All-in-one powerhouse displays offer efficient, high-quality visual solutions for various environments. These displays aim to simplify complex setups and provide crisp, clear imagery even in bright settings. They often feature narrow pixel pitches, high resolutions, and wide color gamuts for vivid and detailed visuals. Many incorporate technologies to reduce reflectivity and expand viewing angles.

Key advantages include ease of installation, portability, and flexible expandability. Some models are designed with foldable structures, enabling speedy setup, transportation, and compact storage, often accompanied by protective cases. Connectivity options are versatile to ensure compatibility with different devices. These integrated solutions often combine display, audio, video conferencing, processing, and computing systems into a single device, making them an optimal choice for efficiency in meeting scenarios. They are designed for long-term, stable operation and robust protection against impact, dust, and moisture.

Below are 13 all-in-one displays for 2025.

Absen All-in-One X163 V2 4K Series

Absen’s X163 V2 4K Series transforms the all-in-one LED display experience, delivering native 4K resolution, interactive touch capability, and seamless deployment in a single, elegant package. Built to eliminate unnecessary complexity, this next-generation platform streamlines installation, operation, and maintenance without compromising performance or aesthetics. The X163 V2 4K Series is purpose-built for corporate boardrooms, higher education environments, executive lobbies, and collaborative retail spaces. The X Series ships as a complete solution. Every unit includes an integrated controller, built-in power supply, precision audio system, and all essential display components; no additional hardware required. Installation takes hours, not days – drastically reducing labor time and deployment risk. Its integrated lift-type control box supports an impressive 97 percent screen-to-body ratio while ensuring rapid access for servicing in under five minutes without removing the panel. Flexibility is built into the foundation of the X163 V2 4K Series, as it can be wall-mounted, placed on a mobile stand, or paired with an electric height-adjustable bracket. The X163 V2 4K Series features a high-precision infrared touch system that supports natural, responsive engagement with no need for overlays or third-party tools.

DTEN’s D7X 27

DTEN’s D7X 27 redefines workplace versatility. It is a powerful, all-in-one collaboration solution designed to meet the demands of today’s hybrid and dynamic work environments with minimal IT complexity. With a sleek, 27-inch capacitive touchscreen and advanced audiovisual features, it’s a flexible endpoint that adapts across ever-changing digital use cases, including kiosks, contact centers, collaboration, and office wayfinding. Designed on a robust Android 12 compute platform, the D7X 27 integrates a multi-microphone array, three-camera system with 50MP center camera, and enterprise-grade speakers to ensure clear video and audio in one-on-one or small-space deployments. The high-precision, touch-enabled display supports both standalone operation and BYOD workflows via USB-C, providing users with a second monitor experience, device charging, and peripheral connectivity.

LG's LAPA Series

LG Electronics USA has expanded its dvLED portfolio with the launch of new 136-inch and 163-inch All-in-One DVLED displays (LAPA series), designed for fast, one-day installation.

LG’s latest LAPA series models feature a true all-in-one design, combining built-in loudspeakers, embedded webOS controllers, and a simplified power and signal setup that requires just a single standard AC plug. This streamlined configuration saves time and labor for technology integrators, enabling a full installation in just one day. Each DVLED module attaches easily to the supplied landscape wall mount using the provided tools, and once secured, a single power cord powers the entire display – simplifying connections and ensuring a clean, tidy installation.

“These two new models make LED a reality for virtually any organization, with one-day-install and effortless ‘plug-and-play’ setup supporting unlimited usage scenarios,” said Tom Bingham, director of B2B vertical markets at LG Electronics USA. “Built-in webOS and quad-core increase the simplicity at the heart of these models, making them the ideal solution for both integrators and end users.”

Combining ease of installation with exceptional performance, the LAPA series delivers Full HD (1920×1080) resolution, 500-nit brightness, and fine pixel pitches of 1.56mm (136-inch) and 1.88mm (163-inch), offering vibrant, high-clarity visuals for a wide range of commercial environments.

For added convenience, an optional dedicated stand is available, allowing users to position their display depending upon installation requirements easily. Additionally, the LAPA series can be seamlessly arranged side-by-side in a 1×N configuration, accommodating up to 10 screens to suit the specific installation site and purpose.

Nanolumens Captivate Series

Nanolumens Captivate Series is an all-in-one display solution engineered to elevate collaboration across corporate, education and public environments.

Available in three optimized configurations, the latest Captivate Series combines a high-performance display, precision-engineered mount and streamlined remote control into one turnkey unit. By removing the complexity of traditional installations, Captivate delivers plug-and-play simplicity, enabling effortless deployment and immediate impact. The display is offered in three sizes to suit a variety of applications, including a 135-inch Full HD model ideal for mid-size conference rooms and classrooms, a 165-inch Full HD version tailored for larger collaboration spaces and executive boardrooms, and an 162-inch Ultra HD 4K display that offers immersive resolution for high-end environments.

Designed to support intuitive, dynamic collaboration, the new Captivate makes it easy for participants to share and connect from any device, whether using Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS. With built-in wireless functionality, users can present content from anywhere in the room, creating a more inclusive and engaging experience for every attendee. The display integrates seamlessly with major conferencing platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Webex, and features built-in audio and control systems to ensure meetings run smoothly right out of the box.

Neat’s Neat Board Pro

Neat’s Neat Board Pro delivers a vivid display of power through a 65-inch multi-touch screen and naturally adaptive, far-reaching audio and video for immersive meeting experiences in one elegant device. It offers a range of extendable capabilities, collaboration applications, and uniquely flexible mounting options, and is perfect for medium to large meeting spaces. Its streamlined, all-in-one design ensures a fast setup, tidy workspace, ease of use, and little required maintenance. Anyone can set it up and get going within minutes, and with just a power output, you won't need to run additional cables across the room, minimizing complexity and clutter.

[Winners Announced: Best of Show at InfoComm 2025 for AV Technology]

Optoma’s ProScene FHDC135 dvLED Display

Optoma’s ProScene FHDC135 dvLED Display offers a quick and energy-efficient solution for exceptional performance in corporate, enterprise, education, house of worship, and retail environments. The FHDC135 is powered by efficient Flip Chip Chip-on-Board (COB) technology to maximize 700 nits of brightness and enhance light efficiency for cooler operations, ensuring consistent performance and longevity. It delivers exceptional clarity and depth—even in bright environments—and a 3,840Hz refresh rate ensures smooth motion with reduced flickering. The FHDC135 arrives pre-calibrated and with pre-assembled, lightweight LED columns that eliminate the hassle of complex cabinet configurations while reducing installation time—and the flight case makes transportation easy.

Panasonic Projector and Display Americas’ All-In-One dvLED AD Series

Panasonic Projector and Display Americas’ All-In-One dvLED AD Series saves time and reduces labor, all while offering reliable AIO-LED for crisp, clear imagery—even in bright environments. The solution responds to the demand for narrow-pitch indoor LEDs that support flexible installation and expandability with high operability and long-term, stable operation. The All-In-One dvLED AD Series includes a 137- or 165-inch all-in-one LED display that combines high visibility and ease of installation, inheriting the high image processing technology and usability developed for professional LCD displays. The addition of an LED display gives users the freedom to choose the most suitable video display device for their environment and application.

Philips Professional Displays’ Philips Unite LED 6015

Philips Professional Displays’ (PPDS) Philips Unite LED 6015 stands as a breakthrough in advanced all-in-one (AIO) LED displays that has to be seen to be believed. Combining unparalleled flexibility and sustainability together with the latest advances in cutting-edge screen technology and eye-catching, stylish design—the innovative Philips Unite LED 6015 AIO effortlessly delivers best-in-class visual performances in any space. Its foldable design makes for speedy installation, portability between spaces or even sites, easy transportation, and compact storage. The 6015 can also be ordered with a bespoke flight case, protecting all parts of the display during storage and transport, including special protection for the screen.

Planar UltraRes L Series

Planar UltraRes L Series Full HD resolution all-in-one MicroLED and LED displays combine the ease-of-use and best-in-class processing of the Planar UltraRes family with award-winning Planar fine pixel pitch LED technology as an ideal replacement to projection in meeting rooms and classrooms. The display comes with a wall mount and can be quickly assembled with only two people. It features on-board processing, audio, power from a standard 110V outlet, native multi-point touch, and multiple inputs to support simultaneous viewing of up to four content sources. An optional rolling floor stand is available.

Integrated speakers, native interactive touch, and multiple inputs support simple content sharing and collaboration, while the intuitive column LED design makes setup and maintenance a breeze.

The Planar UltraRes L Series is available in three sizes (109, 122, and 136 inches).

QSTECH’s XWALL V3 135-Inch 4K LED AIO Display

QSTECH’s XWALL V3 135-Inch 4K LED AIO Display is a dedicated conference room product that integrates display, audio amplification, video conferencing, video processing, and computing systems into a single device. This all-in-one solution addresses issues of complex audiovisual equipment setups and inconvenient operations in meeting scenarios, making it the optimal choice for efficiency. Featuring a 0.7mm pixel pitch and 4K ultra-high resolution, it incorporates the latest Hyber-bit 2.0 technology across all series. With 110 percent NTSC wide color gamut and 15,000:1 contrast ratio, the display delivers vivid, richly detailed visuals. Additionally, COB optical film technology and matte surface treatment reduce reflectivity by 60 percent, while the soft light source expands viewing angles.

Sharp's LD-AF Series

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA), a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC), launched its new All-In-One Direct View LED displays. The LD-AF Series furthers Sharp's LED display portfolio with its enhanced features and seamless integration across Sharp's product line, making it ideal for corporate or education environments.

The All-In-One Direct View LED displays, available in two sizes of 138 and 165 inches (diagonal), provide a seamless image with the high-quality contrast and brightness expected from dvLED. Unlike traditional LED displays, these models offer an easy, hassle-free installation process and can be set up in as little as two hours, with no special training required. Additionally, the plug-and-play functionality allows for a simple, efficient experience in areas like classrooms, conference rooms, and meeting spaces.

Designed to be user-friendly, the LED All-In-One models feature elements from Sharp's PN-ME2 Series, supporting the same user interface and control protocol, as well as robust SOC functionality with NaViSet Administrator2, Crestron connected and Eshare. The models are equipped with various connection terminals, including HDMIx3 and USB-C, large-capacity speakers, and built-in Wi-Fi for wireless screen sharing and media player functionality.

SiliconCore Technology’s Mobile Foldable LED Columns

This product might fall outside the "all-in-one" category, but its ultra-portability deserves noting.

SiliconCore Technology’s Mobile Foldable LED Columns deliver high-resolution performance and ultra-portability in a sustainable, reconfigurable format. Engineered with Common Cathode IQ, each column consumes up to 50 percent less power while delivering superior brightness and lifespans exceeding 100,000 hours. Designed to fold, roll, and deploy in minutes with no rigging or calibration, they empower more users to access premium LED performance without infrastructure limitations. From hybrid studios to mobile activations, these columns democratize advanced visual technology, enabling scalable, energy-efficient installations wherever inspiration strikes.

ViewSonic’s LDS Series

The LDS Series is a mobile, all-in-one solution that arrives pre-assembled in a flight case for fast, flexible deployment—ideal for events and temporary installations.

The LDS138-151 mobile dvLED display is a game-changer for event-driven and retail environments. It sets up in minutes—no wall mounts or technical crew required. Simply unfold, plug into a standard 20-amp outlet, and deliver stunning visuals on demand.

Universities are embracing dvLED to transform large venues like auditoriums and gymnasiums into high-impact communication hubs. With easy operation and durable builds, these systems thrive in high-traffic settings where reliability matters most.

dvLED once came with a steep learning curve and hefty installation costs. That’s no longer the case. Thanks to advancements in design and manufacturing, dvLED is now both more affordable and easier to deploy.

“dvLED technology is improving as prices come down, which opens up new opportunities for higher education, large conference rooms, and public spaces,” said Shane Roma, technical product manager at ViewSonic. “Our all-in-one systems make video walls seamless and easier than ever to specify and install.”

Roma also pointed to ViewSonic’s integration of GOB (Glue-On-Board) technology, which enhances durability—making dvLED a strong choice even in high-touch or public areas.

The Fourth of July in Las Vegas is always a sight to see. This year, the famed Las Vegas Strip went to a whole new level. Watch for yourself.

Sphere lit up the global stage with a captivating display of dynamic, animated content on the venue’s exterior—the Exosphere—transforming the Las Vegas skyline. A signature feature of Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium, the Exosphere will showcase a wide range of artistic and branded content that will be seen not only by guests at Sphere and the 40-plus-million visitors to Las Vegas each year, but also is photographed and shared around the world on social media.
 
As part of a special show to celebrate the Fourth of July, for the first time ever, Sphere’s 580,000 square foot fully-programmable LED exterior—the largest LED screen on earth—was completely illuminated. The show started with a welcome—“Hello World”—and was followed by dazzling fireworks and stars and stripes animations, before transitioning through a wide array of visual content, from vibrant underwater scenes to performances to vividly textured lunar surfaces, putting on full display the versatility of this unparalleled canvas.

[Show Me the Monet: My Daughter and Her Friends Loved This Immersive Adventure]

“The Exosphere is more than a screen or a billboard—it is living architecture, and unlike anything that exists anywhere in the world," said Guy Barnett, senior vice president brand strategy and creative development. "[The July 4] show provided a glimpse of the Exosphere’s captivating power, and the possibilities for artists, partners, and brands to create compelling and impactful stories to connect with audiences in new ways.”
 
“Sphere’s Exosphere is a 360-degree canvas for brand storytelling that will be seen around the world, offering our partners an unparalleled opportunity to become part of the greatest show on Earth," said David Hopkinson, president and chief operating officer of MSG Sports. "There’s nothing comparable to the impact from displaying innovative brand and immersive content on the world’s largest video screen. The extraordinary experiences we can create are only limited by imagination, and we’re thrilled to finally share with the world the spectacular potential of the Exosphere.”
 
The Exosphere consists of approximately 1.2 million LED pucks, spaced eight inches apart. Each puck contains 48 individual LED diodes, with each diode capable of displaying 256 million different colors—creating a vivid new landmark on the Las Vegas skyline.

[You Got to See this Enormous 92-Foot Video Wall from Neoti]
 
The Fourth of July production was just the beginning for the Exosphere, as it will continue to display creative activations in coordination with major events in Las Vegas, with more content planned throughout the month. Later this year, the Exosphere will be prominently featured as part of Sphere’s opening in September with U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, as well as during the first Sphere Experience, Postcard from Earth directed by Darren Aronofsky, in October. In November, during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, Sphere will have a prime position along the circuit to showcase the Exosphere to a global audience—in-person and on TV—as well as significant exposure through planned takeovers of the Exosphere for race-related content, activations and advertising. Eventually, the Exosphere will display a wide range of artistic and branded content daily, from rituals such as sunrise and sunset, to impactful brand campaigns, to delightful moments running at set times.
 
The Exosphere was developed by an interdisciplinary team of creative, production, technology, and software experts at Sphere Studios—the immersive content studio dedicated to creating live entertainment experiences exclusively for Sphere. Sphere Studios partnered with Montreal-based SACO Technologies, an industry leader in solid-state LED video lighting and media solutions, to design and manufacture the Exosphere’s unique LED display. The Studios team also worked with 7thSense, a creative software and technology company specializing in high profile media-based attractions, to deliver programming onto the Exosphere using their advanced media server, pixel processing, and show control technologies, in continuation of a decade-long partnership with MSG. The content for the Fourth of July show was designed and developed by Sphere Studios’ experienced in-house Creative Services team.

Orchard Road, Singapore has added another jewel to its crown in the form of the first and largest PUMA flagship store, not just in Singapore, in the whole of Southeast Asia. This unique retail environment, designed to mirror Puma’s brand essence of weaving sports into lifestyle, reflects Singapore’s vibrant heritage and Puma’s relentless energy.

PUMA chose the “LUMOS” LED display system, designed and developed by UK-based Esprit Digital. Together with Singaporean integration specialist PAVE, the two installed LUMOS throughout the flagship store. PUMA are the latest in a growing list of globally recognized retail brands to choose the LUMOS system, amongst them Adidas, Armani, Harvey Nichols, Virgin, and Westfield for their stores and screen networks.

[Why Go Wide with dvLED Displays?]

“The Singapore Flagship project was a really important one for Puma, as it is our largest and highest profile location in SEA (Southeast Asia)," explained Colette Hilton, head of retail at PUMA UK/IE. "As part of the overall project, we decided to make digital signage an integral part of our marketing strategy, not only to communicate with customers and enhance their in-store experience, but also to attract passers-by into the store. LUMOS LEDs delivered on every level—they can be updated live, look stunning, and they create a real vibe.”

On entering the store, customers are transported into the very latest digital era with a striking double-sided 13x13-foot indoor LED mesh, brought to life by the main attraction on the back wall—a stunning 13x6-foot display, situated directly behind the Customer Service Counters and a three-sided 6.5x3-foot LED display pillar located just in front, creating a visual impact.

"The whole PUMA experience starts before the consumer even enters the store, with a massive 62.3x6.6-foot, 5,500-nit ‘See-Thru’ LUMOS LED facing the street," said James Wilder sales director at Esprit Digital. "This display blends seamlessly into  the architecture of the building and grabs the customer’s attention from across the street, enticing them to cross over and explore the wonderful world of PUMA.

[The Mountains Are Calling]

“The LUMOS ‘See-Thru’ LED is a unique product and the perfect solution for when a digital display is needed on a façade. As its name suggests, it is transparent and allows light into the store, but still has high resolution to display powerful imagery to all passers-by.”

Sponsored content by Hall Technologies

ProAV USB workflows might seem like a new phenomenon accelerated by COVID’s work/learn from home reality. But the trend was solidifying long before the pandemic shook the globe. Manufacturers large and small have been adding USB ports into their products for years, to connect laptops, mice, microphones, and web cameras. As demand grew, AV pros realized they could optimize USB and do a whole lot more than mere one-to-one connections.

Meet the USB. A ubiquitous standard with immense potential. USB (Universal Serial Bus) is one of those underreported yet massively relevant technologies. It doesn’t get the glamor or glory of hot-ticket items, but USB ports, cables, and workflows are changing how installers design rooms and how end-users collaborate. 

USB for Group Collaboration

What’s a ProAV USB workflow? How AV operations flow through connected USB-enabled devices, from inception to completion of a task.

What if users aren’t in the same room together? They can't access the same USB device because it only plugs into one laptop. How do we widely share USB devices?

“The USB workflow evolved because we wanted to put USB in the room for multiple people to utilize,” Ken Eagle, Vice President of Technology, Hall Technologies, said.

With the new USB workflow, there is no need to disconnect. Hall Technologies’ switching solution allows users to “make the switch” as easily as changing inputs during presentations. USB devices change inputs while the video changes input. This is the shift and promise of USB workflows as they graduated from personal devices to shared, corporate devices on a larger AV network of products.

Check out this video where Eagle explains in detail what a USB workflow looks like in various meeting spaces and how your organization can benefit.

About Hall Technologies

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the right technology can prove essential to staying in touch with the outside world. For more than three decades Hall Technologies has been a leader in the Pro AV industry with a longstanding reputation for providing top-quality, highly reliable end-to-end solutions.

From video distribution and switchers/scalers to completely integrated audio, video, and control systems, we aim to strengthen human connection – whether that be in the home, office, or classroom. Hall Technologies: reimagining the way we live, work and play.

Sponsored content by Vanguard

Michael Wiener, CEO and founder of Vanguard LED Displays, shares what sets his company apart from its competition and highlights two products that have recently won numerous AV industry awards. 

"We are committed to the pursuit of excellence, both in the handling of our customers and in the development of leading-edge technology," Wiener said. "Although customer priority is number one—it's very important to stress the fact that we are American-based and American. Our business has been based on stellar service and responsiveness." 

Vanguard's Axion Acuity LED Series with a virtual P 0.48-pixel pitch and its XR Studio Series recently won numerous AV industry awards. Wiener explained what sets these products apart from its competitors. "The Virtual Acuity Series is based on an algorithm that allows us to connect an existing LED or pixel to two adjoining pixels," he said. "The effect is that we need to use only half the number of lamps to create a pixel pitch. This, in turn, allows us to keep our prices very, very competitive for very, very low pixel pitches." 

The DCI-P3 (Digital Cinema Initiative) defines the color space standard used in digital theatrical motion picture distribution. Wiener said that using Brompton or Novastar technology, Vanguard's XR Studio Series can achieve those standards. Not only can it achieve the standard, but in a laboratory test with its competitors, it exceeded the standard. "That is a big feather in our cap, where for the broadcast and film industries, they can hit standards set by their industry," he added. 

