Barix installed at Mr Price
Published: MEA
SOUTH AFRICA: South African retail group, Mr Price, has upgraded its in-store radio with an Extreamer Store&Play solution from Barix. The nationwide project was handled by the manufacturer’s local representative, Technology Innovated Distribution (TID).
The retail giant is using the Barix solution to provide in-store music, adverts and live announcements at a variety of its outlets. ‘They have about 460 boxes in total,’ said TID’s Daniel Bricknell. ‘It is one per store and every store has different content depending on which chain of theirs it is. The content is tailored to where they are and what the brand is.’
According to Mr Bricknell, the Barix solution was the right one for the retailer due to Extreamer Store&Play’s capabilities. ‘It has 8GB of internal storage and it pulls the tracks and the playlists down from a server so it’s all scheduled,’ he explained. ‘Whenever the network is quiet, it can download new tracks, delete old tracks, put new adverts in and then you can schedule playlists for each store. You put it in and you have your in-store radio. It’s a really nice solution.’
A further advantage that Mr Bricknell can see is the system’s reporting capability. ‘They also monitor all of the devices on the network and can see when a box goes down,’ he reasoned. ‘They get sent an email when a box goes down. They have a team of guys monitoring so when they get an email they will phone the store to check on the problem.’
The installation of the system has been a straightforward process. ‘We went to the individual stores, got a network from their router, got the audio output into their sound system and then it was ready to go. Once it’s plugged in it can be managed from the central location,’ said Mr Bricknell. ‘If the network connection dies, it’s all on the box. If it can’t download new content, it continues with what it has.’
Barix has additionally upgraded its Store&Play firmware to accommodate live streaming, which is available as a free download for customers. This enables customers such as Mr Price to achieve both live streaming and scheduled playout based on a store and playback strategy on the same network.