X4 display controllers allow video wall installation in Innovasport, Mexico City.
Steed Webzell
Innovasport, one of Mexico's leading sporting goods retailers, has revamped its Mexico City store, with the addition of a video wall that uses the control technology of the Datapath x4. The project was a challenge, as the wall monitors were located in different and unusual orientations in order to create a unique canvas for the video. In addition, the video had to be screened 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it was necessary that the content could be managed remotely.
Founded in Monterrey, Innovasport opened its first branch in April 1999. Over the past 15 years, the retail company has maintained steady growth, and currently has a strong presence in northern and central Mexico. Recently, the company decided to carry out a strategic modification to renew its brand, which included a change of corporate image and the presentation of a new store concept, based on a digital environment.
Basha, a specialist in point-of-sale marketing solutions, was appointed to help Innovasport revolutionize the retail sporting goods market in Mexico. Basha turned to Kolo, an experienced provider of high-end creative digital signage solutions.
An unusual configuration
The project called for the installation of a video wall managed through a media player that would manage the content remotely and also serve to transmit advertising messages. Using monitors in different positions, content had to be transmitted in high resolution, which allows a better visual appearance and above all a new way of presenting high-level communications. Ultimately, the intent was to provide consumers with valuable information in an attractive format.
Kolo began the project by designing a system composed of ten LG LCD 42WL10 screens arranged as a collage (three vertically and seven horizontally), using supports with a special design. The system is configured by three Datapath x4 controllers, which divide the video into specific portions, depending on its size and orientation, thus unifying and sharing a single video screen. Each screen has size and position properties set to a total canvas of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
An optimal solution
"Datapath x4 was the best option, considering the position of the screens and the size of the video wall," explains Roberto Hidalgo, kolo's marketing manager. "At the same time, we wanted to make a great project by investing as few resources as possible. That way we could guarantee a good price and a quick execution of the project."
The Datapath x4 is a standalone video wall controller that supports a standard single-link or dual-link DVI input, which can be flexibly displayed on four output monitors. Each output can display a different region of the original input image.
The output resolution and frame rate do not necessarily have to be related to that of the input signal, as the Datapath x4 display controller can scale and convert the frame rate for each cut region independently. Each output monitor can get its input from any region of the DVI image, as all the cropping, scaling, rotating, and frame rate conversion operations that are required are handled by the x4 hardware.
Amplified success
Innovasport's video wall also uses an eight-output Datapath dL8 video distribution amplifier for ultra-high-resolution dual-link DVI signals. The dL8 has been designed and developed to work in conjunction with the Datapath x4. Each x4 can accept a dual-link DVI output from the dL8 and select four different regions of it to project onto all monitors with DVI (single-link) or HDMI input.
The entire system at Innovasport is powered by a BrightSign XD230 digital signage media player, which has the ability to project digital video in native HD definition (1080p). In addition, the system is perfectly manageable remotely, via the internet via BrightSign Network.
Functions that can be executed remotely include changing settings, scheduling screen content, and even receiving real-time notification of system status. The use of professional, high-performance monitors facilitates a 24/7 work cycle.
The installation and configuration of the system, carried out in an emblematic innovasport store, in the Santa Fe area of Mexico City, in a span of only 18 hours, just before the opening of the store. According to Kolo, the project is the first of its kind to use Datapath x4 and dL8 technology in Mexico.
