When California's Stanford University unveiled its new Computer and Data Science building, known on campus as CoDa, the goal was to reshape how students, professors, and researchers across departments collaborate to create. This 167,000-square-foot hub, located at the crossroads of the schools of Engineering and Humanities and Sciences, is not just another academic building; it was designed to transform how people think and work.

Behind the scenes, this project centered on a complex infrastructure with two four-story buildings connected by bridges at every level, dozens of standardized collaboration rooms, three high-functioning classrooms, and an elaborate digital art installation that was introduced late in the project.

High Expectations, Long Timeline

Audio Visual Design Group (AVDG), a longtime collaborator with Stanford University, was tasked with leading the AV design and integration across classrooms, conference and seminar rooms, collaboration spaces, and more than 60 small, flexible rooms that could be quickly used by students, professors, or researchers for a variety of purposes. Katie Benson, senior key account manager at AVDG, noted that working with an esteemed institution like Stanford also comes with high expectations.

“This is a well-regarded institution of higher learning that provides technology that meets the standards for education and collaboration," she said. "We’ve done many projects on the Stanford campus, but the CoDa project was one of the largest and most unique in scope. A project of this size and diversity of AV spaces was going to require dedicated attention to detail, and we were up to the task.”

When they were invited to lead the AV systems design in 2019, AVDG had to navigate a long timeline that has become common in higher education installations; the project broke ground in 2022 and the building officially opened in February 2025. The project also required an extensive preconstruction phase, during which the integrator had to navigate evolving needs and technology requirements. Early in the process, AVDG shifted its focus to the infrastructure required to support the technology to follow, including structural supports, screen locations, and ceiling coordination to ensure a smooth execution during the install phase.

“During the programming phase in the first year, which included identifying room types, quantities, and the typical technology in each, and approximate cost, we had to be nimble and adapt to the changes and track cost variances accordingly,” Benson recalled. “As the project progressed, we became more engaged with the project team, including the architects, user representatives, and those affected by AV, such as the network team and other trades providing infrastructure for AV.”

Ambitious Audio

Across the two-building complex, AVDG outfitted 36 team rooms, 26 huddle rooms, and six large and eight medium conference rooms, including some with overflow that opens via bifold doors. In addition, AVDG identified three larger classrooms as standouts, including one with the second-largest Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system in the world.

This ambitious classroom is highlighted by Meyer Sound's variable-acoustics deployment, which reshapes the room’s acoustics in real time using microphones and a distributed loudspeaker network. This is combined with an integration with QSC Seervision Automatic Camera Position Recall (ACPR). The room was also equipped with nearly 100 microphones and 128 loudspeakers, requiring approximately 50,000 feet of cable in the ceiling alone.

“Nobody’s ever done ACPR and Seervision with a Constellation system. It was something that hadn’t been tested before,” said Chris Bubp of AVDG, who served as project manager on the CoDa project and is also the production manager for AVDG on the West Coast.

Given the ambitious scope of the AV installation, some challenges could be expected, but AVDG reported very few issues. “Given the complexity of the largest classroom in the building, there was a lot there that could go wrong, but it ended up working out really well,” added Bubp.

Displays All Around

In the same classroom, AVDG had to install and configure five projectors, facing different directions, mounted 20-25 feet above the floor within a massive oval ceiling. This required careful planning and coordination with other trades to ensure that the projectors were at the correct distance from the custom-sized projection screens. Serviceability of the classroom systems, which was considered throughout the installation, required AVDG to build custom slide-out frames and pulleys to facilitate component access and servicing.

Among the other spaces in CoDa, technology included projectors from Panasonic and Epson, displays from Samsung, conferencing platforms from Cisco, and control systems from Crestron and Cisco, all aligning with Stanford’s standards within each space. Although many of these spaces were standardized, some still required special attention, such as a fourth-floor event space that required AVDG to install a 21-foot-long, 750-pound projection screen. Without a freight elevator, it took a full morning to move it into the space.

Despite intermittent severe weather in California that the team had to work around, the general contractor, Whiting-Turner, and its foreman, Owen Barcelona, kept the install on track. “I called him the Iceman because it didn’t matter what challenge a trade threw at him, he seemed unfazed and ready to find a solution,” said Bubp.

Digital Art Challenges

Early in the construction phase, the university announced a multi-story digital art installation for the stairwell between the two buildings. “We’d been working on this building for a number of years, and we were introduced to this nuanced, specialty art installation that was a new, exciting challenge to the project,” Benson said.

To bring the art display to life, AVDG used four NEC projectors with inverted lenses, cameras to capture live imagery, and a Crestron control system that adjusted for changing daylight in the space. Given that the stairwell is the building's architectural centerpiece, the AV aesthetics were critical, and the projection system with cameras had to be incorporated so it would almost disappear within the space. A major challenge of the project required technicians to work suspended from four floors while installing cameras, cabling, and support hardware.

When integrating the projector, there was little margin for error in achieving exact geometry, so the art was projected as the arts team intended. “One of them was a short-throw reverse image projector that had to point in the opposite direction with a snorkel lens on it,” Bubp explained. “We had to get that as accurate as possible because there are no zoom adjustments or anything on those. So, it was a lot of measuring, a lot of testing, a lot of late nights trying to get the art people exactly what it was that they were looking for.”

More than a year later, students and professors are successfully using the spaces within CoDa. AVDG credits the smooth process to extensive planning, which enabled the team to address any issues that arose.

Benson also highlighted their ability to keep all partners, manufacturers, contractors, and university members connected, which led to the successful execution of this complex installation. “It’s about communication," she said. "It’s about staying aligned with the different trades and understanding where everyone fits within the schedule.”

When budget cuts forced Blue Ridge PBS to shut down two transmission towers in Southwest Virginia, more than 380,000 residents across 14 counties in the region lost access to public television. That’s why, when Will Anderson became CEO of Blue Ridge PBS in June 2019, he made it his mission to restore access for the area.

This led to the establishment of PBS Appalachia Virginia, which now operates the nation’s first fully digital public television station, and has the distinction as the first built within a casino, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol. Given that the region’s topography often presents significant signal reliability challenges, and the cost of rebuilding towers seemed unfeasible at up to $1.5 million each, the station opted to proceed with delivering content digitally through platforms like Roku, Apple TV, and PBS.org.

No Towers, No Problem

PBS Appalachia Virginia doesn't hold a broadcast license with the FCC but is covered in various ways by Blue Ridge PBS’s broadcast license, as it includes the ZIP codes in Southwest Virginia. Broadcasting is defined as the dissemination of information, which is exactly what they are doing—just not in a traditional sense.

“That's what a digital station is,” said Anderson. “It is the new forward-thinking way of getting that television, video, and media information to the masses without a transmitter.”

To lead the new station, he appointed Julie Newman, a familiar face in the region who had served as the lead anchor for News 5 WCYB in Bristol for decades, as VP and general manager. In an area known for its natural beauty, the community has endured significant hardships, including the challenges of pandemic recovery, poverty, and the opioid epidemic. Loss of access was not something that Newman and Anderson wanted to add to that list.

“Just because people choose to live in the beautiful mountains of Southwest Virginia doesn't mean they should be denied access to public media that nearly every other American citizen enjoys,” said Newman.

Located at the base of the escalator in the casino, the new 4,000-square-foot studio includes all the essential spaces needed for a modern station, such as editing rooms and a podcast studio. It also features a 46-foot glass wall that allows viewers to watch live productions in real time. The glass can also frost on command, providing privacy when needed and making the space modular, mobile, and multifunctional.

The glass viewing wall also enables the studio to benefit from the 3 million visitors the Hard Rock attracted in its first year of operation. “I project that, given our high visibility, we will likely be the most visible and accessible PBS station in the country,” added Newman.

Even when the studio is not in use, it must still represent the brand. FX Design Group, renowned for its expertise in broadcast set design, was engaged to lead that design aspect for the new studio.

“We added a rear projection, what they call a Gobo, to showcase their logo behind the glass when it's in the frosted mode," said Justin Gutierrez, managing director, broadcast for FX Design Group. They also created static lighting in their brand colors to further enhance the look when the studio was not in use.

Inside the Studio

PBS Appalachia Virginia describes the studio design as Appalachian chic meets broadcast innovation, featuring reclaimed wood, stone textures, and local art that add a regional touch, while high-end solutions, including a 28x9-foot Philips dvLED video wall, anchor the top-tier technology offerings. “We wanted to make sure that technology was first-class all the way, because that's our visual face to the community right there,” Newman added.

Newman and Anderson had a strong vision for the studio, even creating a sketch of what they envisioned the new space would look like, which currently hangs in Newman’s office. When viewers look through the viewing glass, they will see the curved 1.5mm Philips dvLED video wall featuring the Philips Unite LED 6000 series displays.

A total of 114 individual panels were utilized to construct the wall, necessitating a careful and well-coordinated effort by Digital Video Group (DVG), which managed the AV integration for the project and completed the installation of the display within a week. With the studio space visible through the glass wall, they had to ensure that everything remained presentable at all times during the installation process.

Chuck Heffner, VP of broadcast systems with DVG, explained that a curved dvLED wall requires "significantly more precise installation" than a straight wall. "The tolerances in pixel alignment between panels are greatly reduced,” he added.

The resolution and brightness of the Phillips Unite LED 6000 series ensured optimal visibility through the glass viewing wall. “The key is finding the sweet spot between wall brightness, resolution, content being displayed on the wall, the talent’s interaction with the wall, and camera angle and positioning,” added Heffner.

With low studio ceilings, the lighting grid was considerably lower than that of a typical TV studio, a situation made more complex by the 9-foot-tall video wall and a set design that added extra inches. “There's not too much room from where the glass starts to where the video wall is,” said Gutierrez. “So, we had to develop a way for them to utilize every inch of the space in order for them to get the most camera shots.”

FX Design Group addressed this by using ultra-slim fixtures from Ikan, which permitted maximum clearance without sacrificing quality. More than 60 fixtures were strategically positioned to enable various shooting angles within the shallow space.

Three Hitachi-Kokusai Z-HD6500 studio cameras were installed in the studio space, enabling the reproduction of wall images through high-end image processing, a global shutter, adjustable scan rates, and a low-pass optical filter. Each camera was mounted on a Cartoni P70 pedestals with a Master 40 fluid head, and CueScript 17-inch prompters were integrated into each camera system.

Content for the display and playout devices played a critical role as well. “Graphics and video are created in the wall’s native resolution, 5376x1728 pixels,” said Heffner. “Six channels of Ross Xpression Tessera were used to play out the graphics and video at the wall’s native resolution to a NovaStar H2 processor. The processor then mapped the signals pixel accurately on the wall.”

Prepared for Podcasts

In the podcast studio, two Panasonic AW-UE150 PTZ cameras were installed and mounted on Cartoni Lifto 25 motorized elevation columns. The cameras can be controlled remotely from the central control room, as the podcast studio is too small to accommodate camera operators. Newman considered placing the cameras on the back wall to facilitate cross-shooting for webcasts, but if they were positioned there, they would be inaccessible for other purposes.

“They can either connect to the studio, or we can roll them out and connect them in the main studio, turning our three-camera shoot in the studio into a five-camera shoot,” said Newman. “There is also intentionally no wall separating the podcast studio from the regular studio, so we can roll our studio cameras towards the podcast and shoot from the front of that space.”

A beautiful table, created by local artisans from an off-center slab of California walnut, is the centerpiece of the room. Holes were drilled into the center to accommodate the wiring for built-in Electro-Voice RE20-Black microphones. “We've turned it into a very functional podcast table, but it's also absolutely a work of art,” added Newman.

The control room includes two rows of Interpretive Woodworking & Design operator consoles. The front row houses a Ross Carbonite Ultra production switcher, Allen and Heath SQ-5 digital audio mixer, Ross XPression CG, six-channel Ross Xpression-Tessera video wall graphics system, Ross Tria two-channel clip server, two AJA KiPro Ultra 12G disk recorders, and AJA HELO Plus streaming encoder. The back row accommodates camera shading, PTZ camera control, and CueScript prompting control.

Control room staff monitor productions with Sony broadcast monitors, with four Ross Ultrix Ultriscape multiviewers displayed on four NEC 55-inch LCD monitors. There's also a Ross Ultrix FR264x64 routing switcher and a Clear-Com partyline intercom system.

Control Room Connections

The control room located in Bristol was designed to connect with the central Blue Ridge Public Broadcasting control room, which is situated 140 miles away in Roanoke, VA. This setup allows production staff to operate from either location based on the situation.

“The interface consisted of five SRT streams with audio and video from Bristol to Roanoke and one return feed from Roanoke to Bristol,” added Heffner. “The control rooms were connected via the internet so that control panels in Roanoke could control the switcher, audio mixer, graphics, router, and intercom frames in Bristol.”

[The Integration Guide to Video Walls 2025]

Since launching the digital signal in June 2023, PBS Appalachia Virginia has won 14 Emmy Awards, which the team credits to their commitment to hyper-local storytelling that explores Appalachian communities and culture. The new studio demonstrates what public broadcasting can become in the digital age, all while remaining true to its community identity. “We're doing this because we fundamentally believe that people in Southwest Virginia deserve public media and deserve to have a reflection of their own culture in the television that they watch,” said Newman.

Sponsored Content

In a recent conversation with AV Technology’s Cindy Davis, Sharp senior vice president, and general manager Mark Quiroz shared his vision for Sharp in the coming year, insight on which verticals have the greatest potential for growth in the broader display market, and thoughts on how display manufacturers can best support both end users and integrators.

Watch the full video interview below.

It’s widely accepted that the pandemic fundamentally altered how we interact with technology, but according to Quiroz, we have now reached an inflection point in our desire—and need—to return to in-person experiences. When it comes to displays, he explained, this shift is particularly apparent in the corporate and retail spaces.

“I'm particularly excited about the rebound of commercial real estate; it's been in a tough spot and display has suffered from that downturn,” he said. “But as folks are coming back to the office, it's going to be about getting the right technology so they can work more productively in a more hybrid type of environment.”

“And everybody thought that [online shopping] was going to be the end all be all, but I think folks are still looking for great experiences within the retail environment,” Quiroz continued. “That, then, raises the bar on what that experience needs to be, because it has to compete with a very efficient way of buying and trading goods. So, that's where the opportunity to deliver these incredible in-store, brick-and-mortar experiences becomes critical for retailers. How do you do that? Whatever you need to communicate—you deliver through visually striking displays.”

Yet despite this mounting need—all the cutting-edge display technology in the world is useless if it’s not made with the integrator and end user in mind. Fortunately, the experts at Sharp are in vanguard when it comes to thoughtfully designed and deployed displays.

“It's about understanding the needs of both communities; you want to make things very simple,” Quiroz said. “Focus on the solutions and tools to be able to manage, deploy, and operate display fleets. We need to make that easier, because it's a challenge going from hanging one single panel to deploying a custom project where it's basically a mini construction project. So, the ability to support those communities with access to engineers, R&D, and so forth on a real time basis—that's really important.”

And finally, what is Quiroz most excited for in 2025? In a word—dvLED.

“I came in at its inception, when it was really starting to take—six or seven years ago—and now the applications are starting to widen and we're at the knee of the curve where it's growing gangbusters,” Quiroz said. “I mean, there's a reason why you see consolidation and investment coming into the display space: They see that there's an opportunity, and that really excites me. So, I do think 2025 is going to be a key year for that.”

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) is a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, a global technology company that has been named to Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Company List. Sharp strives to help businesses achieve Simply Smarter work by helping companies manage workflow efficiently, create immersive and engaging environments, and increase productivity. SIICA offers a full suite of secure printer and copier solutions, commercial displays and projectors, Dynabook laptops, management and productivity software and fully managed services. As a total solutions provider, Sharp has a reputation for innovation, quality, reliability, and industry-leading customer support expertise.

Sponsored Content

Kevin Christopherson, director of Product Marketing at Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America recently sat down for a conversation with AV Technology’s Cindy Davis. They discussed the joint venture with projection powerhouse NEC Display Solutions, the introduction of and potential applications for Sharp branded projectors, as well as what’s coming up for Sharp in 2025.

Watch the full video interview below.

When Sharp entered a joint venture with NEC in 2020, both organizations were already at the forefront of their respective product categories. In Christopherson’s opinion, these two complementary companies coming together made perfect sense—each providing much-needed technological resources and expertise to the other.

“The great thing about it is all that heritage, all that technology, and, most importantly, all the people that have made those product lines stand above the rest over the years—those all came along with that joint venture,” he said. “From development to marketing, product development, and R&D—all those folks are still working on these products as we transition from the NEC brand to the Sharp brand.”

As a result of that partnership, Sharp recently unveiled several new (and now award-winning) projector models—the XP-P, XP-X, and XP-A Series—combining NEC’s 35 years of experience in the projection space and Sharp’s cutting-edge advancements in display solutions. 

“InfoComm 2024 was a pivotal point in our joint venture. That was the first time we were showing Sharp-branded projectors.” Christopherson continued, “These are completely sealed solutions—filter-free with no lamps. They're laser-based units, and the benefit to our users is that they are maintenance-free. We have an adjustable Zoom—a motorized zoom focus lens on the P Series. You move up to the X Series and you're going to get a gamut of six different lenses depending on what type of application you're putting it into.”

And while LCD and dvLED displays are a flashy, eye-catching solution for some applications, the potential for projection is limited only by the imagination. From the boardroom to the classroom and even the cinema—Sharp projectors provide 4K image quality at virtually any scale, with innovative features that allow the end user to flex their creativity.

“Our products can achieve 3D mapping, so you can map a projected image onto whatever you're doing,” Christopherson said. “We have museums projecting onto dinosaurs and doing immersive shows with that type of technology. It’s very cool to see. You can edge blend the units—use multiple units together. There's a lot of flexibility across the lineup.”

Finally, while a busy 2025 will see the release of several exciting products from Sharp, according to Christopherson, the big story for the coming year is continued brand migration.

“Over the next nine months, all our products across the entire portfolio—and I'm not just speaking about projection, but LCD as well as direct view LED—will migrate over to the Sharp brand,” he said. “It’s kind of a journey as far as this joint venture goes; getting us all under the strong Sharp umbrella and moving together under one brand is important, and it gives clarity to the customer moving forward.”

[A Crystal-Clear Vision for the Future of Sharp] 

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) is a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, a global technology company that has been named to Fortune magazine’s World’s Most Admired Company List. Sharp strives to help businesses achieve Simply Smarter work by helping companies manage workflow efficiently, create immersive and engaging environments, and increase productivity. SIICA offers a full suite of secure printer and copier solutions, commercial displays and projectors, Dynabook laptops, management and productivity software and fully managed services. As a total solutions provider, Sharp has a reputation for innovation, quality, reliability, and industry-leading customer support expertise.

Supporting collaborative learning is a major priority for Endicott College, a small liberal arts college 20 miles north of Boston. This is why the college’s Audio Video Services department has built a proof of concept, AV-enabled collaborative classroom in partnership with Integrated Multimedia Solutions (IMS). Anchored with Extron products, the prototype was installed in the Garrish School of Business' (GSB) Team Building Room during the 2023 college winter break.

