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IAC lobby impresses with Christie LED and Spyder X80
May 15, 2019
PHOENIX – When one of the world’s largest high-resolution video walls was due for a technology refresh, leading media and Internet company IAC chose Christie CorePlus Series LED tiles and Christie Spyder X80 multi-screen windowing processors to upgrade its lobby installation at its New York City headquarters.
IAC occupies a striking Frank Gehry-designed building overlooking the Hudson River. The lobby boasts two separate video walls. At 120-feet long by 10 feet-high, the larger west wall spans almost the entire city block of the headquarters. It can be seen by passersby on the street, drivers on the West Side highway and even glimpsed from across the river. The east wall, measuring 20 by 10 feet, tops the security reception desk. The walls run 24/7 displaying IAC-branded content. The impressive lobby is also a coveted rental venue for high-end corporate events, during which the video walls display custom content using live sources and a backdrop.
Christie partnered with integrator VCA on the video walls’ refresh, which resulted in a system that will remain state-of-the-art for a long time, according to VCA. The video walls have undergone several technology upgrades over the years, and the latest revamp was intended to increase the walls’ video resolution to display content at 4K at 60Hz. The new installation also features 12-bit color depth and High Dynamic Range (HDR) in addition to support for 12G SDI signals, when the need arises.
“The project marks the third generation of Christie Spyder products driving the video walls,” notes Victor Vettorello, Senior Applications Specialist, Content Management and Processing, Christie. “IAC’s first video walls used the Spyder 200-300 series, working in tandem with rotated blended projectors. The second-generation video walls used laser phosphor display tiles, operated with multiple Spyder X20s. Now, the new video walls are Christie CorePlus Series LED tiles, with 1.4mm pixel pitch, paired with Christie Spyder X80 multiscreen windowing processors. IAC wanted to stay with the latest-generation of Spyder for the cutting-edge technology, reliable performance and comfort level they have come to enjoy with Spyder products.”
VCA led IAC to the Christie CorePlus solution. At this scale the combination of high resolution, advanced processing and routing required VCA to perform extensive testing of the system resulting in many instances where the components were integrated as industry firsts.
One Spyder X80 and one backup unit are dedicated to each video wall for 100 percent redundancy. The pixel density of the X80 enables just one unit to deliver 4K content to each video wall, simplifying the systems while increasing the operating efficiency.
The expansive west wall is comprised of 77 CorePlus LED tiles and the east wall 13; both walls are six tiles high. Christie CorePlus features Macroblock driver-integrated circuits, ensuring delivery of high-image uniformity and performance. Multiple Christie E600 LED controllers are used to interface with signals to both walls. The Spyder X80 can easily handle the 53 million pixels required for the west wall, and its 12 inputs and 8 outputs are more than sufficient for managing IAC’s 4K content sourcing and delivery.
Custom floor to ceiling support structures for the two video walls were designed and engineered by rp Visual Solutions (RPV).
“We’re very proud to have supplied three generations of Christie Spyder image processors to IAC,” says Vettorello. “The lobby, with the video walls running customized content, is an important revenue driver for the company. The fact that Spyder is so easy to manage is a big plus for those who use the lobby as a venue space.”
“Spyder X80 also offers customizable multi-viewer capabilities,” he adds. This is a really useful tool for technicians to manage and operate the system.”