Check out the video interview as Wiener explains the technical details behind Vanguard's award-winning Axion Acuity LED Series with a virtual P 0.48-pixel pitch and its XR Studio Series.

About Vanguard

Vanguard is an American owned company, headquartered in Lakeland, Florida.

Their mission statement is: complete customer satisfaction, defined by our core values of integrity, service, responsiveness and communication.

Their core values take many practical forms including: Industry leading new technology, expert design advice at the outset of a project, timely quotes, the quickest lead times in the industry, helpful CADs and electrical drawings, professional commissioning, proficient on-site training and stellar after sales services.

To see what innovations Vanguard LED will deliver next, visit vanguardled.com 

Custom Electronics, Inc. (CEI) announced the launch of Epidaur Digital, a new project solutions company that also manufactures flexible, durable LED display systems. Designed and developed by CEI, Epidaur Digital is an American corporation that builds next-generation permanent and temporary immersive digital experiences ideal for retail, hospitality, themed entertainment and commercial projects. Epidaur Digital launches with the release of its first digital display product line, the FX Series Modular LED Solution.

With a focus on adaptability and crafting a unique solution for the industry, Epidaur Digital’s FX Series Modular LED Solution lends itself to eye-catching displays that allow for the quick and easy creation of video walls of any size, shape or configuration. The flexible design allows the panels to follow any combination of flat or curved surfaces. This makes them ideal for unique creative installations, architectural elements and marketing activations. Impact resilient and weather and water resistant, the FX Series Modular LED Solution gives creatives the ability to truly think outside the 16/9 box.

[SCN Top 50 Systems Integrators 2021] 

“Epidaur Digital is a great addition to the CEI family and has already become a crucial player to so many professionals in the LED display systems market,” said Carol Brower, vice president of operations, CEI. “Leveraging CEI’s background in aerospace and mission-critical R&D, the depth of Epidaur Digital’s engineering is a main differentiator and asset for the company. The Epidaur Digital team follows the same consistency and reliability that CEI was built on, and we look forward to seeing our digital displays in use.”

The FX Series Modular LED Solution features a magnetic mounting system for easy installation, and 6,000 nits of dimmable light. Setting itself apart from competitors with its 1-foot x 1-foot module, Epidaur Digital’s newest solution is lightweight, high-bright and is assembled in the United States.

[The Nine 2022: Meet 9 Pro AV Superstars] 

“The backbone of Epidaur Digital is CEI’s electronic manufacturing expertise; its engineering and production abilities are at the aerospace level,” said Jonathan Glanz, president, Epidaur Digital. “We are all about working with designers and architects to execute their visions. From ideation through design development, fabrication, integration and on-going managed services.”

UK-based digital signage software company, embed signage, announced its official partnership and direct integration with Nexmosphere.

Nexmosphere is a Dutch manufacturer of sensors and controls offering interactive components for digital signage installations and POS. Nexmosphere’s Xperience platform is valued for its robustness, cost-effectiveness, and ‘plug-and-smile’ interfacing.

[Digital Signage: The Future Is Bright] 

“We’re happy to have officialized our collaboration with embed signage after years of working together on successful implementations," said Hubert van Doorne, Nexmosphere’s business development manager. "They’re running a successful CMS that just makes it so easy to incorporate and manage interactive features, not to mention their customer-driven mentality which we highly appreciate at Nexmosphere.”

The direct integration of Nexmosphere sensors and LED into embed differs from other CMS platforms on the market. With the integration in embed, users simply use the built-in drop downs, sliders, and other UI elements to easily build their experiences, without having to reference the Nexmosphere API. This, paired with embed’s existing features and Analytics capabilities, offers a truly compelling package for managing creative digital experiences.

[Now Available: Digital Signage Best Practices Guide 2022] 

“We’ve been working with Nexmosphere on a variety of projects in the past few years and the expanse of possibilities for creating exciting interactive experiences is truly impressive," said Drew Harding from embed signage. "We wanted to make this easily accessible to all of our users so, as well as supporting commands sent as ASCII + HEX in embed, we have taken away the complexity of referencing the Nexmosphere API and instead built-in the functionality for each sensor and LED directly to the CMS. This eliminates a significant technical barrier and opens up the creative possibilities to a much wider audience - we’re delighted to announce this partnership.”

The list of supported Nexmosphere sensors and LED control include RFID, wireless pickup, wired pickup, snappers, presence, proximity, motion, color, temperature, humidity, light and AirGesture sensors, AirButton, touch and pushbuttons, as well as RGBW, X-Wave, and LightMark LED control. All of which are compatible with embed’s player applications for Windows, macOS, and BrightSign with further OS platform support under development.

[Digital Signage on the Go]

Successful deployments of embed signage and Nexmosphere include the Krispy Kreme GEN8 cabinets, apetito HQ, Eleven Australia and Suffolk Wildlife Trust amongst others, along with several POC’s underway with large retail brands.

Nexmosphere will be exhibiting at ISE in Barcelona on Booth: 6G255 as well as having a range of products on show at the ISE Retail Showcase in Hall 6, Booth 6A200 which will take visitors on a journey through the ultimate frictionless retail experience.

During its recent brand refresh, Nanolumens issued a new transparent LED mesh product series called CLRVU. The first use case of CLRVU can be seen at the recently unveiled TK Elevators headquarters and test facility, located at The Battery Atlanta.

[Nanolumens 2022: New Brand Identity, New Website]

"Along with our new brand identity comes a robust product roadmap for 2022 and beyond. We announced the addition of our CLRVU series on our recent branding webinar," said Brice McPheeters, Nanolumens VP of Product and Planning. "Our CLRVU mesh-based technology can be used indoors or outdoors to seamlessly blend into the architecture of your building. One main differentiator for CLRVU is that it allows for the customization of the display's resolution, power consumption and transparency, unlike others. Making a brilliant statement effortlessly is easy with this durable and long-lasting LED display. It's designed and assembled in the US and built totally to specification in pixel pitches ranging from 10mm-25mm."

[Nanolumens Launches NanoDesigner Room Certification Tool]

Nanolumens collaborates with its integrator and ecosystem partners, as well as the AEC and AV design communities, to make unsurpassed first and lasting experiences. CLRVU is available now with Nanolumens Nixel to Pixel warranty and U.S.-based support. CLRVU comes with customizable transparency built to your specifications in pixel pitches offering clear viewing angles that make a visual impact with minimal effect on the view from the inside.

Daktronics has designed, manufactured, and installed a new narrow pixel pitch LED display inside the University of North Carolina-Pembroke’s (UNCP) student center on campus in Pembroke, North Carolina. The installation also includes two double-sided marquee displays and took place this summer to welcome students back to campus in the fall. 

“The LED display has become a real focal point in the Chavis University Center,” said Dr. Jeff Howard, UNCP vice chancellor for student affairs. “It is both a great avenue for promoting campus activities as well as becoming the activity itself when showing content like sporting events or video games. The double-sided marquees are very popular for advertising campus events to our campus and community. UNCP and our students certainly approve of these new promotion opportunities.” 

The narrow pixel pitch display features 1.6mm pixel spacing and measures approximately 7 feet high by 14 feet wide. It engages students in a prime gathering area on campus as it shares live feeds of campus events and other university messages. It’s capable of variable content zoning which allows it to show one large image or to be divided into multiple zones to show a combination of video, graphics and messages at the same time. 

“Campus communication is an extremely important aspect for both students and universities in today’s world,” said Corey Williams, Daktronics sales representative on the project. “Implementing a high-quality, close-viewing LED technology into this space gives UNCP an advantage in connecting with their students and changing messages quickly and easily. We’re excited and honored to bring these LED displays to their campus.” 

Two double-sided marquee displays were also installed on campus. One is located at the main entrance to welcome visitors to campus and measures approximately 6.5 feet high by 11 feet wide. The other display is located outside Givens Performing Arts Center to welcome audiences and inform them of upcoming events. This display measures approximately 4 feet high by 9 feet wide. Both double-sided displays feature 10mm pixel spacings. 

To connect and control the new displays, Daktronics included Venus Control Suite . The flexible and powerful solution can schedule content on both indoor and outdoor displays from anywhere using one control space. 

Daktronics offers a line of narrow pixel pitch LED displays ranging from 2.5mm down to 0.7mm line spacings. The product line brings opportunities to spaces commonly associated with LCD technology to create luxurious environments, share artistic digital content, or show detailed, high-quality video.

There’s a new addition to the iconic New York City skyline: SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. Blending elements of art and technology, SUMMIT takes the concept of an “observation deck” to entirely new heights featuring Samsung technology.

Recently opened to the public, SUMMIT delivers an immersive experience that can change the way visitors view the most famous skyline in the world. The multi-level entertainment space features Levitation, two all-glass skyboxes allowing visitors to stand 1,063 feet above Madison Avenue; Ascent, a glass elevator to take them to the highest viewpoint of the city; and Apres, a lavish indoor café and outdoor bar to enjoy refreshments with the endless views.

Also nestled on the first two floors of SUMMIT is AIR, a five-part story-driven, multi-space immersive experience. Designed by visionary artist Kenzo Digital, AIR offers visitors a multi-floor, multi-space immersion that challenges their notions of physical reality, the city that surrounds them, and their sense of self. The transformative experience of AIR concludes in UNITY, an installation supported by a 750-square-foot 1.2mm IWJ Wall Series Samsung display.

[Creating Interactive Experiences with Digital Signage]

The massive display measures more than 47 feet wide and 11 feet tall, with 33 million pixels working seamlessly with content that is customized for each visitor. Upon arrival, visitors are welcome to take a photo of themselves that later reappears in UNITY. When visitors enter the space, the portraits are transformed into a cloud in a mesmerizing, infinite cloudscape. The exciting finale of AIR surrounds guests in clouds, both real and virtual.

“We are proud to be a partner with SL Green on this truly groundbreaking experience and to be featured in yet another iconic New York City landmark,” said Harry Patz, senior vice president and general manager, Display Division, Samsung Electronics America. “At Samsung we strive to push the industry forward and look for new ways to connect technology with the human experience. To see the way our Wall technology is used at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is something we are very excited about.”

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt joins a long list of Samsung integrations throughout this great city including Hudson Yards and One and Two Times Square.

The Wall is Samsung’s Micro LED display that is designed for businesses seeking elevated viewing through complete immersion and brilliant picture quality. Its massive screen can measure more than 1,000 inches, creating a completely expansive canvas for showcasing content.

To set itself apart from the competition in the global display marketplace, Vanguard LED takes a customer centric approach, being very responsive to the needs of every customer. 

“Our role is to act as a partner to our customer, who in turn has a customer—the end user,” said Michael Wiener, CEO/Founder of Vanguard LED. “We then work together to make sure the end user is totally satisfied with the service, and the products we deliver.”

Vanguard knows it has stay “on the leading edge of products,” Wiener explained. “We must give our customers a reason to buy.” 

What are those reasons? Start with Vanguard’s award-winning line of Axion fine-pitch LED solutions. 

Fine Pixel Pitch: Axion

The Axion LED Video Display Series cabinets have a native aspect ratio of 16:9. Available in pixel pitches of P0.94, P1.2, P1.3, P1.6, P1.8, and P2.5, it’s no surprise that Axion LED line has become a popular choice among military clients and stakeholders requiring LED walls with flawless performance, vivid brightness, and fine pitch.

Very Fine Pixel Pitch: Axion Invictus

The tremendous success of the Axion LED line inspired the development of Vanguard’s new Axion Invictus which leverages the revolutionary new ChipFlip technology. With ChipFlip, Axion Invictus achieves a staggeringly low failure rate and ultra-fine pixel pitch range of P0.7- P1.5. 

Axion Invictus is also gaining traction because it utilizes the best possible components to achieve its ultra-low pixel-pitch range. There are no external cables to worry about. It’s also flat back makes it ideal for wall mounting. With no internal ribbons, a front serviceable design, and pre-threaded mounting locations, installation is streamlined, quick, and easy.  

ChipFlip: A Bold New Approach

“ChipFlip is our version of chip-on-board, and it reduces the failure rate to five parts per million (5/PPM),” Wiener said.

ChipFlip-enabled Vanguard LED displays consist of encapsulating fine-pixel-pitch SMD 1010 LED chips directly to PCB boards. There is no soldering in the ChipFlip process. The chip and substrate are electrically and mechanically interconnected by solder paste bonding. The strength of the solder used in the ChipFlip process is 100 times stronger that that normally used in the SMD process. As a result, Vanguard guarantees a failure rate of 5/PPM or less in the first year. The accepted failure rate for SMD displays in the first year is 50-100 PPM. 

The performance guarantee is another way Vanguard LED enhances the value proposition for clients.   

Sourcing & Service

Rooted in the core values of superior service, responsiveness, and communication, Vanguard stands out among the vast field of display manufacturers. The company works closely with its partners, offering design advice, electrical and installation drawings, a five-year warranty, and five percent spare parts.

Vanguard’s approach to sourcing is distinct. “Every single one of our competitors is the factory,” said Wiener. “Our approach has been one of selecting the best OEM factory in each sector of the market. By us selecting individual OEM factories who specialize only in that particular product makes quality control attainable.”  

Shape of Innovation: LED Dome & LED Cylinder

In 2019, Vanguard introduced another game changer, its LED Dome, which is ideally suited for simulation, TV/Film, aerospace, and military applications. “No one has ever done an LED dome before,” said Wiener. 

Similarly, Vanguard offers its Cerium LED Cylinder. Projectors cause many frustrating problems. They require edge blending and are susceptible to ambient light which washes out projected images. Vanguard LED Cylinders and LED Domes are contiguous LED displays that produce seamless images and produce exceptionally bright, intense colors including black. 

To see what innovations Vanguard LED will deliver next, visit vanguardled.com 

It seems like every time you turn your head, new spaces are being retrofitted with video wall technology. “We have reliable technologies now for the things we dreamt of with our clients five years ago,” said Andrew Lazarow, a director at LAB at Rockwell Group. (At the time this article was written, Lazarow was a senior designer and AV technologist with ESI Design, an NBBJ Studio.) “Video walls can now easily span the length of an entire building bend, have depth, the list goes on. These technological advancements have helped push designers to explore more meaningful ways to connect with audiences.”

With the wide availability of lower-cost, higher-resolution screens, it’s no longer enough to just have a video wall to stand out from the crowd. Clients looking to truly make a statement are turning their attention to incorporating interactive and reactive signage technologies, allowing them to engage with users in unique and innovative ways. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on how people interact within physical spaces, clients are looking to incorporate touch-free interactivity into their video walls, bringing greater attention to recent technical innovations.

[ The Importance of Compelling UX Design in Corporate Installations ] 

With clients trending away from touch, integrators are educating their clients about touch-free options, including motion-triggered technology. Scott Schoeneberger, managing partner of Bluewater Technologies Group, says many of his company’s clients have been asking how they can convert their current video walls to touch-less technology, with some even opting to turn off interactive features entirely until they can adapt. Recent deployments show how choosing to adapt video wall networks can provide greater flexibility and engagement during the pandemic and beyond.

Prior to the pandemic, Bluewater worked with the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation to integrate its ActivePlay product—large, gesture-controlled interactive displays—to create a soothing and welcoming immersive environment for young patients within the hospital. These areas, designed for touch-free interactivity to help limit the spread of germs within the hospital setting, encourage children to engage with their new environment using physical gestures, entertaining and empowering them within the space. Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation CEO Luanne Thomas Ewald said, “Kids come in clinging to their parents, very nervous about what is supposed to happen. Then we see kids drift toward a wall and go into their own little world. That’s definitely the environment we were trying to create.”

Above video: As people walk by the colorful media installation inside the lobby of 44 Montgomery Street created by ESI Design, they transform the space in real time. Acting as digital paintbrushes, people moving throughout the lobby cause the motion-activated media installation to trail a colored path across the display that matches their movement.

ESI Design has been working with clients on zero-touch interactive video walls for years, staying away from the phone-style touch engagement, and allowing the visitors to naturally influence the space around them. “We have found that the standard video wall has more impact on the people who move through the space when it listens and reacts to the visitor. This holistic view transforms places into experiences that are memorable beyond just one piece of technology,” said Lazarow.

[ The Integration Guide to Video Walls ] 

A great example of a reactive display is installed at Terrell Place, an office and retail center in Washington, D.C., where ESI Design was tasked with creating a contemporary and exciting interior via interactive display technology. Relying on 1,700 square feet of motion-activated LED displays, ESI Design created artwork that evolves and changes in response to the actions of viewers. In one example, displayed cherry blossoms appear to flutter in the wind generated by a person walking by.

At WarnerMedia’s new headquarters in New York City’s Hudson Yards, ESI Design created activations driven by a combination of lidar sensors and depth-sensing cameras. The goal was to express WarnerMedia’s identity through an experience instead of simple brand messaging. Lazarow said that this branded interactive experience was “initially designed to add multi-touch interactivity across a large LED surface,” but “calibration can be easily adapted to make the interactive completely touchless.” 

ESI Designs has had conversations with many of its clients about the best ways to adapt current touchscreen designs, allowing for greater flexibility when it comes to how the video wall is used. “For newer projects, the need for flexibility and customization is in higher demand than the specific request for touchless,” Lazarow added.

Beyond being used to enhance an environment, interactive video walls can be integral in limiting personal touchpoints in a variety of spaces. “Lots of my clients are looking for interactive flight boards for meeting rooms,” said Stephanie Scolari, AV project manager with IES Communications. “They want to be able to use the flight boards as wayfinding software to direct meeting participant to the correct rooms and also to display what rooms are available.” Beyond meeting rooms and corporate settings, these capabilities could be used to direct traffic in transit centers, hospitals, and museums.

While the tech isn’t necessarily touch-free, integrators are seeing more requests for interactive floors that guide engagement from the user. During the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend, MTN DEW and Bluewater partnered on an interactive basketball court whose floor was constructed of LED displays. Fans would step up to the hoop and a moving ring on the LED floor directed them to where they would take their shot. Corresponding content would then appear on the high-resolution canvas on the back wall and up and down the floor.

For clients looking to the future, there are plenty of exciting interactive capabilities on the horizon. Software is currently capable of interfacing with overhead cameras to monitor and predict the movement of those passing by. This technology allows for interaction to happen naturally without any direct input from the user, according to Schoeneberger. “I’m most excited about the mixed use and creative use case video wall—more architecturally integrated content that’s driven by data with input from local sensors or relevant data points.”

[ The Need for Adaptability Drives LED Video Wall Installs ] 

Lazarow is excited by some of the more futuristic technology that is being accelerated to market. “Parallel Reality has partnered with Delta Airlines, already demoing video walls that show viewers different content based on their positions.” Touchless haptics, which use ultrasound waves to give the user the feeling of different materials and weights without them touching anything, is currently being fast-tracked and could be something we start to see in installs very soon. “We know that experiences involving multiple senses are more impactful and create longer-lasting memories. With innovations like touchless haptics, users feel like they are flipping invisible switches or tapping buttons in midair. Technologies like these will only become more fine-tuned to the point where, five years from now, touchless interactions will be as reliable and mature as large-scale video walls are today.”

Related Stories

Opportunities Expand for LED Video Walls • Key trends in the video wall space include increasing display sizes, installation flexibility, resolution, and accessibility.

Enriching History with AV • Museums are finding themselves in the position of having to balance the function of educating and entertaining visitors with very specific health and safety requirements. For help, museum directors are relying on integrators to assist them in creating experiences that are both safe and engaging.

LED Video Walls in Corporate Environments • While LED video walls previously seemed unattainable for a large portion of companies (think small- to medium-sized businesses), the technology and content needed to successfully wow internal and external clients is becoming more accessible.  

A studio in Las Vegas is setting a new standard for immersive virtual event spaces. 

COVID-19 forced Marina Worre to relocate multiple events that were to have taken place last year at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Unable to find a space suitable for hosting and interacting with potentially tens of thousands of attendees, Worre got inventive and took on the challenge herself. The result is Worre Studios, a 25,000-square-foot production studio and virtual event space that opened in Las Vegas in December. 

Advanced LED Displays, a division of Agility AVL, designed and integrated Worre Studios, which features 360° curved LED displays with more than 65 million pixels. The integration team chose a Christie Spyder X80 multi-windowing processor to drive content to the massive walls.