[Learning Reimagined]

Built in 2013, GSB’s Team Building classroom has always been a space where 40-48 students work and learn together in groups. Connectivity and multimedia information sharing has been a constant in this room, both between students and with their professor sitting at a computer-equipped instructor’s station.

“The space was originally equipped with an Extron XTP system,” recalled Greg April, director of Audio Visual Services, Endicott College. “The first nine years proved the overall interconnection with the academic program, but as the XTP system neared the decade mark, the capital replacement process came into play. We could either buy a replacement XTP and move on, or we could use the replacement as a test ground for further upgrade options in the future.”      

Given how much has changed in AV networking technology since 2013, it made sense for Endicott College to move to a new generation of technology and use its design as a proving ground for the entire campus. This is why the decision was made to replace the XTP system with new Extron NAV Pro AV over IP products. “The Extron NAV system would be able to replicate all of the original system’s signal management and distribution functions, while offering the benefits of using the latest technology to stream video, audio, and control signals over the college network, as well as increased scalability,” explained Robert Morin, who handles AV system design and sales for IMS.

Tale of the Tables

The basic design of the Team Building room uses eight 5x7-foot Spectrum Industries InVision collaboration tables, with each table accommodating a team of six students. A 43-inch 4K LED display is mounted on each side of the pedestal that joins two attached tables, giving each team its own local display.

[Where Are We with Hybrid?]

Every team table is equipped to power and connect student laptops and other BYODs. Extron Cable Cubby enclosures, reused from the previous installation, house connecting cables, network ports, and power outlets. The room’s network allows students to share AV content from their devices on their table's local displays.  

At the instructor’s station, an Extron TouchLink Pro 10-inch touchpanel allows any team’s content, as well as content from the instructor, to be sent to the other table displays and the room’s projection systems. Content is projected onto screens on opposite walls of the room to ensure that everyone can see it at all times. A floor box connects the station to the room’s projection system and collaboration tables.

A rack within the instructor's station houses its PC as well as AV system components including the audio amplifier, Extron IP Link Pro control processor, and the NAVigator System Manager, which is used to control the NAV Pro AV over IP system. The instructor station also has its own connection cables for laptops or other BYODs.

Something Old, Something New

When it comes to the Team Building room’s AV equipment and system, the new technology includes the NAVigator with Link License upgrade to include 48 endpoints, plus 10 Extron NAV E 101 encoders, 11 NAV SD101 scaling decoders, IPCP Pro 360Q xi control processor, and touchpanel. The room was rounded out with a pair of Extron FF 220 speakers and an MPA 601 audio amp, and a network switch was installed in the teaching station's equipment rack to allow the room's operation to continue even in case of a network outage.

"Endicott's AV system has a dedicated VLAN for its control devices and AV switches, and now a dedicated NAV VLAN for the Team Building room," April added. “Another design goal was to upgrade the control system to be compatible with Extron Global Configurator Pro and the latest Extron Global Viewer Enterprise management software. Thanks to excellent equipment, a solid design, and an involved network team that was critical for success, the room's up-time has been on par with a wall-mounted TV.”           

[The Future of Education Is Present]

Meanwhile, the Cable Cubby enclosures weren’t the only piece of existing tech that Endicott College and IMS were able to recycle. “The existing two NEC laser projectors and Da-Lite Advantage Electrol projection screens were reused,” Morin said. “Existing furniture that was repurposed includes the eight media collaboration tables for the teams and a Spectrum Industries Freedom XRS Elite height-adjustable lectern for the instructor's station.”

Time Crunch

Ripping out the existing AV system and installing the new one between semesters was a major challenge for the Endicott College/IMS project team. But it wasn’t the only issue.

“Getting buy-in on a fundamental system design change was the first step,” said April. “I, for one, am conservative in making design changes—and rarely would I consider myself an early adopter of the latest tech toy. Then, when the original team building room was brought online, there were issues stemming from cabling problems. Though resolved long ago, the rough start was still very much in living memory for many members of the faculty.”

Still, once the choice was made to convert the room to NAV, timing the installation team with the class schedule was the main challenge. “We took advantage of a break in classes," April said, "and in four days, the old hardware was removed and the new system took its place.”

“The window for installation was short due to classroom schedules, but the installation and commissioning were successfully completed within the allotted time,” noted Morin. “Remote commissioning with Extron went smoothly and flawlessly.”

[Extron Celebrates 40 Years of Service, Support, and Solutions]

The upgrade has been a solid success for Endicott College, with April reporting fewer calls to the help desk. With the project complete and concept proven, Endicott College has two other Team Building rooms that would benefit from similar upgrades. In fact, the second room conversion is currently under budget review, and April said other spaces could be improved by similar AV updates.

“There are several theater and event spaces on campus that have regular requests for capabilities outside of what the room was designed to do,” he explained. “NAV allows for such significant ad hoc matrix switch options using a web interface that could prove a game changer in system design.”

Projector manufacturers invite teachers to get closer to the action—or at least the lesson plan—with short-throw projectors. As the product category implies, short-throw projectors are positioned closer to the screen than a traditional or standard-throw projector. That means they’re a better choice in tight quarters, but that’s not the only advantage these projectors provide for educational facilities.

[The Integration Guide to Education 2024]

"The traditional reason for a short-throw projector was to support interactive whiteboards," recalled Bob Wudeck, senior director of business development, BenQ North America. "In 2024, the primary reason for short-throw projectors is to enable a larger screen in a smaller space. Emerging markets like simulation, floor projection, and immersive rooms require short-throw projectors to enable larger images without having to mount the projector so far back that it is impractical."

Billy Harrison, product manager, mainstream video projectors, Optoma, agreed that short-throw models are great for space-constrained environments. “The number one reason short-throw projectors have grown in popularity is due to the big image they project from a short distance,” he said.

Another selling point is that short-throw projectors do not require special installation considerations beyond those needed for standard-throw projectors. According to Yann Sablayrolles, product manager projector, Panasonic Connect North America, short-throw units are generally easier to install and maintain.

[Where Are We with Hybrid?]

"They can be mounted on ceilings, desktops, or carts—and can be placed closer to the display surface while still creating the same size image," he explained. "They offer greater installation flexibility with minimal cost increase and no sacrifice in performance or features. They are incredibly good space savers."

Educational Applications

Experts agree that short-throw projectors can be effective in classroom environments. From a practical standpoint, short-throw units can accommodate installations where there isn't enough distance to place a standard-throw projector or there are obstructions in the ceiling where the projector would typically be placed, according to Ryan Pitterle, senior project manager, projectors, Sharp. But there are other benefits as well.

“Generally speaking, when you’re in a smaller classroom where the professor and/or students will be moving around a lot within the classroom, short-throw projectors are the best option because they have specific features to reduce exhaust noise and unwanted distractions when students are seated close to the projector,” Sablayrolles said.

“Short-throw projectors require significantly less throw distance and are less prone to shadowing from participants in the room,” added Harrison. “When using standard-throw projectors, participants and viewers moving close to or in front of the projector can create a shadow, which is undesirable and distracting for others.”

“One key factor is installation volume, which refers to the total space needed to create an image of a certain size," explained Daniel Oey, senior IT product manager, LG Business Solutions. "Flat-panel displays and direct-view LEDs have a thin installation volume, as they are mounted directly to the display surface. However, standard-throw projectors will need a larger installation volume, as they need to be placed at a distance away from the display surface to create a larger image.

"While an older option, projectors are still a highly relevant member of a portfolio of display solutions. For larger images, projectors are often more cost-effective from an image size perspective," Oey continued. "Ultimately, short-throw projectors are a good choice for both classrooms and larger lecture halls, because they offer a good balance of smaller installation volume, image quality, brightness, and cost effectiveness."

Opinions on lecture hall use are more mixed. Mia Shen, senior business line manager, ViewSonic, said short-throw projectors "might not always be the best choice due to the limited throw distances and potential brightness limitations." Pitterle added that large lecture halls often require screens that are larger than the maximum size supported by most fixed lens short-throw projectors. But Wudeck said new 4K short-throw laser projectors are “especially well-suited to lecture halls, enabling 300-inch screens with Rec. 709 color accuracy that can replicate complicated organic colors in fine detail for science and art lecture halls.”

Lens Options

Are there limits with lens choices? That depends on the projector model you choose. “Some short-throw projectors come with fixed lenses, which provide advantages in projector size and cost, while other projectors have the ability to change lenses for more flexibility, but typically results in a bigger and more expensive projector,” Oey said.

"While there’s a cost associated with interchanging lenses," Sablayrolles acknowledged, "this is a good option for those looking to use their projector in a variety of settings and applications."

Generally, Shen said short-throw projectors have fewer lens options compared to traditional projectors. If your short-throw projector has a fixed lens, Shen said there is less flexibility in adjusting the throw distance, which could be a limitation in larger or irregularly shaped rooms. Pitterle advised installers to pay attention to the throw ratio, which is the throw distance divided by screen width.

Projectors usually fall into three categories based on their throw ratio. While estimates vary between manufacturers, Oey said standard-throw projectors generally have a throw ratio greater than 1.0, while the throw ratio for short-throws is around 0.75-1.0 and ultra-short-throws have a throw ratio less than 0.5.

Wudeck differentiated between the three most popular types of short-throw projectors. "Home theater ultra-short-throw projectors are placed close to a wall and have integrated speakers, while immersive projectors for museums and simulation rooms are designed for very large images and blended together," he said. "The traditional classroom models typically have a maximum image size of 130 inches and are designed for whiteboards."

Yes, ultra-short-throw is another subcategory, with projectors that can be placed even closer to the screen, often from only a few inches, while providing a full-sized image. “The difference between short-throw and ultra-short-throw is the lens throw ratio and lens design,” Harrison explained. “Short-throw projectors use a standard front-of-the-projector lens that can be easily identified by the round protruding lens."

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"Ultra-short-throw projectors can create large images from very short distances, resulting in a small installation volume and almost eliminating the possibility of shadows," Oey said. "They achieve this by using powerful aspherical lenses. However, as a result they are typically more expensive. Also, because they are placed close to the display surface, the projected image is sensitive to projector mount alignment and display surface flatness, which can cause image distortion."

Considerations and Limitations

Short-throw projectors do not require a special kind of screen, so standard drop-downs or fixed-frame models are just fine. And for a traditional classroom, Wudeck said you can use any screen or whiteboard made in the last 20 years. "For environments with high ambient lighting, a short throw projector can be used with an ALR [ambient light rejection] screen," Harrison advised. "ALR screens reject ambient light back into the environment, allowing for bright and crisp images even in bright rooms."

Any technology has its limits, and there are some disadvantages associated with short-throw projectors, staring with less installation flexibility. As Shen explained, the limited throw distance means these models are generally not suitable for very large rooms or lecture halls where the projector needs to be placed far from the screen.

[Sustainability: A Pro AV Progress Report]

Harrison also emphasized the need to mount or place the projector close to the projection surface. “For example, a mainstream short-throw projector like the ZH450ST can generate a 100-inch image with a throw distance of 3.6 feet and an even larger 120-inch image from a longer throw distance of 4.3 feet,” he explained. “Short-throw projectors cannot be used from the middle or the rear of the room, as the projector image size will be too large and have poor focus.”

In applications where large screens are needed, a short-throw projector may not suffice. "Traditional fixed lens, short-throw projectors sometimes have limitations to the maximum screen size supported,” Pitterle said. Go bigger than that limited image size and your image can lose focus on the edges, Wudeck added.

There is also the issue of no (or very limited) zoom capabilities. As Harrison observed, most Pro AV short-throw projectors with fixed or interchangeable lenses are limited to 1.15x zoom. “This is the nature of short-throw lens projectors overall and not a limitation of any particular projector company,” he noted.

[Get Excited About These New PTZs in 2024]

That lack of zoom means installation can also be challenging, due to the precision needed to square the image on the screen. As Wudeck noted, if your projector doesn't offer lens shift and/or zoom, your projector has to be mounted exactly right to properly fill the screen. "Most mounts will provide sufficient adjustment," Pitterle added, "but professional installation is still recommended."

Sablayrolles said a short-throw projector body can often be bigger and heavier than a traditional projector because of the size of the lens, and he also warned about potential sensitivity to screen imperfections. “It’s really important that you have a perfect screen or wall to project on,” he noted. “Since the projector is placed close to the screen, it is much easier to see imperfections/issues with a screen while using a short-throw projector.”

And, of course, there's cost. If you want that extra flexibility, expect to pay for the convenience. "Short-throw projectors are often more expensive than traditional projectors with similar specifications," Shen confirmed.

Check Your Distance

Ready to install your short-throw projector? According to Sharp's Ryan Pitterle, you can mount it to the ceiling using a standard ceiling mount or with a wall mount attached just above the screen. For a less permanent solution, you can place it close to the screen on a pedestal or table. Some manufacturers even offer custom mobile projector carts, such as the Epson ELPCS01, which is designed exclusively for its PowerLite 810E/815E 3LCD short-throw projectors.

If you need help to determine the best configuration of the room and projector placement, there are several online tools that can help. For example, Panasonic Connect offers a Throw Distance Calculator and Optoma has its own Projection Calculator. Both sites let you calculate projected image size, projection distance, and more based on specific models and lenses.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) is a trade association representing the nation’s $23.4 trillion banking industry, which includes small, regional, and large banks that collectively employ approximately 2.1 million people. In late 2022, ABA moved to its current 87,000-square-foot headquarters in Washington, DC’s Dupont Circle neighborhood.

[Editorial: Videoconferencing Sparks ‘Zoom Boom’ for Cosmetic Procedures]

As part of the move, ABA further committed to Zoom videoconferencing in support of its active hybrid work environment. A host of multi-sized meeting and workspaces within the three-story office environment—including a large boardroom, two large conference rooms, 10 medium and nine small conference rooms, 11 huddle rooms, the CEO’s office, three coffee bars, staff lounge, and more—were equipped to support Zoom meetings effectively and efficiently.

“The majority of our people work two days a week from the office and the remaining time at home, so there's a big need for videoconferencing to support regular, daily meetings with anywhere from two people to over a dozen,” explained Tony Neal, ABA’s VP of infrastructure. “We also support weekly meetings of ABA stakeholders in other locations, for example, meetings of state banking association members and those of other types of committees, including our board of directors.”

ABA’s AV project was designed, managed, and installed by New York-based TRITECH Communications. TRITECH is no stranger to installing AV systems for the financial services industry, having already done such work for JPMorgan Chase, Moody’s Investor Service, and Brown Brothers Harriman, among others. “TRITECH was the best vendor to meet our needs, in part because they were already doing the cabling in the building,” Neal said. “For projects like these, I prefer the cabling vendor and the AV vendor to be the same—and their reputation as a reliable and savvy AV deployment partner made the choice easy.”

The sheer scale of the project, along with the fact that the ABA wanted it done reasonably quickly, made for a challenging build. ABA started the process with TRITECH in December 2021, moving into their new headquarters just 11 months later. Add the fact that these rooms had to seamlessly support a range of portable BYODs and TRITECH had its work cut out for it.

“This was right during the COVID-19 crunch,” recalled TRITECH’s Barclay Davidson, who managed the ABA project. “As such, we had problems getting some of the equipment specified for the large boardroom and two large conference rooms, such as the Crestron NVX AVoIP distribution systems. Crestron was experiencing a product shortage at that time, so they provided us with an interim solution until the NVX units we wanted could be retrofitted into the rooms in December 2023.”

The Big Three

Without a doubt, the large boardroom and two large conference rooms are the stars of this show. They are interconnected using networked AV-over-IP via a central headend located in the ABA’s AV room. The approach provides a future-proofed solution that allows the system to be easily scaled should requirements be added as technology evolves.

[Clancy: Crestron Answering Hybrid Workforce Needs]

The boardroom is equipped with a Planar 109-inch LED video wall, NEC NP-P605 6,000-lumen ceiling-mounted laser projector, and Da-Lite Tensioned Advantage 110-inch motorized projection screen installed in the ceiling. There are also mobile TV display cart connection plates within the boardroom to support additional viewing angles both within the room and when its accordion-style glass partition is open to create a 2,400-square-foot reception space.

Multiple Vaddio RoboSHOT 30E PTZ cameras in the boardroom provide coverage of the space. The setup is rounded out with a Zoom Room appliance that supports Zoom meetings, laptop connections with both HDMI and USB ports in a floor box, Soundtube CM-82 ceiling speakers, ceiling-mounted beamforming microphones, and lavalier and handheld microphones. All AV functions are controlled using a Crestron TSW-1070 10-inch touchpanel mounted on the wall that can also be connected to the floor box.

Meanwhile, the two identical 30-person, large conference rooms each have a pair of wall-mounted Samsung QB85R 85-inch displays, with a RoboSHOT PTZ camera mounted between them to capture the audience looking at the displays. A second camera is mounted on the ceiling facing toward the displays to cover a presenter standing at the head of the room. A mobile TV display cart connection allows those in the back to watch a closer display for detailed viewing, if required. Like the large boardroom, each large conference room has a Zoom Room appliance, HDMI/USB floor box, ceiling speakers, a similar selection of microphones, and Crestron touchpanel control.

Comprehensive Connectivity

The AV equipment in the rest of ABA’s meeting and team rooms varies depending on their usage and capacity. For example, each of the huddle rooms, which are designed to enable hybrid meetings with up to five in-person attendees, has a wall-mounted Samsung QB50R 50-inch flat panel display, plus a Logitech videobar connected to a small-format PC behind the display to support Zoom conferences.

[Viewpoint: Hybrid Headaches]

A Logitech Tap user interface located on the table controls the system, with an HDMI connection to enable content sharing from a laptop. However, the HDMI connection is not necessary for ABA staff laptops, which can share directly to the display via Zoom’s share screen functionality over Wi-Fi. A similar approach is used in the medium and small conference rooms, with some variance in monitor size.

The CEO’s office has a Samsung QB65R 65-inch display on a Chief TS325 articulating wall mount, along with a small-format PC and a Logitech videobar. Zoom conferences can be controlled from a user interface located on the table. The CEO’s office also has an HDMI connection to support content sharing from a laptop, if required.

[SCN Hybrid World: Videobars Offer Simplified Conferencing Solution]

Each of the three coffee bars features a Samsung 65-inch monitor connected to a BrightSign XD234 media player and CATV/streaming devices installed behind them. Plus, the staff lounge has a 55-inch monitor and a CATV/streaming device, while one visitor reception area has a similar setup housed in a cabinet under the TV.

“TRITECH also designed and installed a mesh network setup for end user cable TV stations in select but varying employee offices," Neal added. "The flexibility of the design allows ABA to move TV services to any office that requires it without running coax cable or disturbing the infrastructure.”

According to Neal, the ABA’s Zoom-centric facility is working as planned. “Our staff and people from the outside say that the rooms are great,” he said. “We've had very few issues with them, almost zero issues with them, to be honest.”

The secret to ABA/TRITECH’s success on this project? “Prototyping and testing the rooms as we did is always a good thing before they all get installed,” replied Neal. “Work with the AV vendor to make sure that everything meets your needs, do a lot of testing when the room is turned over to you by them, and, crucially, ensure that the room is easy for the customers to use from the onset.”

