Innovation has transformed this product category, which seemed headed to commoditization not so long ago. Consider the rise of screen culture where screens are integrated into nearly every part of life, including communications on large and small scales, and in environments including retail, entertainment, work, and critical operations in healthcare, security and more.
The Absen HC0.9 is a 0.9-millimeter MiniLED display designed for the high-end control room market and other mission-critical environments that require ultra-high definition images within limited spaces. Applications include conference rooms, boardrooms, museums, and science centers. With the latest IMD 4-in-1 package and Common Cathode technologies, the product offers over 2.5 times the strength of traditional LED screens while consuming 20% less power. With IMD 4-in-1 package technology, the collision resistance of the product has increased by 2.5 times. The technology also enables an expanded operation area and improved LED PCB pad. HC0.9 supports pixel-to-pixel HD in 4K and 8K, while achieving high grayscale at low brightness levels via CrystalView technology. It also supports HDR10 content, allowing for a broader range of colors. The power and data redundancy secures the product’s reliability, making it an ideal display solution for mission-critical decision-making applications such as control and command centers.
The Barco UniSee LCD video wall has a bezel-less and modular design; image quality is supported with a .3mm gap, as well as automatic real-time continuous calibration for color and brightness edge to edge. The thing that earned this product a Best of InfoComm award was the focus on realworld deployment such as installation time, mounting, and ease-of-service—tasks that our judges pointed out could be “solved by a person with an Allen key.” At launch, the UniSee came with Barco’s innovative gravity-driven mounting structure. Since then other manufacturers have also collaborated on mounts including Draper, SMS, and Vogel’s curved mount, and Barco has developed the integrated UniSee platform consisting of UniSee View, UniSee Mount and UniSeee Connect.
The Black Box Radian Flex Video Wall Platform supports today’s standard of 4K 60fps video displays up to more than one billion pixels for a claim of “limitless” resolution—meaning it will also be 8K ready and beyond. Solution also supports an unlimited number of inputs, screens, and endpoints.. The included Smart-Frame technology ensures optimal use of the video wall display area. This feature provides calibration and fit with minimal setup time. Other key features include content manipulation, schedule and restore capabilities, realtime control over displayed content, slide show, and more. Radian Flex is offered in two suites: The Radian Flex Suite and the Radian FlexPro Suite. The Flex Suite is best fit for economic video wall installations that are not reliant on fail-safe operation. The FlexPro Suite includes dual controllers to ensure fail-safe operation for mission-critical applications.
Earlier this year, Chief announced white-glove direct view LED installation services for its Chief TiLED Video Wall Mounting System. The company says it recognizes risk mitigation is always top of mind when it comes to dvLED installations. From selecting displays and mounting systems to design configurations and securing skilled labor, and Legrand AV installation team provides the level of service needed. The TiLED Solution Services offers three levels of direct view LED support:Assisted Services puts the Legrand AV tech support team just a click away, with online access to spec and configuration tools like MountFinder and the TiLED LED Video Wall Configurator; Expanded Services offers personalized design consultation with Legrand AV sales, product management, and engineering professionals; Amplified Services includes start-to-finish consultation including customized design, engineered solutions, and labor assistance.
Christie Access II Series discrete LCD displays are full-featured, budget-friendly UHD displays offered in 55, 65, 75, 86, and 98-inch sizes. Ideal for meeting rooms and retail applications, Christie Access II Series is a plug-and-play solution offering professional features such as the latest connectivity, OPS slot and USB playback. Christie Access II Series are also ADAcompliant with an ultra-thin depth. Control is via RS2322, Ethernet, Crestron Connected, or CEC. Christie Extreme Series LCD panels offer a combined 0.88mm bezel width to create near-seamless video walls. The Christie Extreme Series FHD554-XZ and FHD554- XZ-R (with remote power) feature an OPS slot and accept a variety of embedded processing modules for a complete video wall solution perfect for critical viewing environments. Christie Extreme Series displays are ADA-compliant with a depth of less than four inches and are available in a range of brightness levels.
The LED Active 3D option for the Christie MicroTiles LED line was designed for a flicker-free 3D experience. Using active shuttered 3D glasses, users can view 3D content at 120Hz (60Hz per eye) at a 1.25mm pixel pitch. Combined with MicroTiles’ high-brightness and P3 cinema-quality color, Christie MicroTiles LED Active 3D is suitable for even demanding 3D installations such as aerospace, automotive, military, and themed entertainment. With Active 3D, Christie MicroTiles LED displays 4K UHD content at 120 frames per second at 1000 nits brightness via a Christie Link E1000-3D video wall controller. Coupled with Christie MicroTiles LED design flexibility, including inside and outside corners up to 90-degrees and convex and concave curves, the display can be customized to suit anywhere from CAVEs to control rooms. The cabinet-free Click-n-Go LED tiles can be arranged seamlessly in near limitless ways. An innovative ADA-compliant QuickMount system lets you quickly build a display in virtually any shape or size. And the intuitive, easy-to-use web-based control interface can be accessed from any connected device.
