Customer Stories
Matrox Mura MPX-Powered Video Wall Immerses TJ’s Sport Garden Customers with an Incomparable Sports Viewing Experience
TJ’s Sports Garden Uses Mura MPX Video Wall Controller Boards to Deploy an 18-Monitor Video Wall and Deliver an Immersive Sports Viewing Experience
TJ’s Sports Garden recently solidified their position as the Ohio Valley region’s premier sports bar and restaurant destination with the unveiling of a large-scale, 18-monitor video wall powered by Matrox Mura MPX™ video wall controller boards.
Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, TJ’s Sports Garden is captivating the attention of both casual and die-hard sports fans alike with larger-than-life sporting events. Hitplay, a full-service AV firm, along with their integration partner Roalka Digital Media, were brought in to design, build, and implement the installation, and did so by leveraging HDCP-compliant Mura MPX boards to capture cable and satellite feeds. The ultra-immersive 6x3 (18 x 55” displays) sports viewing platform lets patrons feel as though they were right in the broadcast studio or even on the playing field.
Visual Evolution
Since its grand opening in 1990, TJ’s has consistently been rated as the number one sports bar restaurant in the Ohio Valley. Owners TJ and Bonnie Radevski, recognize the importance of evolving by quickly adapting to the constantly changing needs of their clientele.
TJ’s is already the sports bar that “can’t be beat,” but they wanted to cement their top ranking with a large-scale video wall to complement their existing TV displays. The 18-monitor installation had to be flexible in order to seamlessly scale and switch between both digital and analog cable and satellite set-top boxes, yet intuitive enough to operate so any employee could effortlessly control the wall and manage its content.
Game On…the Big Screen!
The driving force behind the video wall is Mura MPX Series. After consulting with a Matrox representative, Hitplay and Roalka Digital Media were thrilled to discover that the solution’s unique single-slot output/input board design would allow them to conveniently integrate five Mura MPX output/input boards within its custom-built, Microsoft® Windows® 7-based system. Equally important was Mura MPX’s ability to capture and display digital, analog, and HDCP-compliant sources—including three cable and five satellite boxes. Customers are now able to view multiple sporting events simultaneously on different parts of the wall, while feature events can be scaled across all 18 displays, at up to 1080p resolution per screen.
“The client was blown away with the scaling performance of the Mura MPX-based video wall controller,” reported Eric Rauch, principal & designer at Hitplay. “It didn’t matter what layout they used. They were very happy with the performance.”
Video Wall with a Simple Playbook
TJ’s is a fast-paced environment, with customers constantly requesting to view different sporting events. To seamlessly handle these demands, Hitplay topped off the integration with a Crestron 2-Series Control System™ to further simplify management of the Mura MPX-powered video wall. The AV firm designed a custom user interface along with a set of preconfigured layouts that employees can access through an Apple® iPad® tablet. All screen configuration and video feed commands are sent to the Mura Network application programming interface (API), and in turn communicated in real time to the video wall. Employees also use the Crestron system/iPad package to correspond with a Kramer audio switch to broadcast the appropriate audio channels.
“As integrators, we were surprised at how easy and intuitive it was to synchronize the Crestron control system with the Mura MPX boards. As a result, this allowed us to dramatically improve the client’s ability to interact with the system,” said Rauch. “Through simplifying the control of layouts and switching, we were able to ensure that they could manage the system by themselves without the need of support resources.”
An Immersive Venue
The video wall has dramatically enhanced the atmosphere at TJ’s. There has been a significant increase in restaurant traffic, with a particular rise in larger-sized groups dominating the areas closest to the Mura MPX-powered platform. Furthermore, staff have noticed a more lively and interactive environment when all restaurant patrons are watching the action on the same screen.
By keeping an eye on the ball, or the wall in this instance, Hitplay and Roalka Digital Media have transformed TJ’s Sports Garden into an unbeatable place to catch the big game.
For More Information
Matrox Mura MPX Series video wall controller boards are building blocks of high-performance, scalable installations that meet even the most demanding requirements of system integrators. Featuring both high-definition outputs and high-definition inputs, Mura is key to the assembly of everything from small-scale, single-board presentation systems to large-scale, multi-board configurations for use within control rooms or as digital signage. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) compliance meanwhile enables the playback of copy-protected content.
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