When you’re a respected independent game developer like the U.K.’s Facepunch Studios—known for the popular Steam games Garry’s Mod, Rust, and Chippy—you want to make a statement with your physical facilities.

[Thank You for Your Support]

This is precisely what Facepunch has done with its new offices in Birmingham’s upscale Colmore Row neighborhood. Designed by Oktra’s Emily Benussi, Facepunch’s new offices are a mix of high-tech AV to dazzle clients while enabling BYOD videoconferencing, eye-catching decor, and furniture that appear to flow into the floor like paint. There are also employee-pleasing amenities including a gaming room (with the company’s games available to play), curved breakfast bar with stools, and dedicated "wellbeing corner" where they can disconnect from their jobs.

The overall setting is so stunning that Facepunch Studios and Oktra recently won the ‘Project of the Year: Workplace Interiors 5,000 to 15,000 Square Foot” category at the Mixology North Awards 2023.

The AV equipment integration/installation for Facepunch’s new offices was performed by Vision On AV Systems using equipment from Kramer and other sources. The project was on a tight schedule: “We started talking about it in October 2022,” said Cliff Bird, a director with Vision on AV. “It had to be finished by March 2023, although we had to wait until April 2023 to fully commission it."

Networking Is Key

Central IP networking is key to the success of this facility. Facepunch wanted an in-house AV system capable of providing BYOD videoconferencing and collaboration to its staff—including easy and reliable wireless presentation capabilities—across all of its office spaces. To make this happen, Vision On AV deployed a segregated, highly stable AV-over-IP network to provide consistent wireless access everywhere. Ubiquiti Enterprise Layer 3 switches were used as the foundation of this network, which was carefully laid out to ensure minimal service disruptions and fast commissioning.

['Tough Tech' on Display]

In terms of actual segregation, Facepunch’s AV system is split into four distinct control systems: one for each of the two video walls, plus one for the boardroom and one for office audio/remote control stations. Each system is controllable in a Central Communications Room (CCR), which is the heart of the AV installation. Kramer’s KC-BRAINware software platform controls all four systems, including sources, encoders, and multi-zone audio amplifiers/mixers. They are all connected to the CCR using Ubiquiti Enterprise network switches with fiber links.

Since time was an issue on this project, Vision On AV came up with a quick way to commission this facility one space at a time. The company used a simple router and a single Kramer SL-240C, a compact 16-port master/room controller with PoE to test the AVoIP pathways. Once the AV connections were commissioned, Vision On AV connected everything to the CCR’s KC−BRAINware platform.

The task of wowing visitors to the Facepunch lobby is assigned to the two video walls. Each wall is comprised of nine 55-inch NEC flat panel monitors in a 3x3 configuration. The feeds to these monitors are delivered from the CCR using AVoIP rather than a conventional video control unit. "AV-over-IP is just so much more flexible and easier to use to populate these screens,” said Bird.

[Bring on BYOD]

Each of the NEC monitors within the video walls are connected to its own Kramer KDS-DEC7 decoder and Cloud DCM1 digitally controlled zone mixer. “This one-to-one setup provides a very versatile way to use the media walls,” explained Matthew Hale, pre-sales and technical support engineer for Kramer UK. “They can either have it set as a video wall, with one image on the entire thing. They can also use the screens individually should they want to. That’s another reason we chose AV-over-IP: scalability. The client can use up to nine sources on one media wall and have individual screens showing different things, without any major changes to their infrastructure at all.” The media walls can even be reprogrammed remotely from the lobby.

Minimal Space, Maximum Sophistication

Visually, Facepunch’s 10-seat boardroom is a very minimalist space, but the simplicity belies its AV sophistication. The boardroom is a fully automated space with wireless presentation and multi-platform videoconferencing, interactive displays, and zoned audio.

The boardroom uses an 86-inch 4K LG UL series monitor and Poly Studio X70 videobar as the basis of its videoconferencing system. The X70 comes with dual 4K lenses; two-way stereo speakers, aluminum cone tweeters, and advanced bass ports; Poly DirectorAI smart camera technology; and NoiseBlockAI noise reduction technology. The system also includes a Kramer KDS-DEC7 AVoIP decoder and PA-120Z power amplifier. Inputs to the display, control of the X70, and selection of sources are all managed using a Kramer KT-107 touchpanel, which also manages the room lighting and blinds.

“Primarily what Facepunch wanted was a programmed touchpanel system so that they could start the room and put it in the mode that they want to use easily, along with a very user-friendly way of controlling the components in the room,” Hale explained. “The control system is all Kramer: their touchpanels, their control processor, and the other items that they have in that room.

"One device that stands out is the Kramer VIA Campus2, which is a wireless collaboration device. Any user can connect to it wirelessly and use all of the peripherals that are connected physically to that device. Now this is a common way of doing things these days, but Kramer was one of the first to the market with that capability of sharing USB devices wirelessly.”

Five other rooms, including some executive offices and smaller meeting rooms, have been equipped with videoconferencing and BYOD capabilities. "They’re using Logitech cameras controlled by Kramer VIA Versa virtual camera drivers, and Kramer VIA Connect2 wireless presentation, collaboration, and conferencing solutions, so that you've got wireless BYOD capability within each of the rooms," said Bird. To support AVoIP video delivery on a range of video monitors, Kramer KDS-DE7 decoders were added to the boardroom, game development area, breakfast bar, meeting rooms, and other interactive spaces.

[SCN Installation Showcase 2023]

Meeting Facepunch’s tight installation schedule was a big challenge for Vision On AV and Kramer, but it wasn’t the only one. “The biggest challenge for me was supporting the KDS-7 encoders/decoders because these were very new to the market when Facepunch started to have them installed,” Hale said. “That was a learning process for us, for them, and for the integrator as well on how to set this solution up and then how to use it.”

For the last 70 years, Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, KY, has been producing whisky. Its 1,300-acre Star Hill Farm features 30 buildings housing production, bottling, and warehouse facilities, as well as an Innovation Lab and the Home Place Visitor Center, the latter of which serves as the starting and end point for guided tours. As part of a major renovation, Maker’s Mark recently enlisted local AV design and integration firm JCA Media to upgrade its AV systems across its campus.

First on the list was the employee breakroom, which required distributed audio as well as video for both internal messaging and presentation. JCA outfitted this space an Allen & Heath AHM-32 audio matrix processor integrated with eight Martin ceiling speakers, which are driven by a LEA Connect Series 704 amplifier. There are also three NEC commercial displays, one 98-inch and two 65-inch screens.

[I Love It Loud]

Switching is achieved through a Kramer presentation switcher, and an RTI KX7 touchpanel provides control. “Using the touchpanel, users can choose between different audio sources on the AHM and control what shows on the large screens,” explained Alex Peake, project manager at JCA. “It’s simple but flexible.”

The breakroom deployment expanded to the nearby bottling lines, above which JCA integrated Technomad speakers, also driven by the LEA amp and controlled by the RTI interface. “We did a little bit of aiming for directivity to make sure that the people on bottling would hear and the visitors walking through don’t get blasted with music,” Peake explained.

From there, JCA moved on to the Innovation Lab, where whisky makers formulate new products based on the producer’s classic bourbon recipe. The building features eight separate audio zones, with an Allen & Heath AHM processor distributing sound to the lab itself, plus a conference room, VIP tasting room, outdoor patio, kitchen, restroom, and two offices. A main RTI KX7 touchpanel provides control throughout, with two smaller touchscreens located in each office.

Keeping Tours on Track

At the heart of the renovation was the Home Place Visitor Center, which includes a main gallery, check-in area, cocktail bar, and a sitting room. Outside visitors may stroll through the Culinary Garden, a pergola, or gather on a patio.

[Amateur Sports, Professional Sound]

Joe Riggs, senior manager of engineering operations at Maker’s Mark, explained that audio quality throughout these spaces was a top priority. Because many people arrive before their guided tours—and therefore use this time to do some initial exploring on their own—it was also necessary for them to hear announcements throughout Home Place.

“Our visitor center is the first thing people experience at the distillery, so we want our guests to feel welcome and have music playing,” Riggs said. “They might be drinking in the bar or sitting on the patio, so being able to announce those tours no matter where the guests are and getting them where they need to be on time is important.”

Peake highlighted the need for delivering high-quality audio while respecting the building’s architectural and design elements. “[Home Place needed] audiophile-quality sound, the equipment needed to disappear aesthetically, and the control needed to be simple to operate yet extremely flexible,” he said. The system is used for music playback and announcements; staff members also have access to four roaming microphones that can be fed into the system when necessary.

For Home Place, JCA selected speakers by Danley Sound Labs to fulfill both audio quality and aesthetic requirements—there are 48 positioned throughout the facility, including in every restroom stall. “One of the issues with the visitors center was that these were very small spaces. We needed something we could make disappear while also having all the headroom we needed and crystal-clear audio,” Peake said.

He recalled that his team worked with the loudspeaker manufacturer to custom paint the cabinets to match the Maker’s Mark color palette. “We have about 17 Danley Cube speakers around the outside of the house that are [painted] a specific Maker’s Mark brown," he added. "That can only be found here.”

Audio distribution for Home Place required a larger processor, and JCA selected the Allen & Heath AHM-64. An 11-inch RTI KA11 touchpanel serves as the main control interface that displays a blueprint of the interior and exterior zones. “[Users] can easily select a room, then choose what it’s listening to and mix in different sources like the wireless mic or music playback or the level of the tour announcement audio,” Peake explained.

JCA also programmed music playback presets for each room that allow announcements to take priority. Additional presets let users turn the music off when the wireless mics are in use, and a "Do Not Disturb" feature prevents announcements from being heard in selected spaces when VIP tours are in progress. In addition to the KA11, RTI touchpanels positioned in the cocktail bar and check-in desk enable staff at these locations to recall presets as well.

Cocktail Bar Challenges

One of the challenges JCA faced was providing intelligibility in the cocktail bar and gallery. The high glass ceilings, combined with materials like plaster, tile, and hardwood floors, presented a number of reflective surfaces that would make it difficult for people to hear announcements when large groups were in the spaces.

To address this, JCA activated the AHM-64’s Ambient Noise Compensation function, which works in conjunction with hidden boundary microphones that are fitted into the ceiling. These mics “listen” to the room and increase or decrease the master volumes in these spaces, based on their occupancy at any given time.

“If 50 people walk into the gallery, the announcements and music levels will gradually rise with the noise in the room,” Peake said. “As the group leaves, it slowly rolls back down.” JCA also outfitted the cocktail bar with acoustic treatments—again, custom-painted according to the Maker’s Mark color palette—to reduce reflections in this area.

Maker’s Mark is continuing to perform renovations and make AV upgrades across its campus. One end goal is the ability to provide communication and paging between its buildings. This scalability is why JCA selected Allen & Heath’s AHM platform. “It’s very much going to be a connected distillery from building to building,” Peake said. “That is the ultimate end game that we’ve kept in mind as we’ve built these systems.”

This level of connectivity—and even that which already exists in each of the revamped buildings—requires communication between the AV and IT teams, Riggs noted. “JCA has worked phenomenally with our corporate IT department,” he said. “Any time we do a connected conference room IT is always involved, and Alex and his team are more than willing to jump on Teams calls with that team to discuss the details.”

[How To Build a Better Airport]

Peake, a fan of Disney, drew inspiration from what he’s observed at the entertainment behemoth’s amusement parks when thinking about how AV can contribute to creating an experience at Maker’s Mark. “We wanted audio everywhere,” he said. “At Disney, everywhere you go you hear something that is keeping you in that area, keeping you in that feeling. That’s what we wanted for Maker’s: to use audio to help that experience continue throughout the visit.”

 It was a difficult task to only choose 10 projects; we had several amazing entries this year, including one that was already scheduled for our November issue (looking at you, Solotech) and another (courtesy of KONTEK Systems) that’s already in the works for a later issue. For now, we invite you to review a small sample of some of the best Pro AV installations that were completed in 2022.

Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego State University),San Diego, CA

With social spaces at the forefront of this new venue, AV design firm WJHW called on Clair and EAW to install a wide range of future-proofed products. Opened on Sept. 6, the venue hosts SDSU college football games, high-profile concerts, and the NWSL Wave professional rugby team. In addition to custom colors and weather-rated enclosures, EAW loudspeakers—including the ADAPTive AC6 Column Loudspeaker, MK8196 passive two-way full-range loudspeaker, CIS400 ceiling-mounted, two-way loudspeaker, and MK2366i passive two-way full-range loudspeaker—allowed for mounting locations that integrated best into the stadium’s architecture without sacrificing output levels or coverage.

Orlando International Airport, Orlando, FL

Ford AV was tasked with bringing Pro AV technologies to the new 1.8-million-square-foot Terminal C, part of the airport's massive expansion. Ford AV carried about $13 million in installation contracts using products and solutions from AtlasIED, Extron, Peerless-AV, and NEC. The AV scope of work includes areas such as airside, landside, and the ground transportation facility, installing digital paging using more than 15,000 speakers, which also carries the emergency communication announcements. Other elements of the project include digital signage in more than 500 displays, a Virtual Ramp Control Command Center, weather alert system for lightning, and the Airport Operations Center. The $3 billion-plus construction project wrapped in September 2022.

AEA Investors Boardroom, New York, NY

IVCi’s transformation of the AEA Investors Boardroom is just one of a multiroom series that spans the entirety of the upper-level floor of the building. The entire system easily blends to form a unified system that translates from one room to another. Both adaptable and flexible, users can bring in any technology or conferencing software. The system is designed with innovative technology and flexible conferencing software from companies including Crestron, Biamp, Vaddio, and Samsung. Mics are used to create proper coverage for all seated participants as well as presenters and overflow seating. The camera system creates seamless shots based on the speaker’s location, following the speaker to ensure they remain the focus of the video.

Seacrest Studios, Orlando, FL

JVC Professional Video, working with Broadcasters General Store, delivered live production and streaming video equipment to Seacrest Studios. An initiative led by the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, these unique studios are being established at children’s hospitals around the country, providing programming to patients in-studio or watching from their rooms. This fulfills the mission of contributing positively to the healing process of children and families. Patients can host shows, perform, and conduct interviews, as well as bring in live feeds remotely from within the facility using an assortment of JVC cameras like the JVC KY-PZ100U PTZ cameras and GY-HC500 CONNECTED CAM camcorder integrated with the RM-LP100U IP PTZ controller and KM-IP switcher.

Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook, Uncasville, CT

Peerless-AV was tasked with installing an enormous, custom video wall to deliver a more impressive experience for sports bettors at the Mohegan Sun FanDuel Sportsbook. Peerless-AV designed and engineered a unique SEAMLESS bespoke mounting system to support the curved video wall. The team carefully arranged Unilumin Uslim dvLED displays to create three individual video walls made up of one main wall and two wings to form a concave appearance. While the size and weight alone were a challenge, the team also pivoted from mounting the enormous video wall to the floor to creating a solution that suspended the 20,000-pound system from the ceiling.

Edwards Lifesciences Auditorium, Irvine, CA

Sound Image delivered a new, innovative presentation venue to Edwards Lifesciences backed by Planar displays. The Edwards Auditorium features a 91.28x17.88-foot Planar TVF Series 1.5 video wall boasting 50,595,840 pixels on a complex ellipsoidal curve mount by Advance Mounting Design. The video wall was designed to optimize the Microsoft Teams experience, seamlessly connecting those in the room with off-site participants. The system features 252 DPA microphones and Crestron/Q-SYS processing, enabling multiwindow, self-configuring auto-tracking. The video system includes nine 4K PTZ cameras from Panasonic and Grass Valley. Video switching is made possible by a Ross Video Ultrix Acuity switcher and a Crestron NVX system. In-room audio is equipped with an L-Acoustics speaker system and Yamaha RIVAGE PM5 mixer.

Genesis House, New York, NY

Tritech Communications helped the automaker create a New York City destination that is part car showroom, part community center/performance space, part Korean cultural center, and part world-class restaurant. The AV project consists of multiple video displays of varying sizes and configurations using CreateLED video tiles, Breakfast Flip-Disc art displays, Renkus-Heinz speakers, and Panasonic cameras. The theater in the lower level of the building has a 280-degree video display that is nearly 40 feet wide. Designed to showcase cars as well as performers, the floor, ceiling, and back wall of the theater are made up of hundreds of video panels bolted together to create surfaces strong enough to hold thousands of pounds—yet bright and bold enough to display delicate images.

Bacardi Headquarters, Hamilton, Bermuda

Vistacom’s mission in this executive boardroom at Bacardi Headquarters was not only to facilitate Microsoft Teams meetings between the Bermuda office and other sites, but also provide a dynamic display for local brand creative collaboration and presentations. Using a Planar TVF1.2 LED video wall provided the greatest overall image brightness, quality, and uniformity, maximizing visual impact for the size of the space. The system is designed to intuitively use and recall various layouts on the LED display for different workflows and collaboration needs. An array of solutions and technology geared toward the hybrid world—including Biamp Parle TCM-X ceiling microphones, Lumens VC-A52S PTZ videoconferencing camera, and the Crestron Flex UC-C160-T videoconferencing kit—were integrated into the system.

Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University,East Lansing, MI

A new audio system installed by Washington Professional Systems (WPS) provides coverage for the bowl seating and concourse areas of the stadium. It uses a series of Fulcrum Acoustic AHS steerable arrays, US221 subwoofers, and AH65 coaxial horn loudspeakers powered by amplifiers from Powersoft and QSC. Signal processing is handled by QSC Q-SYS Core 110f and Core 8 Flex DSPs with touchpanel integration for system control and monitoring. The headend system is connected via a Dante network and allows for interoperability between equipment with near zero latency. Front-of-house mixing is accomplished via a DiGiCo S31 console. WPS replaced the entire audio cabling with a fiber optic cabling infrastructure and installed an ancillary analog audio system, which interfaces with the fire alarm system for egress announcements during emergencies.

MGM Music Hall, Boston, MA

Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) systems engineer, Judy Elliott-Brown, specified a Dante and video-over-IP infrastructure for the 5,000-seat MGM Music Hall, a joint venture of Live Nation and the Fenway Sports Group. While primarily envisioned as a concert venue, the Music Hall systems are flexible, enabling the venue to host events ranging from conventions and banquets to remote Red Sox games. Brown’s original systems integration program from 2019 was significantly expanded to leverage new technology. Changes ranged from switching to NDI cameras for the production video to facilitate usage with an NDI flypack, as well as creating a VPN to feed bar displays. Ballpark RF distribution systems were interfaced via a tuner and encoder. A WyreStorm system was also added for concert video distribution.

Digital Signage Magazine is proud to unveil the winners of its 2021 DIGI Awards. 

"Even in the midst of a pandemic, digital signage professionals have continued to innovate" said Megan A. Dutta, content director, Digital Signage Magazine. "The winners of the 2021 DIGI Awards have released new, state-of-the-art products, and have created stunning installations."

Chosen by a panel of highly regarded digital signage-focused integrators, consultants, and end users, here are the 2021 DIGI Award winners.

