FEATURE: TILED DISPLAYS [THIN IS IN]
“The invention of super narrow bezel panels several years ago forever changed the landscape of videowalls.” – Jennifer Davis, vice president of marketing, Planar Systems. When NEC launched the
MultiSync X461UN in February 2009, its 7.3mm bezel-bezel gap – less than a quarter of that of the company’s previous 33.0mm MultiSync 20 Series –was claimed to have invented
certainly seeing the market for them grow rapidly.”
… SOMETHING ELSE? At least, however, the industry agrees that the term for these multi-screen images is either ‘tiled display’ or ‘videowall’. Except Peter van Dijk, business manager, visual information systems at Mitsubishi Electric. “We regard the term
‘videowall’ to be rather outdated, as it originates from a time when multi- screen displays were only capable of showing video,” he says. “Things are, of course, very different now. Within our main business of command and control, it is data rather than video that is the dominant content requirement. Consequently, we prefer the term ‘display wall’ as it is a much more accurate description of the genre these days.” What is perhaps a more constructive avenue to explore is not so much the ‘what?’ as the ‘why?’ Regardless of definition, there can be little doubt that the market for large displays configured using multiple screens has become a significant one. “The market has been
growing strongly and will continue to do so,” believes Walter. “Customers from almost all vertical markets like the large displays they can create, with the very small bezel the screens offer.” “We’ve seen dramatic
growth during the past few years, and it’s continuing,” echoes Hénique. “Technology has advanced, screen bezels have become smaller and more and more customers have discovered the impact of videowalls and tiled displays on viewers and the opportunity to promote their brand and company – or in control rooms, the possibility
the market for ultra-narrow bezel displays. Today, 7.3mm seems positively intrusive: gaps of 5.3mm are commonplace. AT CES in January 2014, LG showed off a 9 x 55in panel videowall featuring what the company claimed was “the world’s smallest bezel” at 3.6mm. Two weeks later, that had been trumped – by a whole 0.1mm – by NEC with the announcement of its X554UNS.
to view the maximum of important data simultaneously.” “The market is growing almost exponentially, enabled by the number of suppliers of LCD panels with small or narrow bezels and the fact that more and more off-the-shelf graphics cards can drive multiple HD channels,” adds van Wijmeersch. “This growth is mostly visible in retail and in-store advertising.” It is also true that technologies like eyevis’s omniSHAPES and Christie’s MicroTiles are proving increasingly compelling in architectural applications – among others – where they both enable and stimulate a high degree of creativity. “With smaller modules, there is more freedom to design convex or concave, or non- rectangular configurations,” continues Hénique.
LARGER SCREENS: A THREAT?
But as single screens have become larger and more affordable, surely it must be the case that there will be some erosion of the market for videowalls/tiled displays? NEC’s Thomas Walter acknowledges that there may well be a decline of 2 x 2 walls as larger UHD single displays become available, but believes that the market will continue to grow overall. His confidence may be based on the premise that, almost regardless of required overall display size, there are applications in which images comprising multiple screens will provide a better solution than a single screen can. “The big advantage of a single screen is the lack of mullions or bezels which can clutter the content,” notes Davis. “To make a similarly sized array, you may choose a tiled system if you couldn’t fit the 84in in the elevator or needed a more modular
www.installation-international.com April 2014 37
BARCO KEEPS MONT BLANC TUNNEL UNDER SURVEILLANCE
As its previous Barco installation had delivered a lifetime of 12 years – twice its expected longevity – it was inevitable that the operators of the Mont Blanc tunnel would turn again to Barco when it was time to refresh the control room systems.
The original control room was installed in 1999 after a
serious fire in the tunnel caused 39 deaths. The Barco installation
today comprises two 5 x 2 OLF-710 70in WXGA 16:9 LED-lit cube walls, two 3 x 3 NSL-4621 46in Full HD LED-lit cube walls and two ECU-110 controllers. All warning and immediate response functions are automated and supervised at two command
and control posts, one on each side of the tunnel. The system processes and automatically analyses data coming from over 35,000 control points, including 120 video cameras. Thanks to the analysis, any incident in the tunnel (such as an object on the road, a tailback or a stopped vehicle) is detected within seconds.
STUDY CASE
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