Matrox Graphics Inc. today announced a worldwide partnership with global embedded computing provider Advantech to launch a new portfolio of digital signage video wall solutions.

The Matrox-validated product range includes industrial motherboards and chassis, as well as AVS series controllers that support up to two or five Matrox Mura MPX Series output/input video wall controller boards. The AVS series controllers will drive up to eight HD outputs/eight HD inputs and 20 HD outputs/20 HD inputs respectively, providing OEMs, system integrators, resellers and installers with the opportunity to build high-impact video walls for various applications including presentation, signage, control rooms, security and surveillance, and public and private venues.

"The development of video wall technology has changed basic lifestyles: Digital signage, stage broadcasting, surveillance, factory automation and transportation are all active behind the scenes. Thanks to computer, network and display technology advances, video wall performance continues to improve while total cost of ownership goes down, making video walls the fastest-growing area in the IT and digital electronics industries," said Franz Wei, vice president of Advantech Embedded Systems Group, in the announcement. "Advantech is aware of this transformation and is collaborating with ecosystem partners to develop premium video wall solutions to fulfill the market demand."

The newly-developed series of Advantech motherboards, chassis, and two (AVS-240 and AVS-290) or five (AVS-540) Mura MPX board-based systems encourage versatile video wall system development, the company said. This is due to Mura's single-slot, 4-output/4-input board design, as well as its PCI Express x16 Gen2 architecture which leverages 64 Gbit/sec duplex data transfer for full-HD performance. Mura MPX boards are also multifunctional, equipped to capture, scale, position and display a variety of input sources — including High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection-compliant devices — across an array of monitors, projectors, cubes and other outputs, the announcement said.

"This is an interesting and exciting partnership for both Matrox and Advantech as it opens up a myriad of solution concepts for the video wall market," said Helgi Sigurdsson, product manager, Matrox Graphics Inc. "Not only will customers be able to purchase preconfigured solutions for simple deployments, but also conveniently choose from a variety of Matrox-validated Advantech motherboard/chassis plus Mura MPX board combinations to deliver customized controller systems geared to meet specific video wall requirements."

Key features of the Advantech solution:

• Optimized BIOS supports multiple Mura MPX cards;
• Data bus architecture optimized for zero-latency video data switching;
• Wide operating temperature range provides high reliability in the field;
• High-efficiency power solution meets multiple Mura MPX power requirements;
• Video walls can be remotely monitored and controlled.

Advantech motherboards, chassis and AVS-240 and AVS-290 video wall controllers are now available, while the AVS-540 system will be available in Q1 2013.

Read more about digital signage hardware.