Video walls and video wall displays – Aren’t they the same thing?

We get inquiries all of the time about providing a quotation for a video wall, and there seems to be a bit of confusion, so we’ve learned to ask how is it being used. Many people consider a video wall as a wall that has video monitors mounted to it in order to display multiple video sources at the same time. Hence, it makes sense calling it a ‘video wall’ as there was no other option – a video wall is a video wall is a video wall.

Along Came A Video Wall Display

Then a couple of years ago, came the video wall display. It was an entirely different animal – same species as they both display multiple videos, but the video wall display is sleek, slim, refined, and much more expensive. It’s like comparing a family-friendly ‘Tabby’ cat, who does a good job as the family pet, to a cheetah who is sleek, exotic, and designed for speed. Okay, okay, enough with the metaphor. The point is that a video wall display is a high-end system for displaying multiple videos within minimal distance between each display. The video wall display uses ‘video wall panels’ that have very narrow bezels (ie. the edges along the front frame of the display), so when positioned together, there is only a small gap between the images. For instance, ToteVision’s video wall panels when placed together have a combined bezel of only 3.5mm (about 1/8”), so they look great on a wall even without the video images. Check out ToteVision’s 46″ video wall panel and 55″ video wall panel.

Video Wall Displays Are More Expensive

Video wall panels are also much more expensive (about 8-10x) than a comparably sized video monitor. What makes them special is the narrow bezel. With the right video processing equipment, multiple videos of different sizes can display ‘across’ multiple video wall panels; the display isn’t necessarily limited to the physical video monitor size.

Video Wall Controllers and Processers – Another Difference

If you like the idea and have a need for a video wall display, then there are two types of equipment for managing the video on the display. The first type is called a video wall ‘controller’ which allows a video to be shown in each panel or you can select one video to show across multiple panels – usually limited to four panels to maintain the video’s aspect ratio. The controller cannot create multiple ‘windows’ within the physical video wall panels, so the display options are limited to the number of panels. The second type of video wall display management is called a video wall ‘processor’ which is a sophisticated computer-like piece of equipment that processes the video signals so you can create multiple windows across the video wall display to show multiple videos. You can resize these windows to increase or decrease your videos easily. Video wall ‘controller’ and ‘processor’ are used interchangeably but there is a difference. The processor is much more expensive, but it has amazing features. The controller is less expensive, but it provides a good job of displaying videos across the display if your requirements align with number of video wall panels in your system.

Make The Right Choice To Fit Your Needs

So now that you know, if you are simply looking for a wall that shows multiple videos that can be placed on their own designated monitor, and there’s no need to change the video on the monitor often, then a video wall with LCD monitors will suit you just fine; saving you some money. If you want a video wall where you can change videos on the wall quickly at any time, and maybe changing the video size too, then the ‘video wall display’ using video wall panels is the best solution for you.