Overview

An Artistic Video Wall combines displays of different sizes or orientations, with one or more displays positioned at an angle other than standard landscape or portrait orientation.

The UL-737POE Warp Engine Encoder rotates video in 0.1-degree increments and scales the result before distributing it to the Decoders assigned to the video wall. Each Decoder then crops, positions, and rotates its portion of the shared canvas.

Choose the Correct Video Wall Type

• Standard Video Wall: Displays are the same size and orientation, arranged in a grid, and show the complete content area.
• Mosaic Video Wall: Displays may have different sizes and positions, but each display remains in landscape or portrait orientation.
• Artistic Video Wall: Displays may have different sizes and positions and may be installed at other angles.

Requirements

• One Ultra Series Decoder behind each display
• At least one UL-737POE Warp Engine Encoder
• Two available switch ports for each Warp Engine
• Omega and Ultra Series devices running justOS B3.2.0 or later
• A tape measure or another accurate length-measuring tool
• A protractor, digital angle finder, or another accurate angle-measuring tool
• Access to the CLI of each Decoder and the Warp Engine Encoder

Before beginning, confirm that the devices have known IP addresses and can be accessed from the configuration computer. See How to Access a Device.

For an established system, configure the required network route before attempting to access the devices. See Setup a Static Route for an Established Just Add Power System.

Download the Spreadsheet Assistant

The Artistic Video Wall Spreadsheet Assistant converts the canvas and display measurements into the mosaic command required by each Decoder.

Measure the completed display installation, enter the measurements into the spreadsheet, and use the generated command when configuring each Decoder.

Download Artistic Video Wall Spreadsheet

Understand the Canvas

The canvas is the complete rectangular content area represented by the artistic video wall. Each display acts as a window into a specific portion of that canvas.

• The Canvas Width and Canvas Height define the complete content area.
• The Viewable Width and Viewable Height define the portion assigned to one display.
• The Left Offset and Top Offset position that display within the canvas.
• The Decoder Rotation aligns the content with the physical orientation of the display.
• The Warp Engine Rotation aligns the complete canvas with the overall angle of the installation.

Connect the Warp Engine

The Warp Engine contains an Encoder and a Decoder. Both network ports must connect directly to the Just Add Power network switch.

• Connect the Decoder network port to a switch port configured for a Decoder.
• Connect the Encoder network port to a switch port configured for an Encoder.

Configure the Artistic Video Wall

1. Mount the Displays

Complete the physical installation before taking measurements. The configuration must account for the actual size, position, angle, and spacing of every display.

Set each display to show the complete incoming image. Disable overscan, zoom, stretch, and other picture-sizing functions.

2. Establish the Canvas Orientation

Choose one straight display edge as the top of the aligned canvas. Treat the installation as if the entire arrangement were rotated until that edge was level.

All displays assigned to the same Warp Engine must share one base mounting angle. A display may be turned 90, 180, or 270 degrees from that base angle and corrected using the Decoder rotation setting.

3. Measure the Canvas and Displays

Use one consistent unit of measurement throughout the project. Inches, centimeters, or millimeters may be used.

Measurement	Abbreviation	Definition
Canvas Width	CW	Distance from the leftmost viewable pixel to the rightmost viewable pixel of the complete wall.
Canvas Height	CH	Distance from the topmost viewable pixel to the bottommost viewable pixel of the complete wall.
Viewable Width	VW	Horizontal dimension of the viewable image area of one display in the aligned canvas.
Viewable Height	VH	Vertical dimension of the viewable image area of one display in the aligned canvas.
Left Offset	LO	Distance from the left edge of the canvas to the leftmost viewable pixel of one display.
Top Offset	TO	Distance from the top edge of the canvas to the topmost viewable pixel of one display.
Decoder Rotation	ROT	Clockwise rotation of the display relative to the aligned canvas: 0, 90, 180, or 270.

Measure the Canvas

1. Measure the Canvas Width (CW) from the leftmost viewable pixel to the rightmost viewable pixel.
2. Measure the Canvas Height (CH) from the topmost viewable pixel to the bottommost viewable pixel.

Measure Each Display

1. Measure the Viewable Width (VW) of the display.
2. Measure the Viewable Height (VH) of the display.

Measure Each Display Position

1. Measure the Left Offset (LO) from the left edge of the canvas to the leftmost viewable pixel of the display.
2. Measure the Top Offset (TO) from the top edge of the canvas to the topmost viewable pixel of the display.

