Tale of Two Screens

Monitor based video walls and Direct View LED Video walls both have their places but do not yet directly compete with each other. It’s important to understand some of the key differences between these two display approaches.

NEC Display Systems, one of the few manufacturers that offer deep choices for both technologies, had impressive examples of both types of video walls on display at their recent NEC NYC 2018 Showcase.

RPT’s DigitalSignMount.com business specializes in challenging and non-conventional mounting of video walls, modular and portable in most cases and often without a wall to mount on. We try to follow trends that might affect our growth and to become aware of new business sectors we can provide modular video wall mounts for and for those changes that might obsolete or require new thinking in our expertise.

Except for some trade show modular displays of Direct View LED systems for importers and resellers, our video wall mounts are usually for simple and artistic arrays of narrow bezel video wall monitors from 22”- 65”, but we are expanding into creative modular mounting systems for Direct View LED.

RPT 98″ Pop Up Portable Video Wall with 2 x 2 Array of 49″ Monitors with 1.8mm bezels:

Two Hypothetical Walls:

For this discussion we’ll build two hypothetical top quality 110” Video Walls for discussion. We’ll ignore video wall controllers and mounts for this discussion; those choices should be part of the planning only after you’ve chosen the appropriate display technology for your application needs and budget.

Direct View LED:

This discussion is based primarily on indoor video walls, so for Direct View LED wall we will choose the NEC F Series in the finest available pitch (1.26mm). Conveniently the F Series are a 16:9 aspect ratio and when arrayed matches well in size to NEC 55” Monitors. The 1.26mm pitch is the finest in the NEC Direct View LED line, and in the standard 608mm x 342mm module there are 480 pixels wide x 270 pixels high.

Sixteen panels of NEC LED-F012i, in a landscape array 4 modules wide x 4 modules high, assemble into a nominal 110” diagonal Video Wall with resolution of 1920 x 1080 ( Full HD). In Oct 2018 we searched online for best pricing and the best price we found was $ 6,829.99 per panel, for a cost of $ 109,279.84 for 16 panels only.

Monitor Based Video Wall

For equal size comparison we have chosen the NEC UN551VS Ultra Narrow Bezel (0.9mm) 1080P Video wall monitor. Four of these monitors form a 110” diagonal Video wall with pixel pitch of 0.63mm and total resolution of 3840 x 2160 (Full 4k). Typical pricing at this writing is <$4,500 per monitor, total approximately $18,000.00 for monitors only.

Cost per resolution comparison

On an equal surface area, panels only basis, the Monitor based video wall is 1/6^th the cost for 4x the displayable resolution. Stated in another way a single pixel of Direct view is about 24 times more expensive than a single pixel on a 55” monitor. These costs will move closer with time, but are unlikely to become anywhere near equal in the near future.

Viewing distance differences

The use case where most people currently find Direct View LED video walls is large physical format walls where the viewing distance is long so that pixel pitch can be larger without affecting the visual image. In these applications the significantly higher pixel density of Monitors adds no improvement in visual quality because the human eye can’t resolve the extra resolution and all that extra resolution is essentially wasted. One significant benefit of the NEC F series Direct view video walls is the ability to choose from a variety of pixel spacing on the same mechanical framework.

There are many viewing distance calculators available online, for this discussion we have used one from Starico. They calculate a factor called Visual Acuity Distance which they define as:

“The Ideal Viewing Distance based on Visual Acuity: This distance is calculated based on the reference resolving power of the eyes. The human eye with 20/20 vision can detect or resolve details as small as 1/60th of a degree of arc. This distance represents the point beyond which some details in the picture are no longer able to be resolved, so pixels begin to blend together. Closer to the screen than this may result in the need for higher resolution display.”

