Chance to Shine

Perhaps second only in importance to your cameras, the display solution you choose for your control room has an impact on staff performance, running costs and - let's admit it, it is important - aesthetics. We talk to some manufacturers about their solutions

THE OPPORTUNITY to add significant value to a control room's functionality, extract more potential from the operators manning it, and simultaneously improve important operational factors such as energy efficiency and environmental credentials, is a tempting prospect. But in these economically constrained times, can investment in control room display technology to achieve these results really be justified?

For some public sector control rooms there may not be a long-term choice, for the lifespan of traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and monitor walls is finite.

What's more, their comparative efficiency and effectiveness is increasingly questionable in the context of significant technical advances in display technologies. These now deliver noticeably improved resolution images using, for instance, space-saving flatscreens and cube displays to handle evolving types of information.

Older CRT displays no longer allow operators to adequately display increasing amounts of computer data overlays onto video - an effect that can be likened to an 'electronic piece of paper'.

Modern display systems can show maps of the surveillance coverage area with camera positions marked, which can then be combined with other data such as GPS vehicle tracking. All of this information can be interactively meshed with live and recorded picture feeds from CCTV and IP cameras. Compare that to CRT monitors that don't even allow you to alter the format of the text labels and you can see why you might want to upgrade.

Custom choices

Modern display screens can be custom made to fit each control room environment, with the processors behind the digital display able to handle any number and size of images. They are said to reduce operator fatigue as they're easier to work with, while control room managers wishing to continue using existing video matrices can easily replicate their monitor wall.

Chris Berry, MD of telemetry and telematics specialist Initsys, points out that the UK is still ahead of the pack in terms of CCTV and that modern control rooms are "increasingly utilising video analytics - throwing video for operators to view as event-driven alarms occur, instead of passively displaying real-time images".

Initsys' recently launched Merlin 3 command and control software incorporates alarm monitoring linked to access control, CCTV, intruder, fire and building management systems, associating cameras to these systems' alarms to assist the work of control room operators. Unveiling Merlin 3 at this year's IFSEC exhibition, the company demonstrated the system using a video wall comprising four 52-inch Mitsubishi Electric HD LCD screens with an overlapping display and showing a combination of data including 3D maps.

Future proof

Berry believes that the broadcast sector will be an important proving ground for display technologies finding their way into surveillance control rooms over the next five years. He cites innovations such as HDcctv (CCTV Image, July 2010) and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays as likely to prove particularly influential over this timeframe, with the latter offering advantages including a thinner and lighter alternative to liquid crystal displays derived from OLED's ability to function without a backlight. "I don't see megapixel IP being necessarily so important in the future, because I believe it will be gradually superseded by HDcctv. I was amazed by the comparative quality when I first saw it," he comments.

Berry also mentions Dataton's Watchout multi display software as a technology set to take off in the near future, coming again out of the broadcast sector. Watchout creates wide-screen images as large as required, according to its supplier, integrating still images, video, live footage, animations, sound and graphics, The software combines multiple projectors or other display devices with standard computer and network technology, utilising the full resolution of projectors, monitors, video wall cubes or LED displays.

Chris Berry says it also offers a solution to the difficulties that can be encountered using digital light processing (DLP) when joining images to form a single display. "Watchout removes the seaming effect that can otherwise result and gives DLP technology a new lease of life. In fact a Watchout-based video wall system could provide a feasible and comparatively cost-effective alternative to rear-projection displays, which have fallen in popularity recently because of the struggle they generally have in providing sufficient definition for HD or megapixel images."

Concurring with that sentiment, Jonathan Cooper, business development consultant for NEC Display Solutions, notes that by comparison LCD technology can offer high display quality combined with lower capital and operating costs, the latter derived from savings in consumables and ongoing service and maintenance charges. "LCD panels don't take up as much 'footprint' either and power consumption compared to old technology such as CRT is considerably reduced. The move to LCD screens is also being boosted by the reduction in bezel widths," he declares.