Best Digital Signage Application: Corporate

Four Winds Interactive—Ferguson

With 1,400 locations, 10 distribution centers, and 27,000 associates, Ferguson needed a streamlined, enterprise-wide communications network for its 1,000 screen signage network, and selected Four Winds Interactive (FWI) as its digital signage vendor. To immediately solve its network uptime challenges, Ferguson not only replaced its underlying digital signage management platform with FWI, the company also replaced all of its existing content players. Because FWI’s enterprise platform is compatible with multiple-player platforms, Ferguson had the opportunity to leverage BrightSign players. To streamline every aspect of content contribution, scheduling, and device management, Ferguson leverages FWI Cloud. By enabling location-specific content contribution while still maintaining control of global messaging, the company ensures each location can update its screens with a list of scheduled appointments, special events, and more, without sacrificing the ability to maintain a consistent customer experience. 

Best Digital Signage Application: Digital Signage As Art

Sharp NEC Display Solutions—Light Up The Night

With many jurisdictions placing limits on public gatherings, LuminArtz—an organization celebrating local and regional creatives through the art of projection—refused to let the COVID-19 situation get them down and used Sharp NEC Display projectors to provide art to the community. One such project took place at the Wenham Museum, located on Boston’s North Shore, and local video artist and technologist Pamela Hersch managed the technical aspects of the Light Up The Night project. The installation had to be done swiftly to avoid drawing a crowd, as LuminArtz wanted to maintain social distancing protocols. To ensure that the exhibit could reach a broad audience, Lyn Burke, director of LuminArtz, livestreamed a video of the content along with commentary to accompany the visuals on Facebook Events and Instagram. The program lasted approximately half an hour, providing stunning visuals celebrating childhood, connecting generations, and honoring heritage.

Best Digital Signage Application: Education

Nanolumens/Baker Audio Visual—The Ron Clark Academy

A 52-foot-diameter, circular Nanolumens LED screen installed on the ceiling brought the "wow" factor to The Ron Clark Academy; the system was installed by Baker Audio Visual. With content reminiscent of Harry Potter’s adventures, the system is a performance and educational aid for the school’s students and educators, who come from all over the world to participate in events and training. When not being used as an educational tool, the screen displays scenes of dragons flying overhead and landing on the rim, and looking down into the room. A robust QSC sound system is hidden discreetly within the space’s Gothic columns to supply voice and program audio reinforcement. The backbone of the system consists of a Show Stage 4x4k display processor, Crestron Control processor, QSC amplifiers/DSP, Datapath server, and more.

Best Digital Signage Application: Entertainment

OpenEye Global—Madame Tussauds Hollywood

Designed by OpenEye Global, the Jimmy Kimmel Experience at Madame Tussauds is a fully immersive film set that transports guests to Jimmy Kimmel Live to become part of the magic of television. Kimmel stands front and center to greet guests, who usually stop to get a selfie with him. As fans move through the experience, they are able to participate in a taped “Pedestrian Question” interview, and then it’s showtime! Each guest becomes the star of the show, enjoying 15 seconds of fame as their interview is broadcast on the big screen for all to see. Following their on-screen debut, guests make their way through the set for more interactive photo opportunities, including taking a seat in the coveted director’s chair, getting a feel for what it’s like behind the scenes as they head backstage, and more.

Best Digital Signage Application: Large Venue

Samsung Electronics America/Prismview—SoFi Stadium

Hollywood Park, a 298-acre entertainment venue and home to SoFi Stadium, was looking for a display technology partner who could create a unique and one-of-a-kind fan experience that takes sports, concerts, and live events to a new level.  Thanks to the 70,000 square-foot-dual side, center-hung videoboard, as well as other LED displays integrated throughout the venue, Samsung and Hollywood Park have created a dynamic, memorable, and interactive fan experience. 

Click here to read more about the SoFi Stadium install.

Best Digital Signage Application: Transportation

Pixel Inspiration—Heathrow Airport

WH Smith engaged Pixel Inspiration to create a stunning digital signage art installation at its store in Terminal 2 of London's famed Heathrow Airport. Framing the store entrance is a striking 25x4m LED fascia where each half of the display shows attention-grabbing marketing content from both WH Smith and Well Pharmacy. At the side entrance, there are three external facing portrait screens that showcase artwork from WH Smith’s suppliers to passers-by. The store’s interior also boasts various digital elements, including six brand-dedicated screens at the end of each gondola, a landscape 3x1 screen array, and back-to-back portrait screens highlighting the latest tech offers and availability. The final digital element can be found within the store’s souvenir area—a digitized Big Ben clock face with synchronized audio which plays the clock tower’s iconic hourly chimes. 

Best Digital Signage Product: COVID-19 Solution (TIE)

22Miles Protection-as-a-Service 

Protection-as-a-Service (PaaS) by 22Miles is a suite of integrated technology features and capabilities developed to address viral pandemics and the evolving safety measures of social distancing. PaaS offers integrated solutions within 22Miles' customizable software platform and features a growing number of options for businesses and organizations spanning key markets.

Diversified VitalSign

Diversified’s VitalSign body temperature check kiosk, powered by Aurora Multimedia, helps clients protect what’s important—the safety of their people and those around them. Designed to detect elevated body temperatures within one second from 18- to 36-inches away, the VitalSign kiosk is a contactless, FDA-compliant solution that supports efficient and non-intrusive temperature scanning for anyone entering a facility with visual and audible alerts. Based on trusted engineering, the accurate sensor generates reading at +/- 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit and adds an extra layer of safety to facilities.

Best Digital Signage Product: Display (Non-dvLED) 

Peerless-AV 65-inch Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Display

Featuring a fully sealed, IP66 Rated design and a patented Dynamic Thermal Transfer System, the 65-inch Xtreme High Bright Outdoor Display is built to withstand the harsh outdoor elements, making it the ideal digital signage or entertainment solution for any professional application.

Best Digital Signage Product: Indoor LED 

LG MAGNIT (model LSAB)

LG MAGNIT is designed to deliver groundbreaking picture quality and durability, as well as streamlined installation—making it an ideal signage solution for convention centers, corporate settings, hotel lobbies, luxury boutique stores, broadcast studios, control rooms, exhibition halls, and museums.

Best Digital Signage Product: Innovation

Visix Voice Recognizer Widget for AxisTV Signage Suite 

The Voice Recognizer Widget (VRW) lets AxisTV Signage Suite clients turn any display into an interactive sign by adding a voice user interface. Users simply drag and drop the widget onto any layout, then set custom parameters that instruct the sign what to listen for and how to respond to requests. It can be used on single displays, banks of screens, and video walls in any environment.  Real-world application of the VRW allows viewers to walk up to any display, ask for the material they want, and then immediately see that content on screen. AxisTV Signage Suite users simply design the various content options, employ the VRW, enter speech triggers, and configure those triggers to launch the appropriate content.

Best Digital Signage Product: Outdoor LED

Planar HRO Series

The Planar HRO Series of high resolution outdoor LED video walls brings bright, ultra-high definition video outside. As a high brightness, fine pixel pitch LED offering that is built for close-up daylight video viewing, the Planar HRO Series delivers impactful visual experiences for audiences even in direct sunlight.

Best Digital Signage Product: Software

Appspace

Appspace’s workplace experience platform is designed to help organizations improve their company culture by making it easy to publish consistent and streamlined communication for all employees—no matter where they work. The company's new publishing bots extend the reach of in-office digital signage communication shared via its platform and publishes directly into the enterprise messaging apps teams use every day. Using pre-formatted templates, users can schedule posts to reach the right group at the right time using existing channels. 

With more than 5 billion people lacking access to safe surgical care and 50 percent of the world’s population living near a coast, the charitable organization Mercy Ships uses its fleet of hospital ships to increase access to state-of-the-art medical care worldwide. Transforming lives by serving one nation at a time, Mercy Ships began its work in 1983 with the launch of the Good Samaritan hospital ship, which provided care throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and South America for 11 years.

Mercy Ships currently has one ship in operation, the Africa Mercy, which launched in 2007 and provides services throughout Central and Western Africa. With the need for their services continuing to grow, Mercy Ships wanted to build on the work of Africa Mercy, which is able to perform approximately 7,000 interventions a year, and expand their fleet by building another ship of equal or greater capacity.

With that in mind, Mercy Ships has taken ownership of the newly constructed 37,000 GRT (gross registered tonnage) hospital ship Global Mercy, which will double Mercy Ships’ current capacity and will offer increased training opportunities for their crews. Over the expected 50-year lifespan of the ship, Mercy Ships estimates that more than 150,000 lives will be improved through surgeries alone. Mercy Ships is able to provide these services with the help of more than 1,300 volunteers from over 50 nations who work anywhere from two weeks to two years, and whose skills and specialties include medicine, operations, AV, and other areas.

When fully in operation, the ship will hold up to 950 people. Hospital functions will be contained to decks 3 and 4 and will cover approximately 75,350 square feet (or 1.3 football fields). Medical facilities will include six operating rooms, 102 acute care beds, seven ICU isolation beds, and 90 self-care beds. This area will also include meeting rooms and conference spaces that will help the crew to conduct in-house training sessions. Meeting spaces were designed based on crew feedback and experience.

Since the ship is a brand-new build, Mercy Ships has focused on installing the newest technologies on the market. “As a new ship, we were able to design it from the ground up to meet our exact needs instead of retrofitting one,” said Jonathan Dyson, director of enterprise infrastructure for Mercy Ships.

The health organization partnered with North Star Engineering, which served as the overall technology consultant for the new ship. The QSC Q-SYS Ecosystem of audio, video, and control solutions will serve as the main AV platform aboard the Global Mercy. This network-driven solution will allow each location within the ship to be controlled internally, or remotely from Mercy Ships’ headquarters in Lindale, TX. The platform will help manage the shipwide P.A. system, as well as AV and control for meeting rooms, café areas, hospital training rooms, and the auditorium. It gives Global Mercy the ability to integrate PTZ cameras, microphones, control panels, speakers, and amplifiers through a software-based centralized control interface. Overture by Barco is being deployed to control and manage equipment in the meeting/conference rooms and auditorium.

“Improving technology within the organization has always been at the forefront of our minds within the technology group. However, it is a constant balance between being conscious of the funds our donors provide and the benefits we see available in emerging technologies,” said Dyson.

These technology integrations provide functional tools to empower the volunteer crew to perform their work efficiently. Technology also keeps the crew connected to those back home and colleagues aboard the ship during their time at sea, helping them collaborate and administer fast and effective care to their patients. “With better communication, our staff is able to work internationally with different offices and support teams, providing much better care for patients who board our ship,” Dyson added.

Shipwide P.A. System

The ship’s wide area public address system is able to span 11 decks of the Global Mercy thanks to the Q-SYS Ecosystem by QSC. Q-SYS’ Core 510i processor sits at the ship’s AV helm, controlling 20 CXD-4.3Q network amplifiers that in turn power 100 QSC AD-C6T-LP loudspeakers. The crew relies on three Q-SYS PS-1600H paging stations for shipwide communications. The full-featured Q-SYS control engine within the Core processor gives Global Mercy teams complete control of the audio setup, giving them the ability to route audio sources to multiple locations throughout the ship.

“QSC is honored to work with Mercy Ships to provide technology—including our Q-SYS software-based audio, video, and control ecosystem—to further enhance the ship’s capabilities and create a floating work environment where users can quickly and easily collaborate,” said Anna Csontos, executive vice president, chief market officer and chief of staff at QSC. “Mercy Ships is a wonderful organization, and we are proud to contribute to such a wonderful cause.”

Conference Rooms

The Global Mercy will have 10 conference/meeting rooms, each set up using the QSC Q-SYS Ecosystem. Each room will be configured with NEC displays, QSC PTZ conference cameras, a QSC Q-SYS Core 110f processor, Q-SYS TSC-7w Network Touch Screen controllers, and QSC in-ceiling loudspeakers with Audio-Technica ceiling microphones. These integrations will give the staff the ability to conduct presentations and video calls, and help them connect with staff and experts around the world.

[The Technology Manager's Guide to Conference Rooms]

Auditorium

Giving staff the ability to hold meetings, seminars and presentations with the entire crew, the 682-seat auditorium will be fitted with a separate audio reinforcement system, but the room will still use QSC Q-SYS Ecosystem. The auditorium will feature an Allen & Heath QU32 digital console, QSC CXD4.3 and QSC CXD4.5 amplifiers, QSC WL3082 Wideline 8 with QSC WL212-sw subwoofer, QSC AP-5102 high-power loudspeakers, and QSC K12.2 powered loudspeakers.

The room’s lighting system will include a Martin M2GO HD lighting control console, and Rush MH 6 Wash, Rush MH 1 Profile Plus, and Rush PAR 2 Zoom lights from Martin by Harman. Sony EVI HD-1 cameras will be installed to enhance overall presentation capabilities.

AV Gives Back

Technology providers including Barco, NEC Display Solutions of America (now Sharp NEC Display Solutions), Peerless-AV, and QSC also chipped in to provide donated and/or discounted products.

Mercy Ships relies almost entirely on volunteers and donors to accomplish its mission, according to Bobby Baker, head of corporate relations at Mercy Ships.

“For Peerless-AV to be able to help out by donating products that we manufacture was the least we could do to give back to this amazing organization that brings lifesaving medical treatment to those in need around the world,” said Nick Belcore, executive vice president, Peerless-AV, whose company provided over 1,000 mounting solutions for Global Mercy.

NEC Display donated more than 2,000 commercial-grade displays for the vessel that were used in the meeting/conference rooms and auditorium. “Mercy Ships matches NEC’s vision of ‘Orchestrating a Brighter World,’” said an NEC Display spokesperson when the donation was announced. “With this partnership, we’re helping Mercy Ships achieve its goal of bringing hope and healing to those who need it most. The technology we’re providing is all commercial-grade, so it will provide lasting value for Mercy Ships, and in the end will create value for society as a whole.”

“NEC has really gone beyond the call of duty with its gift, and as a result of like-minded companies, we are able to bring state-of-the-art healthcare to parts of the world that need it most,” Baker added. “We’re all about bringing dignity to people and giving others the opportunity to contribute in meaningful ways. When you can restore sight to a child with a 15-minute cataract removal surgery, it’s a powerful thing. Our donors make this possible.”

Mercy Ships also relies on volunteer AV and IT professionals to keep its ships running. The organization is currently looking for a minimum commitment of three months for volunteer positions including AV technicians and service desk analysts.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit mercyships.org/volunteer.

Time to Set Sail

Mercy Ships expects Global Mercy to be ready to receive patients this spring, and the ship is scheduled to begin its first voyage in Africa by late 2021. With the focus on technological enhancements centered around overall ship communication and meeting rooms, time will tell if further enhancements will be needed and requested from the hospital and operations units once the ship is up and running.

One thing is certain, however: technology plays a foundational role in the mission-driven work of Mercy Ships. Dyson concluded, “Mercy Ships has always been about bringing hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor. While technology is not a highlight, it provides us with a necessary foundation and vehicle on which we can stand to provide that hope and healing, the ‘leg up’ for those we serve.” 

Face-time is a critical component to human interaction and communication. Because of COVID-19, for months, we’ve been using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet to conduct virtual meetings to replace in-person interactions. We’re all “Zoomed-out,” but without the ability to make a “personal” visual connection, who knows if we would have been as productive or even stayed remotely sane? And it’s not over yet.

Since March, with the aid of remote technologies, businesses continuity has been managed in many organizations, but for non-essential workers requiring human contact many businesses were completely sidelined. 

With franchise owners and sports fans clamoring for teams to begin playing again, on July 30, the NBA resumed the 2019–20 season with 22 teams competing at the “NBA Bubble,” a hub based at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.

In this surreal world without fans filling the stands, the NBA turned to Microsoft, which in April had entered into a multi-year alliance with the goal of creating next-gen experiences for basketball fans. But nobody had planned on needing to create a completely virtual fan experience. 

Three game courts at the bubble were outfitted with 17-foot-tall LED screens that wrap three sides of the arena to display seating that is populated with more than 300 virtual fans. “We are excited to announce a reimagined fan experience powered by a new feature in Microsoft Teams called Together Mode,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president for Microsoft 365. “Together mode uses AI segmentation technology to bring people together into a shared background like a conference room, coffee shop, or arena. Using scientific principles of cognition and social perception, Together Mode is more than a virtual background; it makes being together virtually actually feel like being together in person. It’s easy to maintain natural eye contact, for instance, or register fellow participants’ emotions as they react to what’s happening—whether it’s a meeting announcement, a class presentation, or the sight of a favorite NBA player about to score a three-pointer.”

Go Big and Stay Home

The red carpet never looked so… Well, there wasn’t one. 

Like a scene straight from a Hollywood sci-fi movie, more than 100 nominees and presenters of the 72nd Emmy Awards were live-streamed and displayed onto a massive curved video wall creating a virtual ballroom surrounding show host, Jimmy Kimmel.

While the NBA moved its games to Disney, for the evening of September 20, Hollywood moved into the Staples Center, the massive L.A. arena that’s home to the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers to create a stage made up of billions of pixels.

The staging of virtual events is becoming the norm, as is the need for sharing information on a large visual scale. How else are video walls helping to elevate experiences during this time of distance interaction? We reached out to display manufacturers to find out.

Absen

James Liu, President

Budget restrictions caused by the pandemic greatly impacted the LED market as manufacturers began to offer more cost-effective solutions in an effort to adapt to the changing environment. Once the outbreak is under control, we expect demand for indoor LED displays to gradually recover and eventually return to pre-pandemic sales levels. One segment of the market that has thrived is houses of worship. With congregations not meeting, church leaders are using the time to make changes to their sanctuaries before the congregations come back and installing new video walls for a more dynamic experience.

As indoor close-view and ultra-high-resolution applications grow, Mini LED is becoming a more reachable technology and running into mass production. Integrated mounted devices (IMD) technology, a type of mini LED, is providing high durability, good contrast, and an affordable life-cycle cost. It is also leading in the field of fine-pitch LED display.

The content we see in the traditional display is virtual, but it is coming into “reality.” The extended reality technology is the connection point. LED display could create a larger and more impressive stage. With the combination of floor, surrounding, and ceiling video walls, the audience will easily get a real and immersive experience. A good example of this technology can be found in Disney’s The Mandalorian and other virtual studio applications.

For outdoor solutions, applications using video walls are also approaching the fine-pitch quality of indoor solutions, as the technology of heat dissipation and environmental factor resistance develops. Predictably, the usage of outdoor-rated video walls will be further extended with higher resolution and brightness.

Stepping into the 5G era, we are within a revolution of increasing data and transfer speed. The world is connected by information, and LED display is one of the terminals to show and exchange the massive amounts of information. The extended bandwidth can also increase the capacity of the LED system itself—fewer network ports, cables, control equipment, but more pixels.

Barco

John Steinhauer, VP, Entertainment and Visualization

Large video walls employed smartly in flexible spaces are key to effective collaboration, communication, and customer experience with the emergence of hybrid workplaces. Collaboration will continue to be key, but those casual “over-the-shoulder” moments will be less possible. For this reason, larger displays will be a key to increasing visuals, sight lines, and distance.