In February, Datapath Aligo launched—an AVoIP technology that allows different video resolutions to be shared across different network bandwidths, simultaneously. Aligo works seamlessly with Datapath’s latest Aetria control room solution, giving users a single interface for versatile display layouts and content management. According to Datapath, Aligo allows users to connect and share video sources in any resolution without affecting the original quality. The new technology provides 4K content across a 10G network and compressed streams on 1G infrastructure at the same time, delivering flexibility in content distribution with sub-millisecond latency. The current product range includes the Aligo QTX100 quad 4K transmitter and the Aligo RX100, a single 4K receiver with quad HD outputs.
The Digital Projection Radiance line of direct-view LED display solutions encompasses four distinct platforms. The Performance Series includes a pixel pitch range from 0.7mm to 4.0mm with brightness up to 1,500 nits, refresh rates up to 3900Hz, and broad color gamut performance, reaching over 93 percent REC2020 color standard. The VX Series offers LED performance at a lower entry cost, covering the 1.2mm to 2.5mm range. The RCS Series has a reconfigurable panel design that can be flown, groundstacked, or permanently installed with pixel pitches of 2.6mm and 2.9mm. DPI also offers an Outdoor Series of all-weather-rated LED panels ranging from 2.9mm to 16mm for digital signage or outdoor media.
In February, LG Business Solutions launched 25 new pre-configured DVLED display models in 16:9 and 32:9 Ultra Stretch formats for both indoor and outdoor installations. These new offerings aim to simplify DVLED display by offering a complete lineup of fully configured displays and backing all of them with service and support. Each DVLED display includes all display components, display accessories, spare parts and modules, and a 4K LG DVLED controller—delivered in wheeled flight cases for easy transport. The LG webOS-based 4K controller features a quadcore SoC, built-in media player, LG’s remote control, 3.6GB of flash storage, and an AV-over-IP decoder for displaying multiple streams. Its built-in scaling functionality allows users to adjust resolution up or down in various areas of the finished display. LG DVLED displays also support screen sharing via Miracast, and WiDi wireless display connectivity. The new LG DVLED displays come in various indoor and outdoor models in a variety of sizes from 81 to 578 inches diagonal and resolutions from 2K to 8K.
The LG MAGNIT Micro LED digital signage solution, features the company’s new proprietary Black Coating technology as well as streamlined installation with its unique block-assembly design. The display technology features self-emissive micrometer-scale pixels applied directly to the substrate board, for sharper images with improved contrast and a wider viewing angle. Featuring LG’s webOS smart signage platform for navigation and control of the many useful functions, including features and presets, LG MAGNIT picture quality is boosted by an AI-powered α (Alpha) image processor found in high-end LG TVs that intelligently analyzes content and source and automatically optimizes visual output in real-time. Each Micro LED cabinet measures only 600W x 337.5H x 44.9D mm and links to other cabinets, allowing technicians to quickly erect largescale display on site. The ability to smoothly send and receive signals wirelessly is due to LG’s non-contact connector technology. LG’s block assembly design allows power to be sent to each cabinet via pin connectors located on the edges of the LED cabinet hub. LG MAGNIT cuts the time needed for cable management, with only a few wires on the back of the displays to link the cabinets to system controllers and power mains.
The Matrox QuadHead2Go multi-monitor controller appliance is a competitive, effective option for video walls up to four displays. It can drive four displays of any configuration at any dimension from one signal from any source, either as a system-independent appliance or in single-slot card forms. On-device buttons and pre-set configurations support easy installation. The included Matrox PowerWall software offers an intuitive way to configure the latest emerging, artistic, and innovative video walls. The controller supports Full HD displays from a single 4Kp60 video signal at RGB 8:8:8 and YUV 4:4:4. Each output can have its own resolution, be independently rotated (90, 180, and 270 degrees), cropped, upscaled, downscaled, and positioned anywhere, and controlled and updated from anywhere on the LAN. The controllers are compatible with professional-grade graphics cards with native DisplayPort 1.2 support—no adapter required.