NEC's new Multisync X462UN 46-inch LCD video wall panel, for instance, has a 7.3mm content-to-content gap along with a specification including ambient light sensor, heat management, and tools to calibrate the image across the screen. The product is designed to provide flexibility and high performance whilst minimising power consumption and monitoring carbon footprint savings, according to the company.

Cooper adds that other display technology trends of note include LEDbacklit LCD screens (for both desktop monitors and video walls), which offer lighter weight units, further reductions in power consumption, shallower depths and uniformity improvements compared to CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) backlighting. An additional advantage is the ecologically attractive removal of mercury and halogen associated with CCFL. These benefits are included in NEC's newest desktop product, the Multisync EX-series 23-inch monitor. This product includes the latest generic Displayport digital display interface standard.

Meanwhile, support for the advantages of LED light sources can also be heard from Mitsubishi Electric. The company's Seventy Series display wall cubes offer the option of either conventional mercury lamps or LED lighting, with the solid-state LED route said to provide advantages such as dispensing with the consumable items of lamps and a rotating colour wheel, together with richer colours, a more uniform screen brightness and more stable colour performance.

A look at the specification tables reveals that a lamp system's average lifetime is 10,000 hours in 'normal' mode (reducing to 6000 hours in 'bright' mode), compared with some 80,000/60,000 hours when using an LED light source. So is a decision to opt for LED a 'no-brainer'? Jason Cox, business manager in Mitsubishi's Display Engineering division, explains the comparisons involved in this choice: "There is currently a premium of around 10 per cent to be paid for using LED over conventional lamps, although this cost would be recouped over its 60,000-80,000 hours lifetime. LED is a newer technology for this type of application, but as happens with other technologies that come onto the market and achieve take-up this price gap will narrow as the demand for LED grows. The technology's energy efficiency and environmental credentials will reinforce its attractions too."

Cox adds that Mitsubishi's Seventy Series is based around modular construction benefits, in terms of its physical installation. In practical terms, that means the display could, for instance, be upgraded from XGA to HD resolution via specific 'change-outs' of individual elements of the display system - retaining elements such as cabling and processing modules - without the need for wholesale equipment replacement.

Front access

From a maintenance perspective, display units such as wall cubes have traditionally been accessible from the rear of the units. Yet LCD has brought in the option of front access - an alternative that provides more flexibility for control rooms where space is at a premium. As Chris Berry of Initsys points out, health and safety considerations and fire regulations ask for a minimum 1100mm walkway behind a monitor/ video wall, so front access appears to offer an operational advantage.

But Mitsubishi's Jason Cox notes that an inevitable consequence of front access is that the bezel, or mullion, will be wider as a result.

In the meantime, returning to the theme of equipment lifetime costs, 15- year-old German display systems manufacturer Eyevis provides a range of display solutions including DLP cubes and LCD screens, alongside graphic controllers (with IP decoding) and wall management software.

Spokesman Max Winck says a dual-lamp backlit cube display will provide reassuring backup to the 10,000 hours MTBF rate of a single lamp. But the alternative of LED illumination will increase that lifespan to 50,000 hours. Hence the company's introduction of cube displays ranging in size from 50-70-inch units, providing resolutions from XGA (1024 x 768), full-HD (1920 x 1080) up to WUXGA (1920 x 1200). A cognitive based method of light source adjustment is claimed to ensure a uniform colour appearance over the lifetime of the LEDs.

As Winck points out, a modular matrix of screens made up of LCD monitors or DLP cubes is generally controlled by a so-called split controller which provides special graphic boards for incoming and outgoing signal sources. Using these graphics controller units, all connected signals and sources can be displayed on the large screen wall.