Every Seat Is a Front-Row Seat

The space required broadcast-quality audio, video equipment and displays capable of hosting live events with real-time interactivity between hosts and attendees. "The most important aspect in designing the studio was to create a space that gave every attendee a front row seat, as well as the ability to interact with the event hosts," said Worre.

The project began in mid-September 2020, with Advanced LED Displays sourcing LED, trusses, and lighting for the space. "Most LED takes 60 to 90 days to manufacture, so that was a big obstacle right out of the gate. And then determining how long it was going to take us to build it, and install all of the other pieces," said Art Martinez, vice president, business development, Advanced LED Displays.

[ Phoenix Suns Arena Adds Massive Pavilion Video Wall ] 

Martinez and his team designed freestanding curved LED walls. "The walls grew in size, and tightened in radius," Martinez said of the installation. "At that point we knew we needed some serious processing to handle it—and most processors can't handle a wall of this size. It was not an option to do anything other than the Spyder X80."

The Christie Spyder X80 multi-screen windowing processor can control up to 80 million pixels with 24 inputs and 16 outputs, and with image processing in 4K@60Hz. One Spyder X80 was installed to drive content to the wall, and one as a backup.

The two curved video walls are 73 feet wide by 14 feet tall; the other two are 25 feet wide by 14 feet tall. "After the walls were built, Marina asked if I could move one of the large walls to the other end of the room to accommodate space for an audience and prepare for hybrid events in the future. I accepted the challenge and designed a set of tracks recessed into the concrete floor for one of the large walls to move across the room," said Martinez.

In-Person, Virtual, and Hybrid Events

The result is a studio capable of in-person, hybrid, and virtual events, where presenters can seamlessly interact with thousands of participants virtually, reach millions through pretty much any social media channel, stream through platforms including Twitter and YouTube, and host a live audience.

[ Christie Spyder X80 Manages Visuals on 350-Foot LED Wall at One Times Square ] 

"Events are fully interactive, and we host guests from all around the world. With our real-time translation platform, we've removed the language barrier, so everyone can have the same live experience," said Worre. "The studio was built for our needs originally, but given its success and the demand for a pliable space with this technology, it's now available for any event. We have hosted seminars, done product launches using the Spyder that reached more than 10 million viewers, and we even recorded a music video."

[ Christie Spyder Drives Large-Scale LED Displays at Casino Sports Bar ] 

As a result of these needs, selecting a processor that was not only reliable, but had space to handle additional inputs and outputs as needed, was a requirement. "At Agility AVL, we design and build a lot of sports books, and the Spyder is always our go-to because of the number of layers, up to 24, and the options we have on inputs and outputs. It's something only the Spyder has. And the fact that it can handle 80 million pixels."

Worre Studios • www.worrestudios.com

The circumstances of the last 18 months have changed our industry in ways that are not yet fully realized. As a manufacturer of LED displays, we found our products being specified in new ways. Gone are the days of the market primarily thinking of dvLED as a large-format display in lobbies, houses of worship, and performance spaces.

Those applications certainly remain a core component of our portfolio offering. The commercial display products like the Acclaim Plus, HC Series, and rental and staging products like the PL Pro and VN Series products will all be highlighted in the Absen booth at InfoComm 2021.

As designers began to incorporate more and more UCC platforms for virtual collaboration, LED became a central component to the functionality of some of these spaces. Larger screens were specified in smaller spaces to allow for virtual interaction to feel more natural. All-in-one solutions have become an easy way for designers to specify, standardize, deploy, and maintain displays for their clients.

RELATED: Absen at InfoComm 2021: Next-Gen Products in Spotlight

RELATED: Absen Acclaim A2725 Plus Video Wall Review

At this year’s show, Absen will show the latest generation of our all-in-one solution for the commercial and conference room solutions. The AbseniCon 3.0 features integrated audio, switching, scaling, control, BYOD, and enterprise connectivity.

New-generation technologies have also been accelerated during this time. Our second-generation, fine 0.9mm pixel pitch Chip-on-Board (COB) display will be highlighted in the booth.

In addition to the new product in our booth, we will be featuring new applications for dvLED. Our MR Series Floor platform display will be combined with our PL Series rental and staging product to create a virtual studio application. 

It has been exciting to see the acceptance of dvLED as a mainstream display technology. I look forward to what we get to share about the other new products in-development that are just around the corner.

InfoComm booth - 1008

The What: Bringing a turnkey direct-view LED video solution to the marketplace, Daktronics is launching its SLD series product line consisting of all-in-one smart LED display technology. The new offering eliminates the installation and operational complexities associated with the purchase of a traditional LED display system.

The What Else: Conference rooms, auditoriums, training centers and more now have the option of Daktronics SLD product line to deliver plug-and-play HDMI inputs and remote-controlled on-screen user settings. It is available in 110-, 138-, 165- and 220-inch diagonal sizes, features a standard 16:9 aspect ratio, and pixel-perfect HD resolution at 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Making the new offering easy to use, it features a built-in operating system and mirroring connections for up to four devices. It can display as a monitor and has 600 nits of brightness. The product line is compliant with American Disabilities Act and international accessibility codes to ensure a user-friendly experience for everyone.

The system is installed completely from the front of the display and provides for both manual X/Y/Z axis adjustment, as well as digital correction to ensure a flawless installation. All system components including LED modules, power supplies and driver electronics are also accessible from the front. Designed for quick install, installation can be completed in two to six hours, depending on display size. The kit includes columns.

The Bottom Line: The system provides the ability to toggle between multiple scene modes to provide the best content-specific viewing experience possible. The included remote control provides ready access to each of the four scene modes. Standard Mode is the default setting fo presentations and digital signage; Cinema Mode is ideal for movies or long-format video clips; Soft Mode is especially effective for document presentation; Video Mode is tailored to optimize remote conferencing applications with pre-wired panels, display frame

In our series of #InfoCommInspo blogs, we’re getting inspired by InfoComm 2021 exhibitors and learning what trends they expect to see at the show—plus a special sneak preview of what they’ll show in their booths.

Q&A with Mark Quiroz, Vice President of Marketing, Display Division, Samsung Electronics America

What about InfoComm inspires you?
Mark Quiroz: A return to in-person conferences represents a renewed emphasis on collaboration and in our industry, that is essential to progress. InfoComm is an exciting time that delivers experiences that shape how we approach creating solutions that meet the needs of an evolving world. We are looking forward to the opportunity to see customers, tech managers and fellow innovators to help us continue our mission to provide innovative products that have a pulse on the latest trends.

What is the most exciting trend you expect to see at the show?
A growing trend that hits close to home is the emergence of vivid LED video walls. With a desire for curved designs, dynamic picture quality and larger sizing, that space continues to develop immersive retail encounters and define luxury home settings. Additionally, the conversation of AV over IP and its integration into past infrastructure should continue to inspire our industry to prioritize their role in that shift.

[ Touchless Systems: Manufacturers Discuss AV's Latest Trend ] 

How will your solutions inspire integrators?
We envision business without boundaries through creative tech and believe that this messaging is shared with integrators. In a rebounding world, we have developed a new perspective on the impact of display products and their limitless capabilities. Our new lineup initiates a vibrant new chapter for education, retail and luxury home tech which should continue to see progressive growth with the emergence of personalized experiences.

[ Samsung on Education Solutions in the Changing World ] 

How will your solutions inspire tech managers?
Samsung’s focus on seamless product integration, easy install options and convenient content management tools seeks to transform the end-user experience like never before. Keeping this in mind during the design process, tech managers are our focus when building smart solutions that reduce obstacles and complications of previously used networks. Their role in implementing tech that amplifies their messaging should be rewarded with interfaces and connected ecosystems that ensure a positive transition.

To learn more, visit Samsung Electronics America in Booth 2142 at InfoComm 2021.

InfoComm is giving our readers a free Exhibit Hall pass to the show! Use VIP Code “FUTURE” to redeem your free pass. Click here to register.

For the latest show updates, visit our InfoComm 2021 hub. 

“The most significant trend has been that LED products are being accepted as a mainstream technology for a wide range of vertical markets,” said Fred Cain, industry development director at Absen.

“Pixel pitch and pricing are on a downward trajectory and are beginning to move to well below the 1.0 mm pixel pitch. New technologies like Micro LED are driving that movement and are going to bring us higher resolution in a smaller form factor. Other new technologies, like flip chip technology, will bring high brightness and high contrast with a wide viewing angle in a form that protects the pixels from the type of damage that they can sustain today. These new technologies are more efficient in terms of power consumption and heat dissipation, adding an element of sustainable design to the solutions,” he explained.

[ The Integration Guide to Video Walls ]

Cain added that LED is being specified more frequently in commercial spaces—not just in large lobby displays, but in functional meeting and presentation settings.

“Large-format ‘all-in-one’ solutions in the 110-inch to 165-inch size range are also becoming normal in these spaces,” Cain said. “Bigger displays are featuring in smaller rooms. Other trends like AR/VR are rapidly expanding within the virtual studio solutions. Video production sets are also becoming virtual, and LED video walls are playing a big part in that.”

Bigger and Better

Another growing area of interest is curved and flexible LED solutions, according to Samsung’s Mark Quiroz, vice president of marketing, Display Division, at Samsung Electronics America.

“We are seeing a growing interest in curved LED walls, flexible install positions, seamless content management tools, increased picture quality through shrinking pixel pitches, and larger sizing overall. The term ‘bigger and better’ comes to mind with updates in the LED video wall space, and this is true of our new The Wall (IWA Series). It offers 8K resolution with 120 Hz refresh rate and simple 8K playback. Its massive screen can be configured to over 1,000 inches. As a company, our main focus has been understanding how video walls optimize a space and offering options that enhance the area they are in,” said Quiroz.

[ Getting Ahead of the Curve with Today’s Advanced LED Video Walls ]

As far as direct view LED (dvLED) goes, there are some major changes taking place, said Megan Zeller, director of business development, Peerless-AV. One of these has been a technology transition from SMD (surface-mount device) to CoB (chip on board) or Micro LED.

“This development will eventually result in even lower-cost dvLED displays, which increases accessibility even further and presents opportunities for dvLED solutions anywhere. This means that products with finer pixel pitch are available for various businesses, despite their size or budget.”

Versatility Pays

Displays with the flexibility to accommodate a variety of install environments is another trend, added Zeller.

“Another thing I’ve noticed within the dvLED video wall space is a change from the usual, standard installation. We’ve seen an increase in large-scale installations in areas where there is high foot traffic or extreme weather conditions. Integrators within the AV and dvLED video wall space have had to pivot for the consumer to provide more secure installations and mount solutions, in addition to the most durable video wall systems possible.”

She is also keen to highlight substantial developments in high-quality digital content. “The use of HD content in video walls increases their attractiveness and is likely to fuel the growth of the market. The 16:9 format became the standard, and OEM television manufacturers were continuously developing in quality and design. The availability of HD content has increased rapidly in the past five to eight years, and now, unique forms of displays are beginning to make an appearance for lifestyle integration.”

According to Zeller, direct view LED displays offer perfect picture quality, are flexible for a modular configuration, and are unaffected by ambient lighting conditions, thus making them excellent candidates for deployment in any space.

[ Absen Acclaim A2725 Plus Video Wall Review ]

“The rise in the development of 4K content will further provide a growth opportunity to vendors as these displays provide a more compelling experience and add an artistic touch to the video walls.”

Opening Up Access

Another noteworthy trend has been accessibility. Better affordability over the last year or two has been a huge part of that, said Zeller, as manufacturers learn to optimize their operations and technology becomes more widely available.

“Despite dvLED’s reputation of being pricey, integrators have gotten more creative with how they market and sell their products, so smaller-budget customers who may have felt dvLED was beyond their reach are now met with an array of options well within their means. More businesses and business owners are being welcomed into the dvLED video wall market, where they’d previously been underserved by large-format displays. We have taken major strides in presenting dvLED solutions to the masses, and I predict that we will see more diverse displays within museums, schools, public transportation facilities, restaurants, banks, and even the home.”

The topic of accessibility is a point that Daktronics product manager Adam Gilliland is also keen to mention. “LED has become more cost-accessible and has a performance advantage over older generations of digital technology.”

Other major trends, said Gilliland, include pixel quality and mounting expectations. “Expectations for pixel pitches and resolution are getting tighter and tighter and the market is driving toward more options sub 1 mm. Manufacturers are exploring new pixel technologies to reach these tighter resolutions. Solving the durability problem with narrow-pixel-pitch technology and improving speed of install and reliability is another area in development.”

[ What’s Trending Now for Video Walls? ]

Another significant trend is the increasing demand for “all-in-one” LED solutions in applications like meeting rooms, auditoriums, and lecture halls, with standard size LED kits that include the ability to connect to Wi-Fi easily and quickly share presentations, added Gilliland. He added that LED installations in live entertainment, cinema, and corporate applications are helping to entice people back to public spaces after months of COVID-19 isolation.

What’s Next?

What does the future hold for LED video displays in a pandemic-shaped world?

“It is hard to predict what a post-COVID landscape will look like for the LED market,” said Cain. “If you look at some of the trends I mentioned earlier, it is clear that end users are going to have performance expectations of LED moving forward. Meeting spaces will evolve into something new. The hybrid workspace is something that everyone is trying to define. All-in-one solutions are easy for designers to specify, and they can be rapidly deployed by integrators. Technical staff will need to be able to understand the technology and the design considerations to make the most of these solutions. Things like proper wiring and cabling techniques for wall controllers, frame rate, viewing angles, scan mode, scaling and resolution matching are all important to a successful LED solution design.”

Newer vertical markets like XR, AR, and VR will likely require a greater understanding of design considerations, too. “The other item that integrators need to be able to communicate to their clients is the ROI and life cycle component of their LED investment,” said Cain.

It’s clear that the LED video wall space is a developing market. “LED will become the dominant display technology over the next few years. As pricing comes down and resolution goes up, it is replacing other display technologies like projection and flat-panel displays. New products with more efficient and sustainable designs will make adoption more likely in markets like residential and consumer applications. Retail is also poised for a huge investment in LED in the United States, as brands attract people back to the store.”

Looking ahead, new technology will certainly drive new products into the space, said Cain.

“Today we think of it as a display that has ‘other’ equipment connected to it, but manufacturers are beginning to incorporate those ‘other’ pieces of hardware into their all-in-one solutions. We have solutions with integrated audio, control, switching, and scaling in them already. Next, we may see IoT devices, touch and gesturing, new forms of interactivity, and artificial intelligence being incorporated into these LED solutions.”

Click here to read more stories from the October 2021 issue of SCN.

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LED Video Walls in Corporate Environments • While LED video walls previously seemed unattainable for a large portion of companies (think small- to medium-sized businesses), the technology and content needed to successfully wow internal and external clients is becoming more accessible.

Video Walls: An Evolving Landscape • Bigger, brighter, and blending better into their environments, today’s video walls are transforming the way we look at everything from entertainment to critical data.

The What: NanoLumens announced the Q4 2021 availability of its Captivate Series, an all-in-one LED display solution. Captivate is configured to appeal to organizations looking for an easy-to-integrate dvLED product for corporate meeting rooms, houses of worship, higher education facilities, and similar environments.

The What Else: The all-in-one Captivate system eliminates the need for additional components and eases the design and installation costs typically associated with dvLED displays, according to Brice McPheeters, vice president of product and planning for NanoLumens. Captivate is available in 120-, 150-, and 180-inch sizes, all in native HD resolution. Each display comes standard with HDMI inputs and remote control for out-of-the-box operation.

The Captivate Series is ideal for communications and collaboration spaces. Built-in HDMI inputs make integrating common room hub systems fast and easy. Captivate systems may be mounted using the standard wall mount or an optional display stand for mobile applications.

The Bottom Line: NanoLumens has teamed with TD SYNNEX as a distribution partner for the Captivate Series. Captivate Series products are expected to be available to ship in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Improving what began back in 2019, TD Garden is upgrading its video experience to a larger size with the first and only 2.5mm pixel spacing in a centerhung application from Daktronics of Brookings, SD. The installation provides more than 4K resolution, currently the highest resolution in professional basketball and hockey, according to the company. Altogether, the centerhung provides 48.6 million pixels and it would take 24 60-inch televisions to cover the four main video displays.

The improvement to the centerhung takes the 2.5mm technology installed in 2019 and expands the digital footprint of all four displays to measure 18 feet high by 32.5 feet wide. Four new underbelly video displays were also added to the centerhung configuration to cater to fans sitting closer to the action. Each underbelly display measures 6.5 feet high by 23 feet wide and features 2.9mm pixel spacing.

[ Interactive Installations Bring Fans Back to Stadiums and Arenas ]

Above the 4K video boards, two new ring displays were installed on their own hoist system to allow them to be raised and lowered for the needs of the many events held at the venue. These displays each measure 3.5 feet high 179 feet in circumference and feature 3.9mm pixel spacing.

Supporting the load, two hoist systems are installed to hold the centerhung display configuration in place. The upper rings are on one hoist system and the main video and underbelly displays are on a separate hoist system. Altogether, the system weighs nearly 82,000 pounds and can be raised and lowered separately based on the needs of TD Garden and the events they host. 

[ Flexibility at Forefront as Stadiums, Arenas Welcome Back Fans ]

The main video displays are capable of variable content zoning allowing each to show one large image or multiple different zones. These zones can show any combination of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics, animations and sponsorship messages in coordination with their live game-day production.

"We started this transition back in 2019, so to see this new center-hung finally completed, as originally intended, is just extra special," said Daktronics sales rep Charley Bocklet. "Patience and perseverance will finally pay off for the fans of Boston."

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How AVoIP is Shaping Live Venue Experiences • In order to fill the seats at stadiums when they eventually reopen, venues need to step up their engagement to compete. Joe Walsh of VITEC and Seth Koch of Daktronics share their takes on the many possibilities that AV over IP offers to enhance the fan experience.

Bright Lights, Big City: Daktronics Freeform LED Elements Enliven Beijing Port • The three transparent LED displays from Daktronics will allow the Yuanyahg Mall to share messages with shoppers, highlight stores in the mall, and promote upcoming events and sales.

Daktronics Partners Up on AV System Install for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Facility • Daktronics has partnered with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to design, manufacture and install an audiovisual system at the newly constructed Weidner Field in Colorado.

On the 29th floor of 900 Third Avenue, in the heart of Manhattan, you’ll find Gateway, state-of-the-art co-working and innovation hub that’s part of the Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACCNY), whose mission is to help Scandinavian companies gain a strategic foothold in the U.S. market. SACCNY provides services including business matchmaking, service-oriented partnerships, administrative setup, and desk and event space to Scandinavian businesses.

SACCNY boasts an impressive membership of Scandinavian innovators that includes large and mid-sized companies in a variety of sectors. It also serves as a knowledge and networking incubator for start-ups looking to make their mark.

With technology provided by Sennheiser, Barco and QSC, the SACCNY’s Gateway conferencing and technology demonstration center opened in March of 2021.

The Pitch

Anna Throne-Holst was appointed SACCNY’s president in 2017. The collaboration among Sennheiser, Barco and QSC came about as Throne-Holst began exploring a technology upgrade: “I wanted to create a state-of-the-art meeting space,” she said.

[ The Future of Conferencing Audio ] 

Throne-Holst’s idea was a winner all around. For members, it meant access to world-class conferencing technology in a beautiful working environment, right in the heart of Manhattan. For Sennheiser, Barco, QSC, and a handful of other companies, it meant an ideal technology showcase to demonstrate the quality, functionality, and efficiency of ground-breaking products.

To move the project forward, she engaged longtime technology evangelist Greg Harper, president of Harpervision Associates, vice president of infrastructure for Shorelight Education, and technology advisor for several other companies and financial institutions. Harper embraced the idea and subsequently pitched it to Sennheiser, Barco and QSC. “For us, it was a no-brainer,” Throne-Holst said. “Greg loved what we were doing up here and we all became friends.”

A Room with a View

The showcase room in the 20,000-square-foot facility is called “Room with a View.” Providing seating and videoconferencing space for up to 12 people, it features a Sennheiser TeamConnect Ceiling 2 (TCC2) microphone with beamforming technology, which enables the microphone to “follow the speaker” if they move around the conference space.

The TCC2 is connected to a QSC Q-SYS Core 110f, which serves as a room controller supporting up to 256 channels of networked audio and multiple instances of VoIP. “The Core 110f is connected to three cameras that use auto-tracking,” explained Harper. “So we are getting the data from the Sennheiser TCC2 microphone and using that data to switch the cameras based on who is speaking.”

