Video walls comprise multiple monitors tiled together to create a connecting display. In effect, the large screen is a formation of many individual monitors. The resulting single, massive screen serves large rooms in various professional and personal capacities. Video wall technology significantly impacts all companies, regardless of the industry.
Many big brands and Fortune 500 companies recognize the importance of video walls and digital displays. Similarly, smaller organizations have jumped on board. They realize that video walls:
- Are affordable and scalable
- Can help them become more productive
- Increase their brand visibility
- Enhance internal and external communications
- Are easy to configure and control
- Improve consumer engagement and interactivity
Sadly, many businesses make video wall mistakes when deploying the technology. There’s more to video walls than hanging some store-bought screens in a grid. Here’s a look at the top four common mistakes and how to resolve them.
Overlooking Content-Related Issues
Without experience in video wall content, individuals can run into numerous content-related problems. For example:
- Content is too long: Extremely long digital signage content is common among amateur designers. Yet, short and straightforward messages will always take the day in digital signs. As an illustration, think of a billboard on the highway. A driver moving at 70 mph won’t have time to read an ad that takes 30 seconds. In the same way, your video wall audience has many distractions to handle. Hence, stick with the general rule of thumb to limit your video content to 10 seconds.
- Lack of visual hierarchy: When the visual order of video wall displays doesn’t make sense, it gets difficult for the viewer to understand it. For this reason, ensure you put the most crucial part of the content at the forefront. Make it most prolific by changing its text color or background. Repetition of the critical message may also prove beneficial.
- Using small unreadable text: The font you use for video walls should be large, occupying at least a quarter of the screen. Consider choosing a sans serif font, balancing it with the pixel pitch. As a tip, most video walls contain fewer pixels than a computer screen. The result is that they’re not as detailed. It, therefore, makes no point to create shining effects or shadows.
Not Considering Mounting Factors
There are essentially several ways to mount a video wall, depending on your venue. For example, you can hang them from the ceiling, install them on a stand, or mount them on a wall. By all means, pay attention to the ADA considerations when putting up video walls in public places.
Is your video wall in a traffic path? In that case, the mounting hardware and display should not protrude more than 4″ from the wall. The solution may be to recess or extend the wall or mounting structure to the floor for compliance. You also want your video wall to be away from direct sunlight to prevent damaging viewing effects.
Failure to Take Advantage of Interactivity
Interactivity in video walls isn’t a necessity. Nonetheless, it enhances the end-user experience and boosts event engagement. Ways to implement interactivity into a video wall include using a touch display. Alternatively, you can use an app on a mobile device to augment the content.
As the owner of the video wall project, you should look at the setup through the eyes of your intended audience. Think deeply about the content to display, whether it’s
- Social media feeds
- Virtual product demonstration
- Audio-visual enhancements
- In-house network programming
- Static images
Then, ask yourself how touch can add value to the content. At the same, this input can be overbearing in some contexts. In such a case, install a smaller touchscreen display in front of the video wall. The interaction will be less intimidating. Additionally, the video wall remains the main focal point.
Not Considering the Distance from the Viewer
Your video walls are commercial-grade. Hence, it’s only essential to decide on the size and resolution displays you need. The way to do this is to have the correct measurements of the viewing distance. For the best outcome, you want your video screens to minimize the visibility of the screens’ pixels.
To illustrate, a 2 x 2 video wall with 84” 1080p displays may have pixels twice as big as a 3 x 3 video wall with 55” 1080p displays. The latter would be a better choice for close viewing. An experienced systems integrator can help you in making these decisions. Besides, you’ll be better off working with them for calibration, proper installation and mounting solutions, content optimization, and troubleshooting of any technical issue.
Final Thoughts
When setting up a video wall project, it’s essential to ensure it serves its intended purpose. This is only possible by minimizing the common pitfalls in video wall installation. Most importantly, let a professional in the field help you set up the video wall system.
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