Video walls and synced screens for smaller venues

Synced screens play in step with each other. Either every screen shows the same thing and changes at the same moment (mirrored), or several screens each show part of one big picture (a video wall). In Casty both are done with sync groups on Android players: one lead screen keeps the timing for the rest, and the players talk to each other over the local network, so a wired connection and matching hardware give the best results. For most smaller venues, mirrored screens are the more useful of the two.

Mirrored screens

Picture three TVs along the back of a bar, all running the same promotions loop. Without sync, each player runs its own copy of the loop from its own starting point, so at any moment one screen might be on the burger offer while the next is halfway through the quiz poster and the third is on the Sunday roast. It looks a bit scrappy.

In a sync group they turn over together, and three screens in a row start to read as one display. The same goes for a row of screens above the treadmills in a gym, or screens spaced along the back wall of a shop.

Sync only matters when the content moves, though. Three portrait menu boards above a cafe counter, each showing its own fixed section of the menu, don't need it. Nor do screens in different rooms, where nobody can see two at once.

Video walls

A video wall splits one picture across several screens. Four 1080p screens in a two-by-two grid give you a picture of 3840 x 2160 pixels across the lot. Two 1080p portrait screens side by side make a picture 2160 pixels wide and 1920 high, which suits a shop window that's wider than it is tall.

The thing to plan around is the bezels, the frames around each screen's picture. On a video wall they become lines through the image, so a face or a price that falls across a join is hard to read. Displays made for video walls have very thin bezels to keep those lines narrow. Consumer TVs have wider frames that vary from model to model, and on a wall it shows.

Design with the joins in mind. Keep text and faces inside a single screen, save the full width of the wall for big pictures and movement, and preview it on the real screens before it goes live. Image and video sizes for screens covers getting the resolution right.

What you need

• An Android player for every screen. Synchronised playback is available on Android players, and the Casty Android player needs Android 7 or later.
• A wired network. The players talk to each other over the local network while they play, and a cable gives them a steady connection to do it.
• Matching hardware. The same player model behind each screen helps keep them in time, and the same screen model keeps colours and brightness matched, which matters most on a wall.
• One lead display, which keeps the timing for the rest of the group.

The devices page has the full list of players, and choosing a media player goes through the options if you're starting from scratch.

Different designs, changing together

Sometimes you want screens to change at the same moment while each shows its own design. Casty has a content synchronisation key for this, which lines up playlists across different layouts. It's a more involved set-up than plain mirroring, so it's one to talk through with us before you build the content.

When sync isn't worth it

For a small venue, one larger screen is often simpler than a wall of small ones. There are no joins, there's one player and one power lead, and nothing needs keeping in step. If what you want is a big picture on one wall, price up a single big display before you plan a two-by-two grid.

Sync is also a poor fit when your screens are on Wi-Fi with no way to run a cable, or when they're a mix of players (a stick behind one TV, a Samsung display with the player built in next to it). Running a cable later, or replacing the odd player so they all match, can make sync possible down the line.

Mounting

Mirrored screens along a bar need nothing special: ordinary wall mounts at the same height, lined up, will do. A video wall is a bigger job. The screens have to sit edge to edge and line up closely, because even a small step between two screens shows across the picture, so video wall mounts usually let you adjust each screen in small amounts. They also put a lot of weight on one wall. Get an installer to check the wall and fit the mounts, and leave the screens room to breathe, as they give off heat.

Getting it set up

Talk to us before you buy the hardware. We'll check the players, the network and the screens with you, and help set up the sync group and its lead display. Contact us with the number of screens, how they're arranged and how they'll connect to the network, and the synchronised playback section of the features page has the full list of what sync groups do.

If the screens will be cabled anyway, it's worth reading Wi-Fi or wired before the electrician comes, so the network points go in at the same time as the power.