Extron powers Wisconsin operations center video wall

The control room of WEC Energy Group has updated its display system with a LED video wall Daktronics and a Quantum Ultra processor Extron.

The operations center of the Wisconsin Public Services It is a building critical mission which is located in Green Bay. System operators WEC Energy Group they use the videowall What's in the room to supervise and manage the state's public electric grid and its service territories. The latest update has been made with Extron technology.

The existing visualization system in the operations center was not the most suitable for the company's needs. Made up of individual monitors 33 y 55 inches, it didn't fit well on the curved wall. They were looking for a solution that was more powerful, with better image zoom capabilities and flexibility to use content windows. Besides, system maintenance was not practical.

Each monitor had to be individually realigned if one failed and system repair was expensive. Although the existing display system worked, They needed another one that provided better image quality and was more efficient.

The new solution had to provide the flexibility to display a variety of content on the video wall and the images had to be of higher quality. Content display had to be reliable and flexible, allowing multiple operators to select from a wide variety of sources and organize content into windows that span or fill the canvas.

During a natural disaster or civil emergency, more than two operators must be able to use the system simultaneously. Because the control room is a mission-critical facility that operates the 24 hours of the day, every day of the year, The new visualization solution had to be 100% reliable and easy to maintain..

New Led Video Wall

WEC Energy Group contrató a Camera Corner Connecting Point (CCCP) to assist with AV system design and development. Narrowed down the options to three solutions.

The first was to upgrade the system with the newest video wall technology, but keeping the monitors 33 a 55 existing inches. This would save on cost, but it would not solve the problems associated with visible screen bezels and the difficulty of repairing and replacing displays. This solution was rejected because it was not practical.

The second option was to install energy-efficient commercial video walls. Although this would have solved many of the existing problems, such as adjusting a single display device, Even the latest commercial video wall displays have somewhat visible bezels. Perfect images were required. Another disadvantage of this option was the problem of image quality and that the lack of flexibility to support additional operators would not be resolved..

Finally, The third option was to implement an upgrade with a completely new next-generation LED video wall display system and a high-performance processor.. This was the one chosen.

CCCP had experience with video walls, I had previously developed them for several clients and their corporate offices. Deciding factors for AV system components included manufacturers' reputation and brand name products, Training available for operators and support staff, competitive prices and post-development support.

Great flexibility with Quantum Ultra

Due to operations center space needs and system flexibility, the curvature of the wall and the stipulated image quality, the best combination of products was a videowall Led de Daktronics and a Extron Quantum Ultra processor.

The features, Capabilities and technologies integrated into the chosen products ensured that the system was reliable, will provide high-quality images and be easy to develop and maintain. Integration began as soon as the AV equipment arrived.

Unlike the old AV system, Quantum Ultra processor allows multiple operators to control the video wall at the same time. Thanks to the fact that there was no longer a limit of two operators, This new system supported a crucial and improved ability to protect personnel and equipment during events such as thunderstorms..

Control room provides four operator workstations, two in the front with dual monitor outputs to the video wall and two workstations in the rear with a single output. The installation facilitates rapid customization of the content displayed on the video wall by each operator as a situation evolves.

Some of the factors that led to choosing the Quantum Ultra processor were the scaling quality, the HyperLane video bus of 400 Gbps and a modular architecture that allowed enough inputs for the number of sources.

Processor upscaling and downscaling source content without impacting image quality or detail. The video bus easily accommodates the demands of many high-resolution sources while maintaining its full frequency. Los DTP series transmitters and receivers Provide signal extension of video resolutions up to 4K.

System includes eight wall presets. In addition to the default window layout for daily activities, An operator can select from seven window presets to facilitate monitoring of the power grid during different types of events. An operator can also configure it with a personal design.

Although there is no management workstation, a supervisory access allows them to reset window settings from any workstation.

Control Extron EMS

An operator works his assigned shift using the front right or left workstation. Two to four operators are notified in the event of an event.

Each operator has the ability to select between video and camera sources, broadcast transmissions and computer-generated graphics and data, as well as content obtained by another staff member.

A standard video wall design includes display of six host computer connections, a transmission from a broadcast receiver and an output from the workstation computer and/or a connected device. Additional content is also available that can be sent to the video wall.

Another feature that traders find beneficial is the output overlay, which allows identification text, such as font names and classification levels, can be placed in one or more windows or the selected content.

The workstation computers have the EMS – Express Mobile Software by Extron, that makes it easy to select and organize video wall content. They can organize content into resizable windows and apply optional borders in selectable colors to best fit the situation.. When an emergency occurs, This software also allows for on-the-fly modifications to window layout and font presentation without the need for custom programming.

Whether working a standard shift or coordinating responsibilities during a difficult situation, each operator uses the EMS to select high quality schemes, meteorological data, secure station transmissions, news alerts and more. View content in their preferred layout without needing help from IT or having to wait for another operator to provide space on the video wall.

WEC Energy Group management and control room staff are delighted with the upgrade to their operations center and functionality, flexibility and reliability of the new video wall system.

Everyone was impressed with the clarity of the video images and graphics, especially when scaling power grid schemes and remote centers.

The video wall powered by the Quantum Ultra processor delivers the information operators need to maintain the electrical grid day to day and during incidents and storms that could reach the state of Wisconsin.