Size is everything…
There are ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that lead to choosing a 21:9 and not a 16:9 display for Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTRs). This is why.
Hybrid meeting displays - whether Teams, Zoom or whatever - are now multi-window. This will be an ever-evolving screen layout scenario, with increasing user options. This is why ‘Digital Canvas’ is now the correct term to use for meeting room displays.
The main content window is now only a small percentage of the overall image size. A 98” flat panel might once have been regarded as massive, but the main content window can be less than the size of a 60” display, creating ‘cheap seats’ from relatively close to the screen because viewers can not properly read and engage with the content.
I led the task group that wrote the AVIXA DISCAS display size standard (also viewing positions and resolution). We are now updating it to reflect the changed reality of digital canvas screen layouts. But one thing will not change.
Image size is determined by height. Nothing else. And DISCAS sets MINIMUM image size not MAXIMUM image size.
So image size is everything. But the reality check is ceiling height. In some cases DISCAS might indicate a minimum image height of over 2m (6.6’). But when the standard room height is 2.7m (9’), then this typically limits image height to around 1.5m (5’).
Whatever the maximum image height you can use in a given room, expanding the image width by switching from 16:9 to 21:9 increases image size by 31%.
Standards are everything! In Greg Jeffreys Consulting we help users, architects, AV consultants and integrators create certifiably better meeting and teaching spaces - and this is not about spending more money either. Do it properly first time, spend less, spend less on running costs.
If you want to understand more about the application of AVIXA and environmental standards to displays - and the entire room design - then please download my White Paper using the link here.
Posted: 2nd January 2024