Planar Introduces Its Clarity Matrix Modular Video Walls to the Architecture and Design Industry

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, in New York, Planar Systems, Inc., (NASDAQ:PLNR) announced a new Clarity® Matrix™ initiative to serve the specification needs of the Architecture and Design (A&D) industry, with its growing lineup of high-performance, easy-to-service displays for digital video wall applications. The initiative will include innovative exhibits and communications to the A&D community, as well as new online tools, website and partnerships.

“We have found it an ideal tool for illuminating ideas as they map to global design concepts.”

Planar’s Clarity Matrix will debut at a dedicated exhibit, “Digital Canvases,” on April 14, 2011 at The Savant Experience Center. This exclusive unveiling is by invitation only for the exclusive viewing to the Architecture and Design industry and national press.

This event, and other product showcases planned, will reveal why Planar’s Clarity Matrix is a video system unlike any the market has seen. The product’s thin-profile mounting system (less than 3.6”) delivers the world’s only ADA-compliant LCD video wall and the image-to-image gap (which is as small as 5.7mm) delivers stunning imagery creating a digital canvas for the design community to discover and use.

“We responded with enthusiasm to the conceptual challenge of working within this digital video medium of the Planar Clarity Matrix,” said Gisue Hariri, a partner at Hariri & Hariri-Architecture, a leading firm in New York. “We have found it an ideal tool for illuminating ideas as they map to global design concepts.”

The design partners for the “Digital Canvases” event on April 14^th include the following:

Bjarke Ingels Group, the innovative architectural firm headquartered in Denmark, recently debuted its brand new project with Durst Fetner Residential on West 57^th Street in New York and a flyover video of the project will be featured.
Hariri & Hariri-Architecture will showcase its conceptual designs that weave together nature and technology as they manifest in the firm’s newest mixed-use project in Salzburg, Austria. Hariri & Hariri are among the esteemed inductees into the Interior Design Hall of Fame.
Joel Sanders Architect will feature its custom executive hotel concept at the event with a video recently hailed as visionary by the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum at The Smithsonian.
Studio Dror will exhibit custom video of how its new global building truss ‘QuaDror’ was conceived and being implemented in projects on several continents.
VanDam Information Architects will debut for the very first time its ‘MApp’ for New York City, a 4D experiential new iApp. VanDam Media is known among savvy travelers for its popular 3D maps of world cities. VanDam maps are also celebrated in the permanent design collection at the Museum of Modern Art.

Jennifer Davis, vice president of marketing for Planar Systems, described the importance of this event and the Clarity Matrix product to the industry: “The Planar Clarity Matrix collection is uniquely suited to the A&D industry because it may be specified as a digital focal point or as a backdrop to any design. Planar’s new initiative and the coming events reflect our success in the video wall market and support the company’s strategy to make these innovative displays accessible to the influential architects and designers who are innovating new spaces.”

Planar’s Clarity Matrix has a number of compelling features making it ideal for this community of architects and designers:

The Clarity Matrix by Planar is a modular solution that enables digital and video elements in a creative space design. Whether it’s used for retail, hospitality, museums, healthcare, higher education, corporate offices, or any other markets where high-impact visual elements are critical to the design of a space, Planar’s Clarity Matrix is an ideal solution.
Limited only by the imagination of the designer, Planar’s Clarity Matrix can be used in flexible and creative configurations that work within the overall project design concept, reflect the space’s colorway with content selection, and can be scaled for maximum use and impact. Display walls can range from small art installations to very large installations totaling hundreds of display tiles working together to create a single, impactful image.
Planar’s Clarity Matrix hosts a variety of features that both architects and engineers value. The Clarity Matrix’s thin-profile mounting system (less than 3.6”) delivers the world’s only LCD video wall to meet the stringent American with Disabilities Act requirements for public spaces. The off-board electronics are easy to design for (and later to service) and result in a nearly-flush wall display that is whisper quiet and requires no power outlets behind the displays, reducing the cost and complexity of installation.
Planar’s exclusive ERO™ (Extended Ruggedness and Optics) option is built for the wear-and-tear of a public venue installation and delivers a smooth, rich image that can be touch enabled for interactive and engaging applications.
Designed for reliability and serviceability, Planar’s Clarity Matrix includes distributed electronics architecture to reduce points of heat and failure from the display wall and front-serviceability that results in less downtime. Optional redundant power supplies and 24x7 reliability extend the benefits for high-duty cycle installations.

A global network of Planar-certified system integrators and resellers can consult with architects and designers to choose and implement the right display solution for their design concept.

For more information, please visit www.planardigitalsignage.com.

About Planar

Planar Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLNR) is a global leader of specialty display technology, providing hardware and software solutions for the world’s most demanding environments. Hospitals, space and military programs, utility and transportation hubs, retailers, banks, government agencies, businesses and home theater enthusiasts all depend on Planar to provide superior performance when image experience is of the highest importance. Founded in 1983, Planar is headquartered in Oregon, USA, with offices, manufacturing partners and customers worldwide. For more information, visit www.planar.com.