The range of video panel and video wall systems out there in our industry is staggering, both from a price and a performance perspective. American firms are competing with direct-from-Shenzhen manufacturers, especially in the video wall competition game, and this game is proving to be a tricky ocean to navigate — especially when you need parts, service, or RMA tracking from said manufacturer overseas.
Customers find themselves buying a “wall and a half” of product and accessories to skirt the issues posed by money-minded China direct manufacturers, which means the American customer is purchasing extra panels just to do self-service when one cheaply made panel breaks down. This is especially obvious after this year’s InfoComm 2017 trade fair in Orlando. Sticking with an American-represented factory with American industry interests is where the video wall game turns to Absen’s favor.
Enter Absen America: “When it was time for us to get a wall, the choice was clear,” says No Static Pro Audio founder and CEO Eugene Gordon, who chose the X3v model. “Yes, there are a lot of less expensive foreign panels out there, but reliability and serviceability were a big selling point for us,” Gordon adds. “You can use it at full brightness during the day, then dim it down as the event progresses into the evening — one wall for all situations.”
Reliable and Easy to Deploy
The X3v (and its sister panels the X2v and X5v) are made for mobile production, and they don’t care whether that quick setup and teardown is inside or outdoors. The X3v panel fronts are rated IP65 (dust tight with a constant stream of water protected), so they can take the rain on that forward-facing truss or down in front of the deck. The rear of the panels rate IP54 (dust protected and splash-protected) and can stand up to the challenges of an indoor or outdoor show with varying levels of atmospheric obstacles. “We’ve been beating it up for months now and it’s proven to be very reliable,” Gordon says, adding that “we can’t even keep it in our warehouse. Because it’s a popular wall, we have other companies cross-renting from us when they need extra panels, and vice-versa.”
The “mobile” aspect of these panels is evident in the constructing, deconstructing and maintenance of the panels as a system. The X3v is compatible with the prior generation X series, allowing for a better return on investment for both products and more cross-rental opportunities for larger projects. “Absen Affinity” color calibration also makes cross-renting easier — the screens always look uniform. Other benefits include stress-free assembly, since the panels connect and align without needing a PhD, and — as Gordon notes — “they came with really nice road cases.
“One of my favorite parts of the Absen X3v unit is how quick it is to swap data and power components from the rear of the unit without having to pull the entire wall apart to perform maintenance,” Gordon continues. “This makes it easy for us to quickly swap a panel during a show with minimal down time if there is an issue and no tools are needed to remove and replace the power and data cores. This was also a factor in our decision to go with Absen. You pop a couple of connectors, loosen the data or power units and swap them out if ever something were to fail,” an important consideration in a rental solution.
Gordon also appreciates the fact that the Xv panels are compatible with the original Mobile X-Series panels, accessories and mounts. “We just found out we can interchange X3 and X2 modules, and they will work with our existing processors, frames, data and power units,” he says. “We’re excited about the prospect of being able to stock a slightly higher resolution module, yet save costs by not having to purchase a whole bunch of extra hardware, just swap the modules out.”
To help users looking to create curved video surfaces, the X3v comes with integrated +/- five-degree curving connections between panels. With the additional curve bracket accessories, users can make an unlimited number of concave curves and up to five-degree convex curves to fit their production designs.
Geek Specs
The X3v video panel boasts a quite nice 4500 nits (which, for our lighting department friends, is 418.06 lumens per square foot), with a contrast ratio of 3800:1 — whether you’re running these panels in a wall in an arena where you control ambient light, or if you’re outside at a festival with the sun setting on your rig face-first, the X3v panel performs effortlessly. For smaller events to large scale production, these Xv series panels can punch it.
Absen’s X3v is driven by a NovaStar card, delivering up to 18-bit color grayscale contrast for higher grayscale in those lower brightness situations. X3v boasts a flicker-free 3840Hz refresh rate and 50/60Hz frame rate, which allows the panel to be walled and used in video recording situations without the unprofessional lines of flicker created by cheaply manufactured direct-from-china video walls.
Made with three-in-one SMD black-face and bright LEDs, Absen’s X3v panel has a wide 160-degree horizontal by 130-degree vertical viewing angle for effective use in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues. The X3v’s 3.91mm pixel pitch also makes these panels a good choice for viewing distances anywhere from 24 feet away to the back of the arena. Each panel’s pixel matrix is 128 by 144 pixels (WxH) — 18,432 pixels per panel, or 65,536 pixels per square meter.
Comparing the three products, the X3v has a 3.9mm pixel pitch, whereas the X2v has a 2.6mm pitch and the X5v a 5.2mm pitch. The X3v and X5v come in at the same weight class, but the X2v is lighter by one pound (with an IP rating of IP40 on the front face and IP21 on the rear gear face). All three panels allow quick, tool-less replacement of the power and data cores for preventative or emergency maintenance. The X2v panels are 120-degrees (H+V), and the X5v has an optimal angle of 140-degrees (H) and 110-degrees (V).
Like the X5v and X3v panels, the X3v cabinets are made from hard, tough magnesium alloys that take a pretty good kicking. They’re lightweight at 19.8 pounds each (9 kg) and 6.53 pounds per square foot (32 kg/m2), and you can hang 17 panels down from a single point. Each panel measures 22 by 20 by four inches in size (562.5 by 500 by 94mm). As is typical, the Xv panels will take signal up to 100 meters over CAT5 connections, and up to ten kilometers on a single-mode fiber connection. “I highly recommend giving the Absen Xv series video panels a signal and see for yourself,” Gordon concludes.
At a Glance
Bright, Reliable and Hassle-Free
The 3.91mm pixel pitch X3v panel from Absen, like the 2.6mm pitch X2v and 5.2mm X5v, are designed for reliable performance in a variety of settings with variable ambient light. These tough, lightweight, bright and modular panels are interchangeable and will work with existing frames, processors, data and power units, with consistent colors and curved display options adding to their value and appeal.
Absen X3v Panels
PROS: Cabinets are made from tough magnesium alloys for reliability on the road. Easy connections. Tool-less replacement of panels. 4,500 nits of output.
CONS: None
FEATURES
SMD 3-in-1 Blackface LEDs
3.91mm Pixel Pitch
4,500 Nits (Brightness)
3840 Hz (Refresh Rate)
Flicker-Free Performance
160° x 130° (HxV) Viewing Angle
NovaStar Processing Card
STATS
Panel Size: 22” x 20” x 4”
Panel Weight: 19.8 lbs.
Panel Pixels: 144 x 128
Pixels/Panel: 18,432
Pixels/m2: 65,536
MORE INFO
MSRP: Contact dealer
Manufacturer: Absen
Website: www.usabsen.com
