Video Wall Installation

[gafftaper]

I've been asked to help with the purchase of some equipment for the new student union building. In the middle of the building is an atrium with a wall about 40' high by about 30' wide. In the top of this atrium is a set of windows facing East so it will have a lot of light coming in but direct sunlight is only possible in the early hours.

The students want an "Impressive" video wall installed and they have a substantial budget to actually do it. This video screen will be used for cable TV broadcasts, promotional information of upcoming events, and movie nights. It would ideally be HD quality with a Blue Ray player in the system, but that may be out of price range. How big? Well I'm thinking 16x9 (as in feet) is a starting point. We may go larger if we can afford it.

So what technology makes the most sense to you guys? To me a big screen and something like a 15k monster projector is the most logical. However, they will probably have the thing turned on at least 8 hours a day... so lamps could be chewed up in a hurry. Giant Plasma TV? Several Giant TV's networked together to share a picture? High Res LED? What looks best? What has the highest initial cost? What has the highest long term cost? What has the longest life with daily use?

Thanks!

[derekleffew]

How close and how far away are the spectators going to be, and at what viewing angle?

The Barco OLite series is nice.

Barco | Products | OLite 510

As is the Daktronics.

Daktronics Products :: Video Displays

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niGDrvHYnew&feature=related[/media]Then there's always the LG VivaVision.

[museav]

I've been asked to help with the purchase of some equipment for the new student union building. In the middle of the building is an atrium with a wall about 40' high by about 30' wide. In the top of this atrium is a set of windows facing East so it will have a lot of light coming in but direct sunlight is only possible in the early hours.

How big is the Atrium? How far away do you want to be able to see the image?

The students want an "Impressive" video wall installed and they have a substantial budget to actually do it.

What is "substantial"? $10,000? $100,000? $1,000,000?

This video screen will be used for cable TV broadcasts, promotional information of upcoming events, and movie nights..

Might want to check into intellectual property and licensing issues on what is displayed, especially if this is a 'public' space and not dedicated to educational applications. I'll add that in my experience most displays like this are rarely used for just a single image, they typically incorporate some type of processing that allows for multiple images, video windows in computer images, etc.

It would ideally be HD quality with a Blue Ray player in the system, but that may be out of price range. How big? Well I'm thinking 16x9 (as in feet) is a starting point. We may go larger if we can afford it.

What do you mean by "HD" quality? Just about any solution using multiple displays (LEd, LCD, plasma, etc.) will be very high res by nature, so this probably mostly directly affects the projector option. In that case, is "HD" 720p, 1080i or 1080p?

So what technology makes the most sense to you guys? To me a big screen and something like a 15k monster projector is the most logical. However, they will probably have the thing turned on at least 8 hours a day... so lamps could be chewed up in a hurry. Giant Plasma TV? Several Giant TV's networked together to share a picture? High Res LED? What looks best? What has the highest initial cost? What has the highest long term cost? What has the longest life with daily use?

LED displays are great for applications in sunlight or high light levels but can be expensive in both initial cost and operation and are typically limited as far as how close you want to be. An LCD wall might be a good choice, many commercial LCD displays have an integrated ability to do at least 4x4 tiled video walls, NEC just introduced some new 83" LCD displays that can support a 10x10 matrix. A projector might be a good choice but it is impossible to tell with what is known what may be viable in regards to location, throw, access, etc.

[gafftaper]

I think we have around $100k for this part of the system. I see how short I am on details. I'll get some measurements, take some pictures and get back to you with more details.

[avkid]

How about this?
150-Inch TV In Action: It'll Melt Brains and Empty Wallets
Only half joking.

[Footer]

For 100k you can get a projector capable of doing that, though you might need two to get the punch due to the windows. You might be in the range of a barco display of some kind. The problem is though, larger displays are made to be viewed from a distance. The farther you are away the better the image looks. I don't think an off the shelf barco solution that is made for the entertainment industry will fit the bill on this one.

[mnfreelancer]

How about this?
150-Inch TV In Action: It'll Melt Brains and Empty Wallets
Only half joking.

On a slight hi-jack, that reviewer has obviously never dealt with what many of us deal with on a daily basis...being that "awe stuck" over a 150" screen is pathetic!

[museav]

Barco has outdoor LED displays down to 10mm pixel pitch and indoor LED modules down to 4mm pixel pitch, so they have come a long way in being less pixelated. However, we recently priced some of the these for a project and I can tell you that between the displays and processor alone you would be well over, as in several times over, the budget for a 9'x16' display. The there is addressing the power, which is sometimes rather surprising.

Projection or a 'tiled' multiple display wall are typically the most practical for this type of application. For LCD display based 'walls' I particularly like the NEC XX20 series, NEC Display Solutions MultiSync 20 Series, due to the internal tiling capability and the very thin bezels but Samsung, LG Electronics and others offer similar products.

[gafftaper]

I still haven't had a chance to get over there and measure but I doubt the room is much over 30' wide and they are thinking of people looking up at this thing from 15'-20' away. So yes pixels are a problem.

They are planning on having the thing on 5-8 hours a day 5 days a week, 30 days a year... so that's up to 1200 hours a year. SO, they need to plan to replace lamps at once, maybe twice, a year if we did a projector.

If we went with a GIANT tv like that 150" plasma we would have a huge electrical bill to deal with.

Is one technology cheaper in the long run?

[aanas21]

There is interesting logical description of video wall controller is available online. You can search for its whole features and techniques used in it.