Planar Display Technology Heightens Atmosphere at Spears School of Business
A new $72 million building for the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University opened in January 2018, introducing 147,450 square feet of new classrooms, offices, team rooms, labs and conference rooms, including a graduate student lounge. The state-of-the-art structure was designed and furnished with the student experience in mind and features enhanced technology throughout the interior. As a component to this design strategy, video display technology from Planar was incorporated to help elevate the relevance of the school and captivate students and visitors.
LED Video Wall Serves as Entrance Showpiece
In the lobby, a Planar TWA Series LED video wall with a 2.5mm pixel pitch (TWA2.5) in a 3x3 configuration was installed as a feature attraction at the entrance of the new building.
Architected to support the highest pixel density and providing benefits unique to its "flat panel" design, the Planar TWA Series offers a vivid, seamless video wall solution for the new lobby space. The Planar TWA Series is engineered for 24x7 operation and delivers excellent off-axis uniformity, maximum full color and brightness, and a crisp, high contrast image from the highest quality black LEDs.
"The Planar video wall is stunning, visually eye-catching and people are drawn to it," said Rockford Todd, engineering manager with Oklahoma State University. "We had the video wall mounted in a custom wood frame and it looks like it was conceptually planned as part of the building design."
On a day-to-day basis, the video wall is used for digital signage, allowing the business school to display and promote information to students. But as a flexible solution, the video wall can also support further applications.
"If there is a special live event at the Spears school, we can take our production cameras over to the building and use the video wall as a focal point of that event," Todd said. "Or, if there is a guest speaker in the basement hall, we can send a live feed to the video wall so that the lobby can support overflow."
LED Stock Ticker
Planar video display technology is also used in a classroom at the school where a Planar CarbonLight™ CLA Series video wall with a 1.9mm pixel pitch (CLA1.9) is custom designed in a ribbon configuration as a stock ticker—adding a Wall Street aesthetic that is fitting with the school's business environment.
The Planar CarbonLight CLA Series includes a line of fine pitch LED video wall displays featuring Planar PrecisionArc™ alignment technology to create stunningly seamless installations with concave, convex or wave formations. Engineered with a carbon fiber structure, the CarbonLight CLA Series incorporates a thin, lightweight, high-strength carbon fiber casing in a modular design to fit a wide range of simple or complex applications.
When Todd and his team were first evaluating options for the stock ticker, they found that the CarbonLight CLA display was not only considerably more affordable as compared to other stock ticker options but that it also provided the added benefit of greater functionality.
"We were just blown away by the price of the CarbonLight CLA to begin with, but then the ability to also display other content and messages—which other options couldn't provide—really delivered to us a better return on investment," Todd said.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