With increased distances and realignment of spaces, we will need larger format displays, with more of them doing heavy lifting beyond just showing spreadsheets. Flexible and multi-use visualization products such as UniSee and LED XT are terrific technology touchpoints for promoting safe, agile, and productive collaboration.

Prior to COVID, lobby video walls were about branding and messaging. But now they are also important as initial touchpoints for safety protocol as well as corporate reassurance. Similarly, experience centers will see a shift to more video wall usage as virtual demos take precedence over in-person. Boardrooms will continue to be the venue of choice when customers, partners, and boards of directors can meet in person. There will be an expectation that these boardrooms offer the finest technology available as the place where the company’s image and promise is conveyed (like lobby walls, but more collaborative). Again, the “wow” factor is of utmost importance, as you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Razor-narrow-bezel (RNB) LCD display and direct-view (DV) LED are the biggest stories in display technology. B2B customers have progressed toward technologies that minimize the bezel as much as possible (RNB) or eliminate it (DV LED), as it is seen as a distraction from the message and the ambiance of the environment.

High-res direct-view LED like the LED XT series is currently at the growing stages of being a highly desirable video wall technology. The trouble is that the market is being flooded with the vestiges of outdoor LED manufacturers trying to quickly recognize sales, and this has added confusion to a market that is much more sophisticated and complex. LED is a professional technology that requires a professional approach and processing.

Christie

John Dixon, Senior Product Manager

COVID-19 has highlighted the important role that video wall technology plays in many critical applications and environments today, and the pandemic has impacted how different organizations use video walls to visualize information and data.

Examples of video wall uses we have seen from our customers include a network operation center (NOC) that is managing changes with usage and remote users; utilities companies are managing the changing dynamics of energy usage; and government and military organizations are managing and monitoring personnel and equipment. While many of us have managed through the pandemic by working from home, many who work in critical operations have maintained and or increased the use of the video walls. 

Christie’s lineup of video wall products includes MicroTiles LED and Extreme Series tiled LCD video walls, which deliver mission-critical features and capabilities. Our MicroTiles LED products are designed with redundancy and a system level architecture that delivers no-compromise performance and zero-downtime capabilities. Christie Extreme Series also features some mission-critical capabilities, including a remote redundant power supply and remote monitoring capabilities.

CineMassive

Tom Polivka, VP of Sales

Examining the role of video walls and command centers in the age of COVID, the most obvious use case is the emergency operations center (EOC)—typically designed to coordinate and monitor incident response in various municipalities. Helping to build, replace, and modernize EOCs over the years, we saw everything from small closets with a handful of servers and terminals to larger conference rooms where managers huddled to receive updates and status from small video walls with semi-fixed layouts. In smaller communities without dedicated EOCs, we also saw real-time crime centers (RTCCs) and other control room operations repurposed as communities scrambled to monitor and respond to COVID and other urgencies.

Today, regional video wall operations must become multi-function hubs for reacting to coinciding crises. With COVID adding further strain on first responders, we’re seeing RTCCs, 9-11 dispatch, and traffic control all contributing to cooperative incident response. 

The traditional command center model of sequestering dozens of operators in a purpose-built environment flies in the face of social distancing guidelines. Working with DoD commanders in the battlefield, we realized early on that command and control strategies could not assume that all decision makers were in the same room. As a result, we had to develop various methods for viewing, sharing, and controlling video walls from outside the command center—methods that have helped today’s operations comply with COVID-related restrictions.

Social media has become the de facto two-way communications channel—linking first responders, control room operators, and citizens. Every aspect of incident monitoring—crime response, dispatch, traffic status, weather emergencies, et cetera—depends on social media. Forward-thinking control room designers are now turning to small, dedicated appliances that offload web processing from the video server and allow operators to directly interact with—not just view—web applications from the video wall.

COVID and other converging threats have hastened the adoption of a global common operating picture that simulates a “single pane of glass” and provides situational awareness. At the same time, video wall access and operations are moving offsite to accommodate new restrictions around social distancing. Of course, this must be accomplished without impacting decision making by key staff that aren’t always co-located with the video wall. Finally, we’re seeing the rapid emergence of regional fusion centers that promote coalitions and cooperative monitoring and response between adjacent communities.

LG Business Solutions USA

Dan Smith, Vice President of Business Development

Every business—whether it’s service, food and beverage, retail, or beyond—has implemented new safety procedures. But it’s all meaningless unless they’re able to effectively communicate to customers what those procedures are.

So many of our interactions—whether commercial, functional, or interpersonal—are taking place at a distance. With all the different forms of social distancing being practiced, people are not necessarily located near the important messaging they need to see. That, combined with our tendency as humans to occasionally ignore signs that are not visibly captivating, means that businesses need attractive methods for communicating key messages. Video walls are among the most vibrant, engaging formats in commercial signage and can help make sure audiences—even at a distance—will take note of the critical messaging businesses need to communicate.

We’ve seen that businesses are purchasing new video wall products or modifying their existing technology. Along with our partners, we have been offering businesses effective video wall technologies that are crucial to clearly communicating rules and limiting staff interaction with customers. While technically there are other ways to communicate, such as through mobile devices or apps, the reality is that most people probably wouldn’t download an app every time they walk into a new business. video walls are the most practical and effective option in most cases because they are ubiquitous and easy to read.

Before COVID, the purpose of video walls was much more advertorial or aesthetic in nature, with the intent of driving promotion or influencing sales behavior. Now, many video walls are displaying critical health and safety protocols. Many of these displays are focused at entranceways. The goal is to communicate this information as early as possible.

With every emerging video wall technology, manufacturers aim to accomplish a few common goals: fast installation and follow-up maintenance, consistent performance, and superior appearance. With our two 55-inch LCD video wall panels, released earlier this year, we’ve checked all the boxes.

Both of our 55SVH7F and 55SVH7PF models include an ultra-thin 0.44-millimeter bezel to enable depiction of content without any distortions, and each panel features LG’s IPS panel technology that delivers a 178-degree viewing angle for excellent visibility from virtually any position. The panels also include an image improvement algorithm that can adjust the appearance of objects on the bezel boundaries to reduce image gaps among tiled displays when playing videos.

They also combine LG’s leading IPS technology with our automated Smart Calibration tool. The tool, which uses an embedded light sensor and calibration chipset to measure each panel’s brightness and color reproduction, automatically makes adjustments to ensure uniformity across all panels. This calibration procedure requires no external tools besides the included remote control, and amazingly, can be completed on a 3-by-3 video wall in as little as three minutes— offering time and maintenance cost savings of up to 97 percent.

To ensure 24-hour performance reliability of every panel, the 55SVH7PF additionally features external power boxes with hot-swappable power supplies, with each box containing four power supplies but only requiring three for operation.

NanoLumens

Derrick White, Business Intelligence Expert

The shift we're seeing is quicker adoption of large-format video walls. Public spaces and even conference rooms are utilizing the larger format so viewers can spread out rather than converge around a single smaller display. This trend is likely here to stay, as it also alleviates other issues such as traffic flow, design, and ultimately everyone likes a little more space.

There are two primary areas where display technology is evolving: the advancement of the video performance of display technologies as well as a push for a more hygienic experience coming out of COVID.

Video performance will be the evergreen advancement in display technology. Just when 4K comes out, you hear the announcement of 8K. What we are seeing is the trend for more ruggedized displays through GOB-based coatings and a focus on video performance, such as 12-bit processing, HDR, and color reproduction. As the market better understands digital displays, the potential gets accelerated.

The other area we are seeing advancement is around a more hygienic experience. Before COVID, the entire world revolved around touching a screen, which was only adopted after the invention of the iPhone in 2007. In the last 13 years, we’ve rapidly converted to touching everything almost to a dependent state, and now in six months, everyone shudders when thinking of touching something someone else has. Ultimately, touch is here to stay until gesture advances rapidly enough to become second nature, but for now, we are seeing companies introduce antimicrobial coatings, more sensitive touch solutions, or even a little sanitizer dispenser, which is probably the most logical.

NEC

Adam Sowers, Consultant Relations Manager, NEC Display Solutions

Next-generation operation centers can take many forms: power grid companies, social media, network operation centers, etc. We’re seeing that increase in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I don’t see the demand going down post-COVID. As we all try to find a sense of normalcy, video wall technology will continue to grow to help us get to whatever that “normal” will look like. Whether we’re looking at education, healthcare, public safety, or any number of uses, the technology gives us a way to explore that data from hundreds of different sources in one visual canvas.

As technology gets better, resolution gets better and the tech gets even more useful every day. From projection to flat panel monitors and/or the latest direct-view LED, the number of pixels we can put on one video wall canvas continues to grow. This allows users to review crystal-clear data, images, and video from multiple content sources simultaneously—naturally leading to higher efficiency.

The amazing thing to me is that many people say projection use in video walls is going away, and it’s quite the opposite. Projection continues to grow and become a large element in these next-generation video wall applications. Flat-panel LCD monitor models with ultra-narrow bezels also play a huge part, but the real growth is with direct-view LEDs entering the space. We are now sub-one-millimeter pixel pitch, and I see that continuing to grow smaller and smaller. As we do that and resolutions increase, the amount of content we can put on one single canvas increases. Gone are the days of blurry images brought in from an outside source. Now, increased pixel counts and resolutions result in great quality images on a large canvas without having to switch back and forth across multiple sources.

One canvas can display crystal clear images from multiple camera sources simultaneously. The other piece that I see is in the video management platform. These platforms allow users to manage and lay out images from hundreds of sources, while customizing the output. It’s incredibly important to use the hardware and software correctly upfront to ensure a positive user experience; if one of these is off, the result can be catastrophic.

Planar

Romeo Estores, Senior Product Manager

With COVID-19, more people are gathering outdoors and we find that this presents tremendous opportunity for today’s outdoor fine-pitch LED video walls. Direct sunlight has long posed challenges for viewing outdoor displays, but with technology advancing and brightness increasing, it’s now possible for users to show brilliant content even when the sun is out.

In the case of smaller pitches starting around 3 millimeters, outdoor LED displays offer brightness starting at a minimum of 4,000 nits. This is a key component of creating positive viewing experiences that will drive long-lasting impact. Today, outdoor LED displays are notably larger, brighter, and finer, and available for just about any application environment—including displays that can be hung or temporary video walls that can quickly be installed and disassembled by a single person.

In the case of outdoor LED, a pixel pitch of 10 to 16 millimeters was once the standard, whereas today, we’re seeing new applications drive demand for pixel pitches as low as 3 millimeters, and even finer pitches are now available. This is true for environments ranging from large sports stadiums and entertainment venues to college campuses and retail storefronts. 

Installing outdoor LED displays that feature elements such as waterproofing, UV protective treatments, mesh for low wind resistance, wear-proof masking, and dust-tight enclosures will help ensure that your team’s installation can weather the weather. In addition, many outdoor LED video walls on the market today feature aspects from rental and staging such as stackable cabinets that are fast to assemble and offer quick-lock systems to support single-person installation. We also see more LED solutions providing swappable components and front access for fast serviceability. These capabilities not only reduce time and complexity, but also allow end users to easily adapt to various designs and configurations—especially as their needs evolve.

Sony

Daisuke “Johnny” Beppu, Product Marketing Manager, Crystal LED

The video wall business is undergoing a transformation and direct-view LED is rapidly becoming the dominant display solution. During COVID we have seen an increase in video wall usage to increase engagement and support remote and virtual production in broadcast, entertainment, and corporate applications. Customers are turning to solutions—including Sony’s Crystal LED direct view display—not only to bridge the gap between the virtual and the real, but because of its seamless integration with camera technology, with features like built-in genlock and camera-friendly frame rates. We have seen a rise in demand for large display solutions, which can increase immersion and help facilitate social distancing requirements while providing an engaging experience and an accurate view—no matter where the viewer is situated. Sony’s Crystal LED modular display system takes this one step further: offering a near-180-degree viewing angle without an impact on the image quality, which enables every audience member to have a realistic experience. In environments where each individual now occupies a larger area, capacities can be increased while maintaining the viewing experience.

Another trend that has emerged as a result of the pandemic is an increased reliance on touchless technologies like gesture control using LIDAR-based sensors, while fewer projects are incorporating IR-based touchscreen solutions. Additionally, due to health and safety concerns, customers are seeking solutions that are easy to sanitize. Due to its embedded LEDs, Sony’s Crystal LED has a smooth and resilient surface that can be easily cleaned, unlike other surface-mount LED solutions.

In addition, technologies that are continuing to gain traction in this space include the adoption of HDR, as well as an increase in resolution as we standardize on 4K, while exploring 8K and beyond. This is another reason why customers are attracted to Sony’s Crystal LED display: it is modular, which allows it to accommodate virtually any size or aspect ratio. We even have customers who have implemented a 16K wall!

As of November 1, 2020, Sharp Corp. and NEC Corp. completed the previously announced transaction to form a joint venture by Sharp acquiring 66 percent of shares for NEC Display Solutions Ltd. (NDS), a subsidiary of NEC.

In connection with the completion of the transaction, NDS has changed its company name to Sharp NEC Display Solutions Ltd. (SNDS), and has started business operations as a subsidiary of Sharp. The newly formed SNDS will continue its focus on the B2B display business, producing and developing a broad range of visual display solutions for a variety of markets and applications.

Fujikazu Nakayama, senior executive managing officer and business solutions BU president of Sharp, will serve as chairman of the new business, and Hisatsugu Nakatani, president of NEC Display Solutions, will serve as president of SNDS.

According to SNDS, this new company represents an ongoing commitment to the display solutions business. "Both Sharp and NDS display businesses are two market-leading brands in the production and development of visual solutions, and the Sharp-NEC joint venture will result in a wide range of synergies. Known worldwide for a commitment to high-quality products, focus on customer support, and outstanding partner relationships, SNDS approaches this new opportunity with plans to continue delivering high-quality, innovative solutions to its customers around the world," the company said in a statement.

The What: BrightSign and NEC Display Solutions have collaborated to deliver a family of large-format displays with integrated digital signage capabilities. The full range of NEC MultiSync V Series large format displays are now available with the BrightSign OPS digital signage media player included.

The What Else: NEC has integrated the BrightSign OPS media player into the company’s full range of MultiSync V Series models, all of which offer the combination of a brightness output of 500 nits and an anti-glare surface to deliver advanced visibility under common lighting conditions. The slim, modern design is engineered for easy integration into any application and environment.

Related: BrightSign Unveils Touchless Engagement Solutions

“As businesses emerge from the pandemic, digital signage plays a key role in welcoming customers and employees back with informative and important digital content,” said Nils Karsten, strategic alliance manager at NEC Display Solutions. “Integrating BrightSign’s OPS media player is the ideal complement to our V Series displays, and we can now jointly deliver an all-in-one, industry-leading, and very reliable digital signage solution.”

“NEC Display Solutions has been a great partner over the years, and we’re especially pleased with our latest collaboration,” said Jeff Hastings, CEO, BrightSign. “Adding our OPS media player gives their customers a great option for any display format, particularly for deployments where minimizing external cabling with integrated hardware is a priority.”

Integration of BrightSign’s HO523 OPS digital signage media player eliminates the need for additional cables, and provides full integration into the BrightSign infrastructure, which includes access to 20-plus CMS vendors via BrightSign’s BSN.cloud Control Cloud. The media player’s updated BrightSign 8.0 operating system and video engine enable H.265/H.264, provide hardware-accelerated HTML support, and enable 4K upscaling.

The Bottom Line: The new NEC-BrightSign combination makes it possible to deliver targeted digital content to inform, entertain, direct, or inspire viewers in retail stores, museums, quick-service restaurants, corporate environments, and other public settings. Integrating the media player into the display not only saves on the upfront hardware investment, it also streamlines installation by eliminating the need for additional cables and standalone media players.

The What: NEC Display Solutions has launched the latest version of MediaPlayer for its digital signage solutions. MediaPlayer software comes pre-installed on NEC´s Raspberry Pi Compute Module at no additional charge, delivering easier setup and operation, increased performance and customization for digital display boards in retail, digital menu boards, leisure, and corporate communication applications.

The What Else: The MediaPlayer is a plug-and-play digital signage solution that’s designed to be easy to install and customize. With NEC´s MediaPlayer, the latest, real-time visual experiences are now faster and easier to set up, showing target audiences dynamic, up-to-date information and advertising.

Related: NEC Display Expands ProAssist Software to More Projectors

“A key feature of our new MediaPlayer is its ability to operate as a hub for partner companies to allow the user a smooth installation of the supported CMS systems, directly from our MediaPlayer,” said Chris Feldman, product manager at NEC Display Solutions of America. “As requirements and markets change, we can even extend its functionality and enhance performance. This can be done without the need to alter the base infrastructure of the signage solution.”

“The NEC MediaPlayer is easy to install, exchange, and upgrade,” said Art Marshall, product line manager at NEC Display Solutions. “The software is designed to allow the further addition of third-party applications and integration with their solutions. It perfectly complements our modular SoC and computing philosophy. It’s an out-of-the-box solution that’s built to last and grow alongside our corporate ambition and the constantly evolving needs of our customers. Non-experts as well as experienced installers will benefit from the ease and reliability of our system.”   

The Bottom Line: This modular SoC MediaPlayer solution can be integrated inside any compatible NEC display offering the Raspberry Pi slot. It enables the remote operation of setups with individual as well as multiple screens supported by browser-based playlist and content distribution as well centralized device management. Organizations can choose various media formats and web content via the browser for all kinds of demands.

The NEC MediaPlayer comes pre-installed on the Raspberry Pi CM3+ offered by NEC Display Solutions. Starting in October 2020, all NEC –MPi bundles will be offered consisting of NEC V series 40-98-inch and C series 65-98-inch models, which include the Raspberry Pi CM3+ with 32GB internal memory with MediaPlayer pre-installed. 

It’s clear: the classrooms that students are making their way back to this fall are not the places they left in the spring. Distance is key, with pupils being forced spread out within these environments, so it’s imperative that everyone can see the material being presented. 

Delivering on this increased demand for big-screen solutions is a category that has been elevating engagement in educational settings for some time: the short- and ultra-short-throw projector. This showcase highlights the latest models of this versatile and cost-effective technology from the leading brands in the field. 

Related: The Technology Manager's Guide to Projectors and Screens 

BenQ EW800ST

According to BenQ, the EW800ST is the first education projector to feature cloud account integration, screen-mirroring capabilities, smart app capability, and internet and wireless connectivity to promote diversified teaching and blended learning in classrooms. The EW800ST offers personal account control and cloud services integration via the BenQ Account Management System (AMS), allowing instructors individualized access to lesson plans and educational materials in cloud storage. EW800ST also includes X-Sign Broadcast, a centralized messaging and display scheduling system.

EW800ST’s user interface is optimized for education and interaction, providing content navigation in addition to the traditional projector remote control. The EW800ST lets students and teachers navigate educational content not only with a traditional mouse or keyboard, but also from any device via the BenQ Smart Control app. Equipped with the onboard BenQ Suggest app store, users can also download a variety of smart apps, including web browsers for lessons generated right from the projector. With WXGA resolution and a 15,000-hour lamp life, EW800ST’s engaging and expansive visual quality is enhanced by new Infographic and Video Modes, designed to accentuate modern educational materials that contain mixed graphics, data, charts, video, and text.

