MOD Systems Announces Availability of Its Award-Winning Consumer Kiosk

The "MOD POD" Enables Consumers to Download Music and Video To Media Devices and Burn CDs and DVDs in Stores
January 7th, 2008 - Las Vegas


MOD Systems, an industry leading provider of in-store digital media solutions, today announced it has begun shipping to retailers its MOD Systems Consumer Kiosk – MOD POD. The MOD POD is a touchscreen device which provides consumers with the ability to search, sample and download digital media quickly, easily and conveniently while in retail stores.

“Our MOD POD provides a dynamic way to select and download content,” said Mark Phillips, MOD Systems CEO and CTO. “Whether you’re looking to purchase music, a TV show, video, or a full-length feature film, the MOD POD is the next stage in retail content delivery and is helping reshape the entertainment-content-buying experience. Its compatibility with a large number of devices makes content more accessible than ever, as it is not restricted by proprietary formats.”

The MOD POD fulfills content delivery via a wide range of options including downloading direct to media devices, such as MP3 players and media-capable mobile phones, as well as burning to CDs and DVDs. Its multi-media touchscreen provides an intuitive user interface, as well as a secure and convenient in-store shopping experience. This makes the MOD POD a dynamic access point that compels shoppers to interact with millions of music tracks, movies, videos and other digital content.

In conjunction with the complete MOD Systems solution, the MOD POD further enables retailers to manage a virtual inventory of digital music and movies at both the corporate and store level to augment physical in-store stock. This ensures consumers can find the content they want and enables retailers to monetize the “long-tail” in entertainment content. The complete MOD System solution includes several components: the data center, a corporate server, an in-store server, MOD POD consumer kiosks, the MOD player, and the MOD Web store. Some or all of these components can be implemented depending on a retailer’s needs.

For retailers, the MOD POD offers significant advantages over standard PC-based kiosks. As an all-in-one sampling, searching, purchasing and fulfillment kiosk, the MOD POD is a highly reliable, purpose-built solution for digital assets and costs far less to maintain than traditional PC-based systems. The high resolution display, state-of-the-art performance and powerful video processor provide beautiful images and sounds, and the Power-over-Ethernet (POE) capability eliminates the need for electrical wiring at installation.

Content catalogues available with the MOD Systems solution currently include millions of digital media assets including music tracks from independent and major music labels, such as Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI Music, The Orchard, the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), and others. MOD Systems is also currently ingesting movie and TV content from major and independent studios to expand its catalogue.

The MOD POD was recently named an Honoree in the CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards in the Computer Hardware category, which recognizes the most innovative consumer electronics products in the industry.

MOD POD Features

• Engaging user experience. Customers can search on a variety of criteria, listen and watch, save and recommend. The user interface can be customized.
• Massive digital content library. MOD includes an ever-expanding rights and royalty managed library of millions of music tracks and movie trailers. Other digital assets are coming soon and will include movies and TV content.
• Download and/or manufacture. Customers can download content directly to handheld devices, such as MP3 or portable video players, memory cards and USB drives, as well as mobile phones. Consumers can also burn music tracks or albums on CDs, or videos and movies on DVDs. They can also create custom disc and jacket artwork.
• Compatible with numerous devices and includes support for Windows Media DRM.

MOD Systems’ Solution Features

• Seamless integration. MOD’s solution includes all the familiar transactional capabilities, including shopping cart features, and integrates with existing POS systems and loyalty programs.
• In-store promotions. Retailers can run promotions, house or 3rd party ads, and provide product tutorials or infomercials to further enhance the consumer experience and drive sales.
• An online store. MOD’s optional Web store component enables retailers to offer the same in-store functionality and experience from their corporate Web sites. It also allows consumers to order online and pick up CDs or DVDs in-store, or have the products shipped to the consumers’ preferred destination.
• A comprehensive, turnkey solution. MOD provides digital content and ingestion management, hosted software applications, specially designed touchscreen customer stations, installation, maintenance, training, and management tools.

MOD POD Technical Specifications

• POD Size: 10.6” x 8.4” x 2.3”
• Weight: 3 Lbs
• 10.4” diagonal screen, 800x600 pixel resolution, 262,144 colors
• Low-reflection, high-color-saturation for multimedia video
• Lamp life > 5 years
• Responsive touchscreen, 4 pin, resistive, ~10 bit resolution
• Built-in video camera, capture image size 1280(H) X 1024(V)
• Unidirectional Microphone up to 6ft
• Two high speed USB Ports
• Two analogue headphone jacks. 1 – 3.5mm connector located behind unit for attached headphone. 1 – 3.5mm connector located on the side of the unit for consumer headphones
• Magnetic card reader
• Bar code scan engine