability, efficiency, viewing angles, and pixel density. This is achieved, among other things, through pixel redundancy, although this does drive up the price.

Beyond ProAV

MicroLED is also becoming an increasingly stand ard part of product portfolios across manufacturers. That these high-end solutions extend beyond traditional visual applications is demonstrated by Daktronics.

After acquiring X Display, the company has begun developing its own MicroLED production line in the United States. At ISE 2026, Daktronics presented a concept for a future MicroLED product: a COG display with 0.18-millimeter pixel pitch, 5.1 inches, and LED chips measuring just 13 by 20 micrometers. This opens up new strategic opportunities.

For digital signage, such resolution would be excessive, but other industries offer strong potential – particularly automotive and defense.

All-in-one solutions on the rise

In parallel, preconfigured all-in-one LED systems have been experiencing strong growth for some time. With an average annual growth rate of 42 percent, this segment is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2029.

The main advantage is fast, simple installation – even for less experienced digital signage integrators. Manufacturers are also introducing tools to simplify deployment. PPDS has launched a new online LED configuration tool for customers and system integrators.

Users enter parameters such as wall size, brightness, pixel pitch, and mounting type, and the system automatically selects suitable products, processors, cabling, and control systems. It then generates a complete technical report and bill of materials.

Rollable MicroLED

There are also attention-grabbing innovations pointing toward entirely new applications. One of the most striking display technologies at Touch Taiwan this year was the rollable MicroLED display from AUO.
The 17.3-inch panel features an extremely tight bending radius, allowing it to be fully rolled up – breaking away from the constraints of flat or curved fixed displays.

In addition to its mechanical flexibility, the rollable MicroLED offers an ultra-thin structure, high brightness, wide color gamut, and low reflectivity.

This new panel architecture is expected to enable entirely new digital signage applications and immersive user experiences – especially where space, mobility, or flexible surfaces are important.

Fresh start for rollable?

Admittedly, rollable displays have had a mixed track record in digital signage. For example, the widely discussed rollable OLED from LG never achieved mainstream adoption in the sector. Still, interest in rollable display technology remains strong – and AUO’s MicroLED approach appears more technologically mature and better aligned with real-world applications.

Overall, the rise of LED technology is set to continue – and may even accelerate further as manufac turing undergoes its next major transformation.

ProAV Technology in the invidis Yearbook

This article is part of the technology chapter in the invidis Yearbook 2026. The “Bible of the Digital Signage Industry” contains numerous other technology analyses, ranging from LCD over e-paper displays to digital signage software. Get the yearbook from our Downloads section.

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The scoreboard refresh comes just in time for the 2026 football season, using Daktronics’ Renew program to improve image quality while retaining the existing display structure.

The video board is still 33.5 feet (10.2 meters) high by 60 feet (18.3 meters) wide, but now uses a 10 mm pixel pitch in place of the previous 15HD configuration. According to Daktronics, the upgrade provides 50% more LEDs and 4.5 times the previous resolution, improving image clarity and contrast.

More pixels, same footprint

Rather than replacing the entire display structure, the Renew approach upgrades the LED technology within the existing installation. The refreshed board can operate as one large canvas or be divided into multiple content zones for live video, instant replays, statistics, game information, graphics and sponsorship content.

Daktronics also supplied its Show Control system as part of the project, covering display control, video processing, data integration and content playback.

The upgrade arrives as UTEP begins its first football season as a member of the Mountain West Conference, which the university officially joined on July 1.

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Diversified has appointed Pete Emminger as global chief technology officer, putting the media and technology executive in charge of the integrator’s global go-to-market technology strategy.

In the role, Emminger will work across the company to connect emerging technologies with client requirements while helping shape Diversified’s technical direction, strategic partnerships and future offerings. The appointment comes as broadcast, workplace technology, collaboration and digital experiences increasingly overlap across corporate, retail, sports and entertainment environments.