The calculated Visual acuity distances for our hypothetical video walls:

110” 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution Direct View LED Video Wall calculates at 14.3 feet.
110” 3840 x 2160 (4K) resolution Monitor Based Video Wall calculates at 7.2 feet

Depending on use, video walls are often quite close to the customer, and at those distances the Monitor based video wall enables a much cleaner visual without visible (to viewer) pixels at closer viewing distances. Even a 110” video wall at the rear of a storefront window display is generally too close for good visual image quality even using the finest resolution Direct View LED Video Wall modules, but if the budget permits, a high mounted storefront video wall designed to be viewed from further way inside a retail mall benefits from the lack of bezel gaps, higher brightness and better reliability that Direct View LED offers.

Other differences and considerations:

Direct View LED can have very high refresh rates, much higher number of displayable colors and higher contrast ratios and often higher maximum brightness.

Direct View LED panels have longer life and when well installed less maintenance will be required over the lifetime of a video wall. Failed modules can be replaced in small sections while Monitor based video walls will require replacing an entire monitor.

Monitor based video wall monitors with ultra thin bezels are fragile units that must be carefully handled and mounted to avoid inter screen contact and especially edge and corner impacts which will destroy the screen. In portable or rental applications, we recommend 3.5 mm A-A monitors for reliability at the expense of larger bezel intrusion into the image.

Summary:

Direct View LED Video Walls will grow in the number of applications and installations as pixel pitches get finer and costs drop more significantly. To properly justify the higher cost of Direct View LED will require a complete understanding of the applications they are being proposed into and the benefits that derive from Direct View LED. In a small but growing subset of video walls, Direct View LEDs make perfect technical sense. Monitor based video walls won’t compete where they can’t meet technical advantages of Direct View LED.

Monitor based Video Walls will continue to dominate the Video Wall market. The significantly higher resolution and lower cost per pixel or area of screen, plus the ability to view high quality visuals (albeit with small bezel gaps) from closer distances will continue to make monitors the best choice in most retail and commercial installations. In this hypothetical example, you could potentially deploy six monitor based 110” video walls for the display cost of a single 110” Direct View LED wall.

Often Direct View LED are chosen for portability reasons. The simplicity, accuracy and rigidity of the modules and connection systems are an excellent advantage for large portable video walls that need to be hung or ground stacked. RPT Motion has great reliable systems for portable arrays of Monitor based video walls perfect for events and trade shows at significantly lower capital cost. Please contact us for more information:

RPT Ultimate Desktop Array Mount

This is a preliminary post, the first public showing of RPT’s Ultimate Desktop Array Mounting System will be at the NEC New York Showcase October 24, 2018.

RPT wanted ultimate monitors for the Ultimate Desktop Array, so we partnered with NEC who have an expanding range of superb desktop monitors from 22″-27″ that have ultra thin bezels and the convenience of real digital signage features that are perfect for small arrays like Control Link.

NEC builds superb monitors of all sizes. Great monitors deserve perfect alignment, especially desktops where the user will spend many hours per day up close and personal with large amounts of data or images on multiple displays.

The perfect mount provides full six axis (X, Y, Z, Tilt, Pan, Roll) adjustment for each monitor allowing the monitor to accurately float in 3D space a few thousandths of an inch from each adjacent monitor. Angled desktop arrays bring geometric challenges that make perfect alignment an incredible challenge, a test that most mounts fail.

This sneak peek unpolished hand held cell-phone picture is from our prototype assembly shop demo area with six NEC EA271F-BK 27″ Monitors display controlled by Userful’s Software Video Wall Controller. The total resolution of this array is 5760 x 2160.

At the NEC New York Showcase this same layout was on display with six of the higher native resolution NEC EA271Q-BK Monitors for a stunning desktop array resolution of 7680 x 2880.

Here’s a link to a Rave Publications video clip from the NEC NYC Showcase about the EA271Q in this array.

Multi Deployment Portable Video Wall Systems

Introduction:

RPT Motion ( www.DigitalSignMount.com) designs and builds two related portable Video Wall systems:

RPT Modular Portable Video Wall System: For larger video walls (up to 5 high usually) and specific use cases like trade or road shows. These systems are custom Modular Custom built portable free-standing video wall structures designed to support larger arrays in a single or a variety of configurations. Building block modules connect quickly via precision machined quick connectors. Individual modules are small enough to be hand mounted by one or two people to quickly form a rigid ground supported precisely spaced system of RPT GHB drop on monitor mounts.

