Costs
The real price of a video wall for a fire and rescue service
100,000 euros for 6 screens, the price that scares everyone
100,000 euros for a 6-screen video wall is the figure being quoted. This sum, worthy of “lunar technology”, puts off more than one fire and rescue service. And it is us, the citizens, who end up less well protected as a result.
Since 2021, we have presented our video wall solution to nearly forty fire and rescue services and taken part in the installation of 15 command centres, a ratio of 15 out of 40. This has given us real experience, particularly regarding the sales practices of the sector. On our side, we are a software publisher and we avoid selling hardware, installation or cabling. We want to remain impartial about the hardware, because being an integrator is a job that calls for skills very different from those of an IT specialist. Each to their own trade: I strongly advise against trying to save money on the human work of drilling the walls, running the cables and aligning the mounts. Every quality service has its price.
Why a video wall costs so much
In general, the organisations that want a 360-degree view on a video wall either serve the public or protect an existing set of assets. They equip themselves once every ten years and therefore do not know the real technical make-up of such a tool. The purchasing policy of these institutions often pushes them to buy at a higher price in order to support the local economy. But the software and components of a video wall are made in North America, in England and of course in Asia. What benefit does a 6-screen wall costing 100,000 euros bring to the European video and software industry?
A video wall relies on a few basic components: the monitors or televisions, the wall-mounting systems, the cabling, the video server and its software, and a range of additional boxes (KVM, multiviewers, wall controllers, audio system, DTT/satellite box, network switches, RS232 interface, and so on). Take a wall of six 55-inch screens offered at around 100,000 euros. The six thin-bezel monitors come to around 12,000 euros (6 times 2,000 euros), with a low margin because the customer can easily compare prices. The rest of the bill is played out elsewhere, on line items that are far less easy to compare.
Spending wisely: sovereign software
At Easy Multi Display, we made a simple choice: to remain a Made in France software publisher, sovereign, with no subscription, and to let the integrators do their job. This allows fire and rescue services to spend their budget where it truly matters. Discover our firefighter and fire service solution and our pricing to compare for yourself the real cost of a well-designed command centre.