HRUC Harrow on the Hill: Hikvision LED Wall Extended to 7 x 5

Q: Can you add cabinets to an existing LED wall?

Yes, if you can get the same cabinet model and a close production batch. At Harrow on the Hill the ten new cabinets were the same Hikvision DS-D4215FI-CWF as the original 25. Mixing models or very different batches can leave a visible step in colour or brightness. See our video walls page for more on LED wall planning.

Q: Why rebuild the frame instead of bolting on two columns?

At a 1.56 mm pixel pitch, a small misalignment between the old and new sections shows as a seam. Taking the cabinets down, fixing one continuous wider frame and levelling it before rehanging gives one flat surface across all 35 cabinets.

Q: What runs the content on the wall?

Two CleverLive Pro V4 digital signage players feed the wall through Hikvision LED processing, so the college can schedule its own content in the cafe area. More on signage in education: digital signage.

Strive AV widened the Hikvision fine pitch LED wall in HRUC's Harrow on the Hill cafe area from 25 to 35 cabinets and added two signage players.

Education

Completed December 2024

Project leadDerek Pyle, Operations Director

Quick reference: Hikvision DS-D4215FI-CWF fine pitch LED wall (1.56 mm pitch) extended from 25 cabinets (5 x 5, installed August 2024) to 35 cabinets (7 x 5), about 4.2 m by 1.7 m at 2688 x 1080 pixels, with a Hikvision DS-D42V24-H control card and two CleverLive Pro V4 signage players. Cafe area, Harrow on the Hill campus, HRUC. Installed 26 November to 2 December 2024.

A bigger LED wall for the Harrow on the Hill cafe area

Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) was formed in January 2023 when Harrow College and Uxbridge College (HCUC) merged with Richmond upon Thames College. Its Harrow on the Hill campus is on Lowlands Road, a short walk from Harrow-on-the-Hill station. In August 2024 Strive AV installed a direct view LED wall in the campus cafe area as part of a wider events upgrade for the space: 25 Hikvision fine pitch LED cabinets in a 5 x 5 array, with a wall-mounted equipment rack and side trims. In November 2024 the college ordered a second phase to make it wider, and between 26 November and 2 December 2024 the Strive AV team took it to 35 cabinets in a 7 x 5 array.

The finished 7 by 5 Hikvision LED wall in the cafe area at HRUC's Harrow on the Hill campus, showing HRUC and Strive AV branding

The completed Hikvision fine pitch LED wall at Harrow on the Hill running full screen content

College content on the LED wall while the last two columns of cabinets are fitted on the new frame

The new wider mounting frame fixed to the cafe area wall at Harrow on the Hill before the cabinets go back on

Hikvision P1.56 cabinets rehung on the frame, with the empty bracket section for the two extra columns on the right

A digital level reading 0 mm/m on the LED cabinet frame during installation

LED modules being fitted to the Hikvision cabinets, with test content showing on the finished section

Front LED modules fitted across the centre of the wall, with the side columns still open

The challenge: going wider without starting again

The original wall was a 5 x 5 array of 600 x 337.5 mm cabinets, so it was 16:9 and roughly 3 m wide. Adding two more columns meant the new cabinets had to match the existing ones in pixel pitch, colour and brightness, or the join would show on every piece of content. A fine pitch LED wall is only as good as its frame. At 1.56 mm pixel pitch, a frame that is a millimetre out of true shows up as a visible seam or a step between cabinets. The wider wall also needed more processing and its own signage playback for the college's content.

Key Requirements

•Widen the existing LED wall from a 5 x 5 to a 7 x 5 array
•New cabinets matched to the original ones so no join shows
•A frame flat and level enough for a 1.56 mm pixel pitch
•Extra processing for the larger pixel canvas
•Signage players to run the college's own content

Ten more cabinets on a rebuilt frame

Strive AV specified the same Hikvision DS-D4215FI-CWF P1.56 cabinet that was already on the wall, so the ten new cabinets match the original 25. The team took the existing cabinets down, fixed a new wider mounting frame to the wall with ten additional DL11 wall brackets, and levelled it with a digital level before rehanging all 35 cabinets in a 7 x 5 grid. The extra cabinets needed more processing, so a Hikvision DS-D42V24-H full colour LED control card was added alongside the DS-D42C08-H controller from the first phase, taking the canvas to 2688 x 1080 pixels. Two CleverLive Pro V4 digital signage players feed it, connected with Kramer HDMI cables and DVI to HDMI adapters. Everything sits in the 9U wall-mounted rack installed beside the wall in August. Kit was collected from the Strive AV warehouse in East Grinstead and delivered to site in stages from 26 November, and the install ran across 28 November and 2 December.

The cafe area LED wall, phase 1 and phase 2
	Phase 1 (August 2024)	Phase 2 (December 2024)
Cabinets	25 Hikvision DS-D4215FI-CWF	35 (10 added)
Array	5 wide x 5 high	7 wide x 5 high
Approximate size	3.0 m x 1.7 m	4.2 m x 1.7 m
Pixel canvas	1920 x 1080	2688 x 1080
Processing	Hikvision DS-D42C08-H controller	Plus DS-D42V24-H control card
Sources	HDMI wall plate	Plus 2 CleverLive Pro V4 signage players

Featured Solution

Matched Hikvision cabinets

Ten more DS-D4215FI-CWF P1.56 cabinets, the same model as the original 25.

Rebuilt, levelled frame

A new wider frame with ten extra DL11 brackets, checked with a digital level before the cabinets went back on.

More processing

A Hikvision DS-D42V24-H control card added to the existing DS-D42C08-H controller.

Signage playback

Two CleverLive Pro V4 digital signage players feeding the wall.

Products used

Hikvision DS-D4215FI-CWF
P1.56 fine pitch indoor LED cabinet
Hikvision DS-D42V24-H
Full colour LED control card
Hikvision DS-D42C08-H
LED display controller
CleverLive Pro V4 DS Player
Digital signage player

The result

What the college has now

A 7 x 5 Hikvision LED wall, about 4.2 m wide, in the Harrow on the Hill cafe area
Ten new cabinets matched to the original 25, on one rebuilt frame
A 2688 x 1080 pixel canvas driven by two Hikvision processors
Two signage players running the college's own content
Built on the phase 1 rack and cabling rather than starting again

Questions about the Harrow on the Hill LED wall

Can you add cabinets to an existing LED wall?

Yes, if you can get the same cabinet model and a close production batch. At Harrow on the Hill the ten new cabinets were the same Hikvision DS-D4215FI-CWF as the original 25. Mixing models or very different batches can leave a visible step in colour or brightness. See our video walls page for more on LED wall planning.

Why rebuild the frame instead of bolting on two columns?

At a 1.56 mm pixel pitch, a small misalignment between the old and new sections shows as a seam. Taking the cabinets down, fixing one continuous wider frame and levelling it before rehanging gives one flat surface across all 35 cabinets.

How long did the extension take?

Kit went to site from 26 November 2024 and the install ran across 28 November and 2 December 2024, with the finished wall showing HRUC content by 3 December.

What runs the content on the wall?

Two CleverLive Pro V4 digital signage players feed the wall through Hikvision LED processing, so the college can schedule its own content in the cafe area. More on signage in education: digital signage.