The Matrox D-Series D1450 multi-display graphics card is a new single-slot, quad 4K/60 HDMI graphics card that enables OEMs, system integrators, and AV installers to easily combine multiple D1450 boards to quickly deploy high-density-output video walls of up to 16 synchronized 4K displays. Supported with video wall software and developer tools for advanced custom control and application development, D1450 is designed for a broad range of commercial and critical 24/7 applications, including control rooms, enterprises, industries, government, military, digital signage, and broadcast.
The Mitsubishi LM55P4 is the latest iteration of Mitsubishi Electric’s flagship 55” professional-grade LCD monitor; it claims a significantly improved visual experience when used in video wall applications thanks to the greatly reduced bezel width compared to earlier versions, at 0.44mm. The LM55P4 is Full HD (1920×1080 pixel) for 100,000 hours operation. It is equipped with an OPS slot for extended functionality and features DisplayPort (1.2a), HDMI (HDR supported), DVID (with HDCP) and analog video inputs. Monitors can be daisy-chained together via DisplayPort to create simple video wall applications with no external controller required.
With the company’s thinnest profile and lowest pixel pitch range, the Nanolumens Engage Series was engineered to transform indoor environments without compromising infrastructure. Engage Series displays range in pitch from 0.93mm to 2.5mm and can be installed and serviced from the front. The Engage Series is designed to provide a high-impact visual experience at a more attainable price and comes backed by the company’s six-year warranty. The Engage line uses common cathode architecture to reduce power consumption and is built with cabinets that possess a native 16:9 aspect ratio, so display owners can import and display HD, 4K, and all other 16:9 content without any reformatting issues.
The Neoti Affinity Pro all-in-one video display was designed with ease-of-use in mind. With a built-in OS, speakers, touchscreen, standard inputs, and wireless sharing, it’s a plug and play LED display. Available in 110” (1.2mm), 138” (1.5mm), and 165” (1.9mm), the Affinity Pro is easy to assemble with a single power cord and standard USB and HDMI inputs. The Affinity Pro can be wall-mounted for permanent installation or on wheel mounts for mobility. It can be used as a wayfinding sign in a lobby, a digital whiteboard in a classroom, a presentation display in a boardroom, or a backdrop in a studio. The Affinity Pro provides users with maximum usage flexibility and minimum set-up.
The Optoma QUADZilla FHDQ163 Direct View LED delivers 600 nits and 163-inch imagery with a simple three-step assembly process. The full HD 1080p FHDQ163 display features a slim detachable bezel, allowing integrators to combine multiple displays and create large-scale installations. With a 1.9mm pixel pitch, 4K UHD input compatibility, and QUAD LED technology, the display has a unique 4-in-1 Surface Mount Diode (SMD) layout, allowing for a smoother screen surface and a 170-degree wideviewing angle for comfortable viewing from any point in the room. Featuring built-in Calibre HQUltra 4K image-processing technology, the 163- inch QUAD LED display delivers fast image switching and scaling to provide a high-quality picture with low-latency video processing. Optimized for seamless collaboration, the display wirelessly connects up to four devices for simultaneous images, document and screen sharing via the Optoma TapCast Pro app, and users can wirelessly upload content and control the display via the Fusion Connect app. In addition, the On Screen Display provides easy access to display settings and functions for control directly with the included remote. The display also features an ECO friendly <0.5W standby mode.
The Peerless-AV SEAMLESS Kitted Series of dvLED Video Wall Mounts are designed exclusively for leading direct view LED display manufacturers, providing spacesaving designs for multiple configurations. With integrated cable management, easy-hang hardware and a lightweight aluminum frame, integrators can quickly and easily build a video wall. Peerless-AV also offers start to finish support through the SEAMLESS dvLED Video Wall Integration Program. The most recent mounts support Absen’s Direct View LED Displays (Acclaim, Acclaim Plus, Acclaim Pro and Icon Series); Barco XT Series Direct View LED Display; LG LAS Series Direct View LED Displays. Each Kitted Series model has its own specifications and configurations. The modular design of each model offers unlimited video wall display configurations, and includes height and depth adjustment to help overcome installation irregularities, assure the dvLED pixels are aligned, and to guarantee that the entire mount creates one flat plane, regardless of wall imperfections.
