Datapath Powers High-Impact Video Walls at The University of Nevada

Datapath has again played an important part in powering latest AV developments at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas following the inauguration of Nevada’s cutting edge educational landmark – the Advanced Engineering Building.  With UNLV enrollment surpassing 30,000 students and the College of Engineering emerging as the fastest growing college at UNLV, the new building will enable UNLV to meet skyrocketing enrollment demand in engineering and support a highly skilled workforce that is integral to Nevada’s economic future.  

Datapath began their relationship with UNLV in 2018 after working with Frank D. Alaimo CTS-I, Manager of Classroom Technology Services, to bring flexible content to a custom 16.5 feet by 5.4 feet concave videowall at the University’s Hospitality Hall. The full case study can be found here: UNLV Dazzles with Sensational Signage.

As part of the features of the Advanced Engineering Building, UNLV expanded its digital signage and display capability with three new Nanolumens videowalls. Highlighting the courtyard adjacent to the entrance is an 898×2304 resolution 3.9mm pitch outdoor video wall used for promotional videos, digital signage and event marketing. Inside the Flexatorium is an ultrawide 32×9 ratio 1512×5376 resolution 1.56mm pitch video wall that can display two full screen 16×9 sources side by side for classes during the day or run custom marketing for events at night. The Showcase space contains a full 4K UHD 1.25mm video wall that is utilized for special events, capstone projects, and fundraising for student projects.   

These three videowalls provide UNLV with a completely flexible, high impact, creative canvas to engage with students and relay information, events, and messages from a variety of sources to a choice of large video displays. This content can easily be combined in any format from any of the three Visix digital signage players, two independent sources from the Flexatorium classroom which includes a computer, document camera, Bluray Player, 40x zoom UHD camera, HDMI and USB-C inputs, and output from the Showcase space which adds an additional computer, Bluray Player, and HDMI input selection. 

With all displayed content being 4K resolution, the power to process this amount of data is paramount. For this reason, Frank D. Alaimo once again opted for Datapath’s proven experience in this sector to deal with the video data and image processing in addition to its huge “wow” factor with a flexible digital canvas. 

Utilizing a VSN1172 videowall controller, equipped with three Image2K 4 Channel graphics cards and eight VisionSC-UHD2 4K capture cards, the powerful solution provides the flexibility and customizability to achieve every presentation need, from mixed content for breakaway classrooms to building-wide events. The Datapath video wall controller ensures the content scales for each of the videowalls with their distinct resolutions. 

Presenters can dynamically change sources and recall presets from Crestron touchpanels utilizing Crestron NVX system to distribute and output the content to the Datapath videowall controller, where its straightforward Application Programming Interface (API) integrates easily with the Crestron control system. 

“Datapath know what they are doing when it comes to processing video data,” said Frank.

“We trust them to deliver solutions that not only meet our needs, but also ensure our investment continues to deliver years into the future.” 

For peace of mind across the board, Datapath provided UNLV with a full commissioning service, collaborating with their team for the initial period of installation to ensure any issues are immediately rectified, as well as providing full training and support to UNLV operators. 

Michael Theil, Senior AV/IT Control Systems Specialist, Classroom Technology Services at UNLV, spoke of the assurance that this comprehensive service brings to his team: “Having Datapath and Nanolumens literally alongside our team pre-launch and when the project went live was a reassuring addition to their service. Not only was it great to have initial issues immediately dealt with to our satisfaction, but our technicians could learn best practice, in real time, from the expert technicians both at Datapath and Nanolumens and absorb how to get the very best from our new technology.” 

He added: “We are delighted with this latest investment at UNLV. The quality of the Nanolumens displays, and the power and flexibility that we have over the displayed content, gives us a wholly new platform in which to engage with our vast number of students. We now have three new large digital canvases that ensures reliable, impactful and secure content can help to educate, inform and inspire all those on Campus.” 

Orchestrator of Datapath’s involvement was Keven Yue, Senior Manager, Business Development & Sales, USA, who spoke of his pride in Datapath’s association with the University: “It was several years ago that we first begun working with Frank and his talented team at UNLV. They are a fantastic team to work with and we are proud to build on that success with this latest project. The three large videowalls really do create an awesome, informative spectacle and it is immensely satisfying to know that the eye-catching content has Datapath behind it – processing the millions of pixels.” 

He adds: “This project demonstrates how Datapath works in seamless collaboration with its end users for the best outcome. Engaging with end-users is a strategic initiative from Datapath management and our strong relationship with UNLV and Frank was a key success factor because we understood the video wall’s technical objectives and how to best realize a solution that best suited the end user’s needs.  

“These user relationships are important to Datapath and, by working alongside UNLV’s experienced engineers, we were able to assist with a solution that will ensure inspirational content for many years to come.”