Eyevis' recently launched EC cube displays using one-panel DLP technology with RGB LED illumination, said to ensure unseparated image representation on-screen. A heat-pipe cooling system is reported to maintain the system within recommended operating temperatures, even in warmer environmental conditions. The company additionally provides a colour management system, designed to precisely determine the white point of the LED light source and adjust the colour values of all primary colour channels accordingly, with the aim of providing a homogenous representation of colour and brightness across the whole display.

MORE DISPLAY SOLUTIONS

Looking for more customers? Start with a Merlin3 control system

IT IS LIKELY that with a change of Government coupled to a massive public deficit that pressure is going to come on finances for public projects, and because of the politics involved in CCTV it is likely to be one that much of the focus will apply.

But what does this mean to CCTV control rooms? With the reduction in available cash, control rooms will have to do more than just monitor CCTV to justify the expense in operation.

Even without new capital expenditure the operating costs will have to be reduced and managed. One way of doing that would be to increase the range of services that a control room can provide and make use of standardised equipment rather than proprietary solutions.

Obviously the more flexible a control room can be the more revenue it can generate. Additionally since June of 2010 all government agencies have a direct instruction to work together to bring effective costs savings across departments and to avoid duplication. This will potentially mean a relaxation in various policies that have previously denied by cost, for example, the monitoring of alarms by CCTV control rooms.

For example, if you monitor an alarm and verify it visually you do not have to go to the expense of setting up a control room that fully complies with the requirements for a control room that only monitors alarms without any verification by CCTV.

By using existing CCTV systems (DVR, NVR and IP cameras) and linking them to alarm activations you can immediately upgrade security and monitor the system in any control room. In the Initsys system this is done by the Merlin3 network - no hardware change is normally required.

Initsys's Merlin3 and its associated network VerifiedAlarms is Europes' market leader for integration of alarm signals and CCTV. The highest growth security companies across Europe all have one thing in common: they use Merlin3. In order to sustain their growth they have to provide a range of services to their customers - they have the ability to say yes more often than their competitors.

By simply linking existing CCTV systems to alarm signals it is possible to maximise profits from existing customers, without the cost of installing a specialised CCTV camera transmission systems.

Merlin3 encompasses alarm management correctly integrated with CCTV systems and access control, in-built video wall management and a range of supplementary services such as key and key holder management, energy data collection/processing, guard tour management and lone worker/track and trace.

Merlin3 is compatible with most of the major digital video recorders, NVR and IP cameras and is capable of recording images to its own database for digital locker purposes or to enable a mix between analogue and IP systems. Merlin3 is also capable of recording from HDCCTV and broadcast TV.

Merlin is also a fully featured package for the control room operator: no matter what type of CCTV system or alarm is connected, it all appears the same to the operator. The operator can also make and receive incoming telephone calls, send audio warnings and listen to protected premises.

In short, Initsys can enable any control room to say "yes" more often.

Whether its budget or function, your criteria can be met

 eyevis is a leading manufacturer of large screen display systems and video walls, with applications ranging from control rooms and traffic centers to advertising displays and virtual reality. "We use the latest technology and quality components, and our product range is broad enough to entertain any budget for any project," the company says.

Thanks to many years of experience and technological advantages, eyevis is the ideal partner for the realisation of complete and customised solutions. "We create every component necessary for the overall system," the company says. "This means that in addition to the display method itself - whether it is rear-projection cubes, LCDs, frontal-projection units, or Laser Phosphor Displays - we also develop the graphics controllers and user-friendly wall management software that allows you to control your display."

Of course, the technical support team is always ready to assist its clients with any questions they have. "This allows us to fulfill the high requirements of our customers and help them realize the perfect visual solution, every time."

Some of eyevis's latest products include the Netpix4800 graphic controller and the 55-inch LED-backlit display with Super Narrow bezel. "The Netpix4800 controller allows for multiple connections from analog video, digital video, and graphic sources, and by utilizing Switch Fabric architecture, all sources can be displayed simultaneously on your display wall in full frame rates," they say.