The Planar TVF Series is a family of fine pitch LED video wall displays available in 0.9, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8 and 2.5 millimeter pixel pitches. With a 27-inch, slim profile display cabinet, the Planar TVF Series features front serviceability and a creative, stackable design that eliminates cabinet-to-cabinet cabling and reduces the complexity of installation and vertical alignment. Featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio, Planar TVF Series allows every pixel pitch to achieve popular resolutions and provides clear, crisp images at nearly every angle and viewing distance. The Planar TVF 0.9 increases the pixel count by nearly 78 percent compared to the 1.2mm model. In February, Planar announced integration with Planar WallDirector Video Controller and Planar WallDirector Software to add secure video processing capabilities, video wall control, and management. The company is also enhancing and expanding Planar TVF Complete to include a new Double Full HD 198-inch model aimed at the popular wide-view configuration for conference rooms and board rooms.
The Prysm Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) 6K Series 225” is claimed as the world’s largest seamless interactive display. At 225 inches diagonal—which is 20 feet wide by 5 feet high—and 6K image resolution, the LPD 6K Series interactive display offers a panoramic image uninterrupted by seams or bezels. The flexible, impact-resistant surface offers smooth interaction with 32 simultaneous touchpoints and can be viewed at any distance and at any angle without eye fatigue. The latest LPD is energy efficient, shatter resistant, and offers rollability for transport. The new modular design helps speed display integration and permits installation in a variety of locations. The durable front screen, made of a specially coated polycarbonate layer, is rolled into a cylinder for easy transport. Thanks to this feature, integrators can negotiate tight corners and enter through standard doors and passenger elevators during setup. This large-format display comes optionally bundled with the Prysm Application Suite, a digital workplace platform that brings people, content, and ideas together. The platform displays streaming video, web applications, documents, presentations, and images as well as input from laptops and mobile devices.
The RGB Spectrum QuadPlex splitter appliance works with all RGB Spectrum video wall processors to significantly increase the size of its video walls. The new unit couples with existing video wall processors to quadruple the number of outputs to support LCD and LED walls. The MediaWall V embedded processor enables users to increase video wall size up to 96 displays. For the Galileo PC processor, it means an increase of up to 96 displays. And for the Zio W4000 processor, it means an increase of up to 64 displays. The Quadplex unit is available as an external box for the MediaWall V and as either a PC-board or an external box for use with the Galileo and Zio W4000 processors.
The Rose Electronics UltraVista 4K60 controller supports an HDMI input resolution of up to 4K at 60Hz (YUV 4:4:4). Each of the four DVI/HDMI outputs has an independent controllable display area that can be resized, rotated, positioned, and scaled. Stereo audio output is provided. The unit learns EDID from the default resolution table, or from direct connection. Controller software is included and is connected with the USB or Ethernet ports. Units can be cascaded for larger video wall and control desk applications. The versatile front panel allows instant changing between standard or custom configurations. With UltraVista Plus a vertical 4×1, horizontal 1×4, or 2×2 video wall can be created, making it a powerful tool for constructing or supplementing video wall systems.
The Samsung Wall for Business is a modular, large-format indoor MicroLED that can now extend up to 583 inches while delivering high brightness, contrast, and viewing angles. The flexibility of the modularity allows users to customize The Wall to a variety of sizes and designs to fit customized needs. The display’s self-emitting MicroLED pixel modules produce clear imagery free of color filters or backlighting and envelope viewers through elevated peak brightness and a near-infinite contrast ratio. The display has a slim depth with a seamless, flush surface allowing it to blend into the wall when not in use. With numerous applications, including lobbies, art exhibitions, hotels, retail spaces, and more, The Wall for Business is designed to provide a dramatic aesthetic complement in multiple settings.
The Sony Crystal LED direct view display system delivers high contrast, thanks to a 99-percent black surface area using ultrafine LEDs, precise color reproduction, and a 180-degree viewing angle. The technology is currently used in professional applications including corporate showrooms, retail, R&D centers, museums, auditoriums, and studios with installations across the world. Its modular nature enables the Crystal LED display to accommodate virtually any size or aspect ratio. Sony’s Crystal LED display system is available in a portrait configuration, optimized for lobby, boardroom, and reception environments, further showcasing the display’s versatility, impact, and applicability in the corporate market.
