Photos courtesy NEC Display Solutions
By Michael Ferrer
Video walls are growing in popularity every day. Part of their appeal is how they inspire people’s imagination. While static signs can seem a tad too reminiscent of the past and smaller digital signs are no longer rare, the large scale of video walls can still deliver a ‘wow’ factor, whether on a technology-focused business campus marketing itself to prospective tenants or in a school that needs to quickly convey updated information to hundreds of students each day.
As video walls are scalable and can be arranged in a variety of shapes and sizes, they also inspire creativity. Before deploying an outside-the-box configuration, however, sign companies need to first think through the medium’s implications and have a plan for success.
With that in mind, the following is a checklist of eight tips for getting the most out of a video wall deployment project.
1. Identify needs and goals.
Before designing and building a video wall, it is important to give strong consideration to its purpose, goals and potential uses. As a larger-scale version of digital signage, a video wall can be used to display information and event listings or assist with wayfinding. It can deliver presentations, lectures or data visualizations. It might be touch-interactive.
If a video wall’s specific purpose is not yet known, it will certainly be difficult to design in a highly functional manner. All of the above factors will come into play when determining the screen array’s dimensions for a particular environment and the best location(s) to ensure high visibility and readability. A touch-interactive video wall, for example, will need to be in easy reach for passersby. For these reasons, a site survey and needs analysis are required.
2. Plan the content.
As elsewhere in the digital signage sector, ‘content is king.’ It is important to discuss what content will be displayed before the hardware is installed. No one wants to be tweaking content on-the-fly just minutes before a video wall’s debut.
A video wall may showcase one large image, multiple smaller images from different sources
at the same time or a mix somewhere in between. It is imperative to work with content creators to determine which specific file formats and image resolutions will be used when designing the content, along with who will manage and update it over time.
3. Go native.
Speaking of image resolutions, most of today’s professional-grade video walls can accept a high-definition (HD) input signal at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and then stretch or scale it up to the necessary size.
Some can even work with an ultra-HD (UHD) ‘4K’ resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and stretch
a single image across many screens using internal daisy chaining. This scaling capability, which is usually built into the screens, loops the single input through the multiple monitors and reduces the need for additional equipment.
It is highly recommended, however, for content to match the screens’ native resolution. For more complex and larger video walls, designs can involve multi-head graphic cards, specialized content management system (CMS) software and/or external video processors to manipulate the content accordingly. All of the hardware components should match so there are no bandwidth restrictions.
4. Choose professional-grade displays.
Today’s commercial-grade digital displays are designed for more than just long hours of continual use. They should also offer precise calibration capabilities to achieve uniform brightness levels and colours from screen to screen, along with reliable operations in particularly demanding public environments.
Some displays feature expansion slots for open pluggable specification (OPS) computers or even integrate computers for an all-in-one system. It is important to compare such features and inputs before purchasing screens for a video wall.
