What are the most brands of video wall products found in SOC's? We've seen AMX and Creston, and heard of InFocus (formerly Jupiter Systems).
Extron is supposedly a big name.
What have most people seen and what tends to work the best in terms of reliability and support?
I have seen Barco in a number of C&C and SOCs.
A Barco controller/signal processor/encoder/decoder or monitors?
LiveWallMedia. Best I've seen in terms of features, functionality, and cost.
Unfortunately for integrators, they only sell direct.
We are running Barco monitors and Crestron switchers in our GSOC.
If you don't mind me asking, why Barco monitors? Is there something about them that name brands like Samsung or NEC or Orion don't have?
From what I can recall the Barco Monitors that make up the video wall were in the 40'" to 65" range and were 'zero mullion' which gave the appearance of the entire video wall being seamless (i.e. no gaps between the monitors).
Also, Barco are able to support multiple variations of wall configuration from traditional 'square' (3x3, 4x4, etc.) to long rectangular (8x4, 12x2, etc.).
I don't know enough about the manufacturers you mentioned to draw a meaningful comparison.
The Barco's are rated for commercial 24/7 service and had the best warranty. They also have a very narrow bezel which some of the others didn't have. They have been installed for over 3 years now without any issues.
Christie is pretty big in the video wall/large A/V system space as well.
Is there a preference for flat-panel style displays, front projection, or rear projection units?
You mentioned AMX and Crestron, are you looking more for controllers/switchers, for panels/projectors, or both?
Also, are you looking to do a lot of "fancy" source blending (PIPs, sharing of user desktops to video wall, etc.), or more just flip between a couple of sources on a big screen?
Is audio a concern?
I have seen a little bit of everything in SOCs over the years. I would say the most common has been the bunch-of-flatpanels approach, lots of ~60" screens arranged on a wall, sometimes with seamless bezels, but most often just basic units. This is common in smaller SOCs (4-6 operators, single-row seating). Next I would probably say is Barco rear-projection for the 6-10 operator 2-row seating setup. Beyond that in the much larger rooms (20+, 4-5 rows) is Christie or similar front projection.
If audio is incorporated (rare), then in-ceiling speakers over each operator workstation works well, or an acoustically transparent front-projection screen with the speaker array behind it being 2nd most common.
Hi Brian. I guess I'm looking more for who are the preferred brand of controllers and signal processors- the brains of the system, and not so much the displays.
We're getting asked more about doing video walls as our clientele grows and I wanted to know who were the more trusted names. We wouldn't get into anything too complex and would probably sub or refer that out, but if we partner with someone on it, we'd like to know more about the technology so we have a good understanding of what is being proposed. And if it's small enough, like say 8 to 16 monitors in a SOC and maybe 1 or 2 in a couple rooms, I think we have enough expertise to handle that provided we get adequate product training. So we'd like to know who are the brands to start looking at. (And make sure we don't end up with a Hikua of the AV world. :)
I'd probably look at Crestron first if I were you. They have been around a very long time, and they cover both resi (higher-end) and commercial applications, giving you a pretty good selection of components to go from smallish systems into larger ones. You also have a good chance of finding qualified Crestron integrators in most major markets when/if you want to sub any of that out before you decide to take it on full time as an in-house offering.
Crestron will also cover you pretty well for the stuff that control room applications tend to branch into - lighting controls, HVAC controls, etc., without having to worry too much about integrating those other functions with the touch-screens and/or remotes that control the whole system. The downside will be they are more at the upper-end of the price spectrum.
If you want to stay more strictly with A/V switching/routing/scaling, and are not concerned with getting more broadly into SOC "automation" with lights and HVAC and such, then Extron is probably one of the better options in that category.
There are also some "prosumer" or basic commercial systems like Gefen that should be a little cheaper, and still pretty robust and with good support.
Great info, thanks! I spoke with a former AV guy who said there were a lot of products out there that do the same thing. They didn't always buy the cheapest, but they did use a lot of different products, but he didn't seem to have problems with any of the many brands he used. But I'm not sure how robust in SOC displays he got into, though.
There are a ton of options for basic matrix switchers. If you dig into it, you will a lot of similarities to cameras: many products based on the same core components and reference designs. Some companies that design/build their own stuff, others that import/OEM offshore stuff, etc.
Somewhat like surveillance equipment, product support, and integration to other systems can be big decision points, depending on what you want to achieve overall. All of these units will (or should) have some kind of API, and ability to communicate with other gear. Unless it has changed recently (I do not keep up with this as much as I did 10 years ago), there is no "ONVIF" equivalent, so there is no guarantee that any two products will communicate as expected.
In dealing with A/V signals, especially HDMI, you can run into really quirky signal degradation issues, and random HDCP headaches that crop up when you least expect it. Having good back-end support, and a company with a solid RMA plan can make or break you as an integrator, because customers will not be happy when their video wall suddenly goes down.
My general advice would be to start with a more proven brand, something US-based, learn the ins and outs of A/V routing and signals, and then consider cheaper/alternate equipment when you are in a better position to weigh the tradeoffs.
We recently did 7 different video walls at a stadium in our area. We went with Samsung ultra narrow bezel displays, JBL audio, and AMX control/processing to keep everything under the (Samsung owned) Harman brand umbrella.
AMX, Crestron, and Extron are the big three names. Atlona, Kramer, and C4 are other options. I don’t see C4 outside the high end residential market often though.
Here are a couple more. A well done video wall is an expensive item but they are great for an SOC.
Has anyone heard of Digisys from France.?
I have been using a challenging product from Everbridge.
We used to run a T1V in our GSOC, but since we closed our west coast EOC we have turned it off and are in the process of getting it reconfigured as a video wall.
Many of the names mentioned above for video wall display systems and controllers are aimed at the AV market. If the SOC in question is focused around video surveillance monitoring then there are much more cost-effective solutions around, such as the VIEWSPAN range from Veracity. (I work for Veracity).
This range of video wall controllers is designed to drive most types of screen displays and has a high video decode density, aimed at displaying many high resolution IP cameras on video walls for CCTV applications in control rooms.
These systems have been installed in many control rooms and SOCs, can be controlled through a web-interface from any VMS client system or PSIM system.
Happy to provide more information if anyone is interested.
I've seen Planar used on several installs as well as some of the others mentioned.
I've also seen the above mentioned Veracity Viewspan hardware and software in action powering a quality ops center.
I'll also throw an honorable mention for Userful software with OTC screen HW I saw recently for the ops center of a sizeable retail chain. It was also tied in with their video menu/signage system in-store.
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