“Pete understands where this convergence is headed and knows how to turn technology strategy into reliable, scalable solutions that create real business value,” Diversified CEO Paul Lidsky said.

Emminger brings more than 20 years of experience across media, entertainment, live production and sports. Most recently, he served as global chief technology officer at NEP Group, where he led technology strategy and developed new software products and services.

Earlier in his career, Emminger held senior roles at Activision Blizzard, where he helped launch the Call of Duty League and establish an esports production studio. He also contributed to the 2022 Fifa World Cup’s transition to IP-based broadcast technology, leading teams involved in developing technology and software for global broadcast delivery.

The appointment follows several senior leadership changes at Diversified this year, including the appointment of Viral Tripathi as chief information officer in May and Tyler Affolter as chief revenue officer in April.

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Hikvision is best known internationally for its video surveillance and security technology business. Yet in recent years, the Chinese technology company has steadily expanded its professional display, collaboration and audio offerings. With the launch of Hikvision ProAV, the vendor is now placing these products and services under a single market-facing umbrella.

The goal is familiar: provide channel partners and end customers with a comprehensive ProAV ecosystem similar to the broad portfolios offered by major industry players such as Samsung and LG. Until now, many of Hikvision’s AV solutions were marketed as adjacent extensions of its wider IT and security technology business. The new ProAV positioning is intended to present a more coherent proposition to the market.

Four pillars of the ProAV portfolio

The newly structured Hikvision ProAV offering combines four key technology areas:

LCD and LED displays

The visual portfolio includes LED screens, LED controllers and associated software platforms. These products address digital signage, visualization and control room applications.

Unified management platforms

Hikvision positions its management environment as a central element of the proposition. HikCentral provides on-premises device management, while HikMedio extends selected capabilities into the cloud. Together, the platforms support device monitoring, configuration, operation and content management across single or multi-site deployments.

WonderHub interactive displays

The company’s WonderHub range targets meeting rooms, classrooms and training environments. The interactive displays are designed to support presentations, collaboration and content sharing, placing Hikvision in direct competition with established collaboration display vendors.

Professional and commercial audio

Completing the portfolio is a range of professional and commercial audio products covering conferencing, sound reinforcement and background music applications.

Integration as a differentiator

Beyond the product portfolio itself, Hikvision is emphasizing workflow simplification for system integrators and channel partners. Because core technologies are developed in-house, the company argues that partners can reduce complexity during project planning and deployment. Rather than sourcing displays, audio solutions, control technologies and management platforms from multiple vendors, integrators can build projects from a single ecosystem.

The management layer plays a central role in this strategy. Through HikCentral and HikMedio, customers are supposed to oversee supported devices, manage configurations and distribute content across multiple locations from a unified environment.

Targeting experience-driven projects

Hikvision’s new structure is designed around end-user experiences rather than individual product categories.

In education and corporate environments, WonderHub displays combined with conferencing and audio solutions are intended to support collaboration between local and remote participants. In command and control centres, LED displays and video wall technologies provide visualization of multiple information sources. Retail and commercial environments represent another target sector, where digital displays and audio systems can be combined to support communication and customer engagement.

Growing ambitions beyond security

In 2025 Hikvision generated annual revenues of around USD 13 billion – a publicly listed company in which Chinese state-owned entities hold a significant stake. According to company disclosures, state-controlled shareholders account for roughly 42% of ownership.

The launch of Hikvision ProAV marks the latest step in the company’s evolution beyond its traditional security roots. While the vendor remains best known for surveillance technology, the consolidation of displays, collaboration, audio and software under a dedicated ProAV banner demonstrates Hikvision’s intention to establish a stronger position in the global ProAV market.

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Uniguest has acquired Atlanta-based software developer Visix, expanding its footprint in the corporate workplace and higher education markets. The transaction further cements Uniguest’s position as one of the digital signage industry’s largest players by installed software licenses and continues its acquisition-driven growth strategy.

