You can’t miss the latest record-breaking attraction at The Dubai Mall: the new curved
video wall above the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo measures a stunning 700
square meters with 1.7 billion pixels on 820 OLED displays. Behind the scenes, you’ll
find Dataton’s award-winning WATCHOUT multi-display production and playback
system, WATCHNET manager software and WATCHPAX 4 servers delivering breath-
taking, high-resolution content for the mall’s 80 million or so visitors.
The new video wall at The Dubai Mall, unveiled in August 2017, takes digital signage
into a whole new realm and has already scored a hat-trick of world record titles:
Largest OLED screen, highest resolution video wall and largest high-definition video
wall. The wall is a magnificent, 50-meter wide, wave-like configuration that is two
storeys high and fully visible from the ground floor at The Dubai Mall, the world’s most
visited retail destination. Dataton’s WATCHOUT multi-display system and compact
WATCHPAX 4 media servers handle content production and delivery, while LG’s flexible
OLED screens provide the vibrant colour range and wider viewing angle necessary at
the location. Show control on site, including show selection and power cycling, is via
Dataton WATCHNET manager software. All functions and the user interface were
tailored to meet the venue’s specific requirements.
“The wall is designed to promote the aquarium, but will also provide a visually-
exciting canvas for other content and companies, and with such a high-profile
installation there are, of course, great demands on content quality and reliability,’ said
Trond Solvold, Sales Director at Dataton. “WATCHOUT with WATCHPAX 4 was likely
the only system in the world that could pull off such a complex installation. The
system needed to be flexible and scalable, and requests for future functionality left
other clunky systems far behind, making our solution the best choice for the
installation.”
At Dubai’s latest attraction, WATCHOUT is teamed with 52 of Dataton’s WATCHPAX 4
media servers, each pushing content to sixteen 55-inch LG OLED panels. Trond
Solvold, Dataton, continued: “Besides high performance, the media servers needed to
be robust to handle almost 24/7 use and have a compact form factor. Space is
incredibly tight behind the video wall – virtually non-existent – and extensive cabling
to a server room was never an option. That meant each server had to sit close to the
screens. With quad 4K video outputs and a trim A4-size footprint, the WATCHPAX
units were eminently suited to the task.’
The Dubai Mall video wall is part of owner Emaar Entertainment’s ongoing strategy to
provide world-class edutainment using innovative platforms. Dubai-based systems
integrator, DigiComm, supplied the technical specification, solution and installation
expertise for the project, coordinating with key suppliers Dataton, LG, and the client,
Emaar Entertainment.
Maitha Al Dossari, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Entertainment, said: “Emaar
Entertainment continues to push the boundaries and achieve greater heights through
innovative installations and attractions. We’re committed to delivering the best in the
industry and are honoured that the new OLED screen at Dubai Aquarium and
Underwater Zoo has received three world records achievements, underpinning our
commitment to pioneering innovative attractions, continued advancements in
technology and digital attractions, and inspiring joy.’