[ Audio Advancements and Sound Strategies for Hybrid Learning Spaces ] 

Aside from the fact that there are no microphones on the conference room table, one of the first things people notice when walking into the Room with a View conference space is the bright 14-foot Barco X 1.2 LED video wall. The wall is driven by a Barco E2 Gen 2, which handles all the processing and offers flexible layouts. Barco’s ClickShare technology allows for seamless wireless conferencing in Gateway’s meeting rooms. In this space, ClickShare Conference enables agnostic BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting) capabilities, allowing users easy access to the advanced AV present in the room.

While this showcase conferencing space offers fantastic views of New York City, its large windows, hardwood floors, and hard ceiling presented several acoustic challenges that were generally overcome by the Sennheiser TCC2. The ceiling microphone is designed to pick up the subject rather than the room itself, which helped mitigate undesirable sound reflections. “We tried several different microphones in there and as soon as we used the TCC2, it just sounded better,” explained Harper.

Other Collaborative Spaces

With seating for 18 people, the Board Room is one of Gateway’s larger spaces. It’s accented with several tables that can be moved around to accommodate different types of meetings, seminars, or smaller events. It features a 16-foot Barco UniSee video wall with multiple LCD panels and two Sennheiser TCC2s. The room’s AV complement is connected to a QSC Core 110f processor, which serves as the primary technology interface. Barco’s ClickShare Conference enables wireless universal sharing of information from the user’s own device across presentation platforms.

[ The Latest in Wireless Presentation and Collaboration ] 

The Sennheiser TCC2s in the Board Room drive a 1 Beyond Autotracker system, which has seven built-in cameras and is able to track and switch cameras based on the location of the audio source. There are two cameras on the left side of the room facing the right side, two cameras on the right side facing the left, and three cameras at the center pointed at the end tables, the head of the table, and a “default” wide shot.

The Media Lab, a smaller space in the facility, has been outfitted with a similar combination of technology: the Sennheiser TCC2 and QSC cameras connected to a QSC Core 110f processor, and several video screens.

[ The Future of Conferencing Room Microphones ] 

The Event Room features seating for 60, or 100 people standing. While it hasn’t been used for many months due to the pandemic, Gateway is eager to resume in-person events and programming there. “During the pandemic, we had to re-think how we do our events,” said Throne-Holst. “And part of what we thought about was, ‘How do we do digital meetings in a way that really functions?’ This led to a webinar series we called ‘Checking the Pulse’ with corporate metrics, where we touch on an array of different things. The next series we are going to do is on investment tools: IPOs, M&As and more.”

But Does It Sound Good?

Charlie Jones, Sennheiser’s global business development manager, said, “Our collaboration with Barco, QSC, and the SACCNY really demonstrates the power of combining our respective best-of-breed communications technologies. In this case, our TCC2 ceiling microphone was able to deliver both audio clarity and intelligibility while working within a highly reflective, acoustically challenging environment. Moreover, the seamless interoperability of our TCC2, Barco’s LED Walls and QSC’s processing has resulted in a world-class video conferencing solution for SACCNY and its members.”

The What: Barco’s OverView MVL-721 is a 16:9 LED rear-projection cube video wall with specs and resolution to suit the needs of control room operators in locations where space is not a constraint. A re-engineered version of Barco’s LED RPC video wall, the MVL-721 offers a well-balanced set of essential features and a special focus on sustainability, with low power consumption, a long product lifetime, and the ability to upcycle.

The What Else: The next-generation LED light source drastically improves the brightness of the MVL-721. With a 55 percent increase in maximum engine light output compared with the first-generation model, the MVL-721 can be deployed in virtually all indoor lighting conditions. This increase in brightness is realized with the exact same power needs. With the improved energy efficiency, the solution achieves the eco green score in Barco’s stringent Eco score methodology. This ranking ensures the product fits in with Barco’s corporate sustainability strategy, whose goal is to reduce the energy footprint of its products by 25 percent (baseline 2015).

MVL-721 also brings an important step up in reliability, featuring redundant inputs to ensure a continuous data flow, an optional external power supply with automatic failover, and a light source lifetime of over 100,000 hours.

The MVL-721’s Video Wall Manager software streamlines installation, configuration, and control of the video wall.  The cloud-based Video Wall Management Suite allows remote monitoring and diagnostics for Barco video walls, allowing AV system integrators and managed service providers the ability to remotely manage the complete installed base from a central location. This not only lowers operational costs, but also ensures faster and more effective troubleshooting and increased customer satisfaction.

The Bottom Line: The MVL-721 is expected to begin shipping in October.

With the pandemic changing the way spectators engage with in-person events, and venues wanting a continued return to in-person attendance, integrators have been working closely with stadiums and arenas across the country on technology integration that increases interactivity, making spectators a more active part of the overall experience.

“After a year’s absence from sporting venues, fans are coming back in droves. But to keep them back, we’ve learned we have to create really remarkable experiences that engage fans,” said George Linardos, chief executive officer for event AV service provider ANC. “Whether it’s interactive elements, elements that drive ROI, or elements that help our clients provide 365-day use both inside and outside the venue, we’re getting requests for all of it. It’s not just about static scoreboards anymore.”

Moving away from one-way events, venues want to harness the energy and emotions of the crowd to help shape the competitive landscape. Rodrigo Ordonez, principal at AV consulting firm K2, said, “Fans have always used their noise level to influence a game. A few years ago, stadiums started using technology in the way of microphones, processing, and graphics on the big screens to show a live indicator of the current noise level generated by the audience. This is just a simple thing, but it distinguishes the stadium experience from the remote experience.”

With more people currently watching live events on television screens than in person, venues have to make the case that the in-person experience is worth getting off your couch or leaving your favorite sports bar for. “The AV experience can contribute greatly to that,” Ordonez said.

With this in mind, many venues are choosing to invest in stadium-wide integrated control and immersive sound. Depending on the event, these systems can provide concert-quality sound with low-frequency impact or ensure the back-of-house patrons experience the event no differently than those in the front row.

Chris Sullivan, vice president of business development at sports and live events company Diversified, said, “These days, loudspeaker systems from the touring side of the industry are more frequently in consideration than more traditional installed sound products.” These products offer venues increased flexibility and more inclusive capabilities.

A Feast for the Eyes

Digital signage technology is also advancing rapidly in the marketplace and changing the possibilities for interaction. Chris Mascatello, executive vice president at ANC, said, “We’re seeing ultra-fine-pitch LED, thin LED, and highly flexible LED, so we’re able to design and deliver custom creative solutions like the Power Portal at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH. We’re also really excited to help bring the first and only fully transparent media glass to the United States, GLAAM Media Glass, which will really revolutionize sports façades for a much more interactive, engaging experience.”

Mascatello says clear glass façades built with GLAAM Media Glass can be controlled by a user’s smartphone, enabling interactivity on art pieces as expansive as the one installed on the exterior of a New York high rise. Mobile interactivity provides each spectator with the opportunity for a unique event experience while also limiting physical touch points throughout the venue, and Mascatello believes it will be deployed more frequently in the coming years.

Networked Experiences

Unified IPTV systems offer a means of interacting with fans at every stage of the event experience. Implemented over a converged network, information about parking, seating, concessions, weather, safety, and traffic can easily be shared using in-venue digital signage including wayfinding and menu displays. The system also provides a unique opportunity to share sports news and updates, including in-game and out-of-game scoring, statistics, standings, and replay. This level of interaction encourages attendees to view the venue as not only a place to experience live sports, but as the go-to location for fan engagement.

[ The Latest in High-End LED Displays ]

Venues are converting to SMPTE ST 2110, a suite of standards that specifies transmission of audio and video over IP for real-time production, playout, and other professional media applications. SMPTE ST 2110 allows venues to manage their digital assets, including audio, video, and data, over an IP network, helping to control quality and offer increased flexibility.

Sullivan commented, “Most new builds are embracing the new standard. While some retrofits are moving to IP, others are staying baseband. There is no right or wrong decision and many factors go into it, including budget and long-term plans for the facility.” Diversified built and integrated one of the first video control rooms with an all-IP video infrastructure at the Chase Center, the new home of the Golden State Warriors, and the arena’s audio and video has benefited greatly from the SMPTE ST 2110 standards suite for live production bandwidth.

Revolutionizing the Sportsbook

In a May 2018 decision, the Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting. With the launch of the first in-venue sportsbook in 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and with many states recently changing legislation or with bills pending, venues are looking for ways to include sports betting as part of the overall venue experience. Linardos said, “We’re working with a lot of clients on premium sports bar spaces, ensuring they can easily transition to sportsbook-type experiences when the time comes. From an AV perspective, that involves the latest technology for crisp, detailed viewing of stats, integration of content management aligned with the sports betting programs, and also creating a luxury feel akin to a Vegas-type experience.”

Venues are looking to integrators to help reimagine the fan experience in these and other premium spaces to help them compete with the comforts of the at-home TV experience. “We’re getting really creative in our content integration services to create interactive and memorable experiences for the spaces we’re designing,” said Mascatello.

Creativity on a Budget

With venues dealing with tight technology budgets, K2’s Ordonez says cost is still the greatest limiting factor for technology integration within venues. Many are unable to find a satisfactory balance between what they want and what they can afford to install to increase engagement. Those who blow the budget on the large physical components of their AV networks, including loudspeakers and video displays, find they are left with very little to put toward creative.

“The main need we see is for creative options to add points of engagement within the budgets of our clients. For example, for school stadium/arena environments, there is a big need to provide a better experience for viewers at home who are streaming the events. But again, budgets are limited,” said Ordonez.

[ Samsung Reveals The Infinity Screen at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium ]

Diversified’s Sullivan noted that infrastructure upgrades (both data and broadcast) need to be prioritized by venues in order to support these new systems. Delaying the upgrade of underlying systems will only cause a hold-up when they want to install a new AV technology.

On the other hand, ANC is finding that its clients have an appetite for bigger and better, hoping to set themselves apart by deploying unique and engaging center-hung scoreboards. “Unique configurations, ultra-high definition, and content management integration are really helping us to create highly custom experiences depending on client desires,” said Mascatello.

Ordonez finds it particularly exciting that advancements at the larger venues are slowly trickling down to smaller ones as the technology becomes more affordable, encouraging all venues to look at technology as an integral part of the experience rather than just a luxury. “The larger venues used by the large professional leagues will of course always drive the technology developments, but smaller venues are finding creative ways to use AV to provide a more intimate fan experience. We see this in some of the high school stadiums and arenas where the client’s requests are not only driven by intelligibility, but by maximizing the fan experience,” said Ordonez.

Click here to read more stories from the October 2021 issue of SCN.

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Stadium and Arena AV Experts Deliver Creative Solutions During the Pandemic • To keep the athletes’ morale and fan excitement high, technologists and broadcasters are turning to artificial crowd noise, virtual fan walls, remote attendees, interactive software, and creative audiovisual solutions.

How AVoIP Is Shaping Live Venue Experiences • In order to fill the seats at stadiums when they eventually reopen, venues need to step up their engagement to compete. Joe Walsh of VITEC and Seth Koch of Daktronics share their takes on the many possibilities that AV over IP offers to enhance the fan experience.

Video Walls: An Evolving Landscape • Bigger, brighter, and blending better into their environments, we examine how video walls are transforming the way we look at everything from entertainment to critical data.

The Growing Accessibility of Large-Scale Video Walls • Video walls are shining stars in the evolving technology landscape that rely heavily on innovation to stand out.

Flexibility at Forefront as Stadiums, Arenas Welcome Back Fans • Modular staging and seating solutions allow venues to meet COVID-19 health and safety regulations. As today’s stadiums and arenas look to maximize use and revenue, demountable staging systems are proving a wise investment by providing the versatility to turn any venue into a multipurpose facility.

Resorts World Las Vegas, the first ground-up resort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip in over a decade, sits on the grounds of the former Stardust Resort and Casino, boasting 3,506 guest rooms and suites in three distinct hotels, over 40 world-class food and beverage outlets, a 5,000-capacity theatre, a two-story dining and retail promenade and state-of-the-art connectivity with an AV-over-IP system featuring Visionary-powered networked audio and video.

 “Resorts World Las Vegas has built what is probably the largest AV-over-IP network of its kind,” says Scott Freshman, chief operating officer for Visionary. “It encompasses almost every portion of the property, with more than 2,000 endpoints and growing. The size and scope of the project brought together multiple AV integrators, each of whom took on specific areas of the massive venture. It’s unique to have this many integrators who were once competitors coming together to put this wonderful project together.”

Technology West Group of Las Vegas was selected to oversee the project, including designing and implementing the overall AV system and property-wide network specifications. Richard Reisig, vice president for Technology West Group, worked directly with Resorts World Las Vegas to facilitate the design of the low-rise section (known as “the podium”), the west tower, The District and all outdoor areas. “A critical component in a network AV system in the network. The network at Resorts World Las Vegas includes over 2,000 PacketAV endpoints and 2,000 QLAN channels,” said Reisig. “The number of endpoints continues to grow as we build out the system. It’s a very large, purpose-built network designed to supply one gigabit of non-blocking bandwidth, end to end, to any location on the property with less than a millisecond of latency.”

“Technology West Group was chosen for the design phase and, at the time, the project was very fluid,” noted Reisig. “The final piece in the design was selecting a video solution. We chose a network-based video solution because Resorts World Las Vegas wanted to connect anything on the property to any location. Ultimately, we selected Visionary because they provided us with a reliable solution that filled each of the gaps. A key reason we selected Visionary was because of their robust network capabilities.”

Unique to Visionary, the PacketAV endpoints offer internal device VLAN tagging. Due to the complexity of the network and the different protocols, including video, QLAN, Dante, AES67, DMX and control, it becomes critical to segregate the traffic for effective network management. Reisig added, “With the size and complexity of the network,” Reisig added, “VLAN tagging was critical for us. Especially at the scale that we’re hitting, you can’t have 2,000 devices on a single VLAN network and just hope it works.” 

In another significant milestone for the project, Visionary rose to the occasion to create an innovative Bluetooth-enabled wall plate encoder implemented throughout the system. Reisig: “Visionary had an HDMI wall plate encoder with VLAN tagging. We reached out to Visionary and said, ‘that’s great, but we don’t need analog audio; instead, we need Bluetooth.’ Visionary was very collaborative--they jumped in and offered to make us a custom wall plate that incorporated Bluetooth audio. Their flexibility changed the game for us. It enabled us to reduce port counts, switches, power consumption and overall costs by integrating two distinct products into one.” 

Visionary’s PacketAV Duet Wall Plate Encoder with Bluetooth is the first of its kind, according to the company. The Duet Wall Plate Encoder combines powerful 4K UHD video and Dante/AES67 audio embedding and de-embedding over a single gigabit Ethernet port. Using Bluetooth 5.0 for extended range, faster data throughput and reliable connections, the Duet Wall Plate Encoder supports bi-directional smartphone connectivity for soft-codec web conferencing AV integration to eliminate the need for separate bridging hardware.

The new $4.3 billion property was developed to bring an elevated experience to the modern Las Vegas traveler seeking luxury, value and variety. Resorts World Las Vegas was designed as one of the largest AV integrations on the Strip. Resorts World Las Vegas can transmit a signal from anywhere on the premises and distribute it to the 100,000-square-foot LED screen (one of the largest LED building displays in the United States), the theater, the casino or anywhere else on the property, and vice-versa.

Each guest room in the resort’s three hotel brands—Las Vegas Hilton, Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas—features an intuitive AV system designed by One Touch Living. “The scope of the project was to design the technology in the rooms to enhance the guest experience,” says Corey Brushia, president of One Touch Living. “Our goal was to create an environment that enables guests to interact with the rooms and the property. Visionary eliminated the need for a conventional HDBaseT matrix. Visionary allowed us to network from anywhere to anywhere. For example, we can take content from an executive suite, connect it with a meeting room or ballroom, or stream a special event into a villa. The possibilities are endless.”

National Technology Associates, a Las Vegas-based technology integrator, was selected for the integration in the resort’s first-floor common areas—including the hotel lobbies, registration, casino and gaming areas and underground levels. Shane Snell, project manager for National Technology Associates, said, “One of the largest challenges of this project was the scale. The property has nearly 2,000 video endpoints and thousands of loudspeaker channels. I’m not sure it’s possible to distribute those components in any way other than networking. Every system can now reach each other because the audio and video integration are on the same network. We’ve standardized Visionary and QSC to streamline the communication between the technology components.”

Resorts World Las Vegas features a state-of-the-art, 5,000-capacity immersive theatre. Global music stars Celine Dion, Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan will become the founding headliners for the venue. Scéno Plus, a Montreal-based theater design firm, was enlisted to create the design, and Solotech was selected for the technology integration. 

François Blais, vice president of technology and specialized equipment for Scéno Plus, said, “We have worked for 35 years to build theaters around the world. As theatre designers, our job is to make sure that everything is coordinated. We want artists to perform in this venue and say to us, ‘This is one of the finest venues we’ve ever played, and we want to return again.’ Visionary enabled us to rapidly and efficiently manage this large-scale installation.”  

Sébastien Larose, AV designer for Scéno Plus, added, “We have over 150 televisions in the theaters. The ability to put the content onto the network and run a single Cat 5 cable allows us to simplify the system. We have Visionary endpoints almost everywhere because Visionary allows us to take a signal from any location and transmit it to anywhere on the property.” 

Solotech was selected for the design-build for Resorts World Las Vegas’s Zouk Nightclub, Ayu Dayclub and the accompanying restaurants and lounges. “We have a mixture of displays throughout the restaurants, cabanas and bungalows in the dayclub and nightclub. We’ve integrated Visionary’s endpoints in all of those areas to enable simplified control for the guest to choose between sources and have content delivered to those endpoints,” explained Aaron Beck, business development manager for Solotech. “The overall capability for Visionary to deliver the technology for these endpoints to be connected on one global network is incredibly impressive.” 

Visionary's efficient endpoints use standard PoE power. This distinguishing feature ties directly into Resorts World Las Vegas’s sustainability initiatives. “Resorts World Las Vegas is focused on corporate social responsibility efforts that allow both the community and the environment to win,” noted Reisig. “We can use fewer products with Visionary’s Duet Wall Plate Encoder because it integrates multiple solutions into one. The solution also utilizes significantly less power than the competition because it runs off standard PoE.”  

Snell adds, “From a design and engineering perspective, standard PoE makes things very easy, whereas things that require PoE+ or even PoE++ makes it very difficult to work with. It adds an additional layer of cost and maintenance.” By integrating standard PoE power, Resorts World Las Vegas can reduce energy consumption and the correlated environmental impacts along with the added benefit of saving tens of thousands of dollars per year--for the life of the project.

Visionary's AV-over-IP technology has enabled Resorts World Las Vegas to achieve total flexibility to perform any video and audio routing. Visionary's standard PoE, a technology unavailable ten years ago, has enabled Resorts World Las Vegas to deploy this immense networked AV matrix at a fraction of the cost of traditional AV distribution methods. There are no matrix switchers anywhere on the property—they do not exist at Resorts World.

The streets of Beijing, China, will have new bright lights with three transparent, freeform LED displays designed, manufactured and installed by Daktronics of Brookings, SD, in partnership with Beijing Yuan Xin Real Estate Development Co. The displays, to be installed on the sides of Yuanyang Mall at Beijing Sino-Ocean Ledi Port, will connect at the corner of the building to catch the attention of passersby when it opens in 2022. 

The technology itself is transparent, allowing those inside the mall to see outside to the street as well as letting natural light pass through into the mall. At the same time, the LEDs form a visual image that can be viewed from those passing by and connect with audiences and potential mall customers.

The displays will feature 25mm pixel spacing and combine for 488 total square meters. The south-facing screen will measure 19 meters high by 12 meters wide totaling 228 square meters. On a separate part of the building, a west-facing screen will measure 9 meters high by 11 meters wide and will wrap around the corner of the building into a south-facing screen that will measure nine meters high by 19 meters wide at the top with a 24-meter curve from the bottom left of the display to the top right corner of the display. The curve follows the building's architecture to create a visually aesthetic appearance unique to the shopping center.

[ How AVoIP Is Shaping Live Venue Experiences: A Q&A with Daktronics, VITEC ]

This project will bring the ability to share messages to the masses, highlighting stores within the mall, promoting special events, sharing upcoming sales and more. 

"Beijing Sino-Ocean Ledi Port is located in the center of the high-end business district in the core area of Tongzhou Canal in Beijing," said project manager Han Chun Rong. "The core area of Tongzhou Canal is a pioneer, experimental and demonstration area for Beijing to build a world city with Chinese characteristics."

