VideoWall
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Art exhibit turns tweets into a colorful sphere of emotion
Even if you see thousands of tweets per day and all the emotions that go with them, that's just a tiny fraction of Twitter's total traffic. A new art project wants to help you grasp the joy or fury expressed by all of the users around the world at once. The Fuse Studio's "Amygdala" installation at the CUBO Centro Unipol in Bologna, Italy crunches up to 30 tweets per second and translates each into one of six emotions: Happiness, anger, sadness, disgust, amazement or fear.
Visualized: VIA's versatile video wall signage solution (video)
VIA Technologies isn't a name that often pops up on Engadget, but its latest video wall signage solution deserves a shout-out. The idea's simple: you can output a 4K x 2K footage to an array of thin-bezel 1080p LCDs -- powered by S3 Graphics cards -- arranged in any way you like, including the orientation of each monitor. While the Taiwanese company wasn't keen to show off too much of its backend system, we were given a glimpse of its S3 MagicView software, which lets you easily fit one or multiple clips across a carefully aligned canvas corresponding to the LCDs. Check out our video after the break and you'll get the idea. (HTC and VIA are both chaired by Cher Wang, so it's no surprise to see the latter displaying HTC ads for its signage demo. Wang's husband, Wen-Chi Chen, is the President and CEO of VIA.) A complete system similar to the above two -- either with eight 46-inch panels or fifteen 42-inch panels -- could cost between NT$3 million (about US$102,000) to NT$4 million (US$136,000), and it's also available for rental. VIA said it's targeting the likes of churches, schools, cinemas and shops with its range of signage solutions, some of which can be powered by the company's Android PCs to reduce costs.
Visualized: what Zynga workers do when they're not playing FarmVille
Zynga's staffers might have had a laser-like focus on releasing FarmVille 2 this week, but that doesn't mean the company has forgotten how to take a break. One employee (thankfully, also a Reddit member) has revealed that the developer's San Francisco headquarters has a giant, 16-screen video wall for gaming in the cafeteria -- and yes, they're playing Halo in that photo rather than some future, first-person version of Mafia Wars. It's no surprise that the employees aren't playing their own games all the time; we're pretty sure that even the most avid Facebook gamers would burn out if they did. Nonetheless, it's hard not to smile at the thought that the same people urging us to buy new crops are sticking plasma grenades in their spare time.
NVIDIA, Fusion-io and HP drive a dozen 1080p streams on four displays at SIGGRAPH (video)
A dozen uncompressed 1080p video feeds, simultaneously running off a single workstation. Yep, you're looking at it. NVIDIA's showcase piece here at SIGGRAPH was undoubtedly this wall -- a monster that trumps even Intel's CES wall in terms of underlying horsepower. A relatively stock HP Z800 workstation was loaded with the NVIDIA QuadroPlex 7000 Visual Computing System (that's four GPUs, for those counting) in order to push four HD panels. A pair of Fusion-io's ioDrive Duos were pushing a total of three gigabytes per second, enabling all 12 of the feeds to cycle through with nary a hint of lag. We're still a few years out from this being affordable enough for the common Earthling, but who says you need to wait that long to get a taste? Vid's after the break, hombre. %Gallery-130280%
Barco's NX4 3D video wall does LED on a decidedly large scale (video)
If we've learned one thing over the years it's that Barco doesn't do small -- whether it's 3D CAD systems or even projectors. The company's latest mammoth offering is the NX4 3D LED videowall, measuring 10.453 meters wide by 2.352 meters tall -- about 35 feet wide and eight feet tall. It has a total resolution of 2240 x 504 with a 4.66mm pixel pitch, making this a definite candidate for a place where volume is more important than pixel density. A brightness of over 2000 nits and a 4000:1 contrast ratio means outdoor work is a possibility, though if you want 3D you'll have to BYO active-shutter glasses.
Comcast Center HD Video Wall gets a dose of 3D for the holidays
Probably hoping to avoid our prediction of possibly getting old over time, Comcast is introducing a new wrinkle for the 2009 Holiday spectacular on its $22 million 2,000 sq ft high-definition video wall -- 3D. It's the first time this has played on the wall, with a 19 minute video (embedded after the break) complete with scenes of rural PA and downtown Philadelphia. Stop by the Comcast Center between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. to grab some complementary 3D specs and check it out.
Giant Cowboys Stadium LED wall caught playing Xbox 360 during downtime Update: Video!
