Original source: https://vuwall.com/simplifying-avoip-video-wall-deployments/
What is a video wall?
A video wall is a group of displays which together form one large display or digital canvas. Large-format video walls are an essential communication and visualization component for control rooms, crisis rooms and corporate workspaces for various verticals, such as security, utilities, transportation, government, military and defense, and telecommunications. Reliable video wall displays and content management support communications, interactivity, creativity and collaboration. A clear, easy-to-use video wall allows operators and users to observe important visual information and react quickly in real-time, whether in a government emergency center or corporate training room.
Limitations & Challenges with Traditional Video Walls
Video walls have typically been among the most expensive and complex AV systems to design and integrate. Traditional video walls require specialized hardware and software to enable the system to work together and often, the lack of interoperability between systems cannot provide users with a unified and seamless experience. Traditional video wall controllers are generally custom-built and hardly scalable on-site. These controllers also represent a single-point of failure, requiring them to be deployed in an expensive redundant setup. Until recently, this was the only technology available for reliable and high-performance video wall control. This technology is still very adequate for control room and collaboration room applications, but may no longer be the most cost-effective solution, nor the most reliable, versatile or future-proof.
AV-over-IP to the Rescue!
The introduction of video over IP, or networked video distribution, has simplified delivery of video content across a network. It enables users to seamlessly visualize real-time video and audio content on any display within the facility. Specifically for video walls, networked video distribution facilitates reliable video distribution and seamless content management to create a simplified and flexible user experience. IP-based network protocols enable users to distribute high-quality, low-latency video and audio content over standard networks in real-time.
Some video wall over IP solutions are modular, scalable, and interoperable with third-party technology and applications. A modular architecture would seamlessly support future deployments. Additionally, IP-based video wall technology can eliminate common challenges of interoperability with existing infrastructure. The recent progress in AV-over-IP technology is transforming methods for content distribution by creating cost-effective, future-proof solutions.
PAK – Redefining Video Wall Deployments
VuWall’s PAK™ video wall nodes eliminate complicated wiring, a single point of failure, and past challenges by creating a proper and efficient networked video wall solution. Recently launched, PAK brings an innovative way to deploy and manage modular video walls in AV-over-IP environments. PAK is a networked multi-decode node that can also efficiently operate as a standalone device. For large displays, PAK can easily be stitched with other nodes to build an IP-based video wall that is infinitely scalable and can function as a single large canvas. PAK simplifies video wall integration by reducing the number of endpoints and eliminating a single point of failure to minimize risk and improve reliability. As part of VuWall’s ecosystem, PAK is managed by VuWall’s award-winning TRx 3.1 software platform. Today, it’s possible to quickly and cost-effectively build a reliable, flexible video wall system over a distributed network with PAK.