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Mixed-use development Plaza Coral Gables is being built across three city blocks in Coral Gables, FL. The development includes two office towers, a 17-story luxury apartment building, a 242-room Loews Hotel, 35 low-rise lofts/apartments and 162,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.

The North Office Tower, completed in late 2020, has become the headquarters for Agave Ponce. The building fronts Ponce de Leon, a major thoroughfare of Coral Gables, and the two-story ground floor lobby functions as a de facto introduction to the entire Plaza Coral Gables development.

As a defining feature of the North Tower—and the project as a whole—a nearly 26-foot-long, 26-foot-high Planar DirectLight X LED Video Wall System with a 1.8mm pixel pitch (DLX1.8) in a 13x23 configuration was integrated in the lobby space.

Installed by audiovisual integrator Pro Sound & Video, the Planar DirectLight X LED video wall is positioned approximately 8 feet off the ground and extends nearly all the way to the lobby ceiling, 35 feet from the floor.

According to Chad Christensen, technology manager at Agave Ponce, “The LED video wall is very impressive, and it drives home the point that the building is unlike anything else in the area. It represents what we bring to the table in terms of premium office, hotel, residential and commercial space.”

Pro Sound & Video worked with Planar, Agave Ponce, and the building architect on the video wall design and installed Planar DirectLight X into the space using a custom Draper mount solution.

“The video wall looks absolutely incredible in the space,” said Pro Sound & Video account executive Mark Wilson. “It’s the standout feature of the room, just magnificent. The project was a well-coordinated effort, and it showcases what Planar and Pro Sound & Video are capable of doing.”

A Stunning Building Amenity

The Planar DirectLight X LED video wall provides a compelling tool for generating excitement in the lobby and driving occupancy in the North Tower. “We use it to welcome new and prospective tenants to the building,” Christensen said. “It lets them know that we understand how important it is to incorporate the latest technology in a Class A office building.”

The Planar DirectLight X LED video wall is not only a dramatic visual feature, but also an amenity. “That’s the unique selling point of the LED video wall,” Christensen said. “Tenants of the building can hold events in the space and use the display to their benefit. It provides a tremendous value for companies that locate here.”

Supporting the City’s Cultural Heritage

Coral Gables is known for its art scene and rich cultural history. From the time the video wall was first planned, Agave Ponce intended to use Planar DirectLight X as a digital canvas for art in public places.

“Art and culture are ingrained into the city’s process, and it was important for us to contribute to that,” Christensen said. “We anticipate partnering with the city and hosting a lot of events. Our goal is for the LED display to serve as a community wall for featuring different forms of artwork and supporting local artists.”

[ Planar’s Cindy McCullough Discusses Helping Customers Through Trying Times ]

Agave Ponce engaged Miami-based Blackdove, a curator of digital art, to provide collections of video artwork that are displayed on the LED video wall. Agave Ponce also features content and imagery unique to Mexico. “Our company is part of the Jose Cuervo family, and we have lots of beautiful scenery of agave fields and the countryside that we showcase on the video wall. It’s been a great tool and we’re still discovering all of the different capabilities that it offers. Planar has been a great partner and we are very pleased with how everything turned out.”

About the Planar Directlight X LED Video Wall System

The Planar DirectLight X LED Video Wall System supports a range of fine pixel pitches and includes full front service access and a mission-critical design for 24x7 reliability. The Planar DirectLight X LED video wall solution embeds advanced video processing directly into the product via the off-board Planar Video Controller. Planar DirectLight X also includes the Planar Remote Power Supply, which moves heat, depth, noise, weight, service points and electrical outlets away from the video wall and into a rack room. A 16:9 aspect ratio and precise pixel pitches ensure every model achieves exact Full HD, 4K or 8K resolutions.

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When the newly refurbished Sondheim Theatre reopened its doors in December 2019 to welcome back the West End’s longest-running musical, Les Misérables, the excitement was unfortunately cut short following the swift and unexpected impact of the pandemic. 

But hope was once again restored when a staged concert version of the musical opened at the same theatre—first for only 10 shows in December 2020, and now for a limited season until September 5. Award-winning video designers Finn Ross of FRAY Studio and Jonathon Lyle were brought on to adapt the original show’s video design to its new concert format through the help of disguise’s pre-visualization software that is powered by a disguise solo server. 

Despite being thwarted twice by COVID-19 restrictions (in the initial opening and then by a UK lockdown ahead of Christmas), the show has enjoyed critical acclaim as theatre-lovers gather every day to “hear the people sing”.

“What we’re doing with video is containing the space and tuning into the emotional temperature of the scene,” explained Ross. “We chose disguise because of the excellent support and the solo specifically for its suitability for smaller theatre shows from a form and cost perspective, while still offering power, flexibility, and the full disguise experience.” 

The new design is much more simplified in comparison to the musical production as it removes scenography and choreography, while lighting plays a much bigger role, tuning viewers in with the emotions of the performers. 

[Stage Lighting Technology Accelerates]

“A subtle hand was taken to create this unique concert experience," said Ross. "The connection with the performer and the stage is very intense, as we tried to find a sensitive way to support the atmosphere and the work of the performer without overwhelming them.”


Unlike the musical, which uses projection mapped images that bind to the action and movement on stage, the concert relies on an LED wall to playback subtle elements of the original images, designed by Matt Kinley, inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Ross added: “We were able to take the original show file in disguise pre-vis and edit it down to condense it to the shorter duration of the concert. Luckily we were operating within the same system and in the same building as the musical, so it was so easy to reconfigure things in the background. disguise certainly made the shift very painless.”


The team was also working with the LED screen brightness extensively, adapting it for very dark or very bright scenes. With disguise at the core of the production, integrating lighting and video, the team was also able to use the software as an LED screen control solution to streamline their workflow.


[The Integration Guide to Video Walls]

“We always feel reassured when working with disguise. It’s a reliable piece of software that doesn't get in your way and lets you create without having to fight with it,” Ross concluded.

The What: VOD Visual is launching The Edge, an LED video wall solution designed to be a direct replacement for LCD. According to the company, The Edge's 55-inch panels are the largest single die cast cabinets available, with each incorporating just eight modules of LED.

The What Else: This design allows the display to evolve as pixel pitches continue to reduce, enabling technologies to be swapped out without changes to infrastructure, so a 2.5mm pixel pitch display can become a 1.2mm by simply replacing the panels. Front serviceability means this entire process can be done quickly and simply.

The panels fit together seamlessly without any bezel disruption to allow for the creation of video walls in creative shapes and sizes, as well as in standard formations. The sleek, lightweight displays weigh just 15kg and have a depth of 58mm. 

The Edge range has been designed with superior image quality in mind with a high dynamic range, high brightness and a vivid color gamut for lifelike color reproduction. A proprietary ultra-low reflection black surface technology ensures intense black levels for the ultimate contrast across both areas of high and low brightness.

The Bottom Line: VOD Visual touts The Edge as one of the most sustainable and energy efficient LED displays available. The advanced design keeps the heat away from the individual LEDs and dissipates through superior heat management. Power consumption using this design is reduced by up to 75 percent and the product lifetime exceeds 100,000 hours, with uniformity across all modules.

On July 21, Samsung Electronics America and SoFi Stadium revealed the name of the 70,000 square-foot, dual-sided center-hung video board at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium: The Infinity Screen by Samsung.

Named for its unique design and groundbreaking technology, the Infinity Screen features what Samsung describes as the most LEDs ever used in a sports or entertainment venue. With nearly 80 million pixels, each panel can be uniquely or congruently programmed with statistics, live and/or animated content. It anchors SoFi Stadium’s end-to-end 4K video production workflow.

SoFi is an indoor/outdoor stadium built in Inglewood, CA, by Los Angeles Rams owner E. Stanley Kroenke that serves as the home of the Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. The stadium is set to host a variety of upcoming events including the Super Bowl LVI in 2022, the College Football Championship Game in 2023, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in 2028. 

“It’s been a long time coming, but we are so proud to announce The Infinity Screen by Samsung,” said Mark Quiroz, vice president, Display Division, Samsung Electronics America. “SoFi Stadium is one of the NFL’s crown jewels and it has been a privilege and an honor to work with the team on this project. We are incredibly excited to see fans engage with the Infinity Screen in person for the first time.”

[ The Latest in High-End LED Displays ]

The process of naming the video board at SoFi Stadium took many months of consideration and testing, with the team reviewing more than a dozen names that communicated Samsung and SoFi Stadium’s overall vision. The name “Infinity” comes from Samsung’s long history with bezel-less displays and the video board’s unique design. From mobile devices to displays like The Wall, Samsung is known for its infinite displays, and the Infinity Screen at SoFi Stadium continues the trend.

Built for the future and positioned 122 feet above the playing field, The Infinity Screen by Samsung has the largest LED content playback system ever deployed. With nearly 80 million pixels spaced 8 millimeters from center to center, each panel can be uniquely or congruently programmed with statistics, live and/or animated content. The different sizes of the video panels are designed to serve spectators in every seat, from the sideline to the upper deck, according to Samsung. Teams on the sidelines and fans sitting in the lower bowl of the stadium will view the inside of screen as it sits directly across from their line of view, while guests in the upper bowl will view the outer panels of the video board.

“We are excited to introduce the official name for our 70,000 square-foot, dual-sided video board, The Infinity Screen by Samsung. The Infinity Screen creates an absolutely stunning presence inside SoFi Stadium,” said Jason Gannon, managing director, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park. “It is powered by the largest graphics control system in the history of sports and is already synonymous with the next-level fan experience at SoFi Stadium.”

Located on the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack, SoFi Stadium is the centerpiece of a 298-acre mixed-use development featuring retail, commercial office space, a hotel, residential units, and outdoor park spaces.

Last September, Samsung and Hollywood Park signed a multi-year agreement that names Samsung the official mobile, TV and display partner of Hollywood Park, including SoFi Stadium and a 6,000-seat performance venue. Samsung technology will be represented throughout Hollywood Park, reaching fans across the district’s residential, office and retail areas through the connected mobile app.

Related Stories

SoFi Stadium Finishes Largest Video Board in Sports • SoFi Stadium’s 70,000-square-foot Samsung 4K LED video board and five levels of fascia will give fans an experience to remember.

The Latest in High-End LED Displays • When it comes to big, bright visuals, nothing beats direct-view LED. The following is a roundup of the most noteworthy new offerings from leading manufacturers.

Video Walls: An Evolving Landscape • Bigger, brighter, and blending better into their environments, we examine how video walls are transforming the way we look at everything from entertainment to critical data.

The Growing Accessibility of Large-Scale Video Walls • Video walls are shining stars in the evolving technology landscape that rely heavily on innovation to stand out.

Held in Cologne, Germany, the Final Four of the EuroLeague, the top-tier European professional basketball club competition, deployed a number of LED displays with show control by the new Christie Pandoras Box Version 8 with video processing by Christie Spyder X80.

Spanish company Laser AV was commissioned with the integration and technical execution of the AV for the event held at Lanxess Arena, which included live broadcasting, signal distribution throughout the stadium, signal management of the screens, and signal relay via fiber optic.

[Christie Launches Core Series II LED Video Wall Tiles]

The centerpiece of the installation was an LED video wall measuring 44 x 3.5 meters (144 x 11.5 feet) made up of 640 panels with a pixel pitch of 2.97mm, giving a total resolution of 14,784x1176 pixels.

Laser AV installed a 6 x 3.5 meter (19.7 x 11.5 feet) LED display, which was suspended in front of the massive video wall while the scoreboard was a LED cube with each face measuring 6 x 3 meters (19.7 x 9.8 feet) with a resolution of 1536x768 per side. The company also installed 50 LCD monitors, ranging between 43 and 80 inches, throughout the stadium including changing rooms and the press room.

In addition, the Lanxess Arena had a media cube, hung above the scoreboard, comprised of four 8 x 4.5 meter (26 x 14.8 feet) screens with a resolution of 1920x1080, and a fascia LED screen with a resolution of 3840x2160 that lined the whole perimeter of the stadium.

To control the displays, Laser AV employed 12 Software Licenses, four Pandoras Box Servers, two Widget Designer Pro, and a Christie Spyder X80 multi-window processor.

It was the Spyder X80 that, in the words of Unai Sánchez, chief technical engineer at Laser AV, was “the heart of the installation,” from which the Pandoras Box Servers as well as the Zoom and broadcast signals were managed and integrated. “We chose the Spyder X80 for this event because we had to manage lots of screens simultaneously and to visualize all the inputs easily and securely,” Sánchez explained.

He went on to add that: “In an event of this kind, it is absolutely essential to be able to configure such an extensive canvas with virtually no restrictions, and that is precisely what the Spyder X80 lets you do. To give you an idea, for the 44-meter screen we only needed to use two 7392x1176 outputs, and the same goes for the server inputs. That meant we had more available inputs and outputs, and we were able to manage the whole event simply and with perfect adjustment. The performance of the Spyder X80 was flawless, and gave us the stability, flexibility, and security we were looking for.”

Regarding Pandoras Box, Sánchez said, “Given that it was a sporting event, you couldn’t program a fixed timeline. The client programmed events that varied depending on the quarter and on down times. Thanks to the conditional programming, we were able to configure actions that depended on variables that we could resolve in real time. Pandoras Box Version 8 conditional programming makes even the most complicated events much easier.”

This was the first time that the Laser AV team had used the new Pandoras Box Version 8. “We have been using Pandoras Box for over ten years now and I can safely say that this is the most powerful version yet and the one with the most features,” Sánchez said. “And, as always, its best virtues are its reliability and flexibility.

“The possibility of using virtual cameras is amazing. You can create a composition anywhere on the canvas and integrate it as an extra layer in another more complex composition.”

Sánchez also had positive things to say about other features of Pandoras Box Version 8: “It allows any CPU to have unlimited layers, as well as a total 3D environment, ingestion of files over 4K, and unprecedented, improved performance. The Laser AV team tested how many videos with a 14784x1176 (25fps hap) resolution you could run and the surprise was that we were able to have 10 videos playing at once, which was impossible with Version 6. In short, it has no limits in terms of resolution and number of layers. With regard to workflow, it is still as intuitive and flexible as ever, but it has eliminated license restrictions. To be honest, we weren’t able to spot any flaws or shortcomings.”

Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium recently hosted Triller, a boxing and music event featuring advanced LED displays driven by Hippotizer Boreal+ Media Servers. Music heavyweights including Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, and Diplo joined boxing big-timers Jake Paul and Ben Askren for the event, which drew a pay-per-view audience of more than 1.5 million.

The fights were interjected by pop performances, with each requiring a feast of visual delights to match the action. The boxing ring area had two portrait LED video screens for fighter entrances, a single LED video wall above the announcer booth, with another LED screen used as a fascia for Diplo’s DJ booth, and the performance stage had five screens.

[Hippotizer Powers Virtual Audience and LED Staging for Britain’s Got Talent Final]

“This was a lot of video, right?” said video designer Tony Caporale, who was brought in by project lighting designer Tom Kenny and PRG account rep Anthony “Looch” Ciampa. “But that’s not all; we also rigged a load of Revolution Blade LED strips and VDO Sceptrons throughout the set scaffolding, driving the content across the whole stadium. We pushed the visuals to the limit, and I’m happy to say the two Boreal+ servers handled it all, considering how hard we were pushing them.”

Caporale discussed the hefty visual requirements in pre-production with Luke Lewis and Anthony Wilson from PRG, and landed on the Boreal+ Servers.

“I knew we had to have Hippotizer’s + models out there to handle the weight of this show,” Caporale said. “I had a lot of mixes to distribute so I needed a workhorse I could rely on.”

Visuals for the fight action were created by Studio Moross, with each music artist’s creative team submitting its own content for the performance stage. In addition, Triller show creators Ryan Kavanaugh and Bert Marcus and their teams supplied promo material and additional B-roll footage. For the performance stage, all the content was locked to timecode and provided by the respective artists’ creative teams.

The rig was controlled by a main and tracking backup for both the grandMA2 consoles and Boreal+ Media Servers via MAnet.

“One of the things that impressed me most about using the Boreal+ was the Fade on Layer feature, which was key,” Caporale said. “Since I had so many mixes to distribute content through, I knew I was already taxing the layer count on some of the mixes and it was dragging my FPS. I was able change a few mixes from eight layers to four and along with the use of relay I managed to save enough system resources.”

The results were, in a word, big, as Caporale continued: “The show designers created a look that was very industrial and edgy. Tom definitely wanted this to feel like a concert and not bland. With all the screens scattered around the set, along with the Revolution Blades and Sceptrons, it gave the staging a lot of depth so there were a lot of different ways to break it up or make it feel unified.

“For some looks, I would select a cool geometric pattern to flow through the blades and match the tempo of the song. In other instances, I utilized the relay feature and sampled a piece of the artist content in the Blades, especially if they had music hits and accents in their content so it could translate through the Blades musically. For an event of this size, you go with what you know best and what can proficiently get you the results you need.”

For the Atlanta Triller event, Dave Gelineau from Echo Entertainment served as producer/director, Rick Seigel as director of photography, Drew Rivera as Visionary Group technical director, with Visionary Group overseeing creative and art direction alongside Mike Hess and Juliana Jaramillo as art directors.

The What: Planar is introducing the Planar CarbonLight VX Series, a line of LED display solutions optimized to meet the needs of the virtual production (VP) and extended reality (XR) markets. Featuring a lightweight, patented carbon fiber construction, the Planar CarbonLight VX Series supports indoor fine-pitch LED video wall, ceiling, and flooring installations to offer the deployment versatility today’s VP, XR, and broadcast applications need with exceptional on-camera visual performance. This includes settings spanning film and movie sets, broadcast studios and entertainment venues, as well as education and corporate facilities.

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls]

The What Else: Introduced as part of the Planar Studios initiative, the Planar CarbonLight VX Series delivers the performance and capabilities today’s VP and XR professionals need to create realistic on-screen content. Developed with help from today’s leading VP industry experts, the CarbonLight VX Series introduces two LED display lines that are designed to integrate with VP and XR stages, including the Planar CarbonLight CLI VX Series and Planar CarbonLight CLF VX Series.

The Planar CarbonLight CLI VX Series supports hanging, wall-mounted, free-standing, and curved LED video wall installations, in addition to other unique shapes that are intended to help smaller stages appear larger. This includes 90-degree corners, which are made possible by the series’ beveled edges. Planar CarbonLight CLI VX Series also allows customers to remove and install cabinets anywhere within the video wall without disrupting the overall layout.

The Bottom Line: Building on the success of the popular, award-winning Planar CarbonLight LED Displays portfolio, the Planar CarbonLight VX Series offers VP and XR customers LED solutions that support a range of studio sizes and configurations for outstanding flexibility in studio setup and configuration.

Seeing dynamic, transformative images projected larger than life onto a building in the middle of a city is a thrill for audiences. For the artist and technologist, it’s a dream come true fraught with daunting technical challenges. In the end, to be successful, the art installation needs to tell a story. 

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls]

In its fifth year, and attracting more than 55,000 national and international attendees, the 2019 LUMA Projection Arts Festival transformed Binghamton, NY into an interactive, immersive art scene. Spread across eight locations, art installations from more than a dozen artists were projection mapped onto the city's architectural structures.

"We like to look at ourselves as the intersection between art and technology," said LUMA co-founder Tice Lerner. Luma provides the projection mapping engineering expertise to enable all forms of creatives to realize new types of immersive expressions that would otherwise be impossible.

Many of the animations are mapped down to individual bricks. "With a limited amount of time to set up, we've got to get that exact match, and that's hard,” Lerner said. “And if we run into other issues—whether it be power issues or an edge blending issue, or just even something as simple as a signal issue from the output—that's time lost, when we could be working on the creative." 

Lerner considers the use of Panasonic projectors to be a groundbreaking moment for the LUMA 2019 event. Thirty of Panasonic's large venue three-chip DLP SOLID SHINE 30,000-lumen laser projectors brought the festival to life. "The difference was night and day for us," he said. "It allowed us to focus more on the important creative side."

The Narrative

The 3D mapping experts at Los Angeles-based PaintScaping have taken projected storytelling to new heights, from mapping onto United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy rocket ahead of the launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, to mapping for Rihanna and Calvin Harris videos, to giant storytelling on nature at the San Diego Zoo.