The 72 x 160-foot LED wall at the center of the new Cowboys Stadium is certainly impressive enough when it's showing game highlights or concert footage, but no giant screen ever truly earns its credentials until it's been put to some real use: playing video games. Thankfully, Jonas Brothers video director Steve Fatone somehow pulled himself away from concert preparations to do just that earlier this week, and apparently became the first person to ever play Xbox 360 on the display in the process. As you can see above and in the gallery below, the two certainly seem to be made for each other, although it looks like the controller can get a tad touchy if you stray too far while trying to play it.Update: Our man Steve hooked us up with a video of the rig in action -- check it out after the break.[Thanks, Steve, and thanks Troy for the pics]
Samsung gets official with its UT, UD-series video wall LCD products
Samsung chose this week's InfoComm 2009 as the official coming-out party for some of its video wall goodies we first got wind of a few months back. As much as the above photo of four UT-series (Ultra Thin, we're guessing) super-slim bezel LCDs and UD (Ultra-Definition) control make us drool, we've got a feeling it's nothing compared to seeing an even bigger setup in person. The 460UT, 460UTn and 460UTn-UD LCDs tile up with only 6.7-mm of bezel between them, and up to 250 can be controlled by a single UD-server. Oh yeah, and that server can draw from 125 networked PCs to fill all those thirsty pixels. You know, for when your setup really does look like Mission Control. Sadly, prices are accordingly astronomical -- $6922, $7845 and $8614 for the UT, UTn and UTn-UD LCDs, respectively. Read - 460UT, 460UTn, 460UTn-UD LCDs get official Read - Samsung Ultra-Definition system
Samsung shimmies three ultra-thin bezel LCDs into its 460UT-series
What ups the wow factor more -- ultra-thin displays that seem to just hang on a wall, or a wall that is a display? Yeah, we thought so. For those who still believe in the simple pleasures of screen real estate, Samsung has introduced the 460UT, 460UTn and 460UTn-UD -- 46-inch LCDs with bezels only 2.4-mm thick on the right and bottom and 4.3-mm on the left and top. The models differ only in ancillary features -- built-in networking in the 460UTn and Samsung's Ultra Definition video wall management software in the 460UTn-UD -- with all three panels packing the same 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 700 nits of brightness and 1366x768 resolution. Tell your friends you're not getting a 1080p panel, then silence the scoffs when you show them your 2732x1536 (or more) video wall.
Runco ships $40k 100-inch VideoWall VW-100HD in-wall projection system
Just when we thought everyone was scaling back in order to cater to the poor, cash-strapped consumer dealing in these tough economic times, along comes Runco to help us remember that there's still a market out there for the uber-elite. The outfit's remarkable 100-inch VideoWall VW-100HD 1080p in-wall projection system is shipping just in time for that special someone on your holiday gift list, but you better be expecting something absurdly awesome in return. Not just anyone deserves a $39,995 present, you know. Full release is after the break.
Runco debuts 100-inch VW-100HD in-wall projection video display
While we've seen daylight-friendly front projection screens and all sorts of similar solutions to uncontrolled lighting in PJ-infused rooms, Runco's solution seems superior for those with the requisite coin. The two-piece VideoWall VW-100HD in-wall projection video display includes a lightweight 100-inch screen that can be flush-mounted within a wall alongside a VW-100HD projection system. The self-contained system includes a rear assembly less than 32-inches deep with sloping side panels to help it fit into tight nooks and crannies, and the screen itself reportedly "retains video contrast and brightness even when viewed in high amounts of ambient light." The 1080p beamer includes Runco's SuperOnyx chipset, HDMI / DVI / component / PC / S-Video / composite inputs, an RS-232 control port, Vivix II processing engine and a CinOptx lens system. You know you'd rather drop $39,995 on this rather than pick up a new C350 this November, right?
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.
Epson releases four new projectors with video wall capabilities
For times when just one massive screen won't do, Epson will let you rock your presentations with with four of 'em. The company's just released EMP-1700, EMP-1705, EMP-1710, and EMP-1715 projectors all feature video wall capabilities that'll let you use up to four of them simultaneously from the same computer, each acting as an independent display. Ok, so projectors lack the immediate je ne sais quoi of a wall of plasma or LCD screens, but it's a heckuva lot cheaper. The projectors themselves are all otherwise fairly run of the mill, each with a standard 1,024 x 768 resolutions and brightness ratings between 2200 and 2700 lumens. The top end EMP-1715 also adds built-in WiFi capabilities, which should help keep the cable clutter under control. All four are now available (in Japan) for between 248,000 and 378,000 Yen ($2,100-$3,200 US).[Via About Projectors]
No emergency center is complete without HDTV
It seems like everybody is getting a video wall. Now Chicago has invested $4 million in their new City Incident Center, to coordinate traffic, towing, firefighting and snow removal. The best feature is an 18 foot tall high definition video wall. Considering some of the issues they've had with towing recently, hopefully this will help them out.My only question is why doesn't Jack Bauer and CTU have one of these?
