In what is believed to be a first-of-a-kind installation, Mechdyne and Sony have put together a 32’x9’ 8K x 2K LED curved video wall featuring Sony’s Crystal LED technology. The Government aerospace client also requested a 3D capability for stereoscopic viewing.
The 3D image adjusts to the viewer’s position and orientation to enable look-around and sixteen motion-tracking cameras facilitate this. The design also includes support for finger tracking to monitor the position and orientation of a user’s hand relative to the on-screen components.
The unnamed client required the display solution for the viewing of complex CAD models as well as other advanced visualization and simulation needs.
We reached out to Mechdyne’s Jeff Brum, Terry Mercer, and Zach Laws to learn more. They explained that the client wanted the system to function as both a workspace but also a briefing center for VIPs. The Sony Crystal LED was chosen for its superior image quality. The team selected a high-contrast version with a 1.2mm pitch and a special diffuser to reduce stair-stepping. The resolution of the final wall was 7860×2160. This configuration was chosen because a full 8Kx4K resolution screen would have been too tall to fit in the room. As a result, the display extends from the floor nearly to the ceiling.
SONY CLED Curved with Space Station – click for higher resolution
This installation is one of the few of the Crystal LEDs that is curved and required a carefully designed frame, support, and alignment system, provided by rp Visual Solutions. Fortunately, the team was able to accommodate a last-minute change to lower the system and change the curvature. Ancillary flat panels are installed elsewhere in the space and at the entranceway, while 7.1 surround sound floods the room from unobtrusively positioned speakers. Completing the installation is a control station from which a meeting facilitator can create and manage working sessions and presentations.
One of the most challenging aspects of the project was the control system needed to manage access to a variety of content sources and types and present images to the screen. The graphic below shows that the system needs 2 PCs for 3D images but only one for 2D images. These signals can feed directly into the dual Crystal LED controllers via DisplayPort. Two controllers are required as one controller can only support 4Kx2K. Special DisplayPort KVM devices were needed to support the synchronization of these two PCs.
But a wide variety of other sources and control capabilities needed to be supported as well, necessitating the use of a video switch and Mechdyne’s Meeting Canvas software. The HDMI ports on the Crystal LED controllers used these sources and control signals.
Mechdyne integrated and programmed the installation for various use cases, including a windowing system capable of simultaneously displaying 2D and stereoscopic 3D content from multiple sources anywhere on the screen. The Meeting Canvas software allows the video wall to simultaneously display up to four HD inputs and four UHD 4K inputs.
To ensure the complex solution would work adequately, Mechdyne assembled the complete system in-house, with the client doing an acceptance test. The system was then disassembled, shipped to the client’s site, and reintegrated. (CC)
