Park Place in Barrie, Canada is known for engaging its shoppers. The new outdoor
mall is home to a large communal fireplace that encourages patrons to take a
break, socialize, and keep warm. To complement the existing social space, they
recently added another jaw-dropping element to the mix: an eye-catching, show-
stopping digital signage display designed and installed by Advanced, a leading North
American AV integrator. The result is a stunning solution that can remain bright in
the sunshine of the summer and withstand the harshness of the winter.
“We were determined to help Park Place achieve their vision without breaking the
bank. Given the close viewing environment at hand, outdoor LED display technology
was out of the question. We had to figure out a way to bring a high resolution
indoor display outdoors, and we were able to do so,’ explained David Weatherhead,
President of Advanced. “After a significant amount of research and a degree of
creativity, we designed and installed a unique 2 by 2 matrix of 55′ DynaScan LCD
videowall panels that is extremely high 3000 nit brightness, with a seamless, super
thin 3.5 mm bezel-to-bezel, inside of a custom enclosure to protect it from the
weather.’
Because of the outdoor environment, utilizing specialized high brightness videowall
panels was crucial to the success of the project. Advanced selected a DynaScan
display because of its robust and unique LCD panels that provide a brightness of
3,000 Nits, opposed to the average LCD brightness of 500 Nits. Additionally, the LCD
option creates a very seamless look, with one large image in high resolution, which
is extremely unique for an outdoor application.
Since the DynaScan LCD videowall is meant for indoor use, Advanced had to design
a custom solution that would protect it from Canada’s severe outdoor elements. To
do so, they partnered with Batko to design a custom enclosure that was weather-
proof, tamper proof and temperature regulating. The customized enclosure
effectively manages the heat of the video wall, consistently keeping an optimal
temperature inside. “The climate in Canada is completely unpredictable,’
Weatherhead explained. “We essentially engineered a solution that protects an
indoor display and prevents the enclosure from overheating due to the heat
dissipation of the high brightness displays.’
Advanced also had to customize a content distribution solution. The Park Place mall
central office, where the content was to be transmitted from, was approximately
600 feet away from the display itself.
Additionally, Advanced installed a videowall processor with 4K inputs instead of the
traditional “daisychaining’ configured with most projects of this nature. The
specialized processor allows Park Place to add displays in the future, if they so
choose. “We also configured the processor to work with a Crestron control system,
which allows Park Place employees to control the display’s content easily and
remotely from a touch panel,’ Weatherhead said.
Now, Park Place uses the display as an enticing focal point for shoppers, and as a
source of advertising revenue. They broadcast live sporting events, and they sell ad
space to the mall’s retailers.