Casio XJ-UT352WN

Casio’s Ultra Short Throw XJ-UT352WN LampFree projector is an all-in-one solution for the education market, providing high-quality projection technology with enhanced features and functionality. It features 3,500 lumens and a WXGA native resolution of 1280x800, enabling the projection of large, bright images. The XJ-UT352WN uses Casio’s Laser and LED Hybrid light source to project vibrant colors with no lamps or filters to replace and long-lasting performance of up to 20,000 hours. The XJ-UT352WN has an improved dust resistant design and is network ready with LAN Connectivity (RJ-45) and optional wireless capability.

Additionally, the XJ-UT352WN includes Casio’s Educational Solutions suite that facilitates easier use of projection in classrooms. Auto Input Search and One Click Connection enable class to start quickly. PC and Projector Remote and the Moderator Function allow teachers to remotely display their device or their students’ devices from anywhere in the classroom. 

Christie DHD630-GS 

Christie's GS Series projectors take 1DLP technology to higher levels of brightness, image quality, and color reproduction with laser illumination. From education and training venues to events and beyond, professional-grade Christie GS Series models deliver high performance and reliability in high-usage environments. 

Christie DHD630-GS 1DLP offers 6,125 lumens with HD resolution. Laser illumination provides 20,000 hours of high-quality visuals with a 4,000,000:1 full on/off contrast ratio. Its small footprint, low weight, full suite of lenses—including an ultra-short-throw option—and 24/7 operation durability makes this projector ideal for higher education. The DHD630-GS is also whisper quiet, with a noise rating of 36dBA, enabling it to be placed anywhere in a room. 

Epson BrightLink 735Fi

Epson’s BrightLink 735Fi 1080p 3LCD interactive laser display is designed to turn almost any flat surface into a widescreen digital whiteboard. Displaying 100-inch, 16:9 or ultra-wide 110-inch, 16:6 images, the BrightLink 735Fi offers split screen, side-by-side viewing and up to 65 percent more interactive space versus 75-inch flat panels, for better visibility and engagement in social-distancing classrooms.

Featuring 3,600 lumens brightness, Full HD 1080p resolution, and a virtually maintenance-free 20,000-hour laser light source, the projector offers built-in 5GHz Wi-Fi and supports software-free, peer-to-peer wireless connectivity from Miracast-enabled devices. Users can save, email, and print without a PC, or share content to other networked BrightLinks. This laser display is also compatible with value-added software including Epson Easy Interactive Tools, Epson iProjection app, Epson Projector Management Utility, and SMART Learning Suite. Featuring dual-pen interactivity with auto calibration, touch capabilities, and easy-to-install touch module, the BrightLink 735Fi is a true collaboration device integrating the utility of a whiteboard, projector, and interactive display, with no additional computers required. 

LG HU85LS

The LG Ultra-Short-Throw Projector (HU85LS) is a 4K laser projector that can produce a 90-inch image when placed just two inches from the projection wall, and a 120-inch image when just 7.2 inches away. This ability to create a large projection display in nearly any room arrangement makes it especially well suited for classrooms.

The HU85LS adopts three-channel laser technology to create RGB color via different light sources. Because of this, the HU85LS has no color wheel, so it significantly reduces “rainbow” effects that can be experienced by conventional projectors. Its 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio displays the deep blacks and smooth gradients necessary for engaging a cinematic 4K UHD experience. The LG Ultra-Short-Throw projector also offers voice control through the included Magic Remote with an integrated microphone. Wireless connection is available any iOS, Android, or Windows device, and standard inputs include USB-A, USB-C and HDMI. In addition, the projector offers wireless screen mirroring, webOS 4.5 for native web browsing, two integrated 5-watt speakers, and a Bluetooth-out port to boost wireless audio through a separate stereo system.

Maxell MP-TW4011

Maxell Pro AV’s MP-TW4011 3LCD laser interactive projector is engineered to transform the interactive experience for K-12 classrooms with a bright display and interactive software. Featuring 4,200 ANSI lumens brightness, the MP-TW4011 combines Maxell’s Accentualizer and High Dynamic Contrast Range 2 (HDCR2) technology to enhance image sharpness, gloss, and shade while correcting color and tone distortion. With 3LCD laser technology, the projector has 20,000 hours of maintenance-free operation and can operate up to 50,000 hours with Long Life 2 Mode in use.

StarBoard Interactive Presentation Software optimizes writing and drawing capabilities with freeform shape and handwriting automation. The interactive pen tool allows users to draw and write directly on the projected screen without a PC and can operate as a compass, ruler, protractor, or stopwatch. 

The MP-TW4011 incorporates the optional finger-touch unit that enables the projector to detect finger touch activity on the screen area. Windows Multi Touch allows users with touch-enabled Windows 8.1/10 systems to operate the PC directly from the interactive screen with up to six pens or touches.

NEC UM383WL

NEC's UM383WL ultra-short-throw HLD LED projector is a low-maintenance display solution for education and corporate customers that need up to 130-inch diagonal video and images at an affordable cost. Its ultra-short-throw lens (0.27:1 throw ratio) helps eliminate shadows on the screen along with projected light in the presenter’s eyes created by traditional front-projection systems, and the HLD LED light source eliminates the maintenance requirements that exist in lamp-based projectors. 

Its features include horizontal and vertical keystone adjustment or cornerstone correction, ECO Mode technology for lower power consumption, and input/output panel, including dual HDMI, VGA, and RJ-45 for networking. It also offers NaViSet Administrator 2, a free software tool designed to ease administration and management for large installations. Administrators and users will also benefit from the ability to remotely monitor and control the projector over a network, which will save IT employees time and help reduce the costs related to projector operation.

Optoma ZH406ST

The Optoma ZH406ST is a 4,200-lumen 1080p DuraCore laser short-throw projector that delivers high performance in a lightweight, compact size. Featuring a 300,000:1 contrast ratio, 4K UHD input, HDR10 and HLG compatibility, and a 0.5:1 throw ratio, the ZH406ST produces 100-inch images from only several feet away, making it well suited for small classrooms, conference rooms, and other space-constrained environments. 

Equipped with vertical lens shift, four-corner correction, and 360-degree and portrait mode operation, the Optoma ZH406ST enables flexible installations. Additionally, a laser light source eliminates the need for lamp and filter replacements, providing up to 30,000 hours of low-cost and virtually maintenance-free performance in Eco mode. The Optoma ZH406ST also offers HDMI 2.0, HDMI, and VGA inputs for connectivity to high-quality 4K HDR digital video or legacy analog video sources, while LAN and RS-232 enable control via Crestron, Extron, AMX, or Telnet. 

Panasonic PT-TW371R

Panasonic’s PT-TW371R Series of short-throw WXGA (1280x800) resolution LCD projectors are designed for easy setup, whether on a table top or mounted from a ceiling. The wireless series connects to laptops, mobile devices, and other sources for supporting presentation needs. 

The PT-TW371RU has interactive capabilities and includes two interactive pens and Whiteboard Software for PC to support writing and drawing on projected images, as well as the ability to save work to a PC for later distribution. The PT-TW371R Series can project an 80-inch image from an approximate distance of 2.5 feet without creating any screen shadowing, which is well suited for rooms where space is limited. Its 3,300 lumens of brightness with 16,000:1 contrast ratio and operating noise of 30dB make it particularly adept for classroom and meeting room visualization. New technology extends lamp replacement to approximately 20,000 hours by reducing degradation and improving cooling capabilities for low TCO and less maintenance downtime.

ViewSonic PS750W

The ViewSonic PS750W is envisioned as a complete interactive projection solution for the classroom. With native WXGA resolution and an ultra-short-throw lens, the PS750W includes an embedded camera, laser curtain module, and wall-mount kit. It features a brightness of 3,300 lumens, while its 0.23 throw ratio allows it to be placed just inches away from a wall or screen. It is flexible enough to be ceiling-mounted or placed on a tabletop. 

The PS750W comes the company’s cBoard software, enabling users to write, highlight, edit, and transform documents and images on-screen in real time, making it a big-picture alternative to interactive whiteboards and displays. Connectivity options include HDMI, HDMI/MHL, USB 2.0, VGA Out, S-Video, Composite, RJ45, and RS-232, ensuring all types of external devices can be connected. 

The What: NEC Display Solutions of America has created an expansion of features, capabilities, and availability of its ProAssist projector software solution.

The What Else: Expanding the number of projectors that its software is compatible with, ProAssist can now provide projection perfection to the NEC NP-PA803UL / NP-PA703UL (Firmware version 1.12 or later), NP-PA804UL / NP-PA1004UL, NP-PX803UL (Firmware version 1.11 or later), NP-PX1004UL (Firmware version 1.07 or later), and the NP-PX1005QL / NP-PH2601QL / NP-PH3501QL.

“We created ProAssist specifically with professional installation experts in mind, giving them an easier way to control and adjust their projectors and create stunning multi-projector images and scenes,” said Rich McPherson, senior product manager at NEC Display. “With this dynamic solution, the sky is the limit for how it can be used and what it can create, and we’re ecstatic to be able to enable professionals in that way.”

The Bottom Line: ProAssist is professional-grade, and features easy to use adjustment and control solution for coordinated projection from multiple installation projectors. Whether the illuminist is using stacking, edge blending, or using projection mapping techniques, ProAssist is designed to ensure uniformity across the entire image.

ProAssist is available now.

When it comes to big, bright visuals, nothing beats direct-view LED. Long relegated to select high-profile applications like stadium jumbotrons and Times Square billboards, recent years have seen costs plummet as their quality has risen. 

Now, this highly efficient, long-lasting display technology is making its way into all kinds of verticals and helping to drive impressions in applications from digital signage to corporate boardrooms. 

The following is a roundup of the most noteworthy new offerings from leading manufacturers.

Absen Acclaim Plus

Absen has released an upgraded version of its Acclaim series of direct-view LED displays, Acclaim Plus. This permanent indoor LED solution is available in 1.2-, 1.5-, and 2.5mm pixel pitches and can be wall-mounted with the company’s mounting solution or rigged on a truss. The Acclaim Plus has the same LED display area and mounting interface as the traditional Acclaim series, but is thinner and lighter for easier and more flexible installation. With better flatness, the Acclaim Plus excels in seamless display and connection precision and is bezel free due to its duo die-cast technology. The Acclaim Plus has a 16:9 aspect ratio, allowing users to more easily create FHD/4K resolution displays. The Acclaim Plus vacuum service tool offers users easy front installation and is well suited for uses in enterprise, broadcast, hotels, casinos, and retail. 

Barco XT Series

Barco’s new XT series of high-res LED is designed to create an unforgettable visual experience. The 27-inch tiles come in 16:9 aspect ratio with pixel pitches ranging from 0.9mm to 2.5mm for flexibility. Barco’s Infinipix image processing platform enhances color accuracy and provides features to maximize the uptime of an installation. The robust front-access design facilitates setup and maintenance of the display. 

Barco’s XT series is specifically designed to offer premium quality and provide a reliable solution to a broad audience in a wide range of indoor LED applications. For peace of mind, the company’s EssentialCare service option offers up to seven years of priority support and batch compatible replacements. The display solution is positioned for applications from museums and television studios to control rooms.

Christie MicroTiles

To create its best LED solution to date, Christie engineers combined the latest in narrow-pixel-pitch LED capabilities with the technology behind its successful MicroTiles line to produce Christie MicroTiles LED.

Delivering P3 color space, fully compliant HDR10, and software that keeps the wall calibrated at 97 percent or greater uniformity, Christie MicroTiles LED are suitable for broadcast sets, corporation venues, museums, retail, stadiums, arenas, and higher education applications. MicroTiles LED includes a low-profile ADA-compliant QuickMount system so displays can be created in virtually any shape and size, including 90-degree inside/outside corners and both concave and convex curves.

With optional Active 3D, Christie MicroTiles LED deliver robust, flicker-free Active 3D that enhances visualization and collaborative design processes. Christie’s MicroTiles LED Active 3D solution enables 3D content at 120Hz (60Hz per eye) with MicroTiles’ high-brightness and P3 cinema-quality color.

Digital Projection Radiance

Digital Projection recently expanded its Radiance line of direct-view LED display solutions with four distinct platforms. The Performance Series includes a pixel pitch range from 0.7mm to 4.0mm with brightness up to 1,500 nits, refresh rates up to 3900Hz, and broad color gamut performance, reaching over 93 percent REC2020 color standard. The VX Series offers LED performance at a lower entry cost, covering the 1.2mm to 2.5mm range. The RCS Series has a reconfigurable panel design that can be flown, ground-stacked, or permanently installed with pixel pitches of 2.6mm and 2.9mm. DPI also offers an Outdoor Series of all-weather-rated LED panels ranging from 2.9mm to 16mm for digital signage or outdoor media.

LG All-in-One Signage

LG's 130-inch All-in-One LED Signage is designed for building various smart environments, and offers advantages due to its bezel-less design. Larger than four 55-inch conventional LCD displays combined, it displays content without lines or distortions and provides a more immersive visual experience. With HDR10 Pro support, content becomes more vivid for greater visual impact. The wider color spectrum and greater contrast ratio allows viewers to fully enjoy content, and the design enables users to customize the display with easy access to settings such as picture mode, volume, and more using a remote control, instead of needing to connect to a PC. It features the same user interface as general LG digital signage solutions, making it intuitive to learn. 

NanoLumens Engage Series

With the thinnest profile and lowest pixel pitch range of any NanoLumens product line, the newly redesigned NanoLumens Engage Series was engineered to transform indoor environments without compromising infrastructure. Engage Series displays range in pitch from 0.93mm to 2.5mm and can be installed and serviced from the front to streamline the integration and maintenance processes. 

The Engage Series is designed to provide a high-impact visual experience at a more attainable price and comes backed by the company’s six-year warranty. The Engage line uses common cathode architecture to reduce power consumption and is built with cabinets that possess a native 16:9 aspect ratio, so display owners can import and display HD, 4K, and all other 16:9 content without any reformatting issues. 

NEC A Series

The NEC A Series LED poster is designed to provide attention-grabbing, high-contrast images at nearly any viewing distance. The A Series is available in 1.9mm and 2.5mm pixel pitches, and is engineered to deliver vibrant, colorful content visualization over a range of viewing distances. The iPoster is a turnkey solution that is designed for fast and easy setup, with its built-in media player, lightweight and maneuverable footprint (70 pounds, 35mm depth), and its front-serviceable design. The A Series poster is engineered with Multi-Color LEDs that deliver reliability and high performance. The A Series poster is suited for rental, retail, restaurants, transportation, and numerous other applications. Engineered with versatility in mind, the A series comes with a floor stand, wall mount, hardware for hanging, and multiple displays can be cascaded together. 

Neoti UHD Series

Neoti’s direct-view UHD Series of LED video panels has been installed in major broadcast studios across the country. Available in 0.9 to 4.6mm pixel pitches, the panels can be configured in flat, ribbon, curved, or angled corner configurations in permanent indoor applications. Other features include quick refresh rates, native 16:9 HD resolution, camera-ready calibration, and optional power and data backup. The front-accessible panels are designed for easy and quick assembly, while providing direct access for any maintenance. In addition to broadcast environments, they are well suited for airports, higher education facilities, houses of worship, command and control rooms, and corporate environments.

Optoma FHDQ130

The Optoma FHDQ130 QUAD LED delivers 130-inch images with high contrast, brightness, and color, along with 4K UHD source compatibility. The setup process is simplified with preconfigured panels, reducing installation time to less than two hours and lowering the overall project cost. With out-of-the-box pre-calibration, content can be played immediately from nearly any source.

Optoma’s Direct View QUAD LED display features a four-in-one Surface Mount Diode layout for a smoother screen surface and a 170-degree-wide viewing angle. Integrated HQUltra 4K image processing technology delivers fast image switching and scaling, maximizing the quality of any image source. The display can be controlled from mobile devices using Optoma’s Control Q application. Designed for simplified operation, the display comes with a built-in media player and a range of connectivity and control options, including dual HDMI, USB, 3G-SDI, RS-232, and HDBaseT.

Planar TVF Series

The Planar TVF Series is a family of fine-pitch LED video wall displays available in 0.9-, 1.2-, 1.5-, 1.8-, and 2.5-millimeter pixel pitches. With a 27-inch slim-profile display cabinet, the Planar TVF Series features front serviceability and a stackable design that eliminates cabinet-to-cabinet cabling and reduces the complexity of installation and vertical alignment. Featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio, Planar TVF Series allows every pixel pitch to achieve popular resolutions, including Full HD and 4K, and provides clear images at nearly every angle and viewing distance. With a profile of less than three inches, the overall video wall footprint and servicing space needed is reduced compared to typical requirements of other LED video wall solutions. As a result, Planar TVF Series is easier to fit in more spaces and can be configured in any video wall configuration to meet a wide range of application requirements. 

Samsung The Wall for Business

Samsung’s The Wall for Business is a modular, large-format indoor MicroLED that can now extend up to 583 inches while delivering high brightness, contrast, and viewing angles. The flexibility of the modularity allows users to customize The Wall to a variety of sizes and designs to fit customized needs. The display’s self-emitting MicroLED pixel modules produce clear imagery free of color filters or backlighting and envelope viewers through elevated peak brightness and a near-infinite contrast ratio. The display has a slim depth with a seamless, flush surface allowing it to blend into the wall when not in use. With numerous applications, including lobbies, art exhibitions, hotels, retail spaces, and more, The Wall for Business is designed to provide a show-stopping aesthetic complement in multiple settings. 

Sony Crystal LED

Sony’s immersive Crystal LED direct-view display system delivers high contrast, thanks to a 99-percent black surface area using ultrafine LEDs, precise color reproduction, and a 180-degree viewing angle. The technology is currently used in professional applications including corporate showrooms, retail, R&D centers, museums, auditoriums, and studios with installations across the world. Its modular nature enables the Crystal LED display to accommodate virtually any size or aspect ratio. Sony’s Crystal LED display system is available in a portrait configuration, optimized for lobby, boardroom, and reception environments, further showcasing the display’s versatility, impact, and applicability in the corporate market. 

Vanguard ChipFlip Series

Vanguard LED Displays recently introduced a new technology called ChipFlip, which is a method of encapsulating fine-pixel-pitch SMD 1010 LED lamps to PCB boards. Traditionally, the circuit design for SMD displays for both electrodes faces upwards. With the ChipFlip process, both electrodes face downward, and the solution is free of soldering. 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 the SMD process, according to the company. As a result, the failure rate of ChipFlip is 5 PPM, compared to SMD’s rate of 50-100 PPM. 

The ChipFlip Process also employs common cathode technology, whereby the electric current passes through the ground. Power is not on constantly, but is only drawn as needed. As a result, heat generation is greatly reduced. The ChipFlip Series features high contrast and image quality with HDR10 compatibility, and is available in 0.9, 1.2, and 1.5mm pixel pitches.

