Hardware

Review: Small Modules Combine to Form a Big Picture with the LG Video Wall

The giant LAEC015 comprises 72 LED modules, all individually serviceable.

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John Breeden II is an award-winning reviewer and public speaker with 20 years of experience covering technology.

For certain activities — collaborating online with others, watching a presentation or videoconferencing, for example — a bigger display creates a better experience.

This is especially true in the federal government as agencies adopt hybrid working environments, where everyone needs to be an active part of the team regardless of whether they are in the office or at home.

However, the options for installing a truly large screen have been limited and often come with quite a few drawbacks. For example, chaining several smaller monitors together into a big screen can work, but the resulting display will always be broken up by screen bezels, making it look like a giant tic-tac-toe board — and sometimes, information is hidden in those cracks.

Some single monitors now approach 10 feet, but this becomes an all-eggs-in-one-basket situation, where there is not much that can be done to address common display problems such as blown pixels. Finally, projectors can be used, but they normally require dimming room lights to achieve sharp images.

DISCOVER: LG's custom-built digital signage solutions fill agencies' unique spaces and needs.

Bigger Is Actually Better with LG’s LAEC015 Video Wall

By contrast, the LG LAEC015 video wall is able to create a high-resolution screen with a 136-inch viewing area and no visible lines to break up an image. The secret is that the massive, 11-foot screen comprises 72 individual LED panels, called modules.

Twelve modules are placed across the casing in six vertical rows and are designed to work seamlessly together to form a single display. A skilled installation team can assemble an entire LAEC015 video wall in about two hours.

Individual panels are also hot-swappable for repairs or maintenance, and each LG LAEC015 ships with four extra modules for that purpose.

Images displayed on the LG LAEC015 look amazing. Compared with many laptop and television screens, which are rated for about a 300 nits of brightness, the LG LAEC015 can be calibrated for up to 500 nits — making images and text easily readable even in environments that use standard overhead office lighting.

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Because the massive display is made up of many smaller units, brightness levels and color consistency are maintained throughout the display — even in the far corners, which don’t differ from the modules in the center of the matrix. The LG LAEC015 also supports a 3000:1 contrast ratio and a 160-degree viewing angle.

For connecting with the display, the LG LAEC015 includes a DisplayPort and three HDMI ports. The system also does a good job with audio: Its two internal, 9-watt speakers sound great and are extremely loud, so people can hear presentations even from the back of very large rooms.

The LG LAEC015 video wall is revolutionary in a lot of ways. By designing smaller modules to fit together into an enormous display, LG eliminates many of the disadvantages of traditional video walls from the start — and the result looks amazing.

LG’s video wall would be a great tool for federal agencies that require large displays for mission-critical applications, without the hassles that normally come with deploying such a massive screen.

SPECIFICATIONS

DEVICE TYPE: Large video wall for presentations or digital signage
DISPLAY SIZE: 135.8 inches (diagonal)
SCREEN RESOLUTION: 1920x1080
CONNECTIVITY: Three HDMI and one DisplayPort
SOUND: Two 9-watt speakers
DIMENSIONS: 66.6x118.3 inches
WEIGHT: 291 pounds

Sustaining and Maintaining the Giant LG LAEC015 Display

One of the groundbreaking aspects of the LG LAEC015’s giant monitor is that it’s made up of 72 smaller LED modules designed to fit together. They do so seamlessly, which also makes maintenance on the unit extremely easy to perform.

Unlike single-panel large monitors, if a problem such as a blown or stuck pixel develops on the screen, there is no need to service the entire unit. Instead, the LG LAEC015 comes with a magnetic tool that makes it a cinch to remove just the module or system board that is experiencing a problem.

Once removed, the malfunctioning unit can be sent to an LG repair facility located in Alabama to be fixed or replaced within a few weeks.

Even if a module breaks, there is no need for downtime during the repair process. In addition to the 72 panels that make up the matrix of the display, each LG LAEC015 also ships with four extra modules to be used when needed. The modules are hot-swappable, so displays don’t need to be shut down when a replacement module is needed.

Most large-screen displays lack similar functionality, but even so, the LG LAEC015 owner isn’t likely to need it. The display itself is rated for a half-life of 100,000 hours at full brightness, meaning it can run constantly for more than 11 years before the brightness of the modules starts to degrade.

For more general setup and configuration tasks, the LG LAEC015 runs on the LG webOS operating system. Administrators can remotely configure settings such as brightness and contrast settings — no need to be in front of the display with an external remote control. There is even an intuitive software developer kit for designing apps to work with the display.

With all the advantages of a large video wall, plus ease of use and simplified maintenance, the LG LAEC015 is a great choice for mission-critical applications in government service.

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