Introduction
MVS Audio Visual installed a bespoke 7×2 4K-enabled video wall into the middle of Heathrow T5 for Caviar House & Prunier.
MVS Audio Visual was approached by P&A Shop-fitting (the end client’s preferred shop-fitter) to design and build a bespoke video wall solution for its Heathrow T5 seafood Bar. Having worked with P&A Shop-fitting on a number of installs in the past, the shop-fitter placed its trust once again in MVS for this bespoke project.
“The shop-fitter approached a number of AV integrators (including some of the largest organisations) and MVS came out on top which is a big win for MVS,” Alistair Maher, business development manager.
The Solution
PA Shop-fitting was entirely responsible for the shop-fit and framework for the video wall, meaning MVS could concentrate on the install of the brackets, screens, distribution and content. MVS provided the specs of the equipment and P&A Shop-fitting designed a structural housing to accommodate the 7×2 video wall, which measured approximately 6.5m high in the air to the highest screen.
The equipment – Screens
with a bezel width of 3.5mm in 55″ super-narrow bezel display were installed, creating a video wall that was easily installed, in addition to being easy to maintain and manage. “One of the most narrow bezels at this price point was a key factor for the client on this project,” says Alistair.
Datapath’s dL8 was also selected for this project; an eight output distribution amplifier for high resolution dual-link DVI signals. It has a fully programmable EDID to graphics source, allowing simple control of resolution and frame rate. Through active equalisation and re-clocking hardware it supports source cable lengths up to 20m at full Dual-Link resolutions.
The equipment – Datapath
The Datapath dL8 supports up to 32 screen display walls when used in conjunction with up to eight Datapath x4 display wall controllers. The Datapath x4 is a stand-alone display wall controller that accepts a standard single or dual-link DVI-D input and can flexibly display this across for DVI-I outputs.
“This was a very cost effective solution to achieve a professional and exemplary result,” he notes. “Once we knew the framework was sorted it allowed us to build the video wall offsite in our warehouse and test different content and settings for the Datapath controllers,” Alistair explains.
“We used a DL8 and four X4 units for the management of the content to retain the resolution on this video wall. Once we were happy with the reproduction of 4K content, we then repackaged and shipped the wall to site. When working in airports, the regulations and checks needed on goods coming into the airport are stringent and this process took a week, so the preparation we put in was key. Once our equipment had passed through the checks, our install team had to abide by similar checks and induction tests for airside access.”
The results
After this, Alistair insists that the installation was easy, “albeit being 6m in the air, hanging 23kg screens and aligning them correctly and calibrating all screens!”
Works was completed during the night while the airport was quiet and was up and running within two days.
“4K content being displayed over the 7×2 format video wall was a unique challenge,” Alistair admits. “4K content resolution is 4096 x 2160 and the resolution of the combined screens was 3840 x 7560, therefore we needed the assistance of Datapath to confirm what resolution the content needed to be produced in and what processing power we required to manage the content on the screens. Once this was identified we knew there would be a lot of offsite testing to iron out any issues that may occur.”
