Describing Video Wall Mode
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Affected Roles: Administrator, Owner
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS
Last Edit: October 18, 2021
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Video Wall
Video Wall mode allows an ongoing instance of the DW Spectrum Client (Desktop) to remotely control a camera layout while displaying the session through another session of the client software on a different computer. This can be performed either locally through the LAN or remotely over a WAN or Internet.
**NOTE: This feature is currently supported only on Windows and Ubuntu/Linux operating systems.
Display Management
Video Wall layouts and camera settings can be managed in real-time while simultaneously configuring settings through the DW Spectrum Server. This function is similar to the spot out monitoring functions of DW standalone recorders in how Video Walls will not display any overlays or performance alerts while also streaming video on demand. This makes for an ideal monitoring form for any monitoring setups that will potentially be within public view.
Video Wall Architecture
Video Wall Server
A Video Wall Server is the computer that hosts the main database of a Video Wall Cluster. Video Wall display monitors can be directly controlled from this server or from any other merged server that is connected either by DW Cloud or by network connection.
Video Wall Processor
The Video Wall Processor is the computer that the active Video Wall display monitors are connected to. Each Video Wall Processor can manage multiple video wall displays, depending on the hardware capabilities of the system. There is virtually no limit to how many can be combined in a Video Wall Cluster.
Video Wall Controller
A Video Wall Controller is any computer that can connect to a Video Wall and control it. If the connection is from a laptop, the video adapter must support OpenGL > 2.0.
Requirements
To use an instance of DW Spectrum Client to control a Video Wall display, a special license will be required.
Each license will allow a client session to utilize up to two (2) display monitors per one (1) DW Spectrum-VideoWall License activation.
To manage a Video Wall Cluster, DW Spectrum must be installed on all participating computers. However, not all computers require the DW Spectrum Server software to be installed.
- Video Wall Server – Full DW Spectrum IPVMS Server/Client required
- Video Wall Processor(s) – DW Spectrum Client required only
- Video Wall Controller(s) – DW Spectrum Client required only
Related Articles
- Video Wall Setup & Remote Monitor Control
- Video Wall Management
Video Wall Failover
If a Video Wall license would fail in DW Spectrum IPVMS v4.0 and older versions, all video streams would become disabled and an error would display immediately.
Since the release of DW Spectrum IPVMS v4.1, a Video Wall Failover feature has been added. If a Video Wall license fails or becomes unavailable, the Video Wall will continue to work without any problems for up to 7-days.
A countdown will display until the Video Wall license key has been restored or a new license was activated as a replacement. If no action is taken within the 7-day limit, the error message “Not enough licenses” will display and the Video Wall will cease functioning.
