For further information on our MetroSpec Passenger Information Systems, please do not hesitate to contact us on 07 3868 4255 or sales@metrospec.com.au
Friday, 5 May 2017
MetroSpec Slimline LCD Displays @ LightRail 2017
An article has appear in the Track & Signal Magazine showcasing our MetroSpec LCD Displays at LightRail 2017 @ the Gold Coast. Tehnika who control the G: link light rail system on the Gold Coast placed one of our MetroSpec Double Sided LCD Displays to mimic what was being shown at the Florida Gardens Light Rail Stop 50M across the road.
Friday, 25 November 2016
LCD operation in subzero environments
The problem
As the name suggests, a Liquid-crystal display (LCD) is filled with a liquid crystal between two polarizing filters. In low temperature environments this liquid crystal will suffer from a loss of brightness and much slower response times. In sub-zero environments the liquid-crystal may freeze, causing the screen to cease functioning without the use of supplemental heating.
Traditional methods warming LCD displays in sub zero environments have three main drawbacks.
The solution
Metromatics has developed a series of rugged high bright LCD displays capable of operating from -40 to +50 degrees Celsius which address the 3 drawbacks listed above.
How we tested
To verify the design, Metromatics hired an industrial freezer and tested a display for months on end, cycling the temperature to test different heating configurations and evaluate reliability.
The results can be distilled down into the following graph.
The key points to take away from
the above graph are
Immediate operation
If 18 minutes is too long for the display to reach the optimum operating temperature, our ruggedized displays support immediate operation in below zero environments. There is a trade-off is a reduced response time of each pixel while the screen warms above 0oC, but for largely static images like those used on passenger information displays (PID’s) this is not an issue. As you can see from the videos below, there is some motion blur for fast movements, but slow movements or transitions are still highly legible.
As the name suggests, a Liquid-crystal display (LCD) is filled with a liquid crystal between two polarizing filters. In low temperature environments this liquid crystal will suffer from a loss of brightness and much slower response times. In sub-zero environments the liquid-crystal may freeze, causing the screen to cease functioning without the use of supplemental heating.
Traditional methods warming LCD displays in sub zero environments have three main drawbacks.
1.
They are
terribly inefficient, increasing cost of ownership.
2.
They create
hot spots in the LCD matrix which risks damaging the display. This is because heat
does not travel well laterally or vertically across the panel.
3.
There is a
high risk of condensation forming on the LCD. Condensation can shorten the life
of electronics and accelerate corrosion in mechanical components.
The solution
Metromatics has developed a series of rugged high bright LCD displays capable of operating from -40 to +50 degrees Celsius which address the 3 drawbacks listed above.
1.
Efficiency
and cost of ownership
Air is a
fantastic insulator. When you put on a coat in winter, it’s not the wool or
synthetic fibres that keep you warm, it’s the tiny pockets of air the coat
traps around your body that help insulate you from the cold. By leveraging this
principle and creating a pocket of still air around the screen, we have been
able to reduce thermal losses and keep the heat where it needs to be, inside
the panel.
2.
Hot spots
Our embedded
heating solution ensures heat is evenly distributed across the entire panel,
reducing the risk of hot spots forming.
3.
Condensation
Condensation
risk is reduced since our embedded heater raises the temperature of the display
quicker than the temperature of the surrounding insulating air.
How we tested
To verify the design, Metromatics hired an industrial freezer and tested a display for months on end, cycling the temperature to test different heating configurations and evaluate reliability.
The results can be distilled down into the following graph.
·
The display
was warmed to above 0oC in under 18 minutes in a -20 oC
ambient environment.
·
The LCD is
evenly heated across the whole surface (left, middle and right).
·
The internal
insulating air pocket temperature remains below the LCD screen temperature,
reducing the risk of condensation forming.
Immediate operation
If 18 minutes is too long for the display to reach the optimum operating temperature, our ruggedized displays support immediate operation in below zero environments. There is a trade-off is a reduced response time of each pixel while the screen warms above 0oC, but for largely static images like those used on passenger information displays (PID’s) this is not an issue. As you can see from the videos below, there is some motion blur for fast movements, but slow movements or transitions are still highly legible.