At the beginning of March, the Sharp NEC MultiSync Message Series was announced. The series features displays from the ME, M and MA Series. The new reframed portfolio provides an ultra-high definition and commercially focused display lineup optimized for digital signage applications while also containing modular expandability. Introduced in December, the ME Series comes at a cost-conscious price point for both portrait and landscape applications. The M Series includes all features of the ME Series, but allowing for 24/7 runtime capabilities; a 500 cd/m2 anti-reflective, high haze panel and integrated ambient light sensor optimize visual impact and clarity depending on different in-room lighting conditions. All M series products come in a range of sizes include a full metal chassis, carrying handles, and integrated cooling fans, allowing for easier installation, a more ruggedized feel, and greater insurance of maintaining consistent image quality. The MA Series is the flagship with Wide Color Gamut and anti-reflective panels combined with NEC’s proprietary SpectraView Engine. This color management technology was originally developed for NEC’s color-critical desktop monitors; behind-the-scenes luminance stabilization technology ensures the display has a consistent image output for a longer period of time compared to traditional commercial displays. A key feature of the MA Series is its robust connectivity selection and expanded daisy chaining capabilities with 8K support via HDMI or DisplayPort SST and MST.
In the fall, tvONE announced major enhancements to its tvOne CORIOmaster video wall processing systems including CORIOmaster (C3-540), CORIOmaster mini (C3- 510), and CORIOmaster micro (C3-503). The new enhancements include a new keying module, synchronized media playback, as well as a free to download, firmware update which adds other enhancements including EDID management, FTP media upload, and AES IP stream decoding. tvONE is also releasing the latest version of its user-friendly video wall design software, CORIOgrapher, which is compatible with all CORIOmaster products including the new CORIOmaster2 (CM2- 547). In addition, synchronized playback is now available through the dual 4K streaming and media input modules. This allows users to simultaneously play up to eight reliable, synchronized media clips onto ultra-wide video canvasses. It also allows users to get creative and go beyond 4K resolutions for expanse video belts in broadcast studios, corporate lobbies, and live events to entertain and boost revenues. In addition, the dual 4K streaming modules also have universal low latency IP decoding, allowing users to use the IP encoder of their choice. Alongside the CORIOmaster enhancements, a fully unified version of tvONE’s CORIOgrapher video wall software is now available and offers full backwards compatibility with all CORIOmaster units, including the new CORIOmaster2. The company also released updates to the CORIOmaster control app. This update adds REST and websockets capability to CORIOmaster to allow connection via HTTP and HTTPS for secure communication. The popular macro feature is still available for connections via TCP. Parallel connections from multiple devices (App, CORIOgrapher) to a single CORIOmaster is now possible with the new update.
In addition, upgrades have been made to the Crestron Control module. New features include the ability to route sources to windows, recall presets, and Canvas level audio adjustment including mute and volume control. This enhanced development evolves from the previous module, by enabling REST based control facilitating multiple connections to the CORIOmaster from a range of control clients.
In January, the ViewSonic LD108-121 and LD216-251 launched, expanding ViewSonic’s line of direct view LED displays. The 108-inch LD108-121 and the 216-inch LD216- 251 are all-in-one display solutions designed for professional-grade, 24/7 operation in large venues, higher education campuses, and other environments. The LD108-121 and the LD216- 251 deliver content without lines or distortion, ensuring one continuous and smooth image. The LD216-121 is 1.2mm pixel pitch Full HD (120% Rec.709) at 500 nits with a 4400Hz refresh; the LD216-251is 2.5mm, Full HD (120% Rec.709) at 600 nits with a 4400Hz refresh. Both direct view LED displays are composed of several pre-assembled cabinets and multiple LED modules for easy installation. When installed, each individual module auto-configures and calibrates its location and setting values within the display as a singular unit. This eliminates the need for complicated set-up processes–all that is needed is to turn on the display. Both displays may be installed easily with two people and within two hours. An embedded SoC platform delivers an innovative viewing experience, by simplifying installation and maintenance, so there is no need for external devices to communicate with a server. With remote configuration and content management system support, both the LD108-121 and the LD216-251 are compatible with Crestron, Extron, and AMX automated control systems.
VuWall’s VuTrex is a hybrid technology designed to bridge AV, IT, and IP systems to manage and control any visual content across any type of display or video wall. VuTrex is now embedded in each component of the VuWall ecosystem of products, and its standards-based approach enables interoperability among all devices. VuTrex is the architecture and methodology that is at the core of every software component in the VuWall ecosystem, bringing efficiency to the entire video wall management workflow. VuTrex is responsible for the ecosystem’s interoperability, expandability, and simple configuration, without the need for programming. The release of TRx 3.0, VuWall’s Centralized Management Platform, will be the first-to-market offering of a single software platform that can distribute AV-over-IP content and provide advanced video wall management and control. Its redesigned architecture, powered by VuTrex technology, can manage multiple sources in any source format and route them to single displays or multiple video walls, without any programming. VuTrex is also embedded in VuWall’s hardware components, including its flagship VuScape video wall controller and the VuStream series of encoders and decoders.
