Interview: Mike Kilian of Mvix Talks Video Walls

TD: Outside of the product itself, what should end users keep in mind in terms of the space a video wall will be installed in?

MK: There are several things to keep in mind with a video wall because they typically are such large solutions. The biggest thing that I come across when working with clients, especially in a lobby environment, is the distance that their customers are going to be standing from it. When a client is standing close to a video wall, and you have 46 inch or 55 inch displays, even though each of those has 1080p resolution, content can appear differently when stretched versus if you were standing that distance from just one screen. The next issue to keep in mind is the mounting of multiple screens next to each other, such that the “wall” is seamless and well-aligned. The biggest consideration becomes designing the content accordingly so it doesn’t appear blown up, pixelated, or distorted when people are standing in front of it.

The second thing to consider is lighting, and to some degree this comes in when you’re designing the video wall and selecting displays. Our zero bezel displays are also designed to have a high brightness level, and a matte finish to them, so generally speaking, lighting conditions are flexible and do not present an issue.

Ventilation, to some degree is a concern, but generally in a lobby, when you have an open-area environment, it is typically not an issue. The other consideration from a physical space perspective is the actual installation itself. When you have four, six, or twelve screens, you’re looking at a solution where you need to have a physical mounting facade capable of handling the load. Simply mounting these displays on dry wall without any type of stud connections or a reinforced back end is not a safe or effective option.

TD: Once a video wall is installed, how should end users expect to generate or manage content coming across the wall?

MK: This is one area where our solutions are very differentiated in the market – we provide the remote capability to manage what’s on a video wall, by multiple users. With our system a client can login from any computer, change the layout of the screen, upload their content, and even report on some of the content that’s played. This can all be accomplished remotely from any computer. With some solutions out there, there is less flexibility. You don’t always see the option for remote management, or for multiple users or permission sets. However the user element is important to consider during the design and ultimately the implementation of a video wall – what team members are going to access it, where will they be accessing it from, and how frequently do they need to access it. Additionally, will there be training, or other issues that they’re going to face from an HR perspective? Being able to remotely manage a video wall solution gives the client the flexibility that should go with such a cutting edge solution, and ultimately is going to streamline the content deployment process for them.