“Mapping is a merging of real and virtual worlds where you project an image that is lined up with the features of the architecture, a landscape, or even people," said Philippe Bergeron, president and CEO of PaintScaping. “Mapping should always take into consideration the canvas.” A building should not be treated as if it were a solid white screen. “The architectural details like windows, doors, pipes, and ledges are not going away; they're there; so you can't fight them.”

In the early days of projection mapping, people were enamored by a large image covering a building. Today, Bergeron is happy to say that his clients are understanding that the narrative is critical. “We can tell a very simple story, but nevertheless, the narrative is more sophisticated,” he said. “The narrative is evolving, because content is king, and that is absolutely true in mapping.” 

Technologies are also becoming more sophisticated and helping to enable easier installation and brighter and sharper images. “Projectors are evolving surprisingly fast,” Bergeron said. One of the biggest problems in mapping can be the number of projectors needed for large projects. "That's why the 50K [lumen projector] is so transformational in this business," Bergeron said. "Because all of a sudden, instead of using two, three, four projectors, you can use one, which is great. It's a lot simpler to achieve results, and your chances of failure are much less, not to mention the shipping, the logistics." 

In March 2020, PaintScaping created a spectacular outdoor experience immersing visitors of the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in a recreation of Henry Francis du Pont’s Christmas celebration called Mr. Harry's Party. "We tried to incorporate what really happened at the party: they had musicians, jugglers, magicians, a ventriloquist, and there was a lot of drinking and dancing." Spanning 100 feet wide and four stories tall, Mr. Harry's Party came to life mapped to the architecture of the front of the museum with a single Panasonic 50,000-lumen three-chip DLP SOLID SHINE projector with True 4K+ resolution.

Digital Art Installation

Blackdove recently transformed public spaces in two Miami commercial office buildings into large-scale public digital art installations. Each of the properties sought to create a unique and transforming interior experience for its tenants. A monthly curation of moving image digital art is delivered by the Blackdove curatorial team in coordination with the owners of the project.  

Works by Australian algorithmic artist Jonathan McCabe are shown on both walls. McGabe’s art is generative in nature, creating an ever-changing work for onlookers. His work symbolizes the fluidity of life and the energy of the universe flowing around us as we float through life.

Massive

BrightSign collaborated with MASARY Studios on the “Massively Distributed” interactive art installation at the annual Canal Convergence festival in Scottsdale, AZ. The installation was a community-driven public art project that brought people together outdoors during the pandemic through technology.

Massively Distributed was a site-specific web app that enabled the public to add their own compilations to the installation using the sights and sounds of their city. Utilizing their smartphones and computers, people created dynamic sound and visual compositions via MASARY’s online media sequencer app and submitted them for inclusion in the broader public presentation.

During the event, three sites located throughout Old Town Scottsdale displayed a series of sound and video projections celebrating the community’s creations. Each of the sites displayed the finished pieces via a pair of BrightSign HD media players feeding video content to two 15,000-lumen Epson projectors, perfectly synchronized to a powerful sound system to complete the immersive experience.

Outdoor Dynamics

Taking immersive visuals to the streets of Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA), LUMINEX: Dialogues of Light hosted a one-night walkable outdoor digital art exhibition using DTLA’s buildings as backdrops. Working with well-known visual artists Carole Kim, Nancy Baker Cahill, Refik Anadol, Sarah Rara, and Luciana Abait, LUMINEX transformed a five-block radius into a walkable museum experience. The goal was to use the power of art to bring healing to the community and to reconnect culturally with one another.

The dynamic and immersive installations were made possible through the use of Panasonic’s 4K projection technology, which included the PT-RQ32, PT-RZ31K, PT-RQ50K, and PT-RZ21K three-chip DLP SOLID SHINE 4K laser projectors. The various projectors enabled each artist to showcase and express their creativity through clear and captivating visuals. In addition to being an in-person event, the exhibit was also livestreamed to viewers around the world.

Gestural Art

On the southwest corner of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, 12 ground-level windows of the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal have been transformed into COOLTURE IMPACT, an interactive video wall installation engineered with motion-responsive technology. A motion sensor camera tracking system that is custom-mounted with the displays allows passersby to make the artistic digital canvases come alive with their own movements. A wave of the hand is translated onto the display as a creative rendering that captures the audience´s gestures.

The installation is designed with an interactive framework software system developed by NoirFlux and a ZED 3D depth and motion sensing camera from Stereolabs. Specific responses to COOLTURE IMPACT’s featured artwork programming are presented in real-time through Planar TVH Series fine-pitch LED video walls with a 2.5-millimeter pixel pitch (TVH2.5) from Planar.

The Planar TVH Series includes compact LED cabinets that provide an exact fit for any video wall size or configuration. Available with a redundant video and power option, the Planar TVH Series is designed for continuous operation and engineered for the most demanding applications.

The driving force behind the project is Coolture, a firm specializing in cultural and branding events in emblematic spaces, both public and private. Working with support from the Port Authority, Coolture assembled a team of video artists, filmmakers, interactive designers, software developers, and engineers to create the project, produced by non-profit Cultural Semiotic Alliance.

Safe Art

At the start of the pandemic, LuminArtz worked with local artists to create safe art exhibits for all, including “Light Up The Night” by videoartist Pamela Hersch.Hersch created an installation projected onto the exterior of the Wenham Museum in Boston using Sharp NEC Display Solutions PA1004UL laser projectors. Because of the outdoor nature of the project, Hersch had to increase the level of brightness of the projectors—arranging three PA1004ULs in a stacking configuration to focus on the same area and increasing the brightness of the image. 

Hersch took advantage of the projector’s connectivity options by feeding the image input into the bottom unit’s HDMI IN port, connecting the bottom unit’s HDMI OUT port to the next unit’s HDMI IN port, and so on. She used the projector’s built-in grid test pattern to adjust the focus, zoom, and finally lens shift for each unit. Hersch needed to make further refinement to the alignment by using the cornerstone function, allowing her to move each corner independently. 

Once the projectors were physically set up, she used projection mapping software to project plain white light onto the surface of the museum. This made it easy for her to trace the outline of the building and mask out where they didn’t want light to be cast. The result was a 30-minute program showcasing historical videos and still images, and connecting generations throughout the pandemic.

ARTificial Intelligence

Not every digital art experience needs a living artist and a projection crew. The Museum “AI” Wall is highly immersive video space where Panasonic technology brings together 4K displays and projectors. The display accurately reproduces the delicate emotions of an artist’s style, and even the years felt from the cracked paint. The background is created with high-brightness, high definition images from a 4K projector. A, POVCAM captures the audience in real time and reproduces the images into self portraits with the touch of a famous painter using AI technology.

Going to the North Pole

Taking advantage of its large outdoor space, Bayside Church has set up a multi-zone drive-thru Christmas light display that attracts thousands every year. Bayside Church wanted to project a large image onto an adjacent building—approximately 20 feet tall and 80 feet wide—to give the illusion of Santa’s North Pole workshop.The projectors needed to be set up across the parking lot from the building—approximately 40 feet away—and mounted about 16 feet off the ground to allow vehicles to drive underneath. In order to conceal the projectors as well as to protect them from the elements, the NP-Pa853W projectors were enclosed in custom doghouses. The building itself is segmented into two halves, so the projectors were mounted in a two-and-two configuration to provide the necessary coverage. The building is also not perfectly flat, so projection mapping was used to account for arches and columns to provide a clean image. 

The operation of the installation is highly automated—with several computers controlling the entire light display, including the projection. The system fires itself up at 5 p.m., turns the projectors on, initiates the content loop, and runs until about 30 minutes after the event closes. After the display is packed in for the year, the projectors are used for additional AV needs throughout the church each week.

Immersive Safari

Illuminarium Experiences is an experiential entertainment brand that creates immersive spectacles in custom-designed venues called “Illuminariums.” To make these Illuminariums even more captivating, the team collaborated with Panasonic to develop a custom ultra-short-throw lens for minimal offset and loss of light performance. Panasonic’s R&D team of engineers developed this shadow-eliminating lens to eliminate the chance for visual disruptions within the experience. With this advanced visual technology, Illuminarium’s first spectacle—"WILD: The World’s First Virtual Safari”—will be a truly immersive visual experience.

Delivering sharp clarity and vivid colors, Panasonic’s PT-RQ50K three-chip DLP Native 4K laser projector is used to transport visitors to Africa, where they will journey throughout different environments—from the majestic plains of Masai Mara to the verdant watering holes of Samburu Reserve. Together, Illuminarium’s 360-degree experiential entertainment venue and Panasonic’s visual technology offer guests a truly captivating experience.

Planar has announced the launch of Planar Studios, an initiative designed to revolutionize the explosive virtual production (VP) and extended reality (XR) markets. Planar Studios combines the technologies, industry partnerships, and personnel that today’s customers require to create realistic on-screen content in the ever-expanding VP and XR industries.

Through the Planar Studios initiative, Planar aims to empower the world’s leading visual storytellers to engage audiences through advanced technological development, particularly critical LED and motion capture systems. By bringing VP and XR to mainstream entertainment, corporate, and education markets, Planar is helping make VP and XR solutions more accessible, streamlined, and repeatable.

[Planar Unveils DirectLight Ultra Series MicroLED Displays]

Planar solutions for VP and XR are being deployed worldwide, including at Orbital Virtual Studios, a Los Angeles-based VP studio dedicated to producing movies, music videos, and commercials from pre-production design and development to production, photography, and all the way through post-production. 

“LED display technology is taking the production industry by storm, enabling new techniques and processes that are transforming the way video producers create incredibly realistic action and transport audiences to new worlds,” said A.J. Wedding, director and co-founder of Orbital Virtual Studios. “Having seen and experienced Planar’s state-of-the-art LED display technology firsthand, and worked closely with their team on many shoots, I have no doubt that the company delivers the superior visual performance, support, and versatility today’s movie directors and producers need to create VP projects like we’ve never seen before.” 

Through the Planar Studios initiative, the company leverages Planar’s established leadership in on-camera broadcast studio installations and products to deliver the performance and installation flexibility needed in the trailblazing VP and XR industries. The company has worked directly with leading creative and technical professionals to tune and evolve the Planar CarbonLight LED Displays portfolio to include key features required in contemporary and future VP and XR techniques.

Planar Studios is supported by Planar’s dedicated VP and XR team, which is backed by the company’s team of experienced pre-sales and post-sales product specialists located around the globe. As a result, Planar is able to provide a one-stop shop that addresses customers’ VP and XR needs from design to deployment and post-sales.

Planar’s initiative is strengthened by collaboration with partners that specialize in digital production and developing next-generation visual storytelling tools. This starts with Planar’s sister company, NaturalPoint, which creates the OptiTrack family of motion-capture software and high-speed tracking cameras, in addition to providing contract engineering services. While LED display technology and motion capture are significant components of VP and XR environments, successful studio implementation also requires a broad range of hardware, software, and services. Planar works closely with leaders delivering in these areas, including Epic Games Unreal Engine, disguise, Brompton Technology, Colorlight, and more.

“We are proud and honored to work with the world’s leading creative and technological professionals as we set out to perfect the art of VP,” said executive vice president Adam Schmidt. “Recent developments in VP and XR are already unlocking wonderful capabilities for storytellers, but we’re just scratching the surface. We recognize advanced technological development, productive industry partnerships, and a dedicated team of experts to be key in helping customers overcome creative limitations. Planar Studios is our response and will be a driving force in unlocking the future of VP and XR.”

Planar will continue to work with professionals in the VP and XR industries to innovate the company’s successful on-camera LED displays to more closely meet customer demand as the markets advance.

Watch Planar’s VP and XR solutions bring realistic on-screen content to life or learn more about the Planar Studios initiative at www.planar.com/PlanarStudios.

The 29-year-old Phoenix Suns Arena is in the middle of a two-phase $230 million modernization project, with technology improvements that allow the Suns to deliver a sophisticated guest experience. Among the first upgrades visitors encounter, the lobby area (called the Pavilion) has been outfitted with 7,000 square feet of LED displays.

Two custom curved LED displays welcome fans to the arena: one display measures 26 feet high by 202 feet long and the other 26 feet high by 113 feet long, which adds up to a combined 64.8 million pixels.

Video content is supplied to the LED walls in the lobby by two Christie Spyder X80 multi-windowing processors, one used as the primary processor, and the other as part of a backup system. Stranger Production, which specializes in sports and broadcasting video processing and automation, commissioned the Spyder X80 processors.

Stranger Production owner Eric Howell said, “The system is designed so that the Spyder X80 is the central processor of the pavilion LED displays. Video is fed from computers to the media processors, into the Spyder. The display is completely customizable, including advertising, video feeds, and pregame content, and different types of media and content can be layered using the Spyder.” Additionally, content can be synchronized on the displays throughout the arena.

The system is using 12 of the 16 outputs available on the Spyder X80 and all 20 inputs. Howell explained, “We’re using a lot of pixels—64.8 million pixels are managed by the Spyder—and there’s still room for one more display.”

“We have a history in commissioning Christie Spyder for large-scale sports and arena installations,” added Howell. “For me, it comes down to Spyder’s sheer horsepower, with its 24 inputs and 16 4K outputs. And with the Spyder, we are able to get multiple technologies converted to the same display type.”

“We’re thrilled that the Phoenix Suns have selected a Christie Spyder X80 to manage content for its lobby display,” said Christie sales engineering supervisor Joel Turensky. “The Spyder X80 features 80-megapixel processing power, with 4K support on every channel. The Spyder X80 enables the creation of spectacular experiences, and the Phoenix Suns Arena is no exception.”

“Christie Spyder is the processor you want to use when it matters,” said Howell.

[ Phoenix Suns Upgrade Arena Audio with L-Acoustics ] 

Other Christie Spyder Installations

The AV Experience at GM World Is Designed to Inspire • The seven interconnected buildings that comprise the GM Renaissance Center are an impressive sight on the Detroit skyline, but until recently, the scene was less inspiring. The scene is quite different as of the start of this year following the reveal of a massive, two-year installation that brings technology and innovation to the forefront.

Naval Academy Showcases Athletic Success with Christie AV • New theater uses end-to-end Christie solutions to inform and inspire potential students.

Christie Spyder X80 Manages Visuals on 350-Foot LED Wall at One Times Square • One Times Square recently installed a new 350-foot-high unified north wall featuring Prismview outdoor displays driven by the Christie Spyder X80 multi-windowing processor.

Christie Spyder Drives Large-Scale LED Displays at Casino Sports Bar • Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, CA, installed 2,300 square feet of LED displays in its 360 Sports bar and restaurant.

The What: Maxhub has launched the new Raptor Series integrated LED wall displays. Consisting of seven models ranging in size from 120 inches diagonal to 220 inches diagonal, the new Raptor Series is designed to simplify control and setting features while enabling participants and presenters alike to interact more naturally, and completely.

The What Else: The Raptor Series features integrated studio-quality speakers that enhance voice intelligibility, enabling meeting participants to hear clearly and be more engaged. Equally notable, these new displays add SPDIF audio output capability, making it easier to interface the audio with consumer-grade loudspeaker systems.

[Maxhub Launches 220-inch LED Wall Display]

The Raptor Series adds a third HDMI input, increasing from two HDMI inputs on previous models. This additional input increases the number of devices that can feed content to the display. The Raptor Series also provides USB 3.0 input connectivity, which facilitates increased data transfer speeds for connected equipment.

With the inclusion of Maxhub’s enhanced video processor, the new Raptor Series is now capable of PBP (Picture By Picture) functionality, which separates the screen in half, displaying output from two different source devices simultaneously on the left and right sides of the screen. Similarly, PIP (Picture In Picture) capability is also available.

The operating system has also been upgraded from Android V7.1 to V9.0, which enables LAN screen sharing for up to four windows in addition to low-latency stable mirroring support. This improvement provides enhanced BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) sharing of content, resulting in even greater flexibility for all meeting attendees. Further, these new displays offer upgraded Wi-Fi capability to 2.4G and 5G dual network duplex.

The Bottom Line: With improved centralized network control connectivity and support for LAN/RS232/485 connectivity, these new displays are designed to keep meeting attendees more focused. The new Maxhub Series LED displays are slated to be available later this month.

THE WHAT: PPDS has launched its new Philips L-Line 7000 Series bezel-free LED range in North America. 

[The Digital Signage Best Practices Guide]

THE WHAT ELSE:  The Philips 7000 Series provides 1,200-nit brightness—well suited for even the most challenging light conditions, including direct sunlight behind glass—and comes in a range of different size variants (25cm height as standard, with 50cm, 75cm, and 100cm width variants), to suit nearly any design, shape, or size (landscape- or portrait-mounted).

The 7000 Series also addresses cost of ownership with its Dynamic Power Saving technology, allowing for up to 20-percent lower running costs compared to other comparable market models, according to PPDS. It also features faster mounting and calibration and built-in cable and data wiring. With Philips Active Health Monitoring, all displays can be managed 24/7 remotely, with any issues or potential problems able to be flagged up and addressed before they happen. 

To help ease installation, every Philips L-Line LED panel is calibrated at PPDS’ factory, reducing disruptions and inconveniences both for the integration partner and the customer. 

With safety of paramount importance, the Philips 7000 Series also comes equipped with IP30 conformal coating, giving the displays protection from indoor elements such as dust, dirt, fungus, and moisture, reducing the chances of short circuiting or corrosion. Its fire-retardant design slows down the spread of flames in the event of fire, with the solution ruthlessly tested and certified with British standard BS476, European standard B1 DIN4102, and North American standard UL94. 

The Bottom Line: Targeted toward retail, corporate, and other public venue environments, the new series has been hailed by the company as its most flexible and versatile indoor LED range to date. The product, both on design and functionality, has been fashioned on market feedback to address and eradicate many of the traditional barriers and limitations around the size, shape, and brightness of LED installations for almost infinite design possibilities.

The 7000 Series is available and in stock for partners in North America.  

The What: Planar has begun shipping the Planar DirectLight Ultra Series, a premium line of fine-pitch LED video wall displays delivering always-on, high-resolution display experiences. 

The What Else: Offering models in 0.6-, 0.7-, 0.9-, and 1.2-millimeter pixel pitches, the Planar DirectLight Ultra Series presents several display technology advancements including models with MicroLEDs, off-board power supply, proprietary alignment technology, and built-in processing. Featuring accurate color reproduction and high brightness, most Planar DirectLight Ultra Series models incorporate MicroLEDs that are much smaller than standard LEDs but deliver better black levels and up to three times more brightness while consuming much less power per unit of brightness. 

The series’ self-adjusting module alignment technology also maintains pixel alignment over time, combating issues such as vibration and thermal expansion, which can cause LED modules to shift. Planar DirectLight Ultra Series LED displays also implement technology that reduces light blockage and ambient light reflection, resulting in better blacks, higher dynamic range, and enhanced dark content performance. 

[ Planar’s Cindy McCullough discusses helping customers through trying times. ] 

Requiring less power and producing less heat, the DirectLight Ultra line of fine-pitch LED video wall displays delivers a more energy-efficient solution. The series also includes Planar Remote Power Supply, which allows customers to relocate heat, depth, noise, weight, service points and electrical outlets away from the video wall and into a rack room.

With built-in video wall processing via the off-board Planar WallDirector Video Controller and corresponding software, users can capture multiple 4K sources and arrange content windows while securely controlling and monitoring the video wall via user interface or leading room management systems.

Planar DirectLight Ultra Series LED video wall displays include the Planar EverCare Lifetime Limited Warranty, which provides customers complete product coverage from controller to sub-pixel and everything in between for as long as they own the product.

The Bottom Line: With its fine pixel pitches, the Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is well suited for close viewing distances and high-precision visual images and video. It is well equipped to support mission-critical applications in environments such as control rooms, government, corporate boardrooms, and high-end residential.

The Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is currently available and shipping through Planar’s global network of authorized resellers.

It will be featured at Planar’s Tampa Showroom Grand Opening event, which takes place on June 23.

[ Why Planar's LED Warranty Deserves More Than Fine Print ] 

Planar DirectLight Ultra Complete

The launch of the Planar DirectLight Ultra Series also introduces Planar DirectLight Ultra Complete, a line of prepackaged LED video wall displays designed to reduce the time, complexity and cost of deploying a 4K or 8K MicroLED video wall. 

Planar DirectLight Ultra Complete is available in 108-inch, 136-inch, and 163-inch diagonal 4K resolution and 217-inch diagonal 8K resolution display sizes. 

Planar DirectLight Ultra Complete arrives ready to install, providing customers a package complete with LED display cabinets, cables, spare modules, wall mounts as well as a video controller, remote power supply and remote control.

