The 8K media server provides a showcase of awe-inspiring nature scenes, created by award-winning filmmakers, to a floor-to-ceiling Planar® DirectLight® Ultra™ Series LED Video Wall

Analog Way’s Picturall Quad Mark II media servers are driving the spectacular new Planar videowall at the University of Virginia’s Contemplative Commons. The partnership, featuring design consulting by Apeiro Design, resulted in a full resolution, pre-recorded, custom showcase of awe-inspiring nature scenes from around the globe, complementing the building’s natural design elements.

Located within the University’s new Contemplative Commons in Charlottesville, the Contemplative Sciences Center creates opportunities that center mind-body practices for well-being, insight and compassion in all aspects of life – social, emotional, physical and professional.  The first-floor lobby exemplifies that mission with breathtaking cinematography displayed on a floor-to-ceiling Planar® DirectLight® Ultra™ Series LED Video Wall.

“We had worked with consultant Apeiro Design before, including on the Walmart headquarters’ auditorium, so they trusted us and relied on our expertise to drive the wall,” says Seth Teates, Analog Way’s senior regional sales manager. “Our Picturall Quad Mark II media servers, acting in main and backup roles, offer rock solid, stable, high-resolution playback day in and day out with 8TB of memory for ample storage of custom content. Analog Way devices also play well with Planar’s flagship Planar DirectLight Series LED videowall.”

“We have a great relationship with Analog Way and Planar. Planar makes high-quality products and are always quick to respond, plus their people are wonderful to work with from a personality standpoint and when we have LED videowalls we tend to go with Analog Way systems at the front end,” notes Daniel Mei, associate principal, AV Technology at Apeiro Design’s New York City office, which provided the design consulting for the Contemplative Sciences Center’s audio video systems and architectural lighting.

“The donor asked for a large videowall to show contemplative scenes from nature to complement the building. It serves as a vehicle for contemplation and a beacon for the building, bringing people into the space with beautiful, scenic displays from early morning to late night.”

According to Mei, the Picturall Quad Mark II was a logical choice for the installation offering easy content loading, flexible windowing and custom options. “Analog Way commissioned the system, and their technicians were a big help in training users to create playlists and get content onto the screen,” he said.  

“In AV design, the challenge is always designing a system that users who are not necessarily AV people understand and find easy to use.”

The Planar DirectLight Ultra Series LED videowall is in 16 x 24-foot portrait mode with 3840 x 5940 resolution and 1.2mm pixel pitch. Planar also provided the custom trim and mount and gave the screen an ERO matte coating for extra robustness in a high-traffic area.

“The remote power supply simplifies the installation process, and active alignment and the beautiful black levels make the content pop,” says Lainie Mataras, general manager, Consultant, Architect Design Group at Planar.

“When we support consultants like Apeiro Design who have a really good foothold in architectural and technical design, and understand how the technology fits in the space, you get great-looking results,” says Dusty Masanz, applications engineer with Planar.  “The intention was clearly to have the light of the screen reflect on the architectural surfaces; this wasn’t just adding a display to the lobby.”

Planar’s white-glove service and installation, which began pre-sales with a detailed CAD rendering from the Architect Design Group at Planar, came off very smoothly in coordination with Apeiro Design preparation.  

According to Masanz, over his many years in the AV industry he has always looked to Analog Way for pure pixel processing power. “When you need a canvas with multi windows, fades and transitions, you need high-powered pixel processing to handle it,” he said. “Analog Way has always been at the top of the tier in that regard.”

Aidlin Darling Design served as the Design Architect for the building, with VMDO Architects serving as Architect of Record. Pavion was the AV Integration contractor that installed the videowall system.