Which Video Wall Technology is Best?

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We don’t think there’s a definite answer to this question. That’s because a lot depends on a business’s particular needs and goals for a video wall and the environment in which it will be used. No doubt about it, the sheer beauty of a massive video wall is very effective at attracting and engaging viewers by providing an immersive visual experience.

Let’s look at today’s leading video wall technologies:

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Many of the video walls seen in numerous businesses today use LCD panels. Because liquid crystals do not emit their own light, the LCD panels must utilize a light source behind or at the edges of the LCD glass. A lot of the large-scale LCDs used in video walls today are LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlit, and for that reason are referred to as LED displays. The LEDs are used to provide a white light, which then shines through the rapidly-refreshing LCD shutter array which tints the emanating light.

In the digital signage industry you’ll hear video walls described as 3×3, 5×5, 7×5 and much higher. This is not referring to the dimensions but rather the number of panels tiled together horizontally and vertically to make one very big screen. Leading video wall manufacturers are featuring thinner and thinner bezels, currently under 2 mm measured bezel-to-bezel, and LG will be introducing significantly thinner bezels soon. Other offerings remove the metal bezels altogether in an effort to present a barely visible seam where the panels meet.

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED). The OLED technology used for video wall panels offers amazing advancements in both picture quality and panel design. No extra lighting unit and shutter array are required, and each OLED pixel can be turned off completely to reproduce the color black. Because of this OLED is able to render perfect black, which can enable infinite contrast. Without the backlight and shutter array an OLED video wall panel can be astonishingly thin – a single LG 65” OLED panel, for example, is a mere 6 mm (0.2”) deep and weighs just 29.8 lbs. LG’s Open-Frame OLED panels are also able to be curved into concave or convex installations. Minimal space is required, as the tiled displays blend in with the wall and a flat ribbon cable connects to the signage box elsewhere.

Direct View LED (DVLED) video walls have been around for many years and are often seen in stadiums and as billboards. But DVLED technology has undergone recent improvements to the point that we now have indoor ultra-fine pitch DVLED modules with pixel pitches of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mm, and high brightness of 1,000 or more nits. That means a great-looking picture when viewed from close distances. DVLED modules do not require backlighting or edge-lighting assemblies, and when joined together create a seamless look. Ultra-fine-pitch video walls allow for a much wider range of uses including projector replacement, LCD/LED video wall replacement and as digital signage displays. They’re often recommended for automotive and industrial product showrooms, museums and galleries, control rooms, boardrooms and broadcast studios. To learn about LG’s DVLED and what pixel pitch means for image quality and viewing distance, check out our blog post from January 12, 2018 here.

Rear-Projection Cube technology has been widely used to create control room video walls, as flat panel video wall displays used to be more expensive than equivalent cubes and offered fewer features. The bezel thickness of a cube is typically less than 0.25 mm, thereby virtually avoiding image information loss, and has given cubes an advantage in certain situations such as military control rooms and broadcasting stations, despite shortcomings that can include the need to install a separate cooling system and regular replacement of lamps, color wheels and filters.

Here’s the bottom line: Unlike years ago, today’s consumers are accustomed to watching large, high-resolution, flat-panel TVs in their own homes. It’s going to take a lot more to wow them when they’re out. And so video walls are likely to increase in demand for attracting attention in all kinds of public spaces. Even the video walls themselves are being creatively designed – tiled asymmetrically or curved into environments all their own – in the quest to create more exciting viewing experiences. So when we’re asked which video wall technology is best, our answer is usually, “Let’s talk.”

How Digital Signage is Reshaping the Landscape of Assisted Living Communities.

The long-term care industry has changed. Seniors and their families expect innovative technology that makes life easy and fun. Digital displays are helping communities increase resident engagement and facilitate quality care.

 

Improving Senior Care

Retirement communities and nursing homes provide a variety of services and require efficient organization. Unfortunately, keeping paperwork organized is easier said than done. Digital signage provides an alternative, so staff aren’t always stuck sifting through piles of paperwork searching for one piece of information. Not only do displays make communication between staff easier, but they also help to reduce errors. For example, it can help eliminate double-dosing when paperwork detailing when residents were last given medication gets lost. Without up-to-date accessible information and proper communication, these mistakes can happen all too easily. Facilities can now use digital signage for medication reminders and schedules that reduce errors.

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A major issue facing the industry is the stigma associated with these facilities, which is why families wait until the last minute to put loved ones into care. They are reluctant because of the perceived quality of nearby residences, and feel guilty subjecting loved ones to a place that they fear won’t provide good food, and will bore them with a lack of activities. Fight this perception by showing off all your community offers using digital signage to advertise daily menus and activity schedules. Build a reputation as a home committed to care and happiness to attract younger residents.

 

Families want to see day-to-day routines that will satisfy their loved ones’ needs. Moving to a home is a big step for incoming residents. They are leaving behind the life they are used to, and they have to adapt to new surroundings. Make their transition easier with digital signage. Reassure them, and their families, that you offer excellent care and an entertaining lifestyle.

