Past troubles with LCD videowalls led casino to research newer, better display technologies, and ultimately determine NanoLumens to be the best solution.
Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan has set its sights on simplifying digital display maintenance while creating a maximum video impact with the recent installation of two large NanoLumens® Nixel Series® LED displays. According to Musa Balogun, Director of Gaming Maintenance, the NanoLumens displays were needed to replace two nine-year-old multi-panel LCD videowalls with a solution that would simplify maintenance and video distribution and ensure optimal operation for years to come.
“When we contacted NanoLumens, we quickly realized that ease of maintenance and spectacular performance were their strengths,” Balogun said. “From experience, I know that multi-panel videowalls create operational and display challenges. After learning about the engineering behind NanoLumens displays, and the simple maintenance processes and help we would get from their support staff, their value proposition became crystal clear.”
As Balogun researched different display manufacturers, it became obvious that NanoLumens is a large format display manufacturer that provides concierge-level support, an industry-best six-year warranty, a design that allows for modular maintenance so the whole display doesn’t have to be replaced if a small issue occurs, and a willingness to train casino staff to perform basic maintenance themselves.
“If minor problems occur, we can now fix them quickly and easily ourselves, because NanoLumens staff trained us to do some maintenance,” he added. “And if for any reason we have issues between the display and the media server, we can get immediate support. A problem with a single panel in our old system often meant it needed to be replaced, and then because of the different ages, even identical models might appear different in brightness or color. Eventually, the manufacturer stopped supporting the older models, so if they broke we had challenges replacing them. At that point we knew we needed a better solution.”
Another major advantage of the NanoLumens LED displays is that they eliminate the bezels and grid lines that can interrupt content and distract viewers. Using a single large display also simplifies video delivery, eliminating the need for additional hardware or software to ensure that each panel receives the correct portion of the full image. This means that there are fewer components that can malfunction and updating content automatically becomes faster and easier.
“When we considered the cost of constant maintenance, the difficulty in creating and delivering content across multiple panels, and the inescapable grid lines that cut through and distract from our content, a single, large, long-lasting, easily maintained display made the most sense,” Balogun continued. “I can’t imagine a good reason to install a new multi-panel videowall today, since NanoLumens displays are better in every way.”
Because NanoLumens custom manufactures every display to meet any requirements for size, shape, pixel pitch and even curve, there was virtually no construction required to mount the two new Nixel Series displays. They were designed and built specifically to fit in the existing wall recesses, so the only ‘construction’ necessary was to mount plywood in the recesses so the Nixels could be easily attached. Nixels are NanoLumens’ patented 12” x 6” LED panels that combine to form displays of all shapes and sizes, and part of what makes maintenance so easy – if one Nixel malfunctions, a new one can be swapped in.
With one 3mm pixel pitch display located near the main entrance and the other in front of the event center, they are prime advertising vehicles for the casino to announce upcoming events, sales and special promotions, according to Frank Kennedy, Senior Vice President of Casino Operations.