The acquisition adds Visix’s portfolio of digital signage, room scheduling, wayfinding and workplace communication solutions to the Uniguest ecosystem. Both companies have a strong presence in corporate campuses and higher education environments, where demand for employee, student and visitor engagement tools continues to grow.

Founded in 1980, Visix is considered one of the pioneers of the digital signage industry. The company markets itself as “the OG of digital signage” and has spent more than two decades developing and supporting content management software platforms. Through a network of AV integrators and IT value-added resellers, Visix serves more than 4,000 customers and over 1,000 educational campuses across North America.

According to Uniguest, the acquisition aligns with its strategy of expanding deeper into workplace and campus communications. These environments are becoming increasingly important as organisations seek more effective ways to connect employees, students and visitors across distributed locations.

For Uniguest, the transaction is another step toward building a digital engagement platform spanning multiple vertical markets. The company already serves healthcare, senior living, hospitality, sports, education and enterprise customers through a portfolio of digital signage and engagement technology brands.

Backed by private equity firm Atlantic Street Capital, Uniguest has completed a series of acquisitions in recent years, including purchases in healthcare communications, hospitality signage and enterprise engagement solutions. The addition of Visix strengthens its position in the higher education and corporate sectors while broadening its software offering for complex environments such as university campuses, healthcare systems and large enterprise facilities.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

List of Uniguest Acquisitions

• 2018 Onelan
• 2019 Tripleplay
• 2019 Touchdown
• 2020 VCTV
• 2021 Janus Displays
• 2021 Sagely
• 2021 UC View
• 2021 Volara
• 2021 Planet Estream
• 2022 Otrum
• 2022 CPI Global
• 2022 Mediastar
• 2023 Bunch
• 2023 Eversound
• 2023 Pcare

• Retail: US Retail Sales Extend Growth Streak as Electronics, Digital Products Lead
• Software: Korbyt Adds AI-Powered Room and Desk Booking to Workplace Platform
• Digital Signage: Amped Digital Modernizes Signage at Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre
• DooH: Digital to Capture 76% of UK Outdoor Ad Spend by 2031
• LED Technology: Faster, Better, Cheaper

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The separation of Forté and GPA is one of the most significant developments in the ProAV industry this year. While hardly unexpected, the move will reshape the competitive landscape for workplace technology providers from 2027 onwards. A standalone Forté will emerge with considerable scale, growing international reach and greater strategic flexibility. But what does the split mean for the digital signage ecosystem?

GPA is far more than a network of integrators with complementary geographic coverage. The organization also functions as a global procurement platform, allowing members to benefit from international supplier agreements and preferred vendor relationships. For manufacturers and technology providers, becoming a GPA-approved supplier is an  investment, but one that offers access to some of the world’s leading enterprise communications specialists and multinational projects. Until now, that value proposition also included Forté’s substantial presence across North America and Europe.

With Forté’s departure, GPA’s procurement power will inevitably be reduced, but not diminished to the point of irrelevance. The alliance will continue to represent a significant volume of enterprise business and remain an attractive route to market for manufacturers and software providers. However, the combined purchasing influence of the organization is expected to decline materially once Forté exits the network. While GPA’s ecosystem has often been associated with annual revenues approaching USD 2 billion, estimating the post-separation impact is difficult due to limited public financial disclosure and the complexity of revenues generated through partner relationships.

For the digital signage industry, the implications extend well beyond procurement. Display manufacturers including Samsung, LG, Philips, Sony and Sharp will increasingly view Forté as a strategic global account in its own right rather than primarily through the GPA ecosystem. The same applies to digital signage software vendors, workplace experience platforms and remote device management providers, all of which are competing for a larger share of enterprise technology budgets. The timing is particularly relevant. Enterprise communications and workplace technology continue to rank among the fastest-growing vertical markets in 2025 and 2026, driven by hybrid work, employee experience initiatives and the growing convergence of AV, IT and managed services. As a result, both GPA and Forté are likely to remain highly attractive partners for digital signage vendors, albeit through increasingly different business models and go-to-market strategies.

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