Control rooms serve as the nerve centres of various industries, including transportation, energy, defence, manufacturing, and security. These mission-critical environments require real-time data monitoring, quick decision-making and seamless communication. To meet these demands, operating facilities have had to evolve significantly over the years, with video walls for control rooms emerging as the key to this innovation.
Keep reading to discover the benefits of video walls for control rooms and how they have revolutionised operations or contact us today to tell us about a project you have.
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Video wall processors and data sources
Benefits of control room video walls
Evolution of control rooms
Control rooms have come a long way from where they started. Historically, they were often simple spaces with rows of monitors and manual controls. In the early 20th century mass production meant that factories required a more efficient way of monitoring their production. A control room allowed for centralised monitoring of their assembly lines.
As demands in other industries increased, they also introduced control rooms capable of improving their monitoring abilities and response time to changes or problems. Power stations and air traffic control centres were early adopters of control rooms.
The complexity of modern operations and the need for real-time data analysis have driven the transformation of this technology forward. Today’s control rooms are equipped with advanced systems that integrate data from multiple sources, such as surveillance cameras and computer systems.
Looking for a control room solution? Contact our team today and we’ll help you find the right solution for your requirements.
Control room video walls
Video walls, made up of high-definition displays tiled together, are now at the forefront of control room technology. They provide a large canvas for displaying critical data to everyone within the control room simultaneously, a considerable advantage over traditional monitor setups.
This provides control room operators with enhanced situational awareness, the primary objective of a control room. Video walls for control rooms allow you to show multiple data sources across the full display allowing you and your operators to understand the current state of your operations.
In emergency situations, this allows you to act and respond faster as the control room team will gain the information at exactly the same time meaning decisions can be made quicker.
LED vs LCD
An important decision when it comes to choosing a video wall for a control room is LED or LCD. This can significantly impact the performance and functionality of your display.
LED
LED panels are capable of supplying higher brightness and contrast levels. This makes LEDs ideal for control rooms where detailed visuals and real-time data analysis are paramount. This is possible because each pixel generates its own light, resulting in deeper blacks and brighter colours. This is an advantage as it guarantees that critical data stands out on your display.
Direct-view LED displays can be a more energy-efficient option if you are displaying mostly dark content, however, will require more power if the full display is showing bright content. Direct View LED panels do not require back or edge lighting instead they are lit directly by the LEDs, meaning the display can be lighter.
LamasaTech provides a direct-view LED that is perfect for control and mission-critical rooms. Our LED True Zero Bezel comes in 55” cabinets, making it unique due to its ease of assembly requiring fewer modules than a typical LED. The VESA mount on the back allows customers to use more mounting systems such as curved wall mounts, without the need for a custom mount. You can also upgrade your legacy LCD video wall without needing to change the bracket being used, meaning you can easily swap out your old LCD panels for our LED cabinets.
The LamasaTech LED displays are offered in P1.25 and P1.8. This refers to the pixel pitch meaning how much space there is between the LED pixels. The lower the pixel pitch the greater the image quality, resolution and clarity of content being displayed.
LCD
LCDs are generally more cost-effective in terms of initial purchase price, making them an attractive option for organisations with budget constraints. These displays are also thinner and lighter making them ideal for locations with limited space.
LCDs are able to offer a much higher resolution than LED panels which is perfect for a control room environment as it means no details are lost as you view the display up close. You and your operators would have no trouble viewing any critical data on an LCD display, no matter where in your control room they were working.
LamasaTech offers the slimmest bezel LCD display on the market. Our Extreme Narrow Bezel LCD display has a bezel of just 0.44mm. This strikes a balance between an LED display which has no bezel and an LCD which has a higher resolution. For environments where the bezel is not a key factor such as longer distance viewing, our 3.5mm bezel LCD video wall provides a more budget-friendly solution.
To learn more about the difference between LED and LCD read this blog post.
Video wall processors and data sources
A video wall processor is a necessity in a control room environment. This is what allows you to connect multiple data sources to your video wall and control exactly where they are placed and their size.
In a control room, you may want to connect sensor data, CCTV footage, an application from an operator’s work computer and more.
You’ll need a processor that can handle the connection methods of your data sources and can also cope with the number of sources you require.
To learn more about control room video wall processors and data sources click here.
Benefits of control room video walls
We’ve put together a list of how you could benefit from a video wall in your control room.
- Flexibility and Customization – Video walls for control rooms are highly flexible and can be customised to meet the specific needs of each setup. Operators can arrange and resize windows to prioritise the most critical data at any given time. This adaptability ensures efficient response to changing circumstances.
- Improved Collaboration – Collaboration among operators is crucial for effective decision-making. Control room video walls allow for improved communication by providing a shared visual platform. Team members can discuss strategies and share insights more effectively when they have a common view of the data.
- Scalability – As operations expand, video walls can easily scale to accommodate additional screens and data sources. This scalability ensures that control rooms can keep up with the evolving demands of their respective industries.
How different industries use video walls
You may also be interested in how certain industries use and benefit from video walls in their control rooms:
- Transportation – Control room video walls are used to monitor traffic flow, track vehicle locations, and respond to accidents or emergencies in real-time. They help optimise traffic management and enhance passenger safety.
- Energy – Energy control rooms rely on video walls to monitor power grids, pipelines and offshore platforms. These displays provide insights into any anomalies that may require immediate attention allowing the operators to act faster.
- Manufacturing – Video walls are used to oversee production lines, monitor equipment status, and detect quality control issues. This technology improves productivity and ensures product quality is maintained.
- Security – Security control rooms depend on video walls to monitor surveillance camera feeds, access control systems and alarm notifications. These displays help security personnel to respond quickly to any threats or incidents.
Ready to add a video wall to your control room?
LamasaTech provides both LED and LCD video wall options that are ideal for control room environments.
We’d love to hear about your project, so get in touch and we’ll help you find the ideal solution for your requirements.
LamasaTech is a leader in digital display technology with over 12 years of experience. We support customers across a range of industries including retail, military and defence, government and public sector, technology, hospitality and education!
