Comcast Center's video wall packs 10 million pixels into 27 x 87-foot display

When you're Comcast and you have some serious cash to throw at an installation in your new Philadelphia-based Comcast Center, you go all out on a $22 million high-definition video wall, of course. The giant display measures 27 by 87-feet and mashes 10 million pixels across modules linked by a central system that contains 27,000 GB of info, six DX700 LED digitizers, seven Encore video processors, and three Matrixpro routers. So what does it do? It's kind of a giant screensaver that may get old over time, if you ask us. It displays the time, shows figures pushing the panels open, and plays with the space in surreal, 3D-esque animations that are, admittedly, fun to watch. Check the video after the break.

[Byzil Mystwing @ Jun 19th 2008 5:52AM]

talk about amusingly excessive xD

[Sada @ Jun 19th 2008 7:57AM]

> talk about amusingly excessive xD

Hmmm... 10 Million pixels = 10 megapixels = resolution of modern compact camera?

[badweasel @ Jun 19th 2008 1:19PM]

Is it 10 million pixels or 10 million pixels across?

One is certainly more impressive than the other.

[dg @ Jun 19th 2008 10:37PM]

Yeah. Not to sound like a jack-ass, but can't that be done in like a 6 square-foot area with fairly average LCDs?

I mean, my 17-inch laptop has almost 25% of that.

[Derry Quinn @ Jun 19th 2008 5:53AM]

They don't look like they're on the screen! Cool!

[Mic2000 @ Jun 19th 2008 5:55AM]

do I see a really bad tilelable texture or what?

[aaronbareford @ Jun 19th 2008 6:10AM]

Pretty awesome :)

LOL they use garageband's free tracks at one point lol

Anyway, imagine a blue screen on that :P

[OX4 @ Jun 19th 2008 6:14AM]

Gee, thanks a lot Comcast. It's nice to know you hike my cable bill up every 6 months and put it to good use like this. Jerks. >:(

[ilh @ Jun 19th 2008 8:00AM]

Aye, just like my bus service upping charges and then changing the timetable to get rid of 2/3 of the buses I use with the remaining buses being an extra 20-45 minutes later than they used to be (if they actually turn up).
Apparently the raise in fares is due to increased costs yet other areas are getting buses with new fancy leather seats in...i'd rather have a bus that comes on time and a timetable that gives me more options than a nicer seat. Thanks for the great service.

But yea, this wall is a waste of money.

[Wii60 @ Jun 19th 2008 6:25AM]

Careful, they'll have to cap their own bandwidth.

[Jeremy @ Jun 19th 2008 10:11AM]

That is a good point. How come they can blow $22 million on this ridiculous video screen that will be old in 2 years, they could have just as easily upgraded their F*ing network and gotten rid of those ridicualous caps!!!!!!

This PROVES beyond a shadow of dought those caps have NO use other than to bring in more $$$$ . Their is no bandwidth crisis!!!!!!!!

ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!!!!!!!

[Evan @ Jun 19th 2008 11:54AM]

a major corporation only cares about bringing in money!? say it ain't so!

[darkstar @ Jun 19th 2008 11:00AM]

thats y i stopped paying 60 bux a month for internet! instead i went with verizon for 20 bux per month. sure the speed is slower, but not noticeable when all i do is read emails and minor downloads.

[nanobis @ Jun 19th 2008 6:51AM]

just imagine playing Mario Kart on that, even so any mutiplayer game.

[Matt @ Jun 19th 2008 8:56AM]

Yeah 480P would look AWESOME on that....

[nanobis @ Jun 19th 2008 6:52AM]

plus whats the heat output on that thing.

[mmh @ Jun 19th 2008 7:00AM]

Wait, you mean that the two dudes hanging in the picture isn't really there?

[Jeff @ Jun 19th 2008 12:38PM]

Dudes?

[Hellios @ Jun 19th 2008 7:04AM]

Since the read link is down, I'm assuming from the youtube page that you'd need four RED ONE cameras to shoot in this screens native resolution. Kinda awesome.

[Nutsy @ Jun 19th 2008 7:29AM]

Naa you just shoot at 4k resolution and them upsample it... Or maybe shoot on 64MM [IMAX] and digitize that...

Both will have similar results.

You or I wont be able to tell the difference between 4k upsampled and native super high res.

[rock99rock @ Jun 19th 2008 9:50AM]

Nutsy, you're Nutso.

Do you even remember the jump from 480p to 1080i?

You will definitely notice a difference between 16k and 4k video.

[Wonderkid @ Jun 19th 2008 7:11AM]

This is absolutely brilliant and highly original. It will not get 'old' over time - they can simply upload more content - perhaps even allow the public to design presentations to upload to their media servers? Now that would be cool. It is sad that the copywriters at Engadget are so down on original ideas (such as the sexy cube shaped Philips MP3 player yesterday that will probably sell in vast quantities due to it's price point) yet write about so many ho hum products, such as the almost daily slew of mediocre laptops that by tomorrow will be forgotten and obsolete. I have followed videowall developments for over 20 years and this is the most original and well integrated system I have ever seen. It will have massive potential in the theatre at a lower price point. A little more positive American spirit please Engadget! (Because that is what will bring an end to the economic downturn.)

