The cat is finally out of the bag. After an extended period under NDA, we can now start saying the word “UniSee” without using hushed tones, closing doors, or looking over our shoulders. For those of you that missed the launch, Barco’s UniSee leverages multiple innovations that change how we install, service, maintain, and even see LCD video walls.
I first saw a sneak peak of the UniSee concept during a closed-door meeting at InfoComm 2017. In this meeting, I witnessed:
- Videowall panels automatically aligning themselves physically relative to each other in just seconds, eliminating the tedium of videowall setup forever
- Simplicity of service previously unseen with easy access to all components from the front of the wall
- The smallest LCD video wall panel gap of only 0.3mm
Plus, UniSee includes Barco’s Sense X automatic calibration providing visual consistency throughout the wall – even as displays age at different rates – ensuring the installation looks as good in year five as it did on day one.
Yes, we’ve all heard similar stories before (yawn) – but this was different (yeah!)
By far, this was my #1 highlight from InfoComm. 🙂 But I had to remain silent. 🙁
We had a more significant challenge in that we had to generate attendees for the October product launch without letting anyone know about the product itself. Barco and our marketing department, talented as they are, came up with some great ideas. Part of this included mailing a “teaser tool” to a limited group of qualified video wall integrators – garnering some industry attention in itself.
[Did you get yours? We have a very limited number left. Shoot me an email if you are interested in one of these future collectors’ items, and we’ll see what we can dig up.]
However, even with the teaser, we still needed to get people to attend the launch of a product that we were not able to discuss. While trying to figure this out, I asked our sales team for the names of their top videowall customers without an explanation. This caused some curiosity. When they get curious, they ask questions. When you tell them that you can’t answer the question, they become more curious…. and this curiosity starts to build momentum. They were thrilled when they eventually learned this was for Barco. They know that we are the world’s largest distributor for Barco and that anything Barco is about to launch under NDA has got to be mega cool…. so they lit the fires of enthusiasm and integrators started registering in large numbers for the event.
To paraphrase Gerben Van den Berg of Barco on the day of the launch; before 1492, many people thought the world was flat. Then someone decided to set sail, challenge our reality and changed our understanding of the world forever. Barco set out on a new course for videowalls with UniSee that changes our industry going forward.
It’s liberating to finally talk about UniSee openly and to share my excitement. If you have not done so already, take a look at UniSee and Discover the Unseen.
