Different Video Wall Technologies Explained
Video wall technologies are at the cutting edge of information distribution. Not only do they look cool, they can seriously benefit your business and AV projects by turning a simple display into a high production value experience.
But how much do you actually know about video wall technologies? Did you know that there are multiple technologies to choose from? If the answer is no, don’t worry, we can’t all be total AV geniuses.
We’re here to help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of video wall technologies with this guide to projection based seamless displays, panel and cube based video walls.
Ready? Let’s go!
What does projection-based seamless display mean?
Lesser known of the three but just as exciting, the project-based seamless display does exactly what it says. It's a video wall made up of multiple projectors to offer a completely seamless experience to those of us who feel as if quality is everything.
Typically, large bezels, or ‘borders’, in screens interrupt display, meaning that images can quickly become disjointed, but projection based seamless displays mean that AV enthusiasts can create larger and higher quality video walls for a fraction of the price of a high quality panel or cube based wall.
How does projection-based seamless display work and where do we use it?
Sounds a bit too good to be true doesn’t it, but really, the technology is very simple. Users can create a seamless display with a very useful technology known as ‘edge blending’. Edge blending refers to joining the images of two projectors that project different sections of the same image to then overlap and join the edges.
This means that the user fails to notice any split between the two projections and images become one within seconds. This is super useful for users wanting a projection-based seamless display on a large area as users can display massive images with total ease!
Projection-based video walls also use something called geometric correction tactics to correct distorted elements of images. Essentially, this works by changing the X and Y axis of an image to mask distortions when an image is projected onto a larger screen. This helps images adapt to their environment, ensuring there’s no awkward stretching that interrupt the quality of the display.
Where we use projection based video walls is completely up to the user and their display needs, that’s one of the best things about video walls! However, if we wanted to have a guess, we could say that you can use a projection based video wall for displaying high quality images in museums, for displays at conventions and for projecting images onto unconventional shapes like curved displays or cubes.
What does a panel-based video wall mean?
Panel based video walls might be the most well-known examples of video walls because some of the best known brands specialize in this technology. This cost-effective alternative to more technologically advanced displays gives users the opportunity to create large video walls with thin panels.
This technology differs from a projection based seamless display due to panels containing bezels. Whilst this might not be a problem for some users, bezels may interrupt the quality of your display, but this can be managed by a high-quality process with in-built bezel mitigation.
How do panel-based video walls work and where can we use them?
Panel based video walls are made up of a collection of panels acting as a single screen. Users can then use processors to isolate panels to display multiple snippets of information simultaneously.
Panel based video walls can either be LCD or LED, but these options come with their own quirks. LED video walls offer a bright, high quality display suited to display high definition images on things like billboards. LCD panels offer a relatively seamless display with users having the opportunity to select a video wall with ultra thin bezels.
It’s important for users to consider color calibration with these video walls, as there may be some issues with colors remaining consistent over multiple screens.
Panel-based video walls are designed to be ultra-reliable for mission critical environments, so you may wish to use these in control rooms. Here are some control room examples:
- Police control rooms
- Air traffic control rooms
- Process control rooms
- Transport control rooms
- Operational and industry control rooms
What is a cube-based video wall?
Cube based video walls are super unique and barely resemble any of their video wall counterparts. Cube based video walls offer that high quality like experience with large displays that project high quality images.
These reliable screens offer a near completely seamless display, with bezels ranging in size to just 0.1mm in width. This means that users can finally get that high quality display with near zero interruption in picture quality.
This is another great option for users seeking a highly reliable technology for time and mission critical control rooms as cube based video walls are designed to be extremely durable and last extended periods of time.
How do they work and where can we use them?
Cube based video walls operate on an integrated system. That sounds super complicated, but we promise it's not. Behind each cube within the wall mounts a projector. This projector is projected upwards towards a mirror that is angled at 45° to project the image onto the screen. This means that the image is almost completely seamless and super high-quality, no matter the size or depth of the screen.
Although these walls tend to be more expensive, users take home so many benefits in relation to the price, so it’s important to consider what you’re getting for that figure!
As we said, we can use cube based video walls in control rooms that rely on having constant eyes on their operations. For example, an industrial or transport control room may heavily benefit from using a cube based video wall as they can have a 24/7 display of their network!
There you have it, your bitesize yet still comprehensive guide to video wall technologies. Make sure you check out Dexon’s stock of video wall products that you can use alongside your own system to see if you can revolutionize your video wall experience today!
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