Hotel Deluxe

Video Wall Supports Hotel's Unique Style and Brand

The Hotel de Luxe, a Provenance Hotels property, is a tribute to the Golden Era of Hollywood filmmaking, with design and detailing based on the architectural and decorative arts from the 1930s through the 1950s. To the hotel's owners, LCD video wall display technology - although reflective of the current era - represented a unique means of showcasing the hotel's style and brand, while creating a distinctive and memorable experience for guests and visitors, according to Dina Nishioka, public relations director for Provenance Hotels.

Prominent in the art deco lobby is a black and white portrait video wall featuring images of the iconic Golden Era film stars. The gild-framed portrait - eight feet wide by 12 feet high - is an array of LCD displays; specifically, the Clarity™ Matrix LCD Video Wall System by Planar Systems. "It illustrates how modern-day technology can blend with timeless architecture to foster both brand-building and effective communication in our one-of-a-kind hotel setting," Nishioka says.

Installed in early 2010 - by Portland-based Mtek Kiosk, Inc. - the Planar video wall promised outstanding performance, reliability, and virtually hands-off operation. "It is all we expected and more," says Garrick Moe, head of IT for Provenance Hotels. "The wall has operated flawlessly - 16 hours a day, seven days a week - since deployment, beautifully depicting the 400 images in our library. There are no bulbs to worry about, and with power supplies housed off the wall in a remote equipment rack, there is no danger of failure from heat build-up, and we're afforded convenient access to these components without having to remove a display."

The video wall uses commercial-class 46" LCD panels that, at 4.5" in depth, make it the thinnest LCD video wall on the market. Its panels can be tiled almost seamlessly (pixel-to-pixel gap is just 7.3mm), and are arranged in near-perfect alignment thanks to Planar's EasyAxis™ mounting system, featuring 6-axis adjustment. Also, Planar's Big Picture Plus processor can scale any image across the entire wall or on any desired section. And, LCD module control can be accomplished via IR and an on-screen menu, or via RS-232 or LAN control software.