{"id":1708,"date":"2022-03-13T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-13T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/?p=1708"},"modified":"2022-03-22T21:42:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-22T21:42:46","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-making-your-own-video-wall-displays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/a-beginners-guide-to-making-your-own-video-wall-displays\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginners Guide To Making Your Own Video Wall Displays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s becoming common these days for businesses to use video displays instead of printed signage to promote their business. There are many businesses out there that will sell you complex solutions with all the expensive bells and whistles to have a series of photos or videos to show on a large screen and pay a subscription fee to do so. The reality is that you can make your own basic system for a reasonable cost and do some of the work yourself. We are going to tell you how.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know it sounds odd that a printing company would be giving you a guide on how to replace printed signage with a video display. We\u2019re more than a printing company, we\u2019re a marketing and design company, which includes creation of templates and the content for video displays. So let’s get going on how to make it happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What hardware do you need?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A modern\u2019ish smart TV, a USB flash drive, and some basic software on your computer. That\u2019s it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most tv\u2019s sold today are \u2018smart\u2019 devices, which means they are actually computers with a screen glued to them. As such you\u2019ll see them equipped with USB ports, LAN sockets and even WIFI connections. Yes you could buy a high resolution computer screen or an expensive media display screen, but in most cases it\u2019s overkill for what you need. You also need a basic storage device that you can load your images and videos on for the tv to display which USB flash drives are the cheapest and simplest solution. Depending on the software you built in to the TV you might not even need to plug in a storage device as it could pull the information from any computer, storage device, or even a cellphone on the same network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article we will only talk about making a video display running on a usb drive as that is the simplest way to make it happen. If you want to learn about other options give us a call at Copy Express and we can work with you on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First creating the content to play on the TV<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve looked at various ways of doing this and here\u2019s the one I feel is the most reliable for people. Most TV\u2019s will handle playback of MP4 video files which means you can set up one video that you can navigate first thing in the morning on the tv\u2019s remote and have it repeat the video in a continuous loop through the day. If your tv is more advanced you can create playlists of different videos or photos to display, or have it display the content of a folder with all the videos and photos within it. I personally still prefer using a single video as it makes it easier to control both the presentation and duration of each bit of information you want to show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The software needed to make your video<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Windows Photo\/Movie software in action<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Both PC\u2019s and Mac\u2019s come with basic video editing software as standard, Photos in the Windows accessory menu, and iMovie app available from the Apple store. These are more than enough to put a series of photos and videos in a sequence, put text over them, and export a video file your tv can play. If you have Microsoft Office 360 or iWorks from Apple, you can use the slide show application (powerpoint \/ keynote) to export a video suitable for playback on a tv. There are several online design software tools to generate videos such as Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud Express video maker, and many many more. The main thing is that you need to check that it is able to export in 1080p or HD as that is the smallest resolution of most tvs and the 4k & 8k ones should scale the image up automatically. If the TV doesn\u2019t support 1080 there are ways around it which I will explain later in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating the video<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I won\u2019t go into too much detail on how to create a video itself as there are plenty of youtube videos that will step you through the process you will need to use for the software you\u2019re using. Instead I\u2019ll focus on a few key things to remember as you set your sides up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it to sell, inspire, or explain?<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Video displays are used for one of three purposes; advertising products or services, to inspire people to come in from the examples shown, or to explain what a service is. Advertising is simple enough, short and snappy clips with big text to highlight the deal the business is offering. Inspiring videos are to encourage people to learn more about the product and services the business provides. The purpose is to get around the classic problem of \u2018I didn\u2019t know you did that\u2019 from potential customers not knowing about a business\u2019s services. For example, a nail salon could have a video showing off the different types of nail polishes, finishes, shapes, art, etc. The final option of explaining is there to show people how things are done. Both to show a service and product and to remove any confusion about the product or service that prevents a potential customer from making use of it. These tend to have the longest videos and are more often mixed in between the other two types.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be big and bold but not obnoxious<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There isn\u2019t enough time to build up a complex selling point to get a customer in the business, for you have at best five seconds before they move on (the 5-10-15 second rule or how quickly you\u2019ll skip a youtube video). Be bright and bold with the design to catch people\u2019s attention. If you aren\u2019t sure how to do that, think about what grabs your attention when you watch a video or an advert and use the same idea for your own videos. Remember that you\u2019re going to be visible in public spaces so don\u2019t use rapid image changes or strobing light\/colour effects. Not only is it annoying to those around you, but can trigger seizures or other problems in people with photosensitivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information should be visible from across the street<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Do not use complex images or lots of text in your videos as they will be harder to understand the further away a viewer is. Better to use just 10 words instead of 40, use things like panning close ups mixed in with full shots on complex items to highlight details. Remember you have a short time to impart your sales pitch to someone so the simpler it is to understand the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change it up<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Nothing