<Insert video of screen operating below
zero degrees>
Remote
management
Using our networked monitoring and control solution
(the MPMS) screen heating can be remotely managed to optimise power consumption
and monitor temperatures.
The Metromatics PID Monitoring System (MPMS) is Australian designed
technology providing remote monitoring and control of Passenger Information
Displays (PID) and digital signage. Its compatibility with SNMP allows ease of
interface with existing IT infrastructure and management tools. The integrated
Ethernet switch allows for network traffic to be forwarded to other devices
without additional hardware, creating a simple, cost effective design.
The configurable inputs and outputs means the MPMS can interface
with 3rd party hardware including temperature, power, door and shock
sensors, as well as fans, modems, video cards, heating pads, humidity
controllers and power relays. This combination makes MPMS a powerful SNMP tool
for a broad range of remote hardware monitoring applications, not just digital
signage. The MPMS can be purchased either as a feature of a Metromatics digital
sign, or as a standalone circuit board ready to be integrated into your own
solution.
For further information, please contact Metromatics on +61 7 3868 4255 or sales@metrospec.com.au
Thursday, 10 November 2016
Infrared Lockout Remote Control Solution
Description
The MetroSpec Infrared (IR) lockout
provides a solution to the TV-B-Gone nuisance that plagues transport authorities.
It work as a gate keeper, preventing these and other unauthorised remote
controls from turning off public information displays (PID’s).
It works by blocking all remote control
signals until a 4 digit security pin code is entered. Once the correct 4 digit
code is entered the user is free to use the remote control for up to 10 minutes
before the IR lockout is re-established.
Features
·
Locks out unauthorised remotes
such as TV-B-Gone.
·
User programmable lockout code.
·
Automatically re-locks after 10
minutes.
·
Low power.
·
Small footprint.
·
Compatible with the NEC IR
transmission protocol.
·
Can be retrofitted to existing
systems.
Functional
Block Diagram
Warranty
1 Year Warranty
For more information:
Contact sales@metrospec.com.au
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
High Bright LCD Displays
For an LCD to be viewable outdoors in a
bright environment, it needs to be extra bright. The LCD TV in your house is
only designed for indoor viewing. If you move it outside it will look washed
out and images will be difficult to distinguish. Not what you want for digital
signage displaying advertising or other public content.
Brightness is measured in the unit cd/m2
(candelas per meter squared), also known as “nits”. Your TV at home will be
somewhere between 300 and 400 nits. For a LCD to be clearly viewable in an
outdoor environment, it needs to be between 1500 and 2000 nits depending on the
size and positioning of the display. In the picture below you can clearly see
the difference between a standard brightness and high bright LCD. On the left
is a standard TV display (350nits), on the right is a Metrospec X47i display
(2000nits).
Picture: (left) 350nit CHEMI LCD (right)
2000nit Metrospec X47i High Bright LCD outside in full sunlight.
The CHEMI LCD on the left (350nits) looks
to have terrible contrast because the sunlight defines the minimum black level,
while conversely the high lumen output of Metrospec X47i on the right
(2500nits) pushes the brightness of the highlights well above the minimum black
level set by the sunlight reflecting off the display.
The backlight is a modern LCD display is
made up of an array of LED’s. LED’s are much more efficient than the ancient
incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent lamps (CFL’s) they replaced, but they
are still not terribly efficient. Only about 3% of the electrical energy is
turned into light. The rest is given off as heat.
Picture: The backlight inside a Metrospec
X47i high bright LCD display.
High bright displays are specially
engineered to handle the higher power needed to project more light. There is
almost a linear relationship between the brightness and power consumption. A
1500nit display might be 4 times brighter than your TV at home, but it will
also use about 4 times as much electricity, much of which is given off as heat.
