Tekniska Verken, a regional utility firm providing services ranging from electricity and water to waste management, is located in the land of lakes, Sweden. In its KV1 plant at Linköping, the control room sports a large 18-monitor, Matrox Mura MPX-powered video wall that captures and displays data from among its 70 sites. From their desktops, employees just drag and drop the information to be displayed on the collaborative video wall to share simultaneously with other operators.
Optimizing operations
Tekniska Verken’s operators didn’t always have the luxury of accessing a video wall. Prior to the video wall, employees walked from workstation to workstation in search of data pertaining to the utility firm’s various controls and operations. In the event of emergency situations, there was increased activity and foot traffic in the control room, adversely affecting workflow and efficiency. To address the situation Teknisa Verken approached integrator Kontor-X AB for a way to cost-effectively centralize information.
A video wall data aggregator
Kontor-X AB opted for a Matrox-validated Trenton TVC4403 controller system housing six Matrox Mura MPX-4/4 video wall processor cards, which integrate four Full HD outputs and four Full HD inputs on the same PCIe® x16 board. This configuration proved robust enough to power the resulting 6x3, 18-output control room video wall comprising 55” Philips Ultra Narrow Bezel monitors, featuring 24 different inputs made up of video streams, relevant data, and alarm lists.
Mura MPX boards feature a comprehensive design, integrating both inputs and outputs and offering passive cooling for even greater longevity and reliability. Combined with Matrox MuraControl for Windows video wall management software, it was also the best hardware/software combination for the video wall project, according to integrator Kontor-X AB.
Putting the “control” in control room
The MuraControl software proved to be a critical component of the Tekniska Verken installation, with Kontor-X AB key account manager, Kristoffer Nord, stressing how well it suited the client’s needs.
“MuraControl made it easy to manage and control each of the 24 different sources,” he said. “The ability to create, save, and switch between different video wall layouts was especially helpful following shift changes.”
Calling it an incredibly easy-to-use solution, Nord went on to say the installation took just two days to complete, despite initially budgeting a week.
“It was an exciting project, but not as demanding of an install as we had originally anticipated,” he said. “After how fast it went, we’re now looking for ways to integrate Mura MPX in the future, especially for control room environments.”
(Less) money is power
In addition to featuring inputs and outputs on the same card, the multi-functional Mura design facilitates video switching, signal conversion, scaling, and de-interlacing all from a single board, eliminating the need for multiple solutions and reducing installation costs.
In the end, it was the comprehensive feature set and affordability that prompted Kontor-X AB to select Mura MPX hardware and MuraControl software, which went above and beyond their video wall requirements.
“Tekniska Verken was very pleased with the final result,” Nord continued. “Having increased workplace efficiency in the control room, the video wall exceeded expectations. Taking into account the solution’s cost-effectiveness, the smooth integration with sources and outputs, and the ensuing installation, Matrox Mura MPX Series made our job as integrators easier as well.”