BEING ABLE TO WATCH several ball games at the same time is nothing new. For years, sports enthusiasts have been enjoying the multi-screen action at pubs nationwide. However, having this same experience in the comfort of your own home is new. We’re not talking about hanging a random assortment of screens in your family room and hunting and pecking through a pile of remotes controls to do it. The multi-screen solutions available to homeowners today are slick, stunning, and simple to operate. Plus, they’re able to support applications beyond traditional home entertainment, providing enough viewing options to satisfy your entire family. A custom-designed multi-screen setup just might be the one technology that brings everyone back together in the family room again.
As with any cutting-edge technology, multi-screen systems aren’t cheap, ranging from around $4,000 to $20,000 or more. However, they’ll take your entertainment enjoyment to a whole new level, where you’ll be able to watch the news, stock reports, and the big game all at the same time. Or, you might use a system to keep an eye on the baby, the front door, and The Weather Channel while you watch a movie. Avid gamers will relish the ability to play head-to-head in the same room, each on his or her own screen, and still see what’s trending on Twitter. It’s the ultimate entertainment experience that lets you take full advantage of the amazing assortment of viewing options available today.
There are two basic methods of setting up a multi-screen system, or a video wall, as it is often called. The first is by arranging multiple individual displays together on a wall surface; the second is by dividing one big screen (usually a projection screen, although big-screen TVs are possible, too) into individual viewing windows, also called tiles or quadrants. Each solution will require the addition of sophisticated audio/video switchers, processors, a custom-programmed remote control—and, of course, your choice of A/V components, such as cable and satellite receivers, media servers, computers, Blu-ray players, and surveillance cameras (eight sources is typically the max). These media sources connect to the switchers and processors that, in turn, direct each stream of video to a particular display or quadrant on a big screen and scale each image to fit perfectly into the allotted space.
In addition to delivering a variety of content to your family room, a video wall system gives you the freedom to alter the viewing arrangement on a whim. For example, with a custom-programmed tablet or touchscreen, you can quickly move ESPN programming from the far left display to the biggest screen in the middle when the sports action gets intense, or expand a window on the projection screen for closer look at the kids, captured by a video camera in the backyard.
Manuevering multiple streams of video among various screens and windows raises the risk of being extremely complicated and confusing. However, most systems account for this by providing customizable software that a professional home systems integrator can use to create a navigation menu that makes the process simple and straightforward. A menu that’s commonly utilized by professional integrators would display a graphical replica of the actual video wall on a tablet or touchscreen. Just touch a particular screen on the menu and drag the icon of the component you’d like it to display and, voilÃ: — that image appears on the appropriate screen or quadrant of the video wall. The remainder of the screens and quadrants are set up in a similar manner. The menu also allows users to choose the audio they’d like to hear, be it from the largest screen in the middle or a smaller display on the side.
So which arrangement is better: multiple individual screens or one big screen that’s divided into several windows? They both work exceptionally well, but there are a few points to consider before choosing a system for your home.
Multiple individual displays
Using several individual displays allows you to be creative (and artistic) with the arrangement of your video wall. For example, you could choose two small screens to flank one larger screen, line them all up in a row, hang them close together or put them on opposite walls. As long as they can all connect to the appropriate A/V components, the topography of the video wall is completely up to you. “One unforeseen application that’s becoming increasingly popular in homes is to use different sizes and shapes of screens to use as digital art or to display a loop of family photos,” says Adam Schmidt, vice president of sales, North America, Planar Systems, Inc. “Traditional portraits get old and stale, but with a video wall they can constantly be refreshed.” To foster creativity, Planar offers Mosaic video walls. Made up of a variety of LCD screens in different sizes and shapes that can be mixed and matched, a Mosaic video wall offers endless arrangement possibilities.
If you’d like to display a single image across multiple screens, choosing screens with super-thin bezels is critical. The larger the gap between the TVs, the more like a patchwork quilt the large image will look. The displays should be level and plumb, and mounted with precision. Accomplishing this can be challenging even for the most skilled home systems integrator. Some manufacturers, such as Planar and Premier Mounts, offer mounts that allow for small horizontal and vertical adjustments to ensure perfect alignment.
Finally, stick with one type of display, and make sure they are all calibrated (brightness and color) the same. This will ensure a seamless presentation across all screens.
One screen divided into multiple windows
If the thought of trying to align several TVs on a wall seems overwhelming, consider using a video tiling system from Savant or Crestron. These are designed to divide a large projection screen, or TV screen, into several individual windows, or tiles. For most people, installing one screen and a projector will be less labor intensive–and probably less expensive—then investing in multiple high-res displays and the appropriate mounting hardware for each.
No matter how skinny the bezels are of the TVs that comprise a video wall, there are going to be seams, says Tim McInerney, Savant director of product marketing. This might not matter when individual programs are playing on each one, but it may become an issue if you plan to expand one image across the entire video wall. If you think you’ll be watching a lot of movies, one big projection screen will deliver the best viewing experience.
You’ll have more flexibility in the size, shape, and configuration of your video wall, too. With pinch and zoom action on a tablet or touchscreen, you can alter the size of the screen tiles, move them around, and pick between one and eight or nine views, depending on the system. The configuration of the video wall can transform fluidly from one arrangement to another, based on your viewing preferences.
Thanks to technology, our at-home entertainment options are virtually endless. You can stream video from the Internet, watch traditional cable and satellite programming, play video games, surf the Web, scope out surveillance video, and project family photos and digital art onto any screen in your home. Why not take full advantage of the remarkable selection by having a video wall installed? No longer will you be forced to choose one program over another or to surf incessantly through the channels to catch everything that’s important to you. You’ll be able to access a wide assortment of entertainment and watch it all at the same time from the comfort of the family room couch.
Multi-screen Video Wall: Family Entertainment Goes Full Tilt From the moment guests approach this home and witness the giant sculptural chess set adorning the grounds, they know that they’re in for a great time. The home and the systems therein were in fact designed for entertaining, and more specifically, for gaming. Home systems integrators from Boca Home Theater & Automation, Boca Raton, Fla., infused this estate with music, movies, gaming, and even the ability to conduct live performances, with an AMX control system acting as the home’s A/V backbone.
Robust control was absolutely mandatory, considering there are no less than 32 audio zones, 23 of which include video. The bar area alone includes four 55-inch displays in a Runco Clarity Matrix Video Wall array that comprises more than 100 inches of video. There is entertainment content from dozens of sources from which to display, including Apple TV, Blu-ray, cable, satellite, video surveillance camera feeds, five Playstations, two Xbox consoles, and more.
But what’s brilliant about the system isn’t the sheer amount of gear it encompasses, but the fact that the homeowners can get any combination of audio and video sources to any local system in the house. “Whatever scenario they can think of, they can execute,” says Jeff Galea, CEO of Boca Theater and Automation. “If they want to watch two Playstation feeds, a security feed, and DirecTV on the bar video wall, they can do that. If they want to watch sports in the theater but listen to music, no problem. Nothing is impossible in this home.”
While that flexibility seems like a high-tech homeowner’s dream, operating it could have quickly turned into a nightmare if Galea and team hadn’t put so much forethought into simplifying operation. They programmed the AMX system to include straightforward “Watch This” and “Listen to This” commands that make it easy to switch A/V sources with a finger swipe on the AMX ModeroX touch panels or iPads dispersed throughout the home.
In seconds, the video wall springs into action, delivering a delectable array of entertainment for the entire family to enjoy. —Krissy Rushing
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