To give you some feel for the magnitude of
the numbers we are talking about here, the Metrospec X47i utilizes a 214watt
backlight to achieve a brightness of 2000nits. If we assume an LED efficiency
of 3% (that is, 3% of the energy used is turned into photons of light) then approximately
207 watts of heat energy will be produced by the backlight set at full
brightness.
If you are concerned about your power bill,
don’t worry. All Metrospec displays can be equipped with an optional light
sensor that will automatically dim the display based on ambient light
conditions, reducing energy consumption and running costs.
Hopefully you now have a better
understanding of one of the key differences between a Metrospec display and
what you might find in your local electronics outlet.
If you have any questions about our
products or services, please drop us a line. Our sales team would be happy to
help sales@metrospec.com.au or +61 7 3868 4255
Passenger Information Display Maintenance Philosophy
Overview
Metromatics offers two distinctly different
rugged high bright LCD designs typically used for Passenger Information
Displays (PID’s) at bus, tram and train stations. Both are highly reliable and
backed by almost a decade of Engineering expertise, but by changing the
physical design we have been able to slash manufacturing costs by 40%. The
X-series, equipped with a door, makes on site servicing possible. H-series does
not have a door, making it cheaper and reducing your capital expenditure.
In this discussion paper we will compare
the two distinct designs to help you decide which design is right for you and
your organisation. Ultimately, you want to answer this question.
“What do you want your maintenance philosophy to be?”
Do you want to employ the technical
expertise to manage servicing yourself, or use a pool of rotatable spares which
get swapped out by low skilled workers and send the broken unit to a 3rd
party for repair?
Servicing
So why would anyone even care about a door
on the front of the X-series display? In a word, serviceability. A door allows the display to be
serviced on site and for period inspections to be performed. A door can be replaced in the
event of vandalism.
· Faults can often be diagnosed
and rectified on site by a single technician with no special equipment other
than a ladder, screw driver and multimeter.
But that is not to say the H-series is not
serviceable. It most certainly is, it just requires a different service and
maintenance philosophy. By having a rotatable pool of spares, displays can be
quickly swapped out and sent to a service technician for repair. This means
·
Maintenance staff do not need a
high degree of technical knowledge. They simply swap out the faulty display
with one from the rotatable pool of spares and send the broken display away for
repair. The H-series is up to half the weight of an X-series, making this a
viable option.
·
For serious faults, like an LCD
failure or smashed glass, a rotatable pool of spares means display up-time can
be kept high. This is of particular importance at critical transport hubs
servicing tens of thousands of people every day.
Mean Time To
Repair (MTTR)
As already mentioned, both the X and
H-series are highly reliable. Both use components with mean times between
failure (MTBF) in excess of 50,000 hours. That’s 24/7 operation for more than 5
years. But what about mean time to repair (MTTR)? MTTR is a basic measure of
the maintainability of repairable items and represents the average time
required to repair a failed component or device.
Serious damage caused by vandalism can take
weeks to repair, blowing the MTTR way out and impacting customer service. By
leveraging the lower price of the H-series to create a pool of spares, the MTTR
can be pulled in, improving your operational availability.
Cost –
Capital vs Maintenance
So if having a door is so great, why create
a door-less model in the first place? Well, it’s cheaper. If you do a like for
like feature cost comparison of X-series and H-series, the H-series will cost 40%
less.
With purchasing departments are under more
pressure than ever to keep capital expenditure low, the savings offered by cheap
imported products can be tempting. But with poor reliability these cheap
imports mean sacrificing the long term maintenance budget and increased down
time.
The H-series lets you have your cake and
eat it too. Thanks to some smart design choices of our Engineering team, the
H-series is a rugged extremely reliable high bright display at a rock bottom
price. Typically, three H-series displays will cost less than two X-series
displays. This means for large installations you can hold a 10% pool of spares
and still reduce your capital cost by as much as 34%.
The X-series does have a higher capital
cost, but long term maintenance can be lower. It really depends on the
expertise within your organization, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) rules
and the size of the display in question. The X-series might be for you if
·
You already employ technicians
on staff capable of servicing on-site.
