• by Wayne Friedman , August 8, 2007

Think of those big blank digital plasma TV screens on living room walls as empty frames looking for a piece of art.

Four years ago, Paul Brownlow, president and founder of GalleryPlayer, thought the same thing. "People treat [plasma screens] like furniture," he says. "They want to get as much out of it as they can."

Now GalleryPlayer, with some 45 content providers that can provide tens of thousands of images, has its own set of channels in some 3 million digital Comcast cable system homes. It provides high-definition, high-resolution fine art and other still images.

"It's a different way to use your TV set," says Brownlow.

GalleryPlayer offers 12 different playing programs a month, each with some 250 images that play on the screen for about one minute each. There are a number of themes for each portfolio--including fine art, and assorted photographic volumes for travel, scenery and lifestyle. Soon, GalleryPlayer will add sports and entertainment images.

"You can create playlists--just like iTunes," says Brownlow.

There are also advertising opportunities. One of its first advertisers is Panasonic, which appropriately touts its array of plasma HD screens. Right now, GalleryPlayer offers a 15-second pre-roll video and a two-minute post-roll video at the end of each volume of images.

In addition, Brownlow says there are sponsorship opportunities for each image. When an image is first revealed, a transparent credit bar--which overlays about one-third of the image--appears for about 10 seconds. The credit bar offers the name of the piece, its creator, other details, and a place for a logo and URL for the marketer.

'It's a better experience for the advertiser," he says. "There is more value delivered to the viewers."

GalleryPlayer helped promote FX last year with its launch of "Dirt," a TV series about a tabloid magazine. "We created a gallery for "Dirt" and a bunch of high-def stills," says Brownlow.

The company has also done a deal with Panasonic in which its plasma screens will have an SD card in its new TV sets. Consumers can then download images from GalleryPlayer's Web site onto the card and put them into the TV set.

It has also done deals with distributors of TV programming in hotels, as well as moving into retail with a series of Blu-ray DVD products distributed by Image Entertainment. Titles include "1000 Places to See Before You Die: 50 Favorite Destinations," "The Amazing World of National Geographic," "Art Wolfe: Vanishing Act" and "50 Paintings from the Museum of Modern Art."

Says Brownlow: "We have the ability to bring this content to multiple distribution partners and also through packaged media."