Video walls in Kenya

‌Broadly, there are three types of video walls available, namely – panel based video walls, cube based video walls and projection based video walls.

• Panel based video walls
• Cube based video walls
• Projection based seamless displays

‌Companies like Samsung, LG and Panasonic are the leaders in panel based video walls. They have flat screen panels with slightly thinner boundaries (bezels) than TVs. Panel based video walls are very cost effective. However, problem is that they do not provide the desired support for 24*7 operations in certain cases and there are issues in terms of color calibration. This means that the panels do not look the same in terms of the displayed output.
This limits the desired output effect that one requires.

‌Barco is a market leader in cube based video walls. Such video walls have a small projector mounted behind a display panel. The projector and panel are integrated together to give excellent output quality. In addition, the boundaries between different panels is very small (< 1mm).
Recently, Barco has introduced a zero bezel video wall in which the bezel thickness is just 0.1mm with many additional features that make the whole experience smooth and exciting.
The only drawback with these is that they come at a very hefty price.

‌These are comparatively lesser known video walls, which provide all the benefits offered by cube based video walls but at a lower price. Multiple projectors are installed to project output onto a bigger screen.
The output is 100% seamless because of a technology called edge blending and geometric correction.
Using a projector can increase the area of projection. A display screen, which is even 50 feet wide, can be illuminated by using just a few projectors.
There are a number of advantages associated with them like possible use of curved screens, proper color calibration, and behavior like a single screen.

Looking for the best of video walls in Kenya, here are key components to look for:

‌1. Display 

You can choose from LED and LCD panels, tiles, cubes, and projector systems. Not all displays have the same level of brightness or resolution and these specifications will likely be important decision criteria. The more detail and sharpness you require, the higher resolution you need. Consider the width of the display bezel. 

‌‌2. Video extenders

Sometimes video wall processors can be located close to the displays and can be connected directly by video cables. At times the video wall processor may need to be located in a server room or IT closet and the distance is too far to use a standard video cable. Thus, video extenders are needed to transport the video signals from the video wall processor to the displays.
Some IP-based systems use small receivers (one per display) that can be mounted on the back of the displays. In these cases, the signal extension occurs over the LAN and there is no need for additional video extension. 

‌3. Control

System control for multi-input and multi-window video walls can be performed in several ways. 
First, there is the video wall software that runs on the processor. This provides both content control and system management. Oftentimes administrators only want to allow users to have access to specific, pre-defined actions or control capabilities and no ability to change system management settings.
An often used solution is an external control system that sends commands to the control port of the video wall processor, typically through a serial(RS-232) or Ethernet port. Control via HTTP or XML.

‌4. Video wall processors

‌A video processor is in charge of taking the various inputs and putting them all together. An advanced video wall processor can take content from multiple sources for display on multiple screens.