gets more forgettable than a video that hasn\u2019t changed in months. Every month or two months you should update the video to reflect the seasons and what new and interesting things your business has done. If your tv supports playing the contents of a folder or playlist, it\u2019s even simpler as you can just add new videos and images into the flash drive and remove the old ones. It should be part of the same process you have for reviewing your social media pages and keeping them up to date. In many cases you can use the same images you post to Facebook or Instagram for your video display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never use sound<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It should go without saying but people do forget this as they will put video with sound in or add music to a video because it makes it more interesting. This is fine for videos uploaded to youtube but on a video wall it\u2019s adding extra noise to your place of business. If you do want to use your online videos on your display, make sure your tv is muted and don\u2019t put anything on the USB stick that relies on sound to give the sell\/inspire\/explain more impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only things you own go in the video<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t matter if your business is a trade or provides a service, unless you own the item you are showing on the video don\u2019t put it on display. When you work for others they are paying for the final result and you don\u2019t have permission to show it. If you get permission from them to show it, then be careful to never show anything that is personal information, ie a street address or contact information. If you are showing products in a retail situation, selling a shampoo for example, then the manufacturer of the product usually has video material you can use with their permission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common problems and how to fix them<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The tv doesn\u2019t have a usb port<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Googles Chromecast<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The tv might still have a LAN port or connect to a WIFI router, then you can store your videos on a computer on the same network and have the tv play them. It\u2019s just a case of setting up the tv to see a computer\u2019s storage as a folder and have it play the files from that. (See your tv\u2019s user guide for more information.) If the TV doesn\u2019t have that, streaming devices such as the Google Chromecast, Amazon Firestick and Dish TV\u2019s smart tv unit can do the same thing instead of the tv and tuck neatly behind the screen. Lastly you can pick up specialised media playback units that sit under a tv to do the job, many of which have their own storage or read from a usb stick or harddrive for playback. A fair number of phones also support playback from themselves to a tv with the correct USB to HDMI adaptor cable, or streaming device, so if you have an old cell phone you can make it into a media player for your tv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black bars on the sides or top and bottom<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Black bars are a problem of the video not matching the screen it\u2019s being played on. We’ve all seen portrait video that\u2019s played back on a horizontal screen with the big black bars to the sides as the computer fits the image in the best it can. You can also get that from older style 4×3 recordings being shown on modern 16×9 screens where the image becomes 12×9 leaving blanks on the sides. To prevent this when creating your videos or photos, scale the image up to fit the 16×9 (1080p) ratio even if it chops off some of the image; you can always move the image up and down during the video to show everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another reason could be that your tv isn\u2019t able to scale the image up to fit the space. It could be because you\u2019ve turned off upscaling (also known as dynamic scaling) in the tv menu options. Turning it back on can fix it. It could also be a case where the tv isn\u2019t quite able to handle the video and images correctly, as there\u2019s a lot of variations on the standards for them and most manufacturers will limit what they support. In those cases you might have to use a streaming device or reformat the videos and photos to the standards the TV understands (which is found in the back of the owner’s manual)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only some images or videos are being shown<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned in the previous point, there are a lot of variations of videos and image formats and not every TV supports display of them. Sticking with JPEG and MP4 is the most reliable, but occasionally you\u2019ll still find \u2018quirks\u2019 because the manufacturer of the tv has decided to do something non-standard. Have a look at the back of the TV\u2019s owner manual to find out what it supports and choose those matching settings when you save the files with the software you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a tv vertically<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This seems to be the hardest thing for people to wrap their heads around, setting up files for use in a vertical display. While you can position your tv in any orientation you like, it still operates as if it was horizontal. So here\u2019s how you set up your images or video to work for a vertical TV. You still use the normal landscape 1080 (16×9) size, you just need to rotate the art and text 90 degrees clockwise or anti-clockwise and make it fit on the screen. Below is graphics of how it should look<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It can take a little time to get used to how to set things up to work on a portrait screen, but it will become easier over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to make it happen<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve covered all the basics you need to know about making video advertising displays. The technology is cheap and fairly simple to set up. It doesn\u2019t take much in the way of technical knowledge or artist skills to make interesting displays. Just a bit of time and you\u2019ll have something to grab the interest of people passing by your place of business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if you don\u2019t have the time, skill, or inclination to make your own video advertising display. This is where Copy Express can step in for you. Just book a time with us and we can do something as simple as setup templates for you to use in the software of your choice, up to doing all the work for you and emailing the finished file to you. Give us a call today to learn more.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s becoming common these days for businesses to use video displays instead of printed signage to promote their business. There are many businesses out there that will sell you complex solutions with all the expensive bells and whistles to have a series of photos or videos to show on a large screen and pay a … Continue reading “A Beginners Guide To Making Your Own Video Wall Displays”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1],"tags":[141,35,142,140],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1708"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1760,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1708\/revisions\/1760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.copyexpress.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}