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[Phil Lewandowski]

Hi all,

I'm looking to use multiple TV's right next to each other to create a "dynamic banner" in our Gathering Area outside our church. (Multiple TV's next to each other to create a single image using something like Resolume.)

What are some of suggested TV's to use with super small bezels and are bright enough for this sort of a job?
Any of the other recommended gear to use for this sort of a project that would also be a good value?

Thanks!
Phil

[Erik Jerde]

Planar makes some nice products for building video walls.  Pretty much anything you look at that has a tiny near invisible bezel is going to be a commercial product and come with a commercial product price.

[Phil Lewandowski]

Planar makes some nice products for building video walls.  Pretty much anything you look at that has a tiny near invisible bezel is going to be a commercial product and come with a commercial product price.

Great, thank Eric!
Any other brands besides Planar you suggest looking into?

[Dave Garoutte]

Are you in direct sunlight?  Most flat panels aren't bright enough to be effective outside.

[Brian Jojade]

Outside you can pretty much forget about ANY residential TVs. It will simply be a waste of money.

Most TVs you see in the store are going to be around 350 cd/m2. This is plenty bright for in a home, but take it outside and you'll barely be able to see it, even in full shade during the day.

You can get some brighter TVs that are 700-1000 cd/m2. These can be acceptable in a shady area outside during the day.  These typically won't have the very thin bezels you want for a video wall. While it may work, it'll still look like amateur hour.

So, that brings you back into the commercial realm. Your typical outdoor viewable TV will have a brightness rating of around 3,000 cd/m2 or more. the price though can get stupid expensive.  We're talking $5k and up per screen for stuff that's bright enough to be visible outdoors, depending on size.

How big of a wall are you thinking of making?  Something you may consider instead would be an LED video wall.  While it may not give you the same level of detail that a TV would, from a distance, high resolution video walls can look quite nice, especially with properly designed graphics.  If you shop the used market, you may be able to find something quite inexpensive.  Video walls do NOT hold their value well, so you can pick up the older technology at a very reasonable price. 

[Erik Jerde]

Great, thank Eric!
Any other brands besides Planar you suggest looking into?

I think barco has some offerings in this realm too. 

If you want something a little less off the shelf where you’ll have to bring your own processor etc then dig into commercial displays.  If you’re tight packing displays you’ll need mounts designed for that too.  Unless you’ve got a really big budget I expect you’ll end up in thin bezel consumer displays.  There again a good mount like a chief one with the ability to do micro adjustments for level and tilt is important.  If you roll your own try to buy TVs with rs232 or ip control.  There is little more annoying than pointing a remote at a wall of TVs and having most of them go on or off.  An external control solution that’s hard wired and gives you a discrete on and off command as well as scheduling capabilities is a must in my book.

[Scott Holtzman]

I think barco has some offerings in this realm too. 

If you want something a little less off the shelf where you’ll have to bring your own processor etc then dig into commercial displays.  If you’re tight packing displays you’ll need mounts designed for that too.  Unless you’ve got a really big budget I expect you’ll end up in thin bezel consumer displays.  There again a good mount like a chief one with the ability to do micro adjustments for level and tilt is important.  If you roll your own try to buy TVs with rs232 or ip control.  There is little more annoying than pointing a remote at a wall of TVs and having most of them go on or off.  An external control solution that’s hard wired and gives you a discrete on and off command as well as scheduling capabilities is a must in my book.

We have 8 of the Samsung commercial displays with the splitters built in, no controller needed for a wall.  The mounts were over $1000 so we made truss brackets and yes getting the truss leveled and all the tv's tweaked can take hours if the ground is uneven (we have deployed in tent events).  They are not bright enough for outside use.

[Caleb Dueck]

Great, thank Eric!
Any other brands besides Planar you suggest looking into?

What I would do - ditch the televisions idea and use an LED wall.  There are a huge number of options now from "great" down to "cheap".  Unless you're looking only at small size (2x2), look at LED walls. 

What overall size do you want? 

[ProSoundWeb Community]