 

Senior residences shouldn’t be boring

Digital displays effectively promote socialIMG2 groups to help keep residents happy. Activities provide entertainment, mental and physical stimulation, and act as a great comfort for lonely residents.

 

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Screens can be joined together to create stunning video walls for movies in common spaces, or installed individually in rooms for residents. These reliable displays support up to 18 hours of continuous viewing per day. Better yet, advanced digital displays can be remotely controlled without interfering with nearby screens. Previously, technical issues like these would deter residents even turning on displays the facility had invested in. The LU340L display is tailored specifically for retirement homes. It is an easy-to-use screen that prevents interference, and features large fonts.

 
 
Displays can also provide mental and physical stimulation for residents. Digital displays can offer cognitive games like Sudoku to aid memory care. These digital puzzles can help residents stay relaxed.
 
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Help residents stay fit with the digital signage based fitness and rehab available at the LG Content Store [https://us.lgappstv.com/]. Make simple physiotherapy available 24/7, with virtual routines that take users through treatment at their own pace. Adjustable courses reflect abilities, so advanced exercises won’t deter beginners. Showcasing activities every resident can participate in lets facilities present a welcoming community.

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Something simple like going for a walk shouldn’t pose a challenge for able-bodied residents. Displays with wayfinding capabilities let residents walk around without worrying about getting lost, offering interactive maps that guide them to where they want to go. Cut down on staff worries with help buttons that are only a touch away. These interactive displays encourage safe exploration helping make residents’ day-to-day lives more comfortable while working to eliminate feelings of isolation.

Long-term care facilities need to adopt new technologies in order to appeal to younger generations who demand innovation. With signage that improves care quality and resident engagement, facilities become appealing spaces that seniors look forward to living in.

Being Thankful for the Bigger Picture of
Digital Signage

Maybe you’ve heard this story before:

A traveler came upon three masons working. He asked the first man what he was doing and the man answered, ‘I am laying bricks.’ He asked the second man the same question and the man said, ‘I am putting up a wall.’ When he got to the third man and asked him what he was doing the man replied, ‘I am building a cathedral.’

All three men were doing the same job, but the third man saw a bigger picture.

We’re in a very rewarding industry. We get to improve our customers’ businesses in many different ways. Initially, we do so by improving their customer experience with digital displays that deliver relevant content to help inspire actions, whatever those actions may be.

But how big can the picture get? What is the result of those actions? What is the result of the cathedral?

It all depends on the businesses we serve, and there are many. It’s a fun and enlightening exercise to sit down with colleagues and think more about it. Talk more about it. Learn more about it. Because that will drive us to do more about it.

And that is what gets us out of bed every morning. The desire to do more, better, than we did yesterday.

Digital signage is a very rewarding industry indeed. And we couldn’t be more thankful to be part of it, and to work with our stellar commercial display team, solution partners, resellers, systems integrators, installers and end-users that make it all happen.

How about you? What bigger picture do you see? And how big can it get?

LG Video Walls Help Increase Bloomingdale’s NYC Foot Traffic

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The holiday shopping season has begun. And to better compete with online retailers and attract more shoppers, Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship Manhattan store has re-imagined its customer experience, featuring a new pop-up store decked out with two massive 28-foot wide, 12-foot high video walls, each composed of thirty-five LG OLED Wallpaper 55-inch commercial displays in 7 x 5 configurations.

The LG OLED video walls provide a dramatic digital backdrop for The Carousel, the upscale retailer’s new rotating pop-up shop. The Carousel offers an immersive shopping experience, where every two months, a notable guest curator and expert in a featured theme populates the space. The LG video walls are helping to bring the themes to life.

The combination of unexpected product, unique shopping environment and exceptional customer engagement makes The Carousel like no other pop-up shop in the world.

“Unlike normal signage, this is an environmental piece,” said Brett Silverman, Project Sales, LG Commercial Display. “It adds dimensionality to the space rather than being the focal point. They’re not showing products on the displays. Instead, it’s a living concept all about creating a feeling, an energy, to enrich the particular experience and improve the stickiness of the department.”

For this special project Bloomingdale’s chose Float4 for content creation. Float4 is a multidisciplinary studio that integrates digital experiences in physical spaces to amplify their identity. The content for the video walls will be rotated every two months to visualize the new theme.

LG OLED has been acclaimed by experts as the pinnacle of picture quality. Because it uses self-lighting pixels and does not require a separate backlighting or edge lighting unit it is able to render perfect black, infinite contrast and intense colors, delivering an image quality that is not possible with any other display technology.

The Carousel @ Bloomingdale’s will soon be transformed with a dedicated entrance located on 60th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenue. People will immediately take notice of the video walls, and we think that’s quite an exciting way to welcome shoppers, entice them to stay longer and keep them coming back. If you’ll be in Manhattan this holiday season, put The Carousel on your list of must-sees.