RPT PopUp Portable Modular Video Wall System: A system of rolling Monitor Stack modules that deploys 2 or 3 monitors high. Monitor Stacks connect horizontally with precision machined structural spacers building arrays as many monitors wide as required. RPT PopUp Modular Video Wall Systems are designed with RPT GHB drop on monitor mounts for fastest simplest deployments almost anywhere. This system is ideal for rental use where flexibility and speed of deployment adds significant value.

RPT’s GHB Mount is common to both of these systems. The GHB mount was developed for portable applications and is a precision machined 3 axis adjustable modular mount that allows quick drop on of monitors to an exactly repeatable position as last adjusted. The GHB mounting system maintains the planarity of the monitor faces and the three axes of micro-adjustability allows quick and precise non-contact bezel alignment and the use of monitor manufacturer corner connection keys.

White Paper:

Multi-Deployment Options for Modular Portable Video Wall Systems

Wall mounted video walls are now relatively common and are becoming more affordable. Larger arrays are becoming more popular as video wall controllers evolve making them easier to configure and simpler to deploy and manage content.

Direct View LED panels and Thin Bezel LCD monitors each have their respective places and uses in the marketplace. Each technology brings a set of limitations, control and mounting complications and costs to potential uses. One key differentiator is that any requirement for the audience to be physically close to the video wall favors the use of high resolution LCD monitors.

This paper concerns portable video walls based on arrays of ultra thin bezel monitors, typically 49” or 55” 1080P video wall monitors.

Video walls return investment by enhancing image or by improving event and meeting results by displaying informative presentations with content and resolution that is difficult or impossible to present well on a single monitor or projector based system.

Video walls usually rely on delivering an audience to the video wall and are mounted permanently in high traffic area. Portable video walls can remove that constraint, letting you take the video wall on the road, allowing you to deliver the content to potential customers at events, trade shows, training or product launches.

Video walls are a significant investment, whether rented or owned, and they become more expensive when they need to be portable. Portable video walls must to bring their own wall structure to the deployment, be free-standing and modular for quick precise assembly. To maximize use portable video wall systems need to be able to be moved quickly and deployed into multiple configurations and locations. The simpler and more reliable a portable video wall deployment, the lower the overall cost of operating it becomes and the more places it will find good uses.

This document explores the use of a very complete and flexible RPT Modular Video Wall System combined with RPT PopUp Modular Video Wall System with using a single pool of Ultra Thin Bezel LCD monitors to serve multiple use cases within a single corporate environment or rental operation.

Example Monitor Pool: 25 x Ultra Thin Bezel 49” or 55”

Use Case One (Largest Deployment): 5X5 for Event or Theater Use

Use summary: Performance or presentation stage backdrop to replace front projection display.

Frequency: 4-6 Times per year for 2-14 days per event.

Mounting Structure: RPT Modular Video Wall: 5 high x 5 wide Landscape ground supported freestanding for 49” 3.5mm bezel to bezel monitors.

Video Wall Controller: Userful Software Video Wall Controller with ThinGlobal Minipoint DS POE Zero Clients mounted on structure. Userful allows maximum flexibility to quickly configure large video walls for a wide range of inputs and content in any layout desired on the 5×5 array. The HDMI over IP basis of Userful allows small POE Zero Clients to be mounted on the modular structure so that any monitor can drop onto any mount without re-configuring the video wall array.

Mounts: RPT GHB-L3 provide secure drop on and easy adjustment of monitor alignment.. The GHB-L3 mounts were designed for portable video wall use. The GHB-L3 mounts maintain planarity of video wall arrays and have 3 axes of micro-adjustment to quickly align bezel to bezel spacing. The mounting system is slightly asymmetrical to allow the ease use of corner key alignment plates common on video wall monitors.

Layout: Fully modular, six legs with leveling feet, two layers. Bottom layer is 3 monitors high based on 3” x 6” structural t-slotted aluminum. Top layer is 2 monitors high based on 3” x 3” structural T-slotted aluminum. Longest module is less than 90 inches long and heaviest module is less than 75 lbs for easy assembly by two workers without heavy lifting equipment.

