Not only do large broadcasters benefit, but smaller broadcasters with more limited budgets can afford the same type of video wall solution as a big broadcaster

He adds, “It is particularly important that images displayed on video walls look realistic, with the smoothest possible appearance so a big advantage here is the outstanding anti-aliasing capabilities of the AMD graphics cards.”

There is a benefit too, from the relationship between AMD and Vizrt. Christian again, “This is a high performance solution and there has been excellent cooperation at the technical level. For example, AMD have been very quick to respond to our requests for additional functionality in the S400, to our complete satisfaction. All our requests were satisfied in an extremely short time frame and up to now we are extremely happy with the quality and speed of response and resolution.”

The biggest benefit, though, is that total cost of ownership is reduced. As Christian says, “Not only do large broadcasters benefit, but smaller broadcasters with more limited budgets can afford the same type of video wall solution as a big broadcaster.”

Voting for a win/win solution

Elections are one of the biggest ratings boosters for public channels and commercial broadcasters alike and many Vizrt customers use video walls for their live election night broadcasts. Christian comments, “Broadcasters strive to outdo each other on their presentations as they take feeds from multiple sources and display graphics, charts, pie charts, bars etc that are updated live. This is where the AMD solution scores. It’s very flexible and can be configured to meet virtually any price performance ratio. It’s a win/ win solution.”

AMD and HP: a working combination

For best results, the underlying hardware must be up to the task, too. Christian again, “We’ve been using HP workstations to drive our video walls for a number of years and we see no reason to change. The combination of AMD and HP is working extremely well and all our expectations from a vendor are met by HP.” He explains, “The efficient form factor enables us to minimize on rack space and the quality and reliability of the hardware is excellent. The quality of their OEM-specific services such as performance tuning advice is good, as is the quality of their logistics: delivery times are good and support is good, too.”

Staying ahead of the game

Summing up, Christian comments, “Our solutions move ahead as quickly as the technology develops and our customers can upgrade their standard hardware as it advances, keep their investment in the software and stay ahead of the game.” He concludes, “Now we’ve switched to AMD for our video walls, sales are sure to increase; we are offering a more comprehensive solution to our customers and at a price point not previously possible. We expect the AMD relationship to be even closer in the future and we are already thinking of using AMD graphics products in our other solutions.”

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CASE STUDIES