LG to Feature a First-ever Innovation Lab at RSNA, plus an Exhibit of New Medical Devices

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The Radiological Society of North America is hosting its 104th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting on November 25-30 in Chicago. With over 700 exhibitors there will be a lot to see, all under the theme of Tomorrow’s Radiology Today. LG will be there, featuring a unique Innovation Lab providing an up-close look at technologies yet to be seen by the public, that could be possible for medical imaging in the near future.

LG’s Innovation Lab will be a major attraction for RSNA attendees looking to see what the future of medical imaging could bring. As a major player in commercial digital signage displays and hospitality TVs, LG Business Solutions is leveraging years of expertise in advanced flat-panel display technology to engineer tomorrow’s medical imaging solutions, and what you’ll discover in the Innovation Lab is sure to impress.

LG will also showcase new medical devices purpose-built for image acquisition and visualization:

LG’s wireless/wired 14” x 17” and wired 17” x 17” Digital X-Ray Detectors use highly sensitive CsI scintillator and 16bit AD conversion to produce precise detailed images. The magnesium & carbon fiber body makes them lightweight yet exceptionally strong, and their quick capture-to-display capability increases productivity.

The 27” 8MP Clinical Review monitor is an accurate and affordable answer to home reading. It features DICOM out-of-the-box calibration to ACR-AAPM-SIIM secondary review brightness guidelines, plus a backlight sensor that maintains DICOM calibrated brightness for three years.

The 19” Clinical Monitor with 5:4 aspect ratio is an ideal choice for cardiology and other medical applications that require a medical safety approved monitor with analog and digital video inputs.

The soon to be released 21” 3MP Diagnostic Monitor is designed to be a radiology imaging workhorse and features a front embedded sensor, backlight sensor and presence sensor.

Additional products on exhibit will be a 32” 4K Surgical Monitor slated for future release, a 27” 4K Surgical Monitor and a 27” FHD Surgical Monitor. A 55” dual-sided FHD LG OLED display capable of mirroring or swapping content on either side will be there as well, as will LG’s 24” all-in-one Thin Client cloud computing solution.

If you’re going to RSNA 2018, be sure to visit LG Booth #4729 in the South Exhibit Hall Level 3. We’ll see you there.

Video Walls Expand Vigilance in Control Centers

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In order to ensure optimal response times, control centers need to constantly stream video in real time. And because most of the real-time videos come from CCTV cameras, the adoption of video wall technology by government agencies is increasing in direct proportion to the increase in the demand for CCTV cameras.

Video wall technology involves tiling several large displays together to create one gigantic screen. This provides several advantages over using a traditional display. A larger, more vivid picture enables users to quickly focus on the displayed content and to distinguish small details more easily. When multiple users share a single video wall, they can quickly exchange information, making it easier for teams to cooperate and improve incident response time.

The need for accurate, systematic monitoring of real-time events is increasing. Video walls have quickly become a cornerstone of the video surveillance market, with increasing use in retail, entertainment and education sectors. Growing concerns about public safety and the security of people and properties mean that government agencies are also building integrated control centers with video walls.

An integrated control center can play a major role in dealing with potential incidents by analyzing the circumstances surrounding them. Traffic control centers, for example, can help with crime prevention, traffic safety, defense, and natural disaster response. They can be used to monitor situations in real time, to quickly dispatch response teams, and to enable officials to concentrate their efforts by directing events from a single facility.

Now let’s discuss video wall displays versus rear-projection cubes.

Traditionally, rear-projection cube technology has been widely used to create control room video walls, as flat panel video wall displays used to be more expensive than equivalent cubes and offered fewer features. Today, however, video wall panels can be mass-produced and are priced lower than cubes. And thanks to technological developments, flat panel video wall displays can now deliver the same or an even higher level of performance. This means that flat-panel video wall displays are now the go-to technology for new video wall installations across the globe, except for military and broadcasting applications.

Cubes are currently more common in military control rooms and broadcasting stations due to their extremely thin bezels. In military control rooms, for example, where radar detection is used to monitor warships and fighter aircraft, any pixels that are hidden by the bezel may lead to fatal consequences. And in broadcasting, newsrooms want to show crisp, clear images without bezel lines. The bezel thickness of a cube is typically less than 0.25 mm, which has given them an advantage in such situations despite other shortcomings that can include the need to install a separate cooling system and regular replacement of lamps, color wheels and filters.

The performance of a modern video wall display exceeds that of a cube in terms of core display features such as resolution and brightness. Where today’s video wall displays are thin, and easy to fit into most areas, a cube can require a minimum of three times the depth for the rear-projection screen with similar height and width. Video wall displays can be installed in a depth of slightly under 20 cm, including frame, with a product thickness of less than 10 cm, whereas cubes require at least one meter of space for the product and associated maintenance area. When it comes to weight, video wall displays also have the edge, since cubes can be more than twice as heavy. Video wall displays can be mounted on a wall, whereas cubes cannot due to their weight.

What’s more, the bezel thickness in video wall displays has been decreasing dramatically, so video walls are expected to be the long-term alternative to rear-projection cubes. Keep an eye out for unbelievably thin bezels never before possible in video wall displays, in the near future.