Flexible Deployment options: This RPT Modular Video Wall structure will allow the video wall to be quickly deployed as either 3 or 5 high and user choice of 2, 3, 4 or 5 wide.

Expansion: One video wall five monitors high will be the vertical limit, but additional columns wide can be added at any time in the future, subject to continued same monitor model availability.

Storage of frame and mounts: RPT Modular frame and RPT GHB Asymmetrical mounts will be disassembled and stored on wheeled storage carts. RPT, as much as possible, will present modules on storage carts in normal assembly order with allowance for less than full deployments if possible.

RPT Modular Portable Video Wall Full 5×5 Frame assembled:

RPT Modular Portable Video Wall 5×5 with Monitors:

Note: Height of bottom monitors is a design variable and can be higher. Front feet will typically be covered with a modular carpeted step.

Use CaseTwo:

Multi-wall multi-facility Deployment for varied uses of smaller video walls

Use summary: When not deployed in Event or Theater mode: Some, most or perhaps all of the 25 monitors will be deployed into smaller arrays in one or more rooms or perhaps different facilities.

Typical deployments will be freestanding 2 x2 and 3 x 3 video walls. The mounts for this use case will be RPT PopUp Portable Video Wall System. We will suggest a mix of 2 High RPT PopUp Monitor Stacks and several RPT PopUp Stacks with the 3 High fold up option. This allows easy expansion should a location require a larger deployment (more walls, bigger walls, or both) for any specific event or purpose.

RPT PopUp Portable Video Wall deployment options:

The RPT PopUp Portable Video wall system uses the same RPT GHB monitor mounting system interface. This reduces overall cost and allows easy exchange of monitors between the RPT Modular 5×5 Video wall and the RPT PopUp video walls. Any monitor in the system can drop onto any mount in the system.

For simplicity of content and set-up, these smaller Multi Purpose Video Wall deployments may or may not have a Userful controller. The controller may have local PC with enough HDMI outputs, or be a controller-less 2×2 or 3×3 daisy-chained tile mode from 4K monitor input.

Here’s a 2 x 2 RPT PopUp Portable video wall, front and rear view for typical trade-show or against the wall use. For corporate or event use we usually propose optional rear covers and doors.

Usually one monitor stack per deployable video wall will have a RPT Modular Rack for the power distribution and video player or controller for each 2×2 or 3×3 RPT PopUp video wall.

The RPT PopUp Stacks are wheeled and flexible. The optional third level deployment is via a fold-up top layer shown folded down in picture below, so they can be deployed 2 or 3 high.

This back folding option keeps the rolling height under normal office and truck door levels and allows rolling onto passenger elevators. The stacks without monitors can roll and deploy almost anywhere in any of your facilities.

Basic Two high stacks can have the third level retrofit at any time, making it easy to start small and expand over time.

Flexibility of deployment:

RPT PopUp Monitor Stacks quickly connect horizontally with precision machined structural bars, and multiple arrays of like or different deployed height can be connected. This allows the great flexibility of deployment almost anywhere,

RPT PopUp Monitor Stacks can be deployed as wide as you have monitor stacks and connectors. Mixed height arrays are easy, so 2 high and 3 high stacks can move and deploy easily and be connected into much larger video walls.

Here’s an example of a 17 monitor array connected from two 2×2 RPT PopUp Video walls flanking a 3×3 RPT PopUp Video Wall. In this deployment case with this hypothetical 25 monitor pool, there would still be eight monitors free allowing two more 2×2 arrays available for deployment at the same event or elsewhere in the company.

Monitor Road Cases:

Monitors must be removed to clear doors when the video wall is moved room to room. For monitor safety during transport or for storage road cases are required.

Some number of Monitor road cases will be required to reasonably protect and transport the monitors from Theatre Use deployment to Multi-Purpose deployments. If required, the transport of monitors and mounts will generally be accomplished by private truck with ramp, lift gate or loading dock level load and unload. Any monitors moving location to location will require road cases and also road cases for any monitors not deployed for safe storage between deployments.

