Video Wall

The bezel and energy debates

Continuous advances in video wall technology mean that displays with thick, obtrusive bezels are increasingly being replaced by thinner and sleeker alternatives. There are now a host of options on the market, ranging from true bezel-less models to virtually bezel-less substitutes that have a comparable visual effect.

Likewise, LED and LCD technology advances are achieving better uniformity, sharper clarity, and higher brightness than ever before, whilst driving power consumption down and energy bill savings up. Couple this with substantial reductions in the previously prohibitive price of individual units, and advanced video wall solutions are becoming more accessible and affordable than ever.

Resolution revolution

Despite a drive by manufacturers to make 4K the industry standard resolution by 2017, HD still accounts for the overwhelming majority of displays sold in the UK and abroad. This is no bad thing – as long as the bulk of media content is still being produced in HD (which it is), HD displays are adequate for the majority of applications.

Nevertheless, there’s no stopping the move towards the era of 4K and up. In part, this is because non-standard resolution formats accommodate non-standard creative video wall applications to such amazing effect. With the right hardware and software behind the scenes, screens can be arranged in any number of configurations, including uniform tiling, artistic montages, or extreme scatter wall effects. While these are all still doable using only HD displays, assimilating larger 4K, 5K, or even 8K displays into the design can produce the most incredible, versatile, and scalable video wall displays imaginable for many years to come.

IP progress

Many of the technology advances making extreme high-res video wall displays a viable option for the most boundary-pushing clients are also transforming the operation of video walls more generally. First among these is the provision of IP capability, the benefits of which include:

• Improved creative programming – pre-segmented content is fed directly to each screen, allowing operators to “build” a video image in any configuration across their panels. This also means that individual screens can be isolated for discrete content (think of a sports bar with the big match playing on the video wall, and a corner screen reserved for a channel showing league scores)
• Improved content management
• Multi-source functionality
• Highly flexible and responsive control
• Unlimited scalability
• Energy efficient, eco-friendly, and economical

Next steps

Aside from being able to navigate the labyrinth of tech, Hutchison-t also understand how physical design, price point, reliability, image quality, ambient light conditions, and ease of installation and maintenance impact the effectiveness of a video wall display. Whatever your message – whether it’s entertainment, information, advertising or promotions – Hutchison-t will be able to design and deliver a comprehensive solution to make sure you get it across.