A Leyard Europe LED video wall has been installed at one of the oldest libraries in Europe.

The video wall has been installed in the main public area of the Weston Library, one of the 26 libraries that comprise Bodleian Libraries, which supports the University of Oxford and is the UK’s largest academic library service.

Over its 400-year history, Bodleian Libraries has collected more than 13 million printed publications and 80,000 e-journals. Its extensive special collections include 1.4 million rare books, manuscripts, maps and other printed items, all housed at the Weston Library.

Formerly the New Bodleian, the Weston Library was designed in the 1940s by Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral, Battersea Power Station and Britain's red telephone boxes.

Florence Nightingale meets Frankenstein
Its treasures include a copy of the Magna Carta, a book given by a young Elizabeth I to her mother Katherine Parr, a collection of Florence Nightingale’s letters, and the handwritten manuscript of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

The Leyard Europe TVF LED video wall – which has replaced an LCD video wall installed before the pandemic – was fitted during a major refresh of the library's AV facilities, designed by AV consultant Hewshott and undertaken by Reflex, which is part of Aura.

Five LED brands were compared before Leyard Europe was selected. Daniel Brooks, an associate at Hewshott, says: “It best met the client requirements, providing both quality and value and, thanks to Leyard’s European manufacturing facility, faster delivery than competitors. This benefitted the project timeline and reduced the environmental impact of international shipping”.

The Leyard Europe TVF LED video wall also met the brief in terms of power consumption and heat load.

The wall serves as the main display in the library's loggia. Installed flush in a marble recess, the video wall displays digital signage content, but is also used for presentations and to stream overflow content from the lecture theatre – a key requirement, as the library regularly welcomes high-profile speakers.

Installation challenges
Brooks says the size and shape of the marble recess meant that the team faced a choice between a standard-aspect ratio video wall that was smaller than the space, which would leave large gaps on either side, or a custom video wall that fitted the recess but would require bespoke content or 'windows' within the video wall processing to accommodate content with a regular-aspect ratio.

They opted for a custom screen with extended trim designed to fill the remaining gaps. Its bespoke content is created to the video wall’s specific size by a dedicated internal team.

Delivering content to the video wall was another challenge. The rack containing the AV equipment sits in a communications room located below the tiered seating of the library's lecture theatre, giving the team a difficult cable route to navigate. There were also some initial network issues to work through, which hindered effective communication between the AV devices.

“The install was greatly assisted by quick access to the remote support provided by the Leyard engineers,” says Brooks. “Working closely with the Bodleian’s property team, we helped to ensure that the supporting wall was built out correctly and that the video wall itself was provided with both the correct power and ventilation requirements.

“Working with Leyard Europe on this project was a great success. We received a high-quality product at a competitive price point, and great support both before and during install from the Leyard Europe team."

TrendForce 2024 Global LED Video Wall Market Outlook and Price Cost Analysis

Release Date: 28 September 2023
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