[SirWalksAlot @ Jun 19th 2008 9:09AM]

Positive American spirit? It's Comcast. Not Nikola Tesla.

[loujob @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:38PM]

nice to know they have enough money for this but not enough to increase their servers so they dont limit bandwidth.

[Jason Randazza @ Jun 19th 2008 7:16AM]

Does it make those irritating sound fx all day long? Must be irritating being the secretary in that lobby.

[CoffeeDragon @ Jun 19th 2008 8:59AM]

Yes, it does make those annoying sounds all day long and what's worse, it attracts crowds of people from off the street who clog the lobby. Highly annoying, and yet so stinkin' cool!!!

[RC @ Jun 19th 2008 7:20AM]

I can see a dead pixel. . . .

[Grandalf @ Jun 19th 2008 7:23AM]

Since someone has to do it...

Will it play doom?

:P

[Mike @ Jun 19th 2008 8:49AM]

Nah... Will it play crysis?

Slashdot had a story a few weeks ago about two teenagers that hacked comcasts main page without accessing sensitive data. I wonder if I can get those two kids to hack this thing

[Nutsy @ Jun 19th 2008 7:25AM]

Yeah i herd there a bit of a scummy company in how they over charge... But that video wall is pretty cool...

But 27 THOUSAND GIGABYTES? You mean 27 Terabytes? Or are you getting really confused?

Im guessing alot of whats going on is flash or similar based GUI with videos running as well... Its ment to be interactive. Even if everything was 1:1 uncompressed i really dont see how they managed to hit 27TB.

So maybe you guys misread the specs or some thing.

In any case its a cool design :) Ill take 2 of them for my bedroom and living room.

[imatt @ Jun 19th 2008 10:45AM]

glad to see somebody else caught the GB/TB thing. Superfluous zeros, I say!

[neofolklore @ Jun 19th 2008 7:35AM]

Now install those miniature cameras like the ones on the New York street ads so the thing can come start calling people individually out of a crowd. "Welcome back to the comcast center" oh man

[D14BL0 @ Jun 19th 2008 8:05AM]

I guess when your service is so bad that the elderly will come busting up the computers in your lobby, you've gotta have SOMETHING to attract people to actually walk into your doors anymore.

[raptor87 @ Jun 19th 2008 8:15AM]

nice, hopefully it wont be long till we all have a wall like that in our living rooms.

[Danakin @ Jun 19th 2008 8:42AM]

...if you have a wall that is 87 feet long in your house, you are the problem with America.

[Rocko @ Jun 19th 2008 12:11PM]

or you need to invite me over to your house

[JKav @ Jun 19th 2008 3:39PM]

Interesting considering how awful their service is in the Philadelphia area.

[hp540 @ Jun 19th 2008 8:33AM]

But Montag, that's only one TV wall! We need four! Four of them!

[M.Samba @ Jun 19th 2008 8:34AM]

A big screen on your HQ Comcast? Whats next your own personal army of Shock Troops? If you going to be an evil corporation try not to be so cliche

[Danakin @ Jun 19th 2008 9:11AM]

Can you just imagine the applications for something like this...


play solitaire (though your boss would probably know)

get payed to advertise a company on it

make it a solid white screen and you could get rid of all the lights in the room

watch porn (again, your boss would likely know)

keep zooming in on a celebrity and see what kind of germs they have on their face




Things you probably couldn't do with it...

fit it through the doorway into your house

view a picture full screen

interface it with a laptop

skydive

gain the respect of your customers

[Ratteler @ Jun 19th 2008 10:51AM]

Capping Bittorrent must save them millions. Either that, or their just assh*les.

[Kate @ Jun 19th 2008 9:35AM]

I wonder why they went to the trouble of using a random actor and removing the Phillies logo from the jersey if they were going to just use a Phillies batting helmet anyway...

[Peter Harris @ Jun 19th 2008 9:40AM]

Seriously? This is how Comcast decides to spend $22 million? Sure it's cool, but what do they hope to accomplish with it?

How many video switches could be upgraded with that $22 million, so that they would no longer have to compress the crap out of HD channels? Or $22 million in routers? How much faster would their internet connections then be? (Probably none, just more overhead.)

They need to rethink their business practices, a giant video wall is nice and all, but if you really want to affect the customer, give them something better than what you are now.

I'm glad I'm no longer with Comcast (although 10 years of Comcast internet, some of that probably ended up in this video wall.)

[retro77 @ Jun 19th 2008 10:02AM]

Imagine fragging some nubs on that!

[Jeff @ Jun 19th 2008 12:42PM]

Fragging nubs?

that sounds like a euphemism.

[retro77 @ Jun 19th 2008 12:43PM]

Yes it "is the substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener"

[Don @ Jun 19th 2008 10:29AM]

$22 Million? Waste of money. It's cool but, not that cool. We all know Comcast has money to burn

[marvbloke @ Jun 19th 2008 10:53AM]

My Atari 2600 would look great on that.

[Zeek @ Jun 19th 2008 11:24AM]

This is how that killer smart building in I Robot got started.
Hello, Skynet? It's me, VIKI.

[waterwagen @ Jun 19th 2008 12:17PM]

As a Comcast customer who's had to hear about bandwidth caps, I'm pretty POd about this stupid waste of money.