The monitors may not need to be all loaded into road cases at any one time, but more road cases mean fewer trips to harvest and re-deploy monitors between uses. The Calzone-RPT road cases we supply are specially designed for monitors with the RPT GHB interface bracket attached and each holds two monitors.

For a 25 Monitor pool, presuming local deployments for mixed use cases like this system we’d suggest at least seven double monitor road cases to store or transport up to 14 monitors. This limits a complete re-distribution of all monitors to maximum of two loads and assumes that at least 11 monitors must remain deployed on structures at all times.

Summary:

Portable video walls expand your opportunities to present your message to more audiences at more events than a fixed video wall installation. Flexibility and ease of deployment will increase the opportunities.

RPT Motion supplies portable video wall systems with precision modular mounting technology that allows fast reasonable cost deployment. The ease of deployment will result in higher utilization of the significant investment that portable video walls represent.

A system like the comprehensive 25 monitor one outlined here is a very significant investment. It is important to remember that the modularity of the RPT systems will protect your investment by allowing expansion. Acquisition of this comprehensive 25 monitor system could be staged over a period of time by a series of fully functional sub-set acquisitions. A single 2×2 RPT PopUp Portable Video Wall can immediately bring a new dimension to your presentations and events and become the first part of a much larger future system.

Request more information or ask us for a copy of this white paper in pdf format.

Portable Video Wall Mount Options

Portable Video Walls aren’t well understood. Frankly, people don’t usually move video walls from place to place because they’re expensive complex systems and the available mounting systems aren’t reliable or simple to move. That’s a shame, we have RPT Modular Video Wall customers who deploy large video walls 40+ times in a few months each year at self-managed trade shows and product launches in smaller cities. Our new RPT PopUp System makes it even easier.

Before you consider the RPT PopUp Portable Video Wall System, you should first look at how you will use your portable video wall. The following questions will help you define your needs and narrow down your selection of portable mounting systems.

Basic questions you need to answer:

Have you ever rented a video wall? A 3×3 video wall will typically cost roughly $10K for a three day event, where they are available. Many smaller cities won’t have easy access to rental video walls, and the costs will multiply if transport and set-up costs are added.

How many monitors will your video wall have? What size monitors?

How many times per year will you move your video wall to maximize its impact and ROI?

Will your video wall stay in one room for its lifetime?

Do you need to move your video wall to different rooms or deploy it on different floors of one facility through standard office doors or on passenger elevators?

Is the primary use for your video wall to take to trade shows? If so are these events at large convention centers or self hosted events at hotels in smaller cities or various customer facilities?

Will your video wall be part of a rental program?

Will your video wall always be deployed in one layout (example fixed as 2 Wide x 2 High Landscape Array) or do you want flexibility and future expandability (example the nine monitors in a 3×3 array could be deployed as two 2×2 video walls)?

What type of content will you display on your video wall, what resolution is that content produced in, and what type of video wall controller will you select to place your content on your video wall?

Who will be responsible for the basic integration of the Portable Video Wall mounting, monitors, player, power distribution, cabling and any other required hardware? Where will all that hardware be mounted?

Once you understand the purpose of owning a portable video wall, you can start looking at ways to mount it and more importantly move it.

Option to explore:

The first thing we will do is send you to another top-notch supplier, so that you can educate yourself to some options. At first glance, RPT PopUp Video Walls will seem to be significantly more expensive than this option, so if this works for you you might be able to save money. Often we find potential customers have budgeted for this type of mounting without fully understanding the limitations. Or worse, they own these mounts and moving the video wall is inconvenient so it never moves place to place.

The lowest cost and simplest portable video wall mounting system is a single cart type of mount for a fixed number of monitors. If this type of mount works for you, please understand the limitations and then choose a quality cart of suitable capacity.