Imagine you’re at a networking event. You see someone heading your way with a big smile on his face … you know the face but can’t seem to remember the name. In a nutshell, being able to associate the name with the face is the core of facial recognition, which is growing in popularity in pro AV markets.

Detection versus Recognition: What’s the Difference?

Many people use the terms “facial recognition” and “facial detection” interchangeably, but there is a world of difference between the two.

“Facial detection is a very broad-based term that is used when a system is able to identify that a human face is present, whereas facial recognition actually confirms identifying features or an identity and allows us to identify that person and deliver personalized media or services,” said Maris Ensing, vice president and chief engineer, Mad Systems.

“Each technology has its purpose,” added Diane Carlson, vice president, digital innovation solutions, Samsung SDS America. “For example, facial recognition technology is used by law enforcement to identify criminals. Privacy is sacrificed for the greater good.”

To alleviate privacy concerns, many pro AV solutions, including Samsung’s Nexshop, are designed specifically for facial detection. “At Samsung SDS, we use facial analysis in our solutions,” said Carlson. “Our intent is to approximate gender, age, and sentiment to better target marketing messages—no personal information is collected or stored.”

Scroll through the gallery below to see the latest facial recognition products for pro AV.

Privacy Laws

With privacy laws and regulations being continually updated, what do integrators need to be concerned about, and how do they stay informed?

“They [integrators] shouldn’t be concerned about facial detection, but they should be educated on the differences between detection and recognition, and be able to articulate [the information] to their customer,” said Kelly Harlin, analytics platform strategist at NEC Display. “In fact, NEC Display is leading the charge when it comes to customer privacy and security. NEC ALP is completely GDPR compliant, and integrators can be confident when installing the platform that NEC is constantly working to stay ahead of legislation.”

Ensing, however, strongly believes integrators should be familiar with privacy laws and regulations across the board, even when it comes to facial detection. He says there are seven principles of privacy: consent, use, transparency, data security, privacy design, integrity, and accountability.v

“There are a great many applications already using this technology—biometrics for unlocking your phone, surveillance in stadiums, banks, airports, and retail,” he continued. “These privacy principles should be part of the design process and thoroughly mapped out with the client by the integrator.”

According to Ensing, Mad Systems designed its system with privacy concerns in mind. “Our system does not need to be internet-connected, and it uses encrypted vectors to identify significant aspects of the face,” he said. “We don’t even need to keep images—the encrypted vectors are enough. Even if you manage to crack the encryption, you cannot re-create an image of someone’s face from these vectors.”

Where is the industry headed from a legal standpoint? “As far as facial recognition is concerned, the public is not as accepting of advertisers or tech companies using this technology responsibly,” said Samsung’s Carlson. “In our opinion, the laws in this area will only get stricter over time.”

Improving the Experience

There is no doubt that facial recognition installations in pro AV are worth the costs, especially when it comes to digital signage installations and improving the customer experience.

“Facial detection in digital signage installations has endless potential across numerous sectors,” NEC’s Harlin emphasized. “The technology is primed for the retail and QSR spaces. By gathering non-identifying data like gender and age, the platform can recommend targeted advertisements immediately. The technology also has applications that NEC will be exploring in the future, including in the hospitality market, for those who operate cinemas, educational institutions, transportation hubs, hospitals, convention centers, and municipalities that operate as smart cities.”

[Engaging with Retail Technology]

Samsung’s Carlson agrees and says that facial analysis can improve the customer experience with relevant content based on anonymous demographic data. As an added benefit, “brands and retailers that successfully activate on this information may gain a lift in sales and customer satisfaction.”

Mad Systems has seen the benefits of facial recognition greatly impact museums, theme parks, and visitor centers, where the main benefit is better customer service. Ensing pointed out that most general information at these venues is targeted to the average visitor—missing most of their target audience. Using facial recognition allows relevant versions of information to be provided—for example, using simpler language for children and providing options for expert-level information for those who are interested in a deep dive.

“We are creating a better customer journey by offering tailored content for groups of visitors or for individual visitors, to meet ADA requirements, to provide content in different languages, and to provide content for different interest groups,” he said.

He pointed to theme parks as an example. Imagine you’re riding your favorite rollercoaster and the camera takes a snapshot of you as you cruise down the track at 75 mph. When the thrill is over, you patiently wait for someone to find your picture in the system so you can see the funny face you made. “As it stands now, that takes a considerable amount of time to wait to find your picture,” he said. “With facial recognition, it would be instantaneous, and you could continue your day in the park uninterrupted.”

The Future of Facial Analysis

The future undoubtedly holds more regulation when it comes to facial analysis, recognition, and detection, but it also offers the promise of expanded potential. Perhaps Ensing summed it up best: “This technology can be used for great things, and we’ve just started to unlock its full potential. This is truly 21st century AV!”

NEC Corp. and Sharp Corp. have agreed to create a joint venture by combining NEC Display Solutions (NDS), a subsidiary of NEC, with Sharp. According to the companies, the Sharp-NEC joint venture will allow both companies to build on their strengths and address the visualization needs of their global customers.

“NEC offers one of the broadest visual solutions portfolios in the industry, and with a consultancy-led sales approach, NEC is recognized as a trusted advisor and total solutions provider," said Hisatsugu Nakatani, president, NEC Display Solutions. “This joint venture between Sharp and NEC Display Solutions will bring even greater value and benefits to customers and partners by extending our state-of-the-art product portfolios together with a range of professional service offerings. Sharp and NEC Display Solutions follow the same strategic approach to the future of visual solutions, focusing on superior customer satisfaction enabled by high quality products, sales leadership excellence, and committed relationship building."

“The combination of Sharp's and NDS' international strengths is mutually complementary," said Fujikazu Nakayama, senior executive managing officer, Sharp Corp. and BU president, Business Solutions BU. “We expect this agreement to result in a wide range of synergies, including economies of scale and business expansion in new categories, including an 8K+5G Ecosystem. Sharp believes that developing NDS as a joint venture with NEC will contribute to our business growth by enforcing our B2B business and expanding sales."

Under the terms of the transaction, NEC will transfer 66 percent ownership of NDS to Sharp, and retain a 34 percent equity stake in the business. The joint venture will continue to provide NEC branded products. NEC will also continue to sell the joint venture's products and solutions to its customers around the world. 

The transfer is scheduled to be concluded on July 1, 2020.

A total of 28 laser projectors from the Christie HS Series is behind “El Sueño de Toledo” (The Dream of Toledo), in Spain. This is the first spectacle by Puy du Fou España, the new historical theme park currently under construction in Toledo, which is scheduled to open to the public in spring 2021. The park is previewing El Sueño de Toledo for local audiences and the nighttime show brings over 1,500 years of Spanish history and culture to life. It first ran until October 26, 2019 and can be seen again from April 8, 2020.

Rigged in three towers with most in landscape mode and the rest in portrait, the projectors bring to life the buildings, walls, bridges, churches, windmills, rivers, trees and stones making up the set that includes 1,400 square meters of projection area plus water screens on the five-hectare stage. Completed in under eight months, it serves as the backdrop for the appearance of Reccared I, Alfonso VI, Alfonso X the Wise, Al Ma’mun, Isabella of Castile, and historical characters including Christopher Columbus, Emperor Charles V, and Miguel de Cervantes.

A symbol of Jerusalem in the heart of the ancient Citadel, the Tower of David was a royal palace for thousands of years before it became a setting for a museum visited by 400,000 people each year. One of its most celebrated events takes place every night, with crowds showing up to watch the story of Jerusalem unfold in a blaze of images projected onto the walls, archaeological ruins, and pathways of the Citadel, a truly immersive experience called “The Night Spectacular.”

Fifteen Digital Projection projectors are deployed across the site in total: 13 M-Vision Laser 18Ks and two E-Vision Laser 8500s, illuminating the walls of the Citadel with 250,000 lumens and 35 million pixels—a hardware investment of close to $500,000. 

“When we began 10 years ago, there was nothing to do in Jerusalem at night,” said the show’s project manager, Yehuda Vaknin. “We started ‘The Night Spectacular,’ and it has been running continuously ever since, fully booked almost every evening. Now, the show is world-renowned and completes not only any visit to the museum, but indeed any visit to Jerusalem.”

During Electric Forest Music Festival, a four-day event in Rothbury, MI, Sherwood Forest was transformed into an imagination-fueled amusement park through dazzling projection mapping. Now in his fourth year with the festival, artist Jasper Mosher envisioned a whimsical and vibrant display that played off the lush, natural environment. Overcoming time restraints and harsh environmental conditions, Mosher meticulously planned every detail, from designing weatherproof cases to strategically rigging projectors so they would brave various elements of the forest for several weeks.

More than 40 Epson projectors were placed throughout the festival to create more than 10 original projection-mapped art installations. Chosen for their durability, high lumen count, and color accuracy, Epson’s projectors worked seamlessly with the Resolume software. Mosher used Resolume on high-powered PCs to control the Epson projectors on multiple closed networks, creating perfect projection synchronization to display digitally rendered content and enhance hand-painted installations with vivid projection.

Lightware Labs and the Backlot Studio teamed up to collaborate on a unique projection mapping project in Fort Worth, TX. The goal of the project was to capture compelling photo and video content for promotional materials using a 1990 Nissan Pao named Pablo.

The project involved seven Maxell Pro AV projectors including two MC-WU5505 LCD projectors on the back wall for background, two for the wheels, one aimed at the front and hood, and one on the side of the car, with an MP-AW4001 LCD laser projector for the projection on the floor.

Using the built-in warping and corner-pinning features on the Maxell Pro AV projectors, Lightware Lab was able to test out various stock and original media until the final look was designed. Then, using Renewed Vision’s PVP3 software, Lightware Labs was able to create independent video layers for each projector, allowing the team to manipulate and change the media throughout the video.

Lightware Labs said that it has received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the project and is now looking into making permanent installations at auto dealerships.

To celebrate the 200th birthday of the state of Illinois, a committee was tasked with creating an art exhibit to honor the numerous individuals across history who have left an indelible mark on the Land of Lincoln. The committee wanted to go beyond the ordinary art installation or museum exhibit; they wanted something striking and symbolic. The result was “Rooted in Greatness,” a digital projection mapped onto three trees outside a Chicago convention center that came together with the support and collaboration of numerous local businesses and civic figures.

Following the decided theme, “Born, Built, and Grown,” the committee moved to create an outdoor art installation at McCormick Place that combined video and audio to commemorate noteworthy Illinoisans throughout history. Using three NEC Display Solutions 10,000-lumen, 4K NP-Px1004UL laser projectors with long-throw NP21ZL lenses, history came alive with the faces of Illinois historical figures on three trees outside the convention center, complete with coinciding narratives about their lives and connections to the state. After the sun set each night, pedestrians were surprised and awed with the powerful retelling of history combined with detailed faces blending naturally into the leaves.

Located in St. Louis, MO, the Angad Arts Hotel was looking to revamp the appearance of a floor-to-ceiling concrete support pillar located in the lobby lounge on the top floor of the hotel. Working with Chris Brackenbury, founder of Pixelwix, the team developed an innovative visual solution that would elevate the look of the hotel’s lobby lounge. The proposed solution was to create a large 360-degree projection screen surrounding the support pillar, and install projectors around the pillar, allowing media content to project onto the screen on a 24/7 basis. 

Leveraging five Optoma ZH400UST projectors, as well as Pixelwix’s proprietary warping and blending tools and media player, the team was able to position the projectors on a custom slide rail on the center post and overlap the projected images to cover the entire 360-degree canvas. 

The lounge of the Angad Arts Hotel lobby was successfully transformed into a visually captivating hotel entrance with a beautiful 360-degree installation in the shape of a lamp, dubbed the “Chameleon Lamp.” Designed to attract and welcome hotel guests, the visual installation also further enhances the hotel’s commitment to showcasing the work of local St. Louis artists and contributes to the Angad’s unique Art Deco experience. 

Panasonic System Solutions Company of North America was the exclusive projection technology sponsor of LUMA, a projection mapping festival held from September 6-7, 2019 in Binghamton, NY. Artists and creative designers gathered to transform the urban landscape into an immersive storytelling experience.

Featured in eight venues at LUMA, Panasonic’s projection technology supported major storytelling exhibits throughout the festival. Thirty Panasonic large-venue 3-chip DLP laser projectors were exclusively used to power LUMA, enabling a weekend celebrating projection mapping, creativity, and artistic expression. With more than 45,000 guests attending, Panasonic’s PT-RQ22KU, PT-RZ21KU, and PT-RZ31KU 3-Chip DLP SOLID SHINE laser projectors, along with a wide range of Panasonic lenses, were used across a variety of festival locations to bring artists’ visions to life.

The 2018-2019 academic year marked SUNY Cortland’s 150th birthday. The school held a nighttime sesquicentennial celebration event which featured the engaging use of projection mapping.

Leveraging Sony’s flexible 9,000-lumen VPL-FHZ90L Z-Phosphor laser light source projector, the school projected a living timeline of university milestones onto the side of one of the campus’ most prominent structures. In addition, SUNY Cortland’s Red Dragon mascot, Blaze, virtually scaled the side of the building and a “Top Ten Reasons to Attend SUNY Cortland” list concluded the show. SUNY Cortland chose the VPL-FHZ90L projector due to its adaptability in indoor and outdoor environments, as well as its image quality, clarity, and accurate color reproduction.

In the majority of K-12 schools, instruction is moving away from a teacher-centric approach—in which the instructor stands at the front of the room and delivers information—and toward a student-centric model, where students take ownership of their learning and the teacher acts as a guide or facilitator.

To match this new model of active learning, schools need technology that will bring clear, detailed visuals into classrooms, engaging students and enhancing lessons with vivid imagery. Ed tech also should encourage a hands-on learning approach, making it easy for students to collaborate through the seamless sharing of images, videos, and ideas with peers, both in the classroom and from their homes. 

These considerations for implementing interactive whiteboards, touchscreens, digital displays and projectors will help guide IT departments and AV professionals.

Interactive Whiteboards and Touchscreens

The 21st-century version of the schoolhouse blackboard allows teachers to present information—including notes written in real time—in a much more engaging way than chalk ever could. These screens are virtually endless canvases that display images and allow participants to mark up what they see, taking notes and moving pieces around to make learning a tactile experience. These boards also have the ability to connect with other classrooms across the school district—or around the world—and share ideas in a more collaborative way. 

When it comes to the software that runs these touchscreens, programs like FlatFrog Whiteboard are great for notetaking and other tasks, promoting discussion and idea sharing. Connectivity-enabled touchscreens take collaboration a step further; using software like Mosaic Connect, which comes preloaded in the NEC CB Series Collaboration Board and the NEC InfinityBoard, students can share content from any device wirelessly. 

Software that is operating system-agnostic is often a good choice in schools with multiple types of devices and/or operating systems, as it is compatible with Mac/iOS, Windows, Chrome OS, and Android. This provides the simplest integration and ensures every student can connect.

Digital Displays and Projectors

Because the majority of students now carry a high-definition screen in their pockets, they’re used to visual quality—so bright, vivid HD displays in the classroom have become a necessity. Digital displays add a refreshing element to the learning experience, and eye-catching HD imagery creates a unique interaction that promotes discussion among the class. 

HD digital displays should be able to connect to other devices, so students can share relevant content on them. Consider large-format displays or ultra-short-throw laser projectors for the most return on your investment, and to ensure the screen is big enough for the entire class to see.

How to Decide

Consider the collaboration software early in the planning process. Great hardware requires thoughtful software to run properly, and when choosing a display technology, look for products that come pre-loaded with robust collaboration software that allows both teachers and students to easily share information to a display. The best solutions will also offer teachers an easy way to monitor student progress and encourage communication across a range of devices.

The importance of clear HD visuals can’t be understated, either. Whether it’s a slideshow of the Great Wall of China, a video about the ancient Egyptian history, or an interactive map of a solar system, crisp images can create an emotional response in students, leading to better lesson retention.

In modern K-12 education, technology plays a critical role in everyday learning, going beyond the lecture to make information resonate and bringing new levels of engagement to a classroom. Schools can ignite students’ passion for learning with classroom technologies—including digital whiteboards, projectors, or large-format displays—that allow students to collaborate with each other and with their instructor. 

Chris Feldman is product manager for NEC Display Solutions of America.

The What: NEC Display Solutions of America has launched the V554Q, a large-format 4K UHD display packed with commercial-grade features and a slim design.

The What Else: Like other new models in the C and V Series, the V554Q features an anti-reflective high haze coating, full external control, and network capabilities through LAN, and SpectraView Engine Technology, which allows for complete color control.

“We’ve listened to our customers in designing the V554Q to be the best 55-inch display tailored for commercial and corporate signage needs,” said Ben Hardy, senior product manager at NEC Display Solutions. “The V554Q has best-in-class, high-haze anti-glare coating, updated connectivity, and both landscape and portrait orientation support to seamlessly fit any digital signage environment.

“The V554Q features the most sought-after features in digital signage at an attractive price point, combined with a sleek, modern design. We’ve included commercial-grade features inside and out, such as full-metal chassis and integrated temperature sensors and cooling fans that lower the internal temperature without sacrificing screen quality.”

The V554Q also includes an OPS and SOC Powered by Raspberry Pi option slot for modular expansion capabilities. This allows customers to integrate modular components to create the solution that they need. In addition, the V554Q is compatible with NEC Display’s NaViSet Administrator 2 software, which enables customers to control, monitor, and manage multiple displays and projector settings in an all-in-one support system. NaViSet features unified control, asset management, and reporting in a graphical user interface.

The 554Q features IPS panel technology with 3840x2160 native resolution, and is designed for 24/7 operation. Its connectivity options include three HDMI 2.0 and two DisplayPort 1.2 connections, plus one DisplayPort out powers a 60Hz signal for UHD performance via a single cable. It has Wake On Input-Signal with custom input detect functionality; IR and button lock functionality; full scheduler functionality, including holiday mode; and a full metal chassis and carrying handles for easier installation.

The Bottom Line: With a 4K UHD display featuring 500cd/m2 of brightness, the V554Q is well suited for corporate signage, transportation, and retail-based applications that have high ambient light and the need for high resolution because of closer average viewing distances. With V554Q’s SpectraView Engine—NEC’s proprietary color management and stabilization system that provides complete color control and uniformity correction—the display is also well suited for color-critical applications such as medical offices and broadcast.

The V554Q can be ordered through sellers immediately. For a hands-on demonstration of the V554Q, visit NEC Display at booth 2300 of the Digital Signage Expo, taking place in Las Vegas March 26-29, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

The What: NEC Display Solutions of America has launched two new projector models: the P525WL and P525UL. The P525WL replaces NEC’s P502WL-2, and the P525UL replaces NEC’s P502HL-2. For each new model, the imaging unit has been changed from DLP to LCD technology.

The What Else: Featuring 5,200 center lumens, these two LCD models provide clear images in high-ambient light conditions, and the laser light source offers a minimum of 20,000 hours of reliable life, which lowers total cost of ownership and reduces maintenance. By utilizing Constant Brightness mode, the P525WL and P525UL are capable of delivering consistent-looking images for the life of the projector. Additionally, these 4K-ready projectors support UHD signals, while WXGA and WUXGA native resolutions produce high-definition images.

