IBM shows the world its research in an innovative Radiance Led video wall

The main auditorium of the emblematic Thomas J Research Center. Watson, in New York State, has this high performance and resolution Digital Projection solution, as part of the project carried out in collaboration with HB Communications.

Developed over many years, The reputation of great brands forms the core of their identity and helps shape the company's values.. With this vision, when the American technology multinational IBM wanted to update the screen in the main auditorium of the Thomas J Research Center. Watson (en Yorktown Heights, New York) looked for a solution that was up to par in quality and performance.

This North American multinational has been a pioneer in the scientific advances of many promising and revolutionary technologies.. In this sense, The manufacturer is credited with creating the first personal computer, as well as the first hard drive; the development of magnetic stripes for credit cards and the practice of barcode scanning, inter alia.

At the moment, IBM is leading research in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, technology blockchain and quantum computing, who stars Watson, the set of services, enterprise artificial intelligence applications and tools.

The core of these innovations is the Thomas J Research Center. Watson: the headquarters of IBM's research division, in which its researchers and experts frequently have to present their conclusions in executive meetings and close contracts with clients.

These meetings are held in a modern auditorium, with capacity for 240 seating, work of neofuturist industrial designer Eero Saarinen, which now has a Radiance Led videowall of Digital Projection as main screen.

Until now, The screen technology they used in the auditorium was based on a Titan Pro series projector, also from the manufacturer Digital Projection, with a motorized screen.

With the aim of improving viewing by visitors and potential clients and offering them an improved experience during presentations, The system upgrade involved the option of direct view LED technology to create a brighter presentation space, richer in colors and more dynamic.

Digital Projection's Radiance LED modular solution has been the answer to these requirements, in addition to offering ultra high resolution (until 8.000 pixels) and a homogeneous image on the entire front wall of the auditorium.

To achieve the desired resolution and ensure an optimal visual experience from all seats in the auditorium, the Radiance Led model from the Performance series was chosen., of 1,2 mm de pixel pitch, Designed for quick and easy maintenance from the front.

Its installation only needs a few centimeters of depth, so it required very few modifications to the auditorium wall infrastructure. The current Led screen panels fit perfectly in the place where the original wooden ones were installed.

The final result of the project is that the auditorium has a large dynamic and immersive LED screen, of 10 meters wide by 5 high, installed to fit a fairly architecturally curved wall, which was important for the innovative aesthetic of this space.

In collaboration with HB Communications, Digital Projection provided the design engineering and installation of the curved wall, ensuring a successful deployment of this huge screen of about 8.000 resolution pixels.

Para Lorraine Herger, former director of integrated research solutions at IBM: “We believe that true progress is achieved when companies, the governments, academic institutions and other stakeholders work together to take advantage of different points of view and knowledge. Our intention was to provide a stunning image, that would leave the audience 'jawed' and make the presentations more memorable. The full screen image is surprisingly real and leaves the audience shocked”.

Ingenious solution

In collaboration with HB Communications, A new state-of-the-art presentation and production system was developed to complement the high-resolution Led video wall.

Tim Hutton, Senior Account Executive at HB Communications, explains that “we included a premium seamless multi-layer switch from Analog Way, the routing system Ross Video SDI, the network AV encoding/decoding system Crestron NVX, MXA910 beamforming ceiling microphones Shure, surround sound speaker system Meyer Sound and high-definition PTZ camera systems Panasonic, to mention a few”.

Regarding the design of the room, Hutton points out that “one of the main challenges of this application was meeting the client's technological requirements and, at the same time, preserve the architectural integrity of the auditorium. The front wall consisted of wood panels that IBM wanted to preserve, “So an ingenious solution was needed.”.

To achieve, Multiple high-resolution images were taken of the front wall and combined into a single background image that perfectly emulated the wood panels when projected onto the Radiance Led video wall..

“Digital Projection was contracted from the beginning of the project until its completion. Its engineering and sales teams worked in perfect harmony with HB Communications and IBM on the design, structural requirements, the installation and commissioning of the system to make this impressive installation possible”, assures Hutton.

When the installation is finished, guests and IBM staff were left, As this executive points out, “stunned. During our opening event we showed a high definition image of our original wall on Led and our community 'Didn't Notice' that the original had been removed and replaced with an image. The colors, the shine, The clarity and depth of vision that can be achieved is incredible!”.

The Radiance Led videowall “made our vision a reality,” he says., with image quality that exceeded our most demanding expectations. “We were very impressed and grateful with the level of dedication and meticulousness that the Digital Projection International installation team showed in providing us with this wonderful Led experience.”.

It is not the first time that 'the blue giant' trusts in the audiovisual technology of Digital Projection, as already mentioned Digital AV, when he made the presentation a few months ago at his New York headquarters of Quantum, IBM's first quantum computer for scientific and commercial use.