The Planar DirectLight Ultra Series features precise front installation and serviceability for easier access and installation versatility. With an installed depth of less than 4 inches, organizations can place Planar DirectLight Ultra Series video walls against the wall to minimize the solution footprint and maximize floor space.

Other Recent Planar Product Launches

Planar MGP Series • The Planar MGP Series is a new family of fine-pitch LED video wall displays designed to be affordable solutions suitable for replacing legacy display technology.

Planar WallDirector VC • Planar is enhancing its TVF Series family of fine-pitch LED video wall displays with the addition of a new TVF Complete model and by offering integration with the Planar WallDirector Video Controller.

UltraRes X Series • UltraRes X Series is a line of 4K resolution commercial-grade LCD displays featuring 700-nit brightness and a wide color gamut for HDR content.

HRO Series • Planar's new HRO Series of high-resolution outdoor LED video walls feature a high brightness, fine pixel pitch LED offering that is built for close-up daylight video viewing.

Planar Expands U.S. Government Division • Planar is expanding its product security program to further adapt products and processes to best meet the product security needs of customers. Planar says product security remains an ongoing and increasingly important focus for the company to support customers in U.S. government and the various commercial markets in which it supplies display solutions.

The What: Optoma has announced its new 130-inch Optoma FHDS130 SOLO LED, an all-in-one display unit for a variety of pro AV applications. The FHDS130 delivers a clear and bright image, and is engineered to be installed quickly, reducing LED display installation time from days to hours.

The What Else: The Optoma FHDS130 SOLO LED display features a smooth viewing surface, wide viewing angle, and a robust design. Featuring 1080p resolution, a 3,000Hz refresh rate, 800nits of brightness, and a 5,000:1 contrast ratio, the FHDS130 delivers a clear image for a variety of pro AV and digital signage scenarios. More in line with a consumer electronic installation, it is powered by a single power cable, versus traditional, complicated LED display installations that require multiple cables and complex wiring setups.

[Optoma Expands QUAD Series with 163-Inch All-In-One LED Display]

The display also features low power consumption when powered on, and an eco-friendly <0.5W standby mode to save energy and costs. According to the company, the Optoma FHDS130 not only costs significantly less to operate than a standard modular LED display, it also saves an average of 4,151 lbs. of CO2eq per year, which translates to the amount of CO2 emitted by a car for over seven months.

The Optoma FHDS130 can be easily mounted to walls with the included wall mount and is also compatible with an optional motorized stand for mobility. Additionally, the height of the display on the stand can be adjusted with the touch of a button to optimize the viewing angle.

“The Optoma FHDS130 was designed to appeal to a larger install base and variety of usage cases with its easy out-of-the-box installation and high-value price point,” said Leonardo Giuffrida, product manager at Optoma. “We’re excited to expand our award-winning lineup of LED displays, bringing together incredible performance, simplified installation and market-low pricing.”

The Bottom Line: Pre-calibrated out of the box to ensure an optimized image for immediate usage, the FHDS130 is well suited for boardrooms, classrooms, houses of worship, retail, and hospitality.

Imagine strolling through a downtown neighborhood, where you’re surrounded by light poles hanging banners that advertise a family movie night in the park or sporting event at a nearby stadium. Now imagine replacing those static images with dynamic digital signage that delivers impactful stories with real-time updates, branding messages, public art and more. This vision is becoming part of everyday reality as municipalities and corporate, healthcare and higher education campuses turn to light pole LED display signs to engage audiences and enrich viewing experiences.

Light pole signs have the potential to offer multiple new revenue streams to both AV integrators and end users for years to come. The most common source of recurring revenue is paid advertising, but an LED display can be supplemented to provide several other paid services. The good news is that today’s market offers a variety of hardware, software, and service options to help customers create a more well-rounded installation that delivers powerful experiences for viewers. Here are a few options to consider:

• Emergency alert systems
• Public Wi-Fi hotspots
• Blue light emergency systems
• Integrated speakers and microphones for two-way audio communications
• Integrated cameras for two-way video communications
• Bluetooth beacons

We can expect to see more of these technologies paired with LED solutions as technology advances and more organizations start to push the envelope on using light pole signs to connect with audiences in new and meaningful ways. Also, as 5G technology develops, we’ll start seeing higher bandwidths reach a wider range of markets, which will help eliminate some constraints previously associated with light pole signs deployed with 4G technology. In the meantime, let’s explore three examples that can get your organization thinking outside the box today.

Fostering Intimate Connections Through Digital Signage

Until recently, sign owners have had to sacrifice resolution for high brightness when deploying outdoor LED displays. Today, more durable and affordable outdoor LED displays are available in both fine pitch and high brightness models, so viewers can enjoy crystal clear content up close in outdoor settings. For light pole LED display applications, this means that text and visuals can be scaled down to a much more personal level. This is key for wayfinding when pedestrians approach a display to get a closer look at their surroundings and navigate their next steps.

Plus, the option to incorporate a double-sided LED display helps capture a larger viewing audience. This can reach pedestrians and traffic traveling in both directions, and increase the advertising revenue. 

Digital Signage Supports Safer and More Secure Surroundings

Organizations have been turning to display technology for emergency messaging for years, providing real-time updates during moments of crisis and alerting crowds to both potential dangers and points of safety. The same can be said for a light pole LED display and to take it a step further, it can also include an emergency alert system or security contact button add-on, or better yet, both. These kinds of capabilities, along with two-way audio and video options, can offer more resources to help ensure that users are better equipped to send warnings or call for help in moments of need.

Delivering a Platform for PSAs Using Digital Signage

To be effective, public service announcements (PSAs) should leave a lasting impact on audiences. A visual approach, such as upgrading a light pole with an LED display, can be a great way to deliver more powerful messages that both engage and instruct audiences. Following COVID-19, imagine the profound impact this application could have during a global pandemic, educating the public on everything from the latest social distancing rules and regulations to closures, lockdown updates and more.

Light pole signs equipped with LED displays are already demonstrating their value beyond advertising and traditional digital signage. Start thinking through how your team can generate new revenue streams and revolutionary experiences for visitors in downtown settings, corporate campuses, universities and beyond.

Peter Lawrence, CTS, will speak at AV³ on the "What’s Next for Digital Signage?" panel on June 17. Click here to learn more about the virtual event.

Interactive screens are popping up everywhere you look, from smartphones to Starbucks drive-thrus. Recent data from research firm MarketsandMarkets suggests the interactive display market will grow from $9 billion in 2020 to $13.2 billion by 2025, a compound annual growth rate of 8.1 percent.

With prices steadily dropping as user expectations increase, vendors are taking a close look at the safety and usability of commercial-grade interactive screens. AV professionals hope to leverage the power of next-gen displays to deliver unique engagements that people simply cannot get at home. Artificial intelligence, multitouch, touchless capabilities, and features to enhance remote work are just some of the advancements to consider.

Trending Up?

Business sectors like hospitality were devastated by pandemic travel restrictions, but growth in other segments stayed level—or accelerated. Jeremy Sternhagen, Planar’s technical marketing manager, has observed a shrinking interest in “small-scale meeting rooms, at least for a little while,” but there’s been no dip in sales of Planar’s interactive displays, he said. Indeed, that market is growing. “We have not seen a downward trend for our interactive products,” he explained.

Big-Picture Approach

Now the pressure is on vendors to think beyond the bezel and create agile, easy-to-manage interactive display ecosystems. Cost-effective products are in demand, but hardware alone might not win a bid. A big-picture strategy—encompassing hardware, software, content management, and third-party compatibility—makes sense, according to Osvaldo Velarde, technical director, North America, PPDS (formerly Philips Professional Display Solutions). Velarde sees the importance of a solutions-based approach. “This is why we rebranded as PPDS this year, because we’re looking to provide complete solutions to customers. We want to support any software that will drive business forward.”

PPDS is walking the talk with its C-Line and T-Line interactive display families, designed to support native videoconferencing and seamless collaboration in corporate and learning spaces, respectively. In whiteboard mode, for instance, multiple people can use the T-Line to write or annotate while everything on the screen is streamed to laptops or personal devices. Up to 64 devices can be connected simultaneously. No extra drivers are needed, no additional software is necessary.

[ Related: The Latest in High-End LED Displays ] 

A takeaway: Solutions that can bridge on-site teamwork and virtual collaboration modalities will be in greater demand, even as schools and offices reopen.

LCD, LED

One size fits none—and context is critical when procuring video technology. There are advantages and limitations to both LCD and LED technologies. While LCD occupies the largest market share of interactive displays, the appetite is growing for LEDs. Direct view LEDs let clients expand display real estate far beyond the size of LCD, for larger viewing applications. Planar’s Sternhagen explained that the company’s Planar ERO (Extended Ruggedness and Optics) technology is a “rugged innovation and optical improvement process that makes LCD and LED display products—which are normally fragile, not designed to be touched every day—able to withstand environmental risks such as people touching it or objects or backpacks banging against it.”

[ Related: Touchless Systems: Manufacturers Discuss AV's Latest Trend ] 

Ever-Changing Use Cases

The use cases for interactive displays are as varied as the products themselves. Educational clients want to digitize their environments. Some corporations are deploying high-tech amenities to entice people back into the office while continuing to support hybrid/flex workers.

Customers may be uncertain about the future, but they still want to be prepared. To that end, Barco is emphasizing BYOD (bring your own device) and BYOM (bring your own meeting) solutions. To see these systems in action, tour Barco’s new office in Singapore, which houses the new Barco Experience Center. The space is a showcase of interactive displays and AV technologies—LED, LCD, and collaboration tools—that accommodate the hybrid/remote collaboration culture.

IoT, Wayfinding, & Touchless Interaction

Universities, worship facilities, retail, transport hubs, and corporate campuses have new reasons to invest in digital wayfinding and data capture. Highly responsive, sensor-aware flat-panel displays can help move people through spaces more efficiently while sharing institutional messaging (e.g., hours of operation) or health/safety information (e.g., mask protocols).

Sam Malik of Maxhub pointed to all-in-one displays as valuable tools in the post-COVID landscape. “An area where I’ve seen a surge is direct view LED displays,” he said. “They are easy to service and easy to install. Prices are now much lower, and the technology has advanced. Our all-in-one LED displays, from 110 inches through 220 inches, have gained a lot of popularity for applications where there was typically an interactive flat panel, but now the touch element is not desired. [Our solutions] are extremely bright.”

[ Related: Choosing the Right Interactive Display for Classrooms ] 

Maxhub offers a range of LED and LCD displays, some with built-in cameras and voice pick-up capabilities. Content can be updated and changed instantly.

IoT connectivity and videoconferencing are becoming essential features in the new business environment. ViewSonic’s ViewBoard IFP70 interactive display series, for example, have been certified by Microsoft as Windows Collaboration Displays (WCD) that incorporate the Azure IoT sensor hub.

It’s important to note that “interactivity” isn’t defined solely by the physical touch of a screen. Customizable screens can be tied to cameras and sensors to track motion. A screen can be activated and personalized to share information relevant to the person walking or driving by it. Enhanced with robust software, QR codes, RFID, mobile interactions, or other modes of touchless BYOD feedback, new displays can help to eliminate the need to physically touch public devices.

A “touchless” display strategy can also help minimize the impact of person-to-person contact, such as cashiers or ticket agents. Occupancy counting can be managed with signage software, rather than a paid staff member.

Capacity Awareness, Queue Management

Facilities stakeholders concerned about occupancy and capacity management are exploring solutions like PeopleCount from PPDS. PeopleCount can equip managers with the information they need to manage capacity, while also keeping customers engaged with promotional and safety messaging. To see the technology in situ, stroll into the H&M store in Hoog Catherijne, Netherlands, where it’s installed. The PeopleCount single-entrance solution uses a Bosch Flexidome IP Micro 3000i intelligent camera, which is connected to a PPDS bespoke app. No internet connection is required to make the Android-powered Philips PDS digital signage work. The solution has since extended to support not only retail, but corporate offices, supermarkets, bars, and restaurants.

Sanitization

“We’re working hard to come up with treatments that allow displays to be sanitized on a daily basis,” said Planar’s Sternhagen. “We are one of the few companies that actually has LED products that can be cleaned. Particularly when you add Planar ERO-LED proprietary protective coating to video walls, it can be something as simple as spraying a cloth and then wiping the display down like it’s a window.”

[ Related: How Video Walls Can Bridge the Virtual Chasm ]

Hygiene is also a priority for MultiTaction. Decca (MT 557D) is MultiTaction’s new interactive display with advanced hardware and internal processing power (increased by 30 percent). MultiTaction’s Decca offers an easily sanitized antimicrobial display surface to meet “today’s business challenges head-on,” according to a statement by Ari Rahkonen, CEO, MultiTaction.

Get Smarter

Dovetailing with IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being used to enhance the interactive display experience. Facial and iris recognition, biometrics, temperature sensing, and sophisticated handwriting analysis and annotation are a few of the features that may prove particularly useful in the post-pandemic landscape. The 2021 Interactive Display Market report by MarketsandMarkets pointed to AI as an emerging technology that will provide “huge opportunities for the interactive whiteboard market” specifically.

[ Related: How AI Is Transforming Pro AV, Facial Recognition and Pro AV: What You Need to Know ]

Click here to read more stories from the April 2021 issue of SCN.

The What: ViewSonic is introducing a new pre-assembled solution kit with a movable flight case for its All-in-One Direct View LED Display (108- and 135-inch).

The What Else: The newly introduced pre-assembled solution kit with a movable flight case is available in 108 and 135 inches. The movable flight case packaging design allows it to be transported easily and securely from one venue to another. This makes it well suited for museums and art galleries that require the highest visual quality and flexibility to showcase artwork. It can also be used in the rental business for short-term commercial exhibitions and events to achieve fast installation and easy mobility. Additionally, it is suitable for workspaces as it naturally merges with surrounding environments such as lobbies, auditoriums, boardrooms, and conference rooms.

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls]

The entire solution kit—with LED modules, cabinets, system control box, and floor stand all pre-assembled—fits into a movable flight case. After being taken out of the flight case, the display can be moved and positioned freely with the stand’s 360-degree silent wheels and stabilized with push-button locking. The built-in, motorized floor stand allows height adjustment at a maximum range of 60 cm and up to 4 sets of height preference that can be saved for convenient recurring use.

“As an innovative and leading company in the industry, ViewSonic is constantly dedicated to providing cutting-edge LED technology and applications with a customer-orientated mindset and delivering great value for customers,” said Dean Tsai, head of LED display and projector BU at ViewSonic. “In 2020, ViewSonic launched a new product line, All-in-One Direct View LED Display, which offered an integrated solution new to the industry and received positive feedback. To get more people to benefit from this innovative product, we are now introducing a new pre-assembled solution kit for the All-in-One Direct View LED Display, making it easier to move and set up, fulfilling more types of demand, and meeting diverse application scenarios.”

The Bottom Line: The new solution kit enables the LED displays to be moved easily and set up in less than 10 minutes, offering users short-term rental options and more diverse application scenarios at galleries, commercial events, exhibitions, and other sites.

ANC was recently selected by The Howard Hughes Corporation to integrate GLAAM America’s Media Glass—a transparent LED-embedded construction-grade display material—in its transformation of the historic Tin Building in Lower Manhattan. The structure is being renovated into a 53,000-square-foot marketplace operated by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with a careful blend of history with technology, and ANC’s installation in the Tin Building will be the largest deployment of the GLAAM Media Glass in the United States.  

As the first of many projects to come out of the ANC/GLAAM integration and operation partnership announced in October of 2020, the Tin Building’s installation of GLAAM Media Glass is an opportunity for the building to be at the cutting edge of media technology.

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls]

The original Tin Building was home to the famous Fulton Fish Market, a once-burgeoning fish market dating back to the early 1800s and the epicenter of wholesale fish trade in the United States. Today, the reconstructed building will serve a new generation in the heart of the Seaport District.

GLAAM Media Glass will cover more than 1,100 square feet of space surrounding the escalators in the heart of the building. While on the escalator, shoppers will have clear views of the marketplace awaiting them. The view from the retail floor to the glass will be an ever-changing array of fully programmable content that ANC will tie into the greater audiovisual network at Pier 17 using their proprietary LiveSync control system. ANC has long aided The Howard Hughes Corporation in creating unique digital environments in their developments, and its work on the Tin Building represents a continuation of that with the next generation of media façade technology. ANC is working alongside the project’s architect and design team at Roman and Williams, and construction manager, Plaza Construction.

“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with The Howard Hughes Corporation to bring this truly unique experience to life in the revitalized Seaport District—an experience that will set the bar high for what an experiential shopping and dining experience can be,” said Jerry Cifarelli, ANC founder and vice chairman who oversaw The Tin Building project on ANC’s behalf. “Our clients continually look to ANC as an AV design and integration partner to uncover, vet, and install the latest technology so they can provide their customers with memorable, engaging experiences. With GLAAM Media Glass in the Tin Building, we can provide that very attractive atmosphere.”

GLAAM Media Glass is unique in that it eliminates the compromise of design and building value from obstructed views and blocked natural light from LED screens, bars, mesh, and attachments. The embedded micro-LED technology, weatherproofed and protected from the elements, creates a seamless connection between the physical and digital experience. It requires far less maintenance and repair than previous LED offerings, is priced at a similar capital investment, and is estimated to provide 100,000 hours of full brightness over its lifetime, thus creating a total lower cost of ownership.

The Tin Building will also be one of the first in the United States to integrate a commercial video wall in a public space using transparent OLED. The Tin Building is a continuation of ANC’s work with The Howard Hughes Corporation at Pier 17, where ANC designed a custom multimedia system complete with no-bezel LED columns for continuous content display.

“The interest we’re receiving from our clients in the sports, entertainment, transit, and development worlds signals a huge demand for these new media technologies,” said George Linardos, ANC president and chief executive officer. “The future isn’t about sitting idly and watching the world go by—it’s about innovating, and being in the moment, and we’re so proud to help create the future, today through our partnership program with the most innovative technologies in the space.”

When The Beach Company, a 75-year-old real estate development firm in Charleston, SC, decided to relocate and modernize its headquarters, a brand new downtown mixed-use building called The Jasper presented the ideal location. The highly-visible Charleston business conducts a lot of meetings, partner visits and virtual collaborations, so they contracted local technology integrator experts The Office People to design and install a network of cutting-edge LG commercial displays to help facilitate virtual collaboration with bring your own device (BYOD) convenience and future-readiness.

Designing for the Future

Even before global corporate culture shifted to remote work in early 2020, The Beach Company had determined that its new HQ would leverage the latest commercial AV technologies to improve communications, support modern collaboration, and present a forward-thinking atmosphere to visitors and staff. After working with The Office People to plan each room’s specific technology needs, the company settled on a range of displays from LG Electronics. They included a 130-inch all-in-one direct-view LED (DVLED) display, a 98-inch 4K LCD display, a 3x3 paneled LCD video wall composed of nine 55-inch 4K screens, multiple 65-inch conference room displays, and a 65-inch OLED wallpaper display that is a mere 3.85mm thick.

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls]

According to Jeff Hazelwood, The Beach Company’s manager of technology and information security, the finished space makes an important state-of-the-art statement to visitors, presenting a vision that matches the city’s beauty. Sitting roughly one block from the Ashley River and occupying the fifth and sixth floors, the office’s largest digital display is actually so vibrant and bright that it is clearly visible from boats passing by.

“We designed our AV experience at The Jasper with several goals in mind,” Hazelwood said. “It needed to be easy to use, with a familiar user experience from room to room, in addition to being future-proof. Plus, we really went for the ‘wow’ factor. Thanks to the experts at The Office People, we have created a display on the inside that is as equally stunning as the views of beautiful Charleston just outside our windows.”

Outshine the Sun

With the building sitting about a block from the Ashley River and the office occupying the fifth and sixth floors, The Beach Company’s largest digital display is actually so vibrant and bright that it is clearly visible from boats passing by.

“The Jasper is one of the largest buildings in Charleston, and The Beach Company is very well known, so this is a landmark of sorts for the city,” said Sean Mummert, CEO of The Office People. “If you’re in the harbor, you can actually see the 130-inch all-in-one DVLED display from a boat, and we know that because people have commented to Jeff [Hazelwood] about it. We see DVLED as the only technology that can reliably overpower the full sunlight this room receives throughout the day, and still perform flawlessly for decades.”

All-in-one DVLED displays from LG Business Solutions are rated for a lifespan of 100,000 hours at full brightness, which equals more than 11 years running 24 hours a day. As one of LG’s new all-in-one models, the display arrived fully assembled, calibrated, and ready to plug in and use with virtually no setup.