Like other NEC P Series projectors, the P525WL and P525UL offer a combination of installation series features at a low cost, including manual horizontal and vertical lens shift, 1.6x zoom lens, and HDBaseT input. Quick startup and shutdown ease operations for users, and the projectors’ quiet operation enables distraction-free presentations.

Both models offer advanced networking capability and improved wireless collaboration capability. They feature dual HDMI for switching between Blu-ray, computer, or other digital sources; USB with 2.0A support for powering third-party devices; LAN port for network control and asset management; and Optional Wireless Module (NP05LM1) with MultiPresenter capability for up to 16 simultaneous connections.

“These projectors deliver brilliant colors, and NEC’s original sealed optical technology introduces a significant advancement, eliminating the need for a filter in LCD-based projectors,” said Ryan Pitterle, product manager, NEC Display Solutions. “The P502WL-2 and P502HL-2 have been very successful, but we’ve seized the opportunity to combine LCD technology along with our unique cooling system to improve color performance for our customers while maintaining the maintenance-free operation they want.”

The Bottom Line: Both projectors are designed to provide a flexible, affordable, no-maintenance solution for projector installations in higher education classrooms, conference rooms, and other locations where a large, high-quality image is desired. The P525WL and P525UL are backed by a five-year warranty with NEC’s InstaCare replacement program included. They will begin shipping in January at a minimum advertised price of $2,299 (P525WL) and $3,099 (P525UL).

On Tuesday, the Digital Signage Federation (DSF) held its annual Coffee & Controversy breakfast at Google’s NYC headquarters. Attended by more than 200 digital signage professionals, the event provided a forum for networking, conversation about the industry, and, of course, coffee (and lots of it).

The event was hosted by Richard Ventura, NEC’s vice president of strategic management and DSF chairman. Ventura, who is currently serving out his last few months as the organization’s chairman—he will serve as chairman emeritus beginning in early 2019—was excited to spread the message of the DSF and grow its membership. “The DSF is a non-profit that represents every single person in this room. It doesn’t matter if you’re an end user, a supplier, a DOOH operator, a consultant, someone who dabbles in digital signage, someone who lives in digital signage—it doesn’t matter. We’re about all of you and we’re a global organization,” he said.

After Ventura spoke, he handed the mic over to Dave Haynes, founder of Sixteen: Nine and moderator of the “controversy” panel featuring Chris Riegel, CEO, Stratacache; Jeff Hastings, CEO, BrightSign; and Beth Warren, SVP, Creative Realities. The group of experts discussed various digital signage topics like working with creative agencies, global growth, and retail rollouts. 

Below are some key takeaways from the event.

Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better

“I see bigger, but I don’t necessarily see better,” Warren said. “I’ve seen wow, wow, wow, which can be beautiful and make a difference, but doesn’t necessarily solve a problem. I believe that digital needs to earn its right in the communications mix by solving some sort of problem—even if it’s just to inspire you.”

Someone IS Always Watching You

“The rule that we live by is that I never want a customer to be a front-page story on the Wall Street Journal and have it be a surprise,” said Riegel. “We may have a customer—like a bank, for example—tell us ‘we’re against cameras’ and we’ll say ‘Wait a minute. You have surveillance cameras everywhere to prevent theft and loss.’ It’s more of a communication and dialogue with the end customer. ‘Hey, we may be using cameras to try to better market toward you.’ As long as there’s disclosure, as long as the customer can opt out so you’re compliant with the law, then I think you’re fine. You just have to be very up front about it.”

“If you start pulling data that’s not anonymous, you start getting into where disclosure is required by law—which can differ in various countries," Hastings added. "But when it’s anonymous there and the display is making decisions [on what types of ads to display to consumers], I think people feel more comfortable."

Make It Scalable

“What I really like is when people do something that scales," Hastings said. "You can have your flagship store, you can create an unbelievably crazy experience, but then you look and that retailer has 2,000 stores and they [only] do it in the flagship and nobody really gets to see it. What I really like to see is when people do stuff in the flagship store and ask themselves how they can take that experience and put it into all of their stores.”

“Bezos is wicked smart,” Riegel said. “You put a white cat in his hand and he’s a Bond villain. He’s rich, he’s brilliant, and he’s going to eliminate a lot of retailers. That being said, in going to the Amazon Go store, knowing what they spent on that store, that’s not a scalable across the globe.”

Around the World

When asked by Haynes why he spent so much time in Asia, Riegel had a simple and succinct answer: “I have a map of China on my wall that says ‘More people live inside the circle than outside the circle.’ If you look at the rising Chinese middle class of 600 million people, and the U.S. middle class is 200 million people, I’m not Harvard educated but I can think that that might be the audience we need to go after for the next 20 years.”

“When you import stuff into China, there’s a 20 percent tax,” Hastings emphasized. “We see that, hopefully, with all this craziness going on that we’ll get a more level playing field [by adding a BrightSign facility in Hong Kong].”

When an audience member asked about digital signage in Latin America, the panel discussed several barriers to entry. “Latin America culturally is a very warm feeling, kind of a closed and cozy society,” said Warren, who has done a significant amount of work there. “So this kind of stuff is antithetical to their experience of community. Also, they tend to follow America; so I do think there will be a digital invasion at some scale, but it will be slow.”

The What: NEC Display Solutions of America has launched InfinityBoard, a high-end meeting room tool with Mosaic Hub collaboration software, flexibility via multi-platform support, and ease of purchase for enterprise customers.

The What Else: The InfinityBoard collaboration solution is designed for corporate and higher education customers and includes an NEC Display UHD display with in-glass touch, with screen sizes ranging from 55 to 84 inches, a Huddly camera with a 120-degree viewing angle for productive videoconferencing, 40-watt conference speakers, and a passive pen for a natural writing experience without having to worry about charging an additional device. In addition, InfinityBoard features an OPS slot-in PC, and the Mosaic suite of collaboration software that includes videoconferencing, messaging, whiteboarding, and wireless sharing functionality. Later updates will further increase capabilities with integrated native support for popular business tools.

“For customers who need a best-in-class collaboration solution for the modern meeting room, InfinityBoard has everything built-in,” said Chris Feldman, product manager, NEC Display. “Out of the box, InfinityBoard includes an integrated in-glass UHD touch display, preloaded collaboration software, custom speakers with a built-in camera, and a powerful Intel i7 OPS slot-in PC. This makes the InfinityBoard one of the most robust, flexible, and versatile collaboration products in the market.”

The OPS slot-in PC features an Intel Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM (DDR4), 128GB M.2 SSD, Dual-band wireless 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2, TPM (Trusted Platform Module), and comes pre-installed with Microsoft Windows 10 Professional OS. This ensures the flexibility to install applications as business needs dictate, and allows future performance upgrades without needing to invest in additional hardware. Customers are also able to use their preferred business communication software without being locked in to proprietary applications.

“The InfinityBoard is the most flexible collaboration solution on the market today,” Feldman said. “With the InfinityBoard, customers are not locked into using proprietary software because the OPS slot-in PC offers the user enough power to run the most common business applications. The included Mosaic Hub software offers one of the most intuitive user experiences available today. The GUI is so self-explanatory that even users who have never touched a collaboration display before won’t even need to read a manual to use it.”

A one-year subscription to Mosaic Hub is included, and InfinityBoard is backed by a three-year warranty. Customers also have the option of adding additional equipment including height-adjustable wall mounts and mobile carts for added flexibility.

The Bottom Line: InfinityBoard is available this month with the 3720-INF2-55, 3720-INF2-75, and 3720-INF2-86 screen sizes. The 3720-INF2-65 size will be available in early 2019. 

Americans travel for work, pleasure, and adventure—and we’re traveling in record numbers. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport welcomed an astonishing number of passengers in 2016—more than 104 million—according to Airports Council International. Global passenger traffic is expected to grow 4.5 percent every year through 2040. However, as options increase and consumers become more demanding, transportation hubs need to stay relevant and competitive. Today’s passengers want personalized travel that is tech centric, app enabled, and stress free. It’s a tall order, but audiovisual technologies are playing vital roles in improving transit experiences. Interactive video walls, IoT-connected signage, and immersive AV experiences are helping to refresh transit hubs and bring some good, old-fashioned comfort into the modern journey.

IOT INSIGHTS REDUCE BOTTLENECKS

For Al Lyons, HOK’s senior director of IT and communication engineering—and an expert in 21st century transportation design—Bluetooth low-energy beacons and IoT are proving to be valuable implementations, even before an airport or rail station are open.

“Beacons and IoT can monitor and provide a good record of how people use facilities before construction starts,” Lyons said, “and then throughout the construction process, you can see how people’s experiences are connected and affected.” Real-time metrics on passenger flow, asset movement, and occupancy can become tangible evidence that AV/IT and facilities managers can leverage during planning and performance reviews.

IoT-connected digital signage systems—for wayfinding and revenue-generating advertising—are other elements of a smarter transit design.

INFORMED WAYFINDING, ENHANCED UX

Transportation hubs are ecosystems with many moving parts: restaurants, stores, spas, and hospitality services are all vying for passenger attention. The growing complexity necessitates more dynamic digital wayfinding.

Eduardo Valencia, vice president and chief information officer of Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), the organization that provides coordinated aviation services throughout the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Twin Cities metropolitan area, agrees.

“We invest heavily in what matters the most to our passengers, and that includes wayfinding,” Valencia said. Any static signage must be crystal clear, and digital signage must be “dynamic, with the ability to change quickly, related to optimized flow, and optimization of potential escalators, elevator banks, or exits.” Valencia explained that AV continues to be a powerful tool of engagement and enhancing the user experience (UX).

SMARTER HUBS SAVE MONEY AND PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES

A smarter transit infrastructure with connected AV can also save money beyond revenue streams from advertising. Technology managers would need to collaborate with operators to embrace the technology, and then agree on creative means of deployment, but insights gleaned from IoT and IP cameras, for example, can encourage agencies like the TSA to adjust their staffing based on real-time needs.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR STREAMLINING LINES

According to Paul Redding of NEC Display Solutions, AV in customer-centric transport environments should remove guesswork and take the anxiety out of traveling.

“AV should make the overall customer journey more satisfying,” he said. To that end, NEC offers a suite of enterprise-grade and touch-enabled digital signage solutions to display flight information and enrich the waiting experience with high-resolution entertainment.

NEC also believes that artificial intelligence (AI) can help streamline operations, and it’s invested in advanced facial recognition software that can help move people through passport control lines more efficiently and securely.

AI-enabled, mobile-connected asset tracking solutions are growing in popularity, as well as the interest in self-service baggage options, another area where NEC is innovating. There are more than 100 integrations of self-baggage solutions and self-boarding units deployed around the world, according to the International Air Transport Association. In 2017, JetBlue worked with United States Customs and Border Protection and SITA, an IT company serving the airline industry, to test a cutting-edge, automated self-boarding process based on biometric information.

Efficient movement is critical in transportation, and every second counts. The pressing question is, “How can we move people in and out of lines faster?” Redding said. “How can we help travelers get where they need to go, as well as spend their free time enjoying retail options?” In this regard, duty free digital signage and other digital merchandising tools add value for commercial tenants and help point passengers to areas of interest.

AV COHESION

Future-forward, AI-enhanced technologies, synced with displays that can be updated on the fly, can provide a cohesive experience as passengers navigate a transit hub. Electronic visual information display systems (EVIDS) are deployed at many airports and train stations with the goal of keeping people safe and updated.

“When we interface EVIDS with what we call an airport operational database, or a station operational database,” Al Lyons explained, “one can coordinate updates of visual information with audible information so that the public address and EVIDS coordinate with each other.”

ACCESSIBILITY

The passengers of tomorrow will be increasingly mobile, so it’s important to build into a 21st-century hub the capabilities to push content to peripheral devices of every make and model. This requires a broader strategy, with input from IT, AV, facilities, and security. Lyons argued that there is value in a more “universal design” with accessibility benefits.

“It is about the ability to integrate different systems so you can support people carrying everything,” Lyons said, “or you can focus on using mobile technology to help people find places and if they cannot hear.”

AV CAPTURES ATTENTION

It’s hard to capture someone’s attention when they are staring down at their phone. Tying large-scale, dazzling LED and LCD walls to content on mobile devices is helping commercial tech managers address the attention challenge.

Lyons shared an anecdote from a recent stadium project with relevance in the transportation vertical. “In that stadium, you have an amazing amount of data that people are putting through on their mobile phones or tablets,” he said. “There are also huge multimedia boards—more than a thousand visual displays. It’s incredible AV technology, but there’s more, in numbers, of tablets and peripherals. These tech-enabled user experiences—the ‘fan experience’ in sports—will migrate over to transit because as people become more familiar with the technology and comfortable using their handheld devices coordinated with installed displays, we will find new ways to bring them together.”

FIBER WILL HELP FUTURE HUBS SOAR

To support the growing appetite for bandwidth-intensive AV content, IP cameras, networked entertainment feeds, and real-time data flows, Al Lyons urged AV/IT managers to invest in fiber.

“Go with fiber everywhere and get rid of the Cat-6 cables,” he said. “Think about the passive optical network or D-PON, and you can get rid of a whole lot of infrastructure. It takes significantly less energy and space to go with passive optical network technology.”

ELEVATED EXPERIENCES

It’s a tricky balance: technology should not distract or impede movement, but it should also make an impression. This is the driving force behind DOOH (digital out-of-home advertising), but it relates to a newer trend in transportation: elevated experiences.

Experience designers are working closely with AV installers to bring more meaning to folks on the go. A compelling example of this is “The Long March,” a 27-tile Planar Mosaic array installed at the recently renovated Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport. The Planar Mosaic video wall incorporates depictions of movement, migration, and marching from different eras in Alabama history, such as the Civil War and Selma Marches.

The long horizontal row of Planar Mosaic video tiles track to the center of the wall where they form a dazzling kaleidoscope the shape of a camellia, the Alabama state flower. The digital camellia acts as a “repository of past and present motion that represents the flowering that grows out of movement,” according to a Planar statement. The kaleidoscopic installation, made in collaboration with the CAUSE COLLECTIVE, illustrates how AV can enrich the traveler’s journey, explore identity, and honor history in new, interactive ways.

REMOVE PRESSURE POINTS

For MAC, which oversees the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport, the ideal passenger experience is one with exceptional customer service and a seamless feel—not fraught with conflict.

“We strive to create positive and memorable experiences,” Valencia said. A pleasant journey is one that is “free of the pressure points” and negativity often associated with travel. “From the time a passenger enters our facility, perhaps from a mass transit environment, there are a number of steps that we have to assist them,” Valencia said. Those passenger steps include offering pre-book parking options, knowing exactly where to find the ticket lobby, learning accurate wait times, and ordering your favorite caramel macchiato for which you received a digital coupon because you parked on the facility. It also includes access to entertainment you can enjoy on a mobile device that your boarding zone announced on the airport’s paging system.

“We do everything that we can do to create a cohesive, seamless experience with technology throughout the passenger journey—even before you visit us,” Valencia said.

Embrace the Passenger-centric Model
“Capacity constraints coupled with unprecedented growth in aircraft and passenger traffic, as well as competition and the promise of new non-aeronautical revenue streams necessitate a transformation in airports’ value proposition, by leveraging emerging technologies and transitioning from a process-centric to a passenger-centric business model.”
—Renjit Benjamin, Senior Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan

Airports Join the Blockchain
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“Happy chaos.” That’s how Richard Ventura, vice president of strategy at NEC Display Solutions of America, describes the appeal of the AV industry. Having been in nine roles across sales, marketing, operations, business development, and now strategy in his 17-year career at NEC, Ventura thrives on the panoramic view he has gained and has been inspired by innovation from every quarter.

His steady rise from account manager to VP has been due in large part to his self-admitted unstoppable determination, bred by his hardworking family and honed during his collegiate years as a wrestler.

Coming from a military family didn’t hurt, either. His lineage includes a grandfather who served as a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps with multiple tours in Vietnam, a grandfather who served in the U.S. Army during WWII and Korea as a first lieutenant, and a grandmother who served in the WACs in WWII. In addition, Ventura’s father served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps stationed in Germany, where he was born. He is also very proud of his younger brother who serves today as a petty officer first class in the U.S. Navy. So, it seemed fitting Ventura went on to serve 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserves and Minnesota Army National Guard, during which he learned leadership, self-sacrifice, teamwork, armor gunnery, and how to strip an M-16. He noted, “My military career helped me understand how much I could accomplish if I just put my mind to it.”

Accomplish he does. He spearheaded the deal that equipped Burger King with 26,000 displays (NEC’s largest contract to date), when he also began to really understand the power of tapping into vertical markets—QSRs, education, retail, and hospitality.

“The great thing about using a vertical strategy is that it really forces you to understand very thoroughly the pain points and specifics of the customer,” he said. “It’s true collaboration.”

Collaboration is definitely a theme in Ventura’s management style. In helping guide the strategic direction of NEC and focusing on the current and long-term market needs and trends, he acts as a guide to groups within the organization, keeping them aware of, and accountable for the organization’s strategic vision.

The collaborative spirit also permeates his view of some of the most exciting areas of focus in today’s industry. From touch-interactive whiteboards to huddle space systems, to complete collaboration hubs, Ventura is proud to be a part of NEC’s initiatives that help people work together seamlessly. Teamwork, collaboration. Sensing a pattern here?

The pattern continues in his work with the Digital Signage Foundation (DSF). He is currently the eighth chairperson, having joined six years ago. Ventura’s biggest legacy will be strengthening the voice of the DSF and bringing all aspects of the industry (integrators, manufacturers, content creation, DOOH, content management, suppliers) together, giving them a voice, as well as connecting those in the AV industry globally. Ventura said, “It’s so great watching everyone come together and experiencing the strength it delivers to us all as individual companies and an industry. There are no ‘competitors’ in the DSF.”

The industry’s “happy chaos” has kept Ventura’s journey fresh and helped him to understand how NEC can leverage amazing possibilities, often with their vendors.

“A big part of the reason NEC is at the forefront of technology is due in part to great relationships with our technology partners,” he said. “I’m particularly excited by innovations from smaller companies, both here and around the world. It’s amazing what some of these guys are doing in camera technology, as well as converging IPTV/digital displays, analytics, sensors, and video wall processing solutions.”

As VP of strategy, he’s going to be spending more time working globally with NEC teams from Europe and Japan; even so, he won’t be quite the road warrior he once was. This will give him a chance to spend more time with his wife of 18 years, Maureen, who is an attorney, and their 10-year-old English bulldog, Bella.

In addition, Ventura is determined to get in a little more fly fishing, coaching youth sports, golf, and University of Minnesota football games. Since graduating from the University of Minnesota-Morris, he has been an avid Gophers fan.

With a strong commitment to service, mentorship, and teamwork, Ventura has found a supportive culture at NEC and an industry filled with learning, camaraderie, and growth. His loyalty and success can be attributed to one simple belief: “I work for my team, not the other way around.”