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.
Absen spent five years developing the premium Absen Clear Cobalt series Micro LED which was introduced at InfoComm 2021 and has become a key product for the company. It incorporates inverted COB encapsulation technology and the HDR 10 core algorithm. Adopting all-black coating technology and black level correction technology, the product can provide a display effect of an ultra-black surface, high brightness, and high contrast ratio. Mechanically it’s damp-proof, dust-proof, abrasion-proof, and oxidation-resistant. The product has multiple indoor use cases including high-end conference rooms, control rooms, radio and television studios, and luxury homes. A new CL0.7 V2 will be released in the second quarter of this year. At ISE 2023, Absen also demonstrated a new virtual production flagship LED, the Absen PR Series. This series will receive 1.5-, 1.9-, 2.5-, 3.9-, and 5.2-mm-pixel-pitch options, and will be available later this year. For rental and staging solutions, the workhorse Absen VN series adds a 3.9 Pro version, while the JP Pro Series also receives an JP8 Pro version, which features ultra-high transparency for outdoor applications.
In January, the Barco NT series of LED videowalls debuted. Powered by the company’s Infinipix Gen2 processing, Barco claims that color accuracy is maintained at every level of brightness, and low latency powers high-quality video. The cloud-based Video Wall Manager software supports automatic configuration and continuous remote monitoring. Thin design lowers the footprint and complies to the ADA requirements for accessible design. This includes auditoriums, lobbies, boardrooms, control rooms, museums and television studios. Being front and rear accessible, the tiles can be easily removed for maintenance. The units are compatible with all of Barco’s new generation of videowalls (LED, LCD and rear-projection), including TruePix, Barco UniSee and RGB Laser ODL.
The LED Active 3D option for the Christie MicroTiles LED line was designed for a flickerfree 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 any environment. 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.
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, ground-stacked, 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.
The INFiLED WP Series is an ultrathin, lightweight 16:9 tile HD LED wallpaper display that delivers unique visual experiences by combining a slim design with extremely easy installation. Front installation, front maintenance, and optional built-in media player offers easy operation for a simple and tidy environment. With its 16:9 panel ratio and availability from 0.9 up to 3.1mm pixel pitch, the WP Series is designed to support native Full HD, 4K, and 8K resolutions.
Jupiter The Zavus XP is a Flip-Chip COB MicroLED Display in .7, .9, 1.2mm dvLED Displays, ideal for Microsoft Teams Signature Rooms. It supports a 3,840Hz Scan rate; 16-bit color processing, DCI-P3 Rec.2020 color with 1000 nits of brightness and a 1,000,000nt contrast ratio. It’s touch-ready, anti-static, dust proof, and water resistant.
The massive LG LED Bloc 54” videowall has been the recipient of numerous design awards such as IDEA and Red Dot, but technically speaking, its biggest innovation is the application of cableless transmission technology. For up to UHD resolution with the 16:9 ratio, it does not require a cable connection between the cabinets to supply signal and power. Its block assembly design makes the LSAC series easier to install than before; it sits flush to the wall. Unlike LCD video walls, the LSAC series is truly bezel-free.
The MAXHUB Raptor Series includes the LM138A07TAA which has the same rich feature set typical of all Raptor Series displays while being TAA compliant. TAA compliance indicates that this display is manufactured in a TAA-designated country—meaning a nation with which the U.S. maintains a trade agreement and regards as a reliable or acceptable procurement source. TAA compliance also ensures that the product meets all necessary requirements that enable it to be sold to the US Federal government.
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 largescale 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 wide-viewing angle for comfortable viewing from any point in the room. The display 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 largescale 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 wide-viewing angle for comfortable viewing from any point in the room. 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.
The Planar DirectLight Ultra Series line of MicroLED video wall displays delivers alwayson, high-performance, high-resolution display experiences with the finest pixel pitches from 0.6 to 0.9mm for the most refined and missioncritical applications. The Planar DirectLight Ultra Series presents several display technology advancements that, in combination, deliver big performance with MicroLED technology, offboard power supply, proprietary alignment technology, and the powerful Planar WallDirector Video Controller and corresponding video wall management software.
The PPDS range of Philips X-Line video wall displays comprises six direct LED backlight models with bezels of between 0.9mm and 3.5mm. The 49″ and 55″ BDL2105X/00 feature a brightness of 500 cd/sqm, a finishing haze of 3% and PPDS’s Pure Color Pro software, making them suitable for use in stores and shopping malls. There are also three models designed for use within corporate environments such as meeting rooms, lobbies, and public spaces. Offering a brightness of 700 cd/sqm, their pre-calibrated displays improve the viewing experience by making challenging content, such as the small fonts used on PowerPoint presentations, clearly legible. The new 65″ BDL6005x/00, which has a 4k display (3840×2160) and can show content from multiple sources in real time, is designed for 24/7 operation as a futureproof display technology suitable for control rooms and video surveillance.
The Prysm Laser Phosphor Display is 225 inches diagonal—20 feet wide by 5 feet high—offering a panoramic image uninterrupted by seams or bezels. The flexible, impact-resistant surface offers smooth interaction with 32 simultaneous touch points and can be viewed at any distance and at any angle without eye fatigue. The 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.
The Samsung Wall for Business is a modular, large-format indoor MicroLED that can now extend up to 583 inches without sacrificing 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 new Sharp NEC FC Series builds off Sharp/NEC’s proven FA and FE series; the new Direct View LED displays feature next generation durability; it is anti-collision, anti-electrostatic, anti-water drop, as well as dustproof. The FC Series is engineered with the latest flip chip COB instead of traditional SMD and has no external cables required for installation. The front serviceable design allows for easy access and quick maintenance when needed and the new panel is 20% lighter than its predecessors. NEC offers full planning and design, installation, and post installation maintenance support. The FC series provides the most optimal display resolution that can be achieved for close viewing distances and the line-up includes three models (LED-FC0121i, LED-FC015i, LED-FC009i) offering a variety of fine pixel pitches (0.95mm, 1.2mm, and 1.5mm).