Double-Duty Displays 

Mummert explained that each conference and meeting room in the HQ building is named for a past development project, and any time the displays aren’t being used, they function as digital signage and run content highlighting that project. While the majority of the meeting rooms host a 65-inch 4K display, the 130-inch DVLED and the 3x3 video wall present much larger digital canvases. These oversized displays have proven excellent tools to enable social distancing, with both rooms sometimes being used to include more people in a single meeting. 

[The Technology Manager's Guide to the New Era of Digital Signage]

The system’s full design offers major benefits, as every digital display is connected through an AV-over-IP solution with a Barco wireless collaboration system that enables network-wide content distribution and automated digital signage functions. The system design also enables a true plug-and-play BYOD atmosphere, so no matter who is running a meeting, what brand their personal devices are or what collaboration platform they use, they can connect simply and quickly in any room without instruction or assistance. 

Dressed to Impress

First impressions matter, and that certainly applies to an office’s aesthetic and technological fortitude. “Each display in The Beach Company’s new headquarters is stunning in its own right, but it’s very hard to imagine a visitor today who won’t be blown away by the LG OLED wallpaper in the CEO’s office,” Mummert added. 

The Office People’s director of technology Joshua Gale also noted that the space is saturated with digital screens, providing the company a messaging platform for any internal communications they may have.

“There is virtually no space in the new HQ that lacks a top-quality digital display, making the digital signage application a crucial tool to maximize the network’s value and share news and updates with employees,” Gale said.

In addition to the displays, The Office People also installed new high-end pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, microphones, speakers, tabletop tablets and a room scheduling/reservation system that uses the 365 Outlook platform.

The What: Planar has expanded its portfolio with the Planar MGP Series, a new family of fine-pitch LED video wall displays designed to be affordable solutions for replacing legacy display technology.

[The Digital Signage Best Practices Guide]

The What Else: The Planar MGP Series is available in 1.2mm, 1.5mm, and 1.8mm pixel pitches and features a 27-inch diagonal 16:9 cabinet that supports full front-service, wall-mounted installation. 

The new series also introduces Planar MGP Complete, a line of lightweight, pre-packaged LED video wall displays offered in 108-, 136-, and 163-inch diagonal Full HD video wall sizes that are designed to reduce time and complexity of video wall design and installation.

The Bottom Line: The Planar MGP Series aims to make fine-pitch LED an accessible alternative to projection or tiled LCD environments including retail settings, classrooms, lecture halls, and houses of worship, as well as digital signage applications replacing printed signage such as banner displays and ribbon boards.

The Planar MGP Series and Planar MGP Complete will begin shipping in May and be available through Planar’s global network of authorized resellers. 

The What: Maxhub has debuted the 220-inch diagonal LM220M07 LED Wall Display, the company’s largest display to date.  

The What Else: The LM220M07 features a fully integrated design with 1080p resolution and a 2.5 mm pixel pitch, making it well suited for a wide range of display applications where large screen size is a must-have requirement. With a viewing angle of 160 degrees horizontal and 140 degrees vertical, the LM220M07 features Smart Control for one-button on/off and easy adjustment of settings, including brightness, contrast ratio, aspect ratio, and input signal—all from a compact remote. Alternatively, users can bring their own device—loaded with the company’s Maxhub Share app (available for both Android and iOS)—to control the LED panel or share data.

Related: The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls

The Maxhub LM220M07 incorporates everything into its slim, 1.12-inch depth, including a 3-in-1 modular board that encompasses the power supply, receiving card, and hub. The streamlined physical attributes of this design not only enable the display to be mounted almost flush with a wall for optimum appearance, but greatly simplify matters in the unlikely event service is required by offering full front access and hot swapping of modules.

With support for multi-device collaboration, real-time wireless screen sharing from up to four devices simultaneously improves engagement for meeting participants. The Maxhub LM220M07 provides interaction with smartphones and tablet computers as well as synchronized annotation from multiple devices.

“For anyone in the market for a visually stunning, genuinely large LED display, the Maxhub LM220M07 makes a terrific choice,” said Sam Malik, senior director of sales and marketing for Maxhub’s North American operations. “Its rich feature set delivers a new standard of excellence for intuitive operation, flexible deployment, and easy service and maintenance. Further, the LM220M07’s integrated Android functionality supports a wide range of smart features and it optimizes grayscale display performance—even in low brightness—drawing audiences in with mesmerizing color, detail, and dynamic range. The LM220M07 delivers mesmerizing visual performance that engages audiences—making one’s presentation, lecture, or sermon more dynamic than ever.”

The Bottom Line: The Maxhub LM220M07 provides immersive visuals and is well suited for meeting rooms, lecture halls, and other large venues. Incorporating interactive and mirroring technology—including multi-device screen sharing and synchronized writing—the Maxhub LM220M07 LED Wall is an all-in-one solution designed to ignite participation.

The Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls

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Inspired Installations

From a library that engages beyond the printed page, to control and operation centers that are the pulse of a community, to lobbies, museums, and corporate headquarters, these video wall case studies are sure to inspire.

New Products

We round up the latest video wall products from top manufacturers. 

Download the Technology Manager's Guide to Inspired Video Walls.

The What: LG Business Solutions USA is launching 25 new pre-configured DVLED display models in 16:9 and 32:9 Ultra Stretch formats for both indoor and outdoor installations.

The What Else: LG’s new offerings aim to simplify the process of choosing the right DVLED display by offering a complete lineup of fully configured displays and backing all of them with comprehensive service and support. Each DVLED display includes all display components, display accessories, spare parts and modules, and a 4K LG DVLED controller—delivered in wheeled flight cases for easy transport. 

Related: The Technology Manager's Guide to the New Era of Digital Signage

The LG webOS-based 4K controller features a quad-core SoC, built-in media player, LG’s remote control, 3.6GB of flash storage, and an AV-over-IP decoder for displaying multiple streams. Its built-in scaling functionality allows users to adjust resolution up or down in various areas of the finished display. LG DVLED displays also support screen sharing via Miracast and WiDi wireless display connectivity.

The new LG DVLED displays come in various model series in a variety of sizes and resolutions:

• 2K Full HD Displays (81 to 217 inches diagonal)
• Dual 2K Ultra Stretch Displays (147 to 393 total inches)
• 4K Ultra HD Displays (163 to 325 inches)
• Dual 4K Ultra Stretch Displays (294 to 598 total inches)
• 8K Ultra HD Displays (325 inches only)
• Outdoor 16:9 Displays (230 to 578 inches, up to 5,000 nits)
• Scoreboards (230 to 445 inches, 1,000 to 5,000 nits)

Each LG DVLED Display comes with LG’s comprehensive support services free of cost for a limited time, including a five-year LG ExtendedCare limited warranty, three years LG ConnectedCare Remote Monitoring, three years of on-site LG TotalCare Health Checks and exclusive in-field training hosted by an LG field engineer.

“Based on positive feedback from the market, LG saw an opportunity to demystify the selection and purchase of DVLED to make it simple—like buying LCD displays for board rooms, lobbies, digital signage applications, stadiums, houses of worship, or wherever organizations need to communicate visually,” said Dan Smith, vice president, business development, LG Business Solutions USA. “More and more businesses are considering DVLED as a preferred display choice thanks to its brightness, sharpness, and stunning realism. From 2K to 8K resolution, 81 inches to 598 inches, LG now makes it easy for companies to deploy this display technology.”

The Bottom Line: The new models are designed to simplify the entire process of ordering, delivering, installing and calibrating DVLED displays for a wide range of commercial applications.

Not long ago, massive video walls were mostly found on the Strip in Las Vegas, Times Square, stadiums, and control rooms. Advances in technology and a lower cost of entry have dramatically changed the visual landscape, inside and out.

While many live events and in-person gatherings have been sidelined due to the pandemic, companies and organizations turn to technology integration and distribution firms such as Synnex Corp. and VWMason Technology Consultants to create digital canvases to engage with audiences—spurring some new trends in video wall usage.

Video walls that were used for promotion pre-pandemic are being repurposed to attract and engage with audiences in a different way. "Buildings and places that we wouldn't think of as having signage are now being used for art," said Marielle Crisanti, business development manager and associate consultant at VWMason. Grants are being applied to develop creative applications within the digital medium. 

Especially today, end users are working to deliver next-level experiences for their customers, and LED offers the flexibility to make that happen. Sandi Stambaugh, vice president, product management at Synnex added, "Architectural digital communications and signage provide the ability to create and deliver truly immersive experiences." With advancements in LED technologies, video walls can curve, wrap corners, cover columns, take the shape of cubes and spheres, and cross the ceiling. "There truly are few limitations," Stambaugh said. "Gone are the days of only 'boxed-in' video walls."

Whether an art installation, messaging that winds throughout a lobby, or creating the illusion of fans sitting in stands, video walls are playing a starring role. When the NBA resumed its 2019-20 season at the "NBA Bubble", a hub based at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, three game courts were outfitted with 17-foot-tall LED screens—wrapping three sides of the arena to display seating populated with more than 300 virtual fans.

Across the Enterprise and Campus

In some cases, the video wall is replacing the traditional projector and screen. "We are seeing video walls (both LED and LCD) being used in a variety of new ways—whether for conference room, classrooms, lecture halls, etc.," Stambaugh said. Despite the higher cost, today's installations are more often positioning LED as an optimal choice. "With the advancement in technology, simplification of the installation process, and reduction in price points, more companies can leverage the benefits of direct-view LED technology."

VWMason's Crisanti shared a similar sentiment. "I hear of more video wall deployments versus projectors in boardrooms, as well as in regular meeting spaces and conferencing rooms." Another corporate trend taking hold is "out-of-the-box LED displays that would be equivalent to a 100-inch LCD screen," she said. These easy to set up and sometimes portable, all-in-one units have made inroads over the past year, especially for meeting rooms and classrooms that need to be transformed into ad hoc conferencing and presentation rooms.  

Synnex sees continued demand for video walls, but the type of projects and environments have changed due to the pandemic. "We see fewer installations for corporations and live events, and more projects in vertical market applications," Stambaugh said. "Synnex continues to work with our partners on turnkey, affordable solutions for post-pandemic solutions such as temperature monitoring of staff and customers, messaging, distancing guidelines, and more." As hybrid work, collaboration, and education requirements continue beyond the pandemic, "we see a need for solutions that provide experiences as close to real life as possible," Stambaugh said. "Larger displays and video walls will be critical for those applications."

Some companies are capitalizing on buildings sitting idle. "A lot of people are taking advantage of this time and looking at the technology, not only for messaging, but for how they can attract people to the space when they reopen," Crisanti said. The large, flexible LED format is perfectly suited to tie internal and external messaging in different spaces.

Purpose Built Video Walls

While LCD is still the lower-cost solution, the price gap has quickly narrowed. "LCD and LED typically have different use-cases, so when looking at display technology—and especially when weighing costs—it's important to focus on ROO, or return on objective," Stambaugh said. Understanding the full use case is critical to delivering the right technology for the application. "Often, the benefits of LED technology—including brightness, lifespan, and the capacity for uncommon aspect ratios and configurations—deliver the ROI that LCD cannot," she said. "However, it is important to look at it from the customer's objective to determine if those benefits justify the cost." 

Crisanti agrees, "One of the things that we always push at VWMason is knowing, what is it that you're trying to accomplish—what is your vision? How are we going to accomplish that?" Especially in these times, adaptability is critical. Having the ability to automate and create data-driven messaging to targeted audiences will help measure a return on investment. 

"Because of its adaptability, we're seeing a rapid emergence of the use of LED technology and micro-LED technology versus LCD," Crisanti said. "With the need to get messaging out quickly, it is a significant draw to people that haven't looked at LED before."

LED or LCD Video Walls?

No doubt, the acquisition cost of LCD video walls is less than its LED counterpart, and there will always be applications that make sense for LCD. But then there are the practical and spectacular differences that set LED video walls apart. 

"LEDs should be your first look because it's going to allow you to achieve a pretty spectacular, high-resolution, clean, seamless appearance, and you're not going to see the lines between panels," said Rich Ventura, vice president of B2B for Sony Electronics' pro division. "And you're not going to have to worry about color shift as you would with LCD." Add those benefits to the fact that LED can be curved and made into different shapes—that is when the price per pixel becomes very attractive," Rich Ventura said. 

Longevity is also on the side of LEDs. Even though LED and LCD panels are both using LED lights, "the biggest inherent difference is that the LEDs on an LED wall are working together to make your image," Ventura said. "With an LCD, they're shining through a piece of glass. Over time, the glass in an LCD can degrade, and it loses brightness." 

Installation and maintenance also favor LEDs. Ventura points out that installing an LED video wall is more straightforward than LCD. "With LED, you're laying out the tracks of the cabinets, mounting them, and placing the pixel cards on there, and you're off and running." This makes serviceability is easy as well. "If a card goes out, you go up with a magnet, pull a pixel card off, put another one up, check it, and you're off and running." If you had to replace an LCD display, you might need to have one shipped if there's not an extra on hand, and it will take more than one person to de-install and install. "Those things become a very big factor," Ventura said. 

"From an installation and setup perspective—if you're going to do a massive, spectacular wall and you want it to capture a lot of eyes, LED should be your first look, then LCD, and then projection," Ventura concluded.

The What: Planar is enhancing its TVF Series family of fine-pitch LED video wall displays with the addition of a new TVF Complete model and by offering integration with the Planar WallDirector Video Controller (VC). 

The What Else: The Planar WallDirector VC and Planar WallDirector Software add secure video processing capabilities to the product while simplifying video wall control and management. In addition, Planar WallDirector VC is being added to Planar TVF Complete 109-inch to 219-inch LED video wall displays, allowing customers to more easily acquire, deploy and operate seamless LED video walls in popular resolutions and configurations. 

With Planar WallDirector VC, users can capture multiple sources while extending signals over CAT or fiber connections and scale modularly to support larger video walls. The Video Controller is powered by Planar WallDirector Software, a browser-based video wall management application designed to simplify video wall setup, configuration, operation, and monitoring. 

Related: The Technology Manager's Guide to the New Era of Digital Signage

The company is also enhancing and expanding Planar TVF Complete, a family of LED video wall displays designed to make seamless large size video walls easier and more cost-effective to deploy. The new Planar TVF Complete line now incorporates Planar WallDirector VC and includes a new Double Full HD 198-inch model aimed at the popular wide-view configuration for conference rooms and board rooms. The Planar WallDirector VC and Planar WallDirector Software combine a powerful and compact video processor, signal extension over CAT or fiber, multiple 4K60 capture, flexible window layout creation and recall, and complete control via web application, network commands, or remote plus on-screen display. Available in a range of Full HD, Ultra HD, and Double Full HD resolutions, Planar TVF Complete now offers customers a total of seven models to choose from. 

In addition, Planar TVF Series is now available with Planar ERO-LED Matte. As the newest advancement with the company’s proprietary Planar ERO-LED (Extended Ruggedness and Optics) technology, Planar ERO-LED Matte is a new protective solution engineered to be almost unnoticeable, allowing content to be displayed without interruptions or reflections and an improved touch experience for continued interaction, while also maintaining image performance.

“Planar TVF Series and Planar TVF Complete are among our most sought-after fine-pitch LED video wall solutions,” said Steve Seminario, vice president of product development at Planar. “The new capabilities announced today were designed to respond to the needs of our growing customer base while maintaining Planar TVF Series’ elegant simplicity and reliability.”

The Bottom Line: Planar WallDirector VC is a family of compact and scalable video processors designed to drive Planar LED and LCD video walls. With Planar WallDirector VC scaling and windowing, customers can arrange, save, recall, and view their video sources in layouts that are most meaningful to them.

LED screen hire company iMAG has partnered with film production company Treehouse Digital to pioneer a mobile LED virtual production facility to help the film and live events industries navigate through global restrictions. The result is a mobile facility that offers a 360-degree LED workflow, which includes an in-house drawing team, rigging specialists, and full LED setup.

“We were quick off the mark with our full-service mobile VP solution and it has definitely been paying off,” said iMAG’s MD and technical director, Alex Strachan. “With Treehouse Digital bringing years of experience in filmmaking, and iMAG offering the hardware, and our knowledge and expertise gained through working in high pressure live environments, the partnership is a match made in heaven.”

Chris Musselwhite, producer and head of production at Treehouse Digital, which works with major streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon for film and TV, noted that LED address many of the limitations of alternatives such as greenscreen and rear projection in terms of lengthy/more challenging post-production processes and overall space requirements. It is important to note that there are still necessary processes and strict planning with this approach (Treehouse calls it Pre-Post), but to ultimately capture the end results down the lens is what is really exciting.  

“When LED VP came into play, we recognized there was a huge market for it, both for live action backdrops and virtual environments via Unreal Engine,” said Musselwhite. “So, we started contacting companies that were doing LED screens for live events. With most of them, they either didn’t have the capacity to support our particular requirements, or it just wasn’t something that was on their radar. Then we came across iMAG.”

What struck Treehouse most was iMAG’s pioneering and innovative philosophy. “They didn’t just think about what they were doing in that moment, they asked strategic questions such as ‘Where could this go?’, and ‘What could we do with it?’ The partnership just felt like the most natural fit for both brands.”

In forming the alliance, iMAG and Treehouse have created an ecosystem of like-minded experts from a variety of specialist areas, all working toward developing an ultimate LED solution for virtual production, with advanced control options and VP workflows.

“With virtual production on the rise, the true-to-life color accuracy and image bit depth of High Dynamic Range (HDR) is becoming extremely popular,” Strachan said. “Having invested in ROE Visual LED panels and Brompton Technology processing, as well as having our entire fleet of LED panels recently calibrated with our newly purchased Brompton Hydra measurement system to make them Brompton HDR-ready, we tick all the boxes for our clients.”

One of the set ups has been deployed at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), and comprises a 20- by 5-meter curved LED backdrop using ROE Black Onyx 2.8mm with a ROE MC7 ceiling for ambient lighting. Pulling on iMAG’s experience in the live industry, the system is “tour ready,” allowing it to be transported either in full, or to specific dimensions, to any desired filming location. Most recently, it has been used at Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol for a large project with Netflix and at Gillette Studios in London.

“Our aim is to be a one-stop shop,” Strachan said. “In virtual production, every single element matters. Our top-of-the-range LED equipment, combined with our industry reputation and technical expertise, means we are able to provide a complete service to our clients, while holding their hands all the way through the process.”

According to Musselwhite, while many companies recognize the potential of virtual production, it is vital to have the right set of skills and expertise to deliver an effective solution.

“With this partnership, we combine our filmmaking background with iMAG’s expertise in LED screens,” he said. “iMAG has been delivering LED solutions in extremely challenging situations for many years. That’s something you can’t learn overnight. The feedback we’ve had from our partners is that we are very much ahead of the curve in leading the charge for LED virtual production in the UK. There is a massive need for content creation that happens on a daily basis, and while productions such as The Mandalorian are globally acclaimed projects, and very rightly so, there are a vast number of features that need servicing with similar technology but at a more cost-effective level.”

One of Strachan’s key recommendations for virtual production is to do a camera test at an early stage to ensure both the LED screens and processing are able to deliver the desired performance on-camera.

“Our team can guide the client through some common challenges such as moiré effect, but also address other possible issues such as multiplexing, flickering, banding, or even rolling black bars, which can all be taken care of right from the start,” he added. “We know that cameras and LED screens have their own unique characteristics. We offer our clients a physical platform where they can confirm that the proposed pairing of equipment works seamlessly together and delivers the best possible result.”

By collaborating with industry experts and using future-proof software and technologies, iMAG and Treehouse are ready to facilitate all their clients’ requests for virtual events, and when things return to normal, physical shows as well.

“The fact that we use Brompton HDR-ready LED panels definitely gives us an edge over our competition,” Strachan said. “Many of the world’s major productions are using HDR technology now, so there is a clear appetite for high-quality, lifelike visual content which is now filtering down to smaller-size productions. We’re delighted to be able to support any production, big or small, by partnering Treehouse.”

Having recently secured two Epic MegaGrants and currently working on virtual productions with world-renowned brands, Treehouse could not feel prouder of what they have achieved in such short period of time.  

“By having the team of people with the right skills in the right areas, we have been able to take the industry by storm and deliver a headache-free VP solution,” Musselwhite said. “We are privileged to be working with companies like Netflix and Amazon. If we can impress them, we must be doing something right. That wouldn’t have happened without iMAG.”