News

UK shopping mall buys into digital signage

September 13, 2013

U.K.-based computer graphics and video wall display technology provider Datapath's x4 multidisplay controllers are powering a digital signage video wall display at the U.K.'s fourth-largest shopping center, the Bluewater Shopping Centre, according to a Datapath announcement.

At Bluewater, three Datapath x4 units serve a nine-screen video wall with up to 4K HD content. With millions of visitors passing through the doors of Bluewater every year, this showcase unit is already proving a huge hit with advertisers and shoppers alike, the company said.

National DOOH media owner Limited Space, with help from AV partner Visionpoint Technologies Limited, recently sought to replace an existing projector-based advertising systems in the shopping center with video wall technology, according to the announcement.

Visionpoint recommended the use of nine NEC X551UN 55-inch narrow bezel LCD panels in combination with three Datapath x4 multidisplay controllers. Each x4 controls the content across three screens.

"The project of creating a 165-inch video wall was extremely challenging in such a tight and confined space," Visionpoint director Alan Hopkins said in the announcement. "However, utilizing a bespoke rig we ensured the whole structure could be moved on wheels and placed directly against a specially installed front glass window. One of the problems we encountered was a slightly uneven floor, but using the Datapath x4 allowed us to pixel align the screens negating this issue."

The latest Datapath multidisplay processors meant Visionpoint could pixel-align the content, presenting true HD content across all screens without the content being misaligned, the company said. As well as supporting standard HD quality resolution, the system has been designed with future standards in mind, supporting up to UltraHD (4K).

Learn more about digital signage hardware.