·
Your OHS rules don’t require a
team of people to change a light bulb.
·
You don’t have the tools (i.e.
scissor lift) to safely remote larger displays mounted high off the ground.
Why such a
big price difference?
A door adds a lot of material and labour to
the build cost. Metal needs to be folded and welded. Locks, hinges, door stays
and rubber seals need to be fitted. The bezel around the screen needs to be
larger to accommodate the door seal, leading to more materials being used in
the construction of the enclosure.
The table below is a handy comparison of
the X-series and H-series, highlighting their relative pro’s and con’s when
going head to head with each other.
|
X-Series
|
H-Series
|
||||
|
Pro
|
Con
|
Pro
|
Con
|
||
|
Same reliability as
H-series.
|
More expensive.
|
Same reliability as
X-series.
|
Pool of spares need to be
kept.
|
||
|
Same IP rating as H-series
(IP65)
|
Heavy. It is up to twice
the weight of an H-series display.
|
Same IP rating as X-series
(IP65)
|
Whole display must be
replaced in the event of glass vandalisation.
|
||
|
Can be serviced on site.
|
Damage to door seals may
reduce the IP rating.
|
40% lower cost.
|
Lifting devices or work
platforms required to remove large units for repair.
|
||
|
Except for major faults
(i.e. LCD failure), system can be repaired within 30 minutes or less where
spares are taken to site.
|
Requires qualified
technicians to service.
|
Thinner and lighter*.
|
Whole display must be
swapped out in the event of any component failure.
|
||
|
|
X-series
|
H-series
|
|||
|
32”
|
34kg
|
12kg
|
|||
|
38”
|
40kg
|
21kg
|
|||
|
42”
|
45kg
|
25kg
|
|||
|
47”
|
60kg
|
38kg
|
|||
|
Enclosure is large enough
to house extra client equipment and the door provides easy access.
|
|
While the H-series is
typically smaller, its depth can be increased to house client equipment at an
additional cost.
|
|
||
|
Door can be replaced in the
event of vandalism.
|
|
Maintenance staff do not
require technical training. Repair work can be outsourced.
|
|
||
|
|
|
Smaller bezel allows larger
displays to be fitted in small spaces.
|
|
||
|
|
|
Pool of spares leads to
lower down time in cases of LCD failure or smashed glass.
|
|
||
*Final weight will vary depending on
internal equipment and glass options.
If you are still not sure which design is
right for you and your organization, give us a call on +61 7 3868 4255 or send
an email to sales@metrospec.com.au We would be happy to help you make the right choice.
Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Rugged Large Format LCD Displays - get "Class A" testing recognition
The MetroSpec Model MS42LFD is a 42 Inch High
Definition Rugged Large Format Display designed and manufactured by
Metromatics. It is designed for Naval Applications that require high definition
video information.
The MetroSpec MS42LFD was built, designed and
tested to MIL-STD-810F, MIL-STD-167-1, MIL-STD-461 and received a Worlds First
– “Class A” Category for Rugged Displays meeting shock requirements.
Should you require any further information on the MS42LFD, please contact Metromatics on +61 73868 4255 or sales@metrospec.com.au
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
55" LCD Directory Board installation into busy city office location
Metromatics have recently installed a MetroSpec 55” sunlight readable
1500nit LCD monitor with an external PC into the business foyer of a busy 9 story office building located in the central business district of Brisbane City.
The MetroSpec Display was installed flush within the business foyer front wall using the mounting frame surround to directly fix to the timber joinery
behind the front wall.
The updates to the display will be done
by remote access to the windows PC in the directory board and will use a digital
content manager software to schedule new imaging to the screen. For most part, it will simply be a directory advising potential clients, where the various organisations offices are located. However there will periodic image updates and paid advertising as well.
Metromatics provided the complete solution - hardware, software installation and software training on the easy to operate content manager. It is due to be operational within the week
Call Metromatics now for a MetroSpec LCD Directory Board Sign for your building or business.
07 3868 4255 or sales@metromatics.com.au
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