Leyard brings custom Led solution to Weston Library

El videowall, embedded in a marble niche and made to measure, has been configured with a solution Leyard IMF. It displays digital signage content, but it is also used for presentations, external events and to broadcast content.

The Bodleian Library of Oxford has chosen a Custom Led solution from Leyard Europe as central display of the public area, the Lodge, of the Biblioteca Weston, which houses the special collections of the library service.

The Led video wall of the TVF series de Leyard replaces an existing LCD video wall that had been installed before the pandemic as part of a major audiovisual renovation of the building. It was designed by Hewshott AV Consultants and installed by Reflex, which is part of Aura.

The decision to choose Leyard Europe was made after comparing five different LED brands. According to the audiovisual consultant Daniel Brooks, The product “was the one that best satisfied the customer's needs.”, since it offered quality and value, and could be delivered earlier than others thanks to Leyard's European manufacturing plant. “This benefited the project deadlines and reduced the environmental impact of international transportation.”.

Energy consumption and heat emission were also important factors for the Bodleian Libraries and the Leyard TVF Led display met the demanding requirements.

The Led screen has been installed in the main public area of ​​Weston, one of the 26 libraries that make up the Bodleian Library, the UK's largest academic library service, that supports the Oxford University.

Throughout his 400 years of history, The Bodleian Library has collected more than 13 millions of printed publications and 80.000 electronic magazines. Extensive special collections include 1,4 millions of rare books, manuscripts, maps and other printed materials. All of them preserved in the Weston Library.

The Weston Library, antigua New Bodleian, It was designed in the decade of 1940 by architect Giles Gilbert Scott, also author of Liverpool Cathedral, Battersea Power Station and the iconic red telephone box, mainly for storing books. After a reform of 80 million pounds, carried out by architects Wilkinson Eyre, the library has rebranded and focused on state-of-the-art storage and conservation of specialist collections, as well as in the work and study methods of the 21st century.

Among its treasures are a copy of the Magna Carta, a book given by the young Elizabeth I to her mother, Catalina Parr; a collection of letters from Florence Nightingale and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein manuscript.

The Leyard video wall serves as the main presentation in the loggia, a spacious and bright space open to the public and connected to a cafe and a shop. The library includes exhibition rooms, conferences, reading, seminars and other study spaces.

El videowall, embedded in a marble niche, show contents of digital signage, but it is also used for presentations, external events and for broadcast content from the conference room. This was an important requirement for the library, which regularly hosts high-level speakers.

Installation was not easy, explica Brooks, especially due to the size and shape of the existing marble niche and the distance between the video screen and the audiovisual rack that transmits the video.

Due to the dimensions of the marble niche, the team had to choose between a standard aspect ratio video display, which would be smaller than the surface and would have a strange appearance with large gaps on both sides, or a custom Led video screen, that would fit in the niche, but would require custom content or 'windows' on the video screen to accommodate standard aspect ratio content.

Finally, due to its better aesthetics, The latter option was chosen and Leyard Europe supplied a bespoke display with an extended bezel to fill the remaining gaps. An internal team adapts custom content to the specific size of the video wall.

Another challenge was transferring the content. The rack containing the audiovisual equipment is located in a communications room located below the rows of seats in the auditorium, so the team had to face a difficult cable laying.

There were also some initial network issues to resolve., that made effective communication between audiovisual equipment difficult. The integrator chosen for this job, Reflex Ltd, which is part of Aura, was very helpful in investigating and resolving these issues on site.

“Installation was much easier thanks to quick access to remote support from Leyard engineers”, afirma Brooks. “We worked closely with the Bodleian team to ensure that the load-bearing wall was built correctly and that the video wall itself had the appropriate power and ventilation requirements”.

Brooks notes that energy consumption is increasingly important to customers, who strive to be more environmentally friendly. “A video wall that is left on standby overnight will continue to consume energy. Working with Leyard Europe on this project has been a great success”.