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.
As we go to press, ViewSonic is introducing new lines of ViewSonic Direct View LED displays, including the LDS, LDM, and LDP series of displays. The LDS mobile solution delivers large screen displays in a pre-assembled design. The LDM series offers a slim large format design with ultra-thin bezels and can be wall mounted or used with an optional floor stand. The LDP Premium 4K series of 4K All-in-One Direct View COB (Chip-on-Board) LED Displays include 163-inch LDP163-091 and 216- inch LDP216-121 screen sizes. Installation can be done in either portrait or landscape mode, and for even more versatility, two of these displays can be easily installed side-by-side to form an ultra-wide 32:9 video wall. An LDP Premium 1080p series is also available with a wider variety of screen sizes including 135”, 163” and 216” models.
In a partnership with Intel, the Apantac SDM interfaces are based on the Intel Smart Display Module (SDM) platform (FPGA). These interfaces are designed to make it easier to commission compatible video walls with integrated SDM. The receivers support NDI, 12G SDI, UHD HDBaseT, SDVoE over fiber and copper.
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. It supports an unlimited number of inputs, screens, and endpoints. The included SmartFrame 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.
At ISE 2023, Datapath showcased improvements it has made to its flagship range of Datapath VSN video wall processors at ISE 2023. The next-generation VSN includes support for a 12th generation (Alder Lake) Intel Core i9 processor, with memory options available up to 64GB (ECC and non ECC). USB 3.0 is also now included to support high transfer speeds and connectivity to the latest devices. Each VSN is customized with a range of Intel processors and memory options, and can be preconfigured with Datapath Image graphics, Vision capture, and SQX IP decode cards for project requirements of any size. The new models feature a redesigned chassis, optimizing airflow to improve heat management and reduce noise. The design, along with a new platinum rated redundant power supply, makes it the most efficient VSN to date. The new chassis also includes hot-swappable fans, enabling uninterrupted use 24/7 and maintenance in the most critical installations.
Extron Quantum Ultra II 610 and Quantum Ultra II 305 are the company’s next gen video wall processors. The 18 Gbps HDMI connections on the 4K input and output cards facilitate single-path 4K/60 signals and are HDCP 2.3 compliant. The 8K-ready HyperLane video bus supports more than 20 4K/60 sources. Embedded HDMI audio from any source can be routed independently to one or more active canvases. Output on the OUT4DTP is selectable, offering DTP, XTP and HDBaseT twisted pair output modes for signal extension up to 330 feet (100 meters) in a wide variety of mission-critical environments.
The Matrox QuadHead2Go Q155 multimonitor controllers feature HDMI input support on both appliance and PCI Express card form factors, the units are purpose-built to drive four Full HD displays from a single 4K HDMI source. Use multiple QuadHead2Go Q155 multi-monitor controllers to deploy artistic and emerging video walls of any type and size. Matrox also offers the Matrox D-Series, a new family of next-generation, multi-display graphics cards. These single-slot graphics cards drive up to four 4Kp60 displays and can be easily combined to output up to 16 x 4K monitors for high-density video walls. The cards work with the full Matrox video wall ecosystem; when used with QuadHead2Go multimonitor controllers, users can power up to 64 1920x1080p60 displays from one system.
The Opticis IPVDS-700-ED, 4K HDMI IP Video Wall Controller is an integrated control solution that enables users to play multi-source of audio/video (such as PC, Media Player, DVD and Blu-ray) on the video wall system and on multiple individual displays simultaneously. This solution provides an audio/video matrix feature as well as control with a simple encoder and decoder-based workflow. Control features Black Box Radian Flex Extron Quantum Ultra II Datapath VSN Matrox QuadHead2Go include preview function of source video as well as various display configurations like merging and overlaying via drag and drop.
The RGB Spectrum Zio platform of products drive data availability and accessibility across the enterprise and between organizations. The Zio 4000 is a full-function video wall processor with advanced networking capabilities and is available as a stand-alone video wall solution or integrated with the Zio platform. Newer enhancements include LDAP user authentication, display of locally stored videos, images, and the ability to display content using VNC or RDP. The Zio 4000 is TAA-compliant.
At ISE 2023, the tvONE CALICO PRO previewed the first of a line of powerful, newly developed video processing solutions. Designed from the ground up, CALICO PRO is perfect for Direct View LED walls, extensive projector edge blends or displays, or even a mix of all three. It will support multiwindow, multi-screen, and multi-layer applications based upon tvONE’s latest, fifth generation 4K/8K, 10bit processing engine on a new, high bandwidth, flexible, 2RU hardware platform.
In February the VuWall PAK is an innovative solution for deploying and managing modular video walls in AV-over-IP environments. It’s a compact networked, multi-decode node that can operate as a stand-alone appliance or be stitched with other nodes to build an IP-based video wall that is infinitely scalable. VuWall’s PAK device features four HDp60 outputs or one 4Kp60 output and multiformat decoding up to 32 HD streams per device, including H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, NDI, PNG, JPEG, and VNC/remote desktops or virtualized browsers. As part of VuWall’s ecosystem, PAK is managed by the company’s TRx 3.1 software platform. Easy to set up and configure, PAK is designed for multiroom visualization, situational awareness, control rooms, and corporate workspaces.