Here’s a link to typical fine example of a quality cart type of single layout mount from Milestone (formerly Chief):

See: http://www.chiefmfg.com/Products/LVM2X2U

It handles up to 50” monitors and provides micro adjustments mounts for the monitors. It is assembled on site from a kit of parts (Assembly manual link: http://downloads.chiefmfg.com/MANUALS-I/LVMSeries-I.pdf) and the completed assembly measures 80.5” high x 72.5” wide x 40” deep without monitors.

This type of simple single layout cart is a good choice for a simple low cost self-integrated video wall that won’t ever be moved room to room or facility to facility. Even without monitors these carts won’t fit through standard office doors or onto passenger elevators unless you take the cart apart to move it. There are wiring passages in the frame, but you will need to integrate and enclose your power distribution and any network or video wall controller hardware you require to move with the video wall.

All of these integration issues multiply if you’re deploying larger arrays (example 3×3) and each layout of array requires a specific model of cart, there is no clean upgrade path to larger arrays or deploying a large array as two smaller ones.

If a simple cart type of mount works for you, it may at first glance seem to be lower cost than the RPT PopUp System, but the time, integration quality and total cost may vary widely.

Monitors are the most fragile part, and the most expensive:

We’ve seen a lot of poorly mounted simplistic modular portable video walls at trade shows and other events from smaller manufacturers. These can take a long time to properly align into an attractive and professional looking array, an exercise that repeats every time you move your video wall.

You really need to be 100% confident in the rigidity and accuracy of the mounting system when using Ultra Thin bezel monitors (3.5mm Bezel-Bezel like the 49″ Philips BDL-4988XC is the smallest bezel we recommend for portable video walls).

Ultra thin bezels make for easily broken monitor glass with any impact especially to corners. Quality monitors are the biggest cost in a video wall and are the most likely components to be broken when moving a poorly mounted in a portable video wall.

RPT highly recommends properly designed road cases for the monitors of a portable video wall to protect the monitors during a move. RPT partners with Calzone Cases for dual monitor road cases predesigned for maximum protection of the 49” and 55” monitors we recommend. These cases allow one person to safely move two monitors at a time.

Why RPT PopUp Portable Video Walls?

RPT provides a rugged precision portable video wall mounting system designed for modern Ultra Thin Bezel monitors.

Our RPT PopUp Video Wall deploys quickly, typically a 2 x 2 wall will be content ready in under 30 minutes, often 15 minutes.

Our Monitor stacks include standard front panels and rear cable bins to catch excess cables, this allows simple integration. As well, we build on t-slotted aluminum and that offers an unlimited number of places to secure cables and other hardware.

For more on integrating RPT PopUp Stacks see: http://digitalsignmount.com/2018/02/06/rpt-popup-video-wall-integration/

RPT offers options like rear doors to make your PopUp Video wall look finished from behind if needed:

If you’re using an HDMI over Ethernet Video Wall Controller like Userful or MonitorsAnywhere, RPT offers mounted ThinGlobal MiniPoint DS Power Over Ethernet Zero Clients at each monitor location.

We will integrate our RPT PopUp System to any desired level, from naked non-folding mounts for you to integrate all the way to fully folding and wired plug and play. Because of that experience, we’ve already answered most of the hard integration questions and can quickly deliver what you need: A reliable and safe portable video wall, or components to help you do the integration yourself.

We offer an optional RPT Modular 4U rack mounted to the back of one or more monitor stacks to carry your network, power distribution, Uninterruptible Power Supply and Video Wall Player or Controller hardware securely and neatly.

We always offer expansion and variety of deployment configurations as a retrofit at any time from a basic 2×2 array through 4 high x as many wide as you want, all without losing your initial investment. This can allow multiple smaller video walls or one large one from your pool of monitors. A common example would be one 3×3 trade show Video Wall deployed as two branch office 2 x 2 RPT PopUp Video Walls when not at trade shows.

Or a collection of several branch office RPT PopUp Video Walls merged into a 17 monitor back wall of a 20 foot trade show booth:

Simply put: RPT PopUp Portable Video Walls are a premium option that will make your Portable Video Wall easier to integrate, more flexible, more reliable and easier to deploy more often in more places.

Tell us what you need to do, you’ve answered the questions above, we have the solution.