Record Each Display Rotation

Record the clockwise rotation of each display relative to the aligned canvas. Valid Decoder rotation values are 0, 90, 180, and 270.

4. Configure the Decoders

1. Open the CLI of the Decoder connected to the first display.
2. Execute the mosaic command using the measurements recorded for that display.
3. Repeat the process for every Decoder in the artistic video wall.

Command template:

vw mosaic -c w:$canvas_width,h:$canvas_height -v w:$viewable_width,h:$viewable_height -o l:$left_offset,t:$top_offset -r $rotation

• $canvas_width is the Canvas Width (CW).
• $canvas_height is the Canvas Height (CH).
• $viewable_width is the Viewable Width (VW) of the display.
• $viewable_height is the Viewable Height (VH) of the display.
• $left_offset is the Left Offset (LO) of the display.
• $top_offset is the Top Offset (TO) of the display.
• $rotation is the clockwise Decoder Rotation (ROT): 0, 90, 180, or 270.

Example measurements:

Measurement	Value
Canvas Width	500
Canvas Height	300
Viewable Width	160
Viewable Height	90
Left Offset	10
Top Offset	100
Decoder Rotation	180

Example command:

vw mosaic -c w:500,h:300 -v w:160,h:90 -o l:10,t:100 -r 180

5. Verify the Decoder Layout

Route the Warp Engine Encoder to every Decoder in the wall and play moving video. At this stage, the content should transition correctly between displays, but the complete canvas will not yet match the physical angle of the installation.

Before configuring the Warp Engine rotation, confirm that:

• The image is positioned correctly on every display.
• Content transitions smoothly between adjacent displays.
• Every display shows 100% of the incoming image without overscan or zoom.
• The source is using a progressive video format such as 720p, 1080p, or 2160p.

6. Configure the Warp Engine Encoder

Open the CLI of the Encoder inside the Warp Engine. Do not execute these commands on the Warp Engine Decoder port.

Set the Canvas Rotation

Execute the rotation command using the base angle of the physical installation.

warp rotate $angle

$angle is the counterclockwise rotation from 0.0 through 359.9 degrees.

Example: rotate the canvas 45 degrees counterclockwise.

warp rotate 45

Set the Canvas Scale

Begin with fill or fit, and then use a numeric ratio if the image requires further adjustment.

• fill scales the image until no black space remains. Some content may extend beyond the canvas.
• fit scales the image until all content is visible. Black space may remain around the canvas.
• A numeric ratio scales the image from 0.30 through 3.00 in increments of 0.01.

Fill the rotated canvas:

warp scale fill

Fit the complete image within the rotated canvas:

warp scale fit

Apply a specific scaling ratio:

warp scale $ratio

$ratio is a value from 0.30 through 3.00.

Example: scale the image to 120%.

warp scale 1.20

Verify Operation

1. Play moving video with recognizable straight lines or a test grid.
2. Confirm that the image transitions correctly between adjacent displays.
3. Confirm that the complete canvas matches the physical angle of the installation.
4. Confirm that no display is applying overscan, zoom, or additional rotation.
5. Switch between each intended source and confirm consistent operation.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
Content does not align between displays	Confirm the Canvas Width, Canvas Height, display dimensions, and offsets. Re-measure the viewable image areas without including the bezels.
Image appears cropped or enlarged on one display	Disable overscan, zoom, stretch, and automatic picture-sizing functions on the display. See Video Wall Looks Zoomed In.
Video does not transition smoothly between displays	Confirm that the source is using a progressive format. Interlaced formats such as 1080i are not supported for video wall processing.
One display is rotated incorrectly	Confirm that the Decoder rotation is 0, 90, 180, or 270 clockwise relative to the aligned canvas.
The complete wall rotates in the wrong direction	Confirm that the Warp Engine rotation was calculated counterclockwise.
Black space appears around the rotated image	Execute warp scale fill, or increase the numeric scaling ratio.
Part of the source image is missing	Execute warp scale fit to view the complete image, or redesign the content to account for unused areas of the artistic canvas.

For additional Warp Engine commands and examples, see How To: Warp Engine Transmitter.