• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, March 1, 2013

While the cost of digital out-of-home hardware has been dropping, it’s still too pricey for many smaller businesses -- but that fact may change soon, thanks to RMG Networks, which unveiled a new digital signage product that can turn any ordinary TV into a DOOH display.

RMG’s new gadget, ChalkboxTV, is a set-top box that connects existing TVs to custom media content stored on a cloud-based Internet platform. Business owners can use it to create localized marketing programs, including promotions and special offers, for a single venue or multiple venues. The marketing content appears alongside live TV programming in an L-shaped frame on the screen, which owners can customize using a number of templates. Full-screen executions are also available.

The system is compatible with any cable or satellite TV service, and will become available beginning April 2013 through a network of dealers.

RMG has been repositioning itself within the DOOH marketplace. Last year it sold its digital out-of-home network in cafés to DigiCast Networks, a division of Brite Media Group. RMG also announced plans to sell its Fitness network. According to the company, the sale of these two networks allowed it to focus on its other DOOH networks, which reach businesspeople as they travel, including displays in airplanes, airport lounges, taxis, Amtrak trains, and elsewhere.

More recently, in January of this year the company launched a new Mall Media network using assets from the Akoo International Mall Network. The new network includes DOOH displays in 161 malls, reaching 46 million viewers per month across 61 DMAs.