A Video Wall With A Twist

A cellular store in a Canadian mall wanted to catch the eyes of passing shoppers. The architect wanted more than a simple 5x5 video wall and designed it to fit into a corner with the last column on the adjacent surface. On top of that, the installer only had 3-4 days to get the job done.

“The challenge was the super narrow bezel, a 90 degree bend, and to maintain serviceability,” said Gil Gauthier, Certified Technology Design Specialist at Advance Pro in Winnipeg, Canada. Advance Pro is an electronic systems integrator for audio, video, communications, security and multimedia.

Gauthier said the biggest advantage of the ConnexSys system is the ability to hang the mount from standard strut channel, a common item for AV installers. “It’s kind of like the Lego block of the installer world,” he added.

Senior technician, Joe Premecz, expects to encounter imperfect walls on the job site, which makes lining up displays a challenge with individual mounts. The use of strut channel, though, to provide an even reference surface, allowed him to accommodate the distortions of the wall.

“By attaching the mounts to the steel, the panels were near proper alignment from the start,” he said.

The installer only had three days on site to put in the wall on top of working around the electrician, flooring and lighting installers. They were using ultra narrow NEC displays with no bezel and a total gap of five millimeters between screens. On top of that, the last column’s perpendicular placement would be a huge challenge.

To meet that challenge, Premecz said the ability to slide the displays horizontally and adjust the depth made it easy to line up the corner edges. They spent half a day making sure the strut channel was installed and square, then put up the 25 panels in about three hours.

“They were a huge time saver,” Premecz said.

Though there was a short turn around for delivery, Chief was able to ship the new mounts directly from the factory to arrive on site when needed. 

“I know the installer kind of went white when he heard the 90 degree part,” Gauthier said. “It’s already a challenge to line up. If it wasn’t for those brackets, I don’t know how he would have done it.”

The micro adjustment allowed by the ConnexSys system to line up the screens safely before locking them in place, the quick leveling using strut channel to hang the main row of four screens, and the need for ultra precise alignment for the high definition content made the job possible.

“There’s no way it would have happened otherwise,” Gauthier said. “It keeps the installer happy. It keeps the job on track. And even if the customer doesn’t care about the bracket, they care that the wall works.”

Serviceability was also key. They needed front access to adjust and change content and software. The RapidDraw release system helped the installer pop out only the displays he needed to access at the time.

The client is running live video, sporting events, and ads to draw people in to the store. Gauthier said any specs he does, he just puts Chief in now – that whatever extra price might be involved is more than covered by savings in installation costs, allowing the company to work tighter deadlines.

“Chief listened to installers,” Gauthier said. “This is a prime example of making life easier for installation guys. They said this makes life better and easier. It makes clients happier. The overall project was easier and smoother. It’s win win win. By looking after the installers, we are looking after everybody.”

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