Experience the Excitement of Video Walls
Remember when Dave, our other AV guy, attended the Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas just a few months ago? Well, he brought back some amazing resources and publications. And we’ve had a lot of fun reading through them to generate some new blog content. One article that caught our attention is, “Building a Better Video Wall – Creating a Video Wall Architecture for Your Needs” by Jeff Greenberg in the February 2017 hard copy edition of Digital Signage Magazine.
The first paragraph introduces the use of digital signage and video walls, which we have shared extensively about in our blogs. But then, the author shifts to the importance of the control systems behind the scenes. He states, “There are a variety of available methods to provide this control, ranging in price from free to well into six figures” (p. 26).
He states that the following will affect which method you choose:
- How much content you need to present
- How many displays you want to support
- What options you want to fine tune the way the content is presented
First a Reminder – What is a Video Wall?
A video wall can consist of flat panel displays (aka TVs) or projection systems with the intent to achieve the “Hollywood squares effect.” This is where every rectangle can display its own content or converge all the rectangles to display one image.
Do you need digital signage and maybe even a Video Wall?
There are two primary ways we discern whether to bring up a digital signage or Video Wall solution.
- Will your content consist of more than a “cablebox” source? Do you desire the interactivity with the content? Is the area where you want the “TV” going to be selling something? i.e food, beverage, merchandise. Then we will suggest to that you need to consider digital signage.
- Is the customer looking for a simple solution or something of an impressive magnitude? Words like subversive and IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES come to mind, where you might feel a part of the presentation. How do we know which one fits any particular customer? If they communicate a strong vision of wanting to impress their customers and they have prepared a budget. Otherwise, we will keep it simple and just mention the possibilities briefly to educate.
What types of control systems are needed to operate Video Walls?
Extron Full Audio Video Control System which will allow the user to use a wall control or tablet to control virtually any device in their meeting room or home, sound system, video and TV systems, lighting, HVAC, security system and more.
Symetrix Audio Control is exclusively for audio systems.
We also have a variety of motion sensors, GUI and analytic control systems through various vendors for use of “Consumer Experience” applications like museums and retail spaces.
Final Thoughts on Selling Video Walls
There is not a lot of selling that goes into video walls and digital signage these days. It is understood that if you provide this solution, people will seek you out. So, it usually leads to fun exploratory conversations about content. It’s sort of like the first time you logged onto the internet and you realized you could look up anything, which was mind blowing.
The possibilities are endless!