Meanwhile, the LED display combines the slim frame of an LCD monitor with the beautiful picture quality of an LED rear-projection cube. "It is designed specifically for video walls, because with the Super Narrow bezel, the pixel-to-pixel gap between adjacent units is only 5.7 mm - perfect for providing a smooth, seamless picture over any size video wall."

Quality products, complete system realization, user-friendliness, and customer service: these are part of the philosophy behind the perfect visual solutions from eyevis.

Brighter display solutions

The Seventy Series LED cube engine from Mitsubishi Electric is ideal for an array of installations including mission critical and control room applications.

Mitsubishi has long-recognised the potential benefits of LED lighting for its cube products. Unlike conventional mercury lamps, solid-state light sources do not need a rotating colour wheel; their wider gamut delivers richer colours and produces a more uniform screen brightness. They also create far less long-term environmental impact, and the elimination of consumables such as lamps and replacement colour wheels reduces the long-term cost of ownership.

The new cubes share a common set of features with the conventionally- lit Seventy Series cubes, features designed to make them quick to install and easy to manage. Seventy Series cubes can be supplied with a unique Auto-Geometry set-up option that produces perfectly-aligned images automatically. Built-in sensors monitor light output and share this data with neighbouring cubes, enabling the dynamic colour and brightness balancing system to maintain an extremely accurate colour/brightness balance over the whole display without the need for an external computer. In the new LED version, the red, green and blue LED light sources are monitored individually for even greater accuracy.

The LED version offers three different brightness modes, for normal, bright or economy operation. Power consumption and light output is adjusted automatically to ensure the best quality image in each mode.

Mitsubishi's unique Colour Space Control manages the colour balancing of multi-display walls automatically, and the company's innovative Digital Graduation Circuit ensures each cube delivers true, uniform edgeto- edge brightness.

On-board intelligence is another hallmark feature of Seventy Series products. Built-in processing enables multi-window displays to be created without an external processor. A range of optional input boards provide DVI, VGA, composite and component video, SDI and HD-SDI inputs, with 2 input connectors per card. For more complicated applications, Seventy Series LED can be used with Mitsubishi's VC-X3000 processor and D-Wall software suite to create an extremely powerful turnkey display system.

NEC has launched its MultiSync 46-inch LCD, with ultra narrow bezel

NEC Display Solutions continues to reaffirm its Number One Brand (MEKO Q1'10) status for commercial public displays through innovative technology development, resulting in new product launches to deliver the highest quality display technology to market.

Launched in September, the MultiSync® X462UN 46-inch LCD public display represents the new generation of ultra-narrow bezel display superseding the successful X461UN, the first display of its kind to be shipped.

The new MultiSync® X462UN boasts "Dark Edge Compensation", known as "EdgeComp", an innovative function developed by NEC Display Solutions to ensure an even distribution of light across the panel. The new version also offers additional and improved network features, as well as a future-proof DisplayPort connection which allows higher bandwidths and longer cables.

Video wall solutions are proving to become the technology of choice in the command and control room sector offering advantages such as lower initial investment cost, lower operating costs, and shallower depth requirement. NEC's video wall solution comprising the new X462UN offers a number of flexible add-ons such as calibration kits, DVI Daisy chain boards and over-frame kits alongside high end features such as heat management tools, scheduling capabilities and carbon footprint metering built in as standard.

Whether it is for an Oil and Gas, Blue Light, CCTV, Data Centres or Telecommunication application, the mission critical nature of control rooms ( often operational 24/7/365) specifies the need to employ the highest quality display delivering the highest assurance of longevity.

With an unparalleled reputation as a brand that you can trust for quality and reliability, NEC demonstrates enviably low failure rates, backed by a robust warranty and support process.

The flexibility of the X462UN video wall solution allows for swift and simple swap outs should maintenance support be required. NEC is renowned for products designed to stand the test of time. The X462UN uses advanced technologies including heat management, automatic brightness control and eco mode to help prolong the display's life and to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership.