How Many Inputs and Outputs Do I Need for a Video Wall?

# How Many Inputs and Outputs Do I Need for a Video Wall?

Count two numbers separately: the sources you will connect and the displays you will drive. Every wall project needs both figures.

Then add a third question most buyers miss: how many pictures need to move or be resized independently on the wall? That number, not the port count, decides whether you need a processor, a decoder matrix or a simple switcher.

What counts as an input?

An input is one physical connection or one network stream that carries a picture into the system. A computer, a camera, an NVR output and a media player each take one input. A laptop on HDMI takes one. Two laptops take two.

• Source type: Each computer or player connected by cable · Inputs consumed: One per device
• Source type: Each camera stream decoded directly · Inputs consumed: One stream per camera, decoded on a card
• Source type: An NVR or VMS feeding one HDMI output · Inputs consumed: One, regardless of camera count behind it
• Source type: A spare for a visiting laptop · Inputs consumed: One per likely simultaneous visitor

The last row is easy to forget. Meeting rooms and control rooms regularly add one or two temporary sources. Leaving one input unused is cheaper than adding a card later.

What counts as an output?

An output is one connection to one display or projector. A 3×3 LCD wall needs nine outputs. A wall plus a separate confidence monitor needs ten. Outputs do not depend on how the picture is divided inside the display; a monitor showing sixteen camera feeds still consumes one output.

• Display plan: 2×2 LCD wall · Outputs needed: Four
• Display plan: 3×3 LCD wall · Outputs needed: Nine
• Display plan: Wall plus an operator desk monitor · Outputs needed: Wall outputs plus one
• Display plan: Projector and a flat screen showing different sources · Outputs needed: Two

How many inputs and outputs does each VEXWALL family take?

• Family: M104 / M106 / M09 · Inputs: One · Outputs: Four, six or nine · Notes: One source canvas divided across screens
• Family: K Series · Inputs: Up to eight · Outputs: Up to twelve · Notes: Two layers per screen
• Family: D Series · Inputs: Up to forty · Outputs: Up to sixty · Notes: Chassis from 3U to 8U
• Family: P Series · Inputs: Up to eighty, mixed formats · Outputs: Up to eighty · Notes: Four layers per screen, up to eight wall groups
• Family: NM-16 / NM-25 · Inputs: Network streams · Outputs: Two or one HDMI per card · Notes: Chassis hold four to twenty-four cards
• Family: Seamless matrices · Inputs: Eight to forty · Outputs: Eight to forty · Notes: Fixed sizes from 8×8 to 40×40

The processor figures are configuration ceilings. Chassis are populated with input and output cards to match the project, so the ceiling and the delivered port count are different numbers. Ask for the card layout in writing before comparing capacities.

Do window counts change the math?

Yes. Ports and windows are different budgets. Eight connected sources can appear in more than eight windows on a processor, because windows can be resized, stacked or toured. The limit that matters is layers per screen: two on K and D, four on P.

• On-wall plan: One picture per screen · What it consumes: Outputs only
• On-wall plan: A video window beside a shared dashboard on each screen · What it consumes: Two layers per screen
• On-wall plan: Camera feeds toured across a fixed layout · What it consumes: Outputs plus a touring scene

For surveillance walls the budget changes again. Each NM decoding card handles one working mode at a time: one 4K or 8MP stream, or two 5MP, or five 1080p, or ten 720p, or twenty-five D1 streams. These modes are alternatives, not a sum. Size the card count from the camera resolution mix, then check that the split layout you want is supported on that card type.

A quick sizing walkthrough

Take a control room with six computers, two camera feeds on HDMI, a 3×3 LCD wall and one desk monitor. Sources: eight inputs. Displays: ten outputs. Operators want camera windows resizable over a PC background, so two layers per screen is enough. That points to a D Series chassis with room to grow, or a P Series if 4K sources or mixed formats are expected.

Change one assumption and the answer changes: if those two camera feeds arrive as network streams instead of HDMI, IP decoding enters the picture, and the choice between a P Series card and a dedicated decoder matrix depends on how much of the wall is cameras. The five-question selector works through that branch in order.

Still unsure about your counts?

Request a quote with your source list, display plan and an example wall layout. Include which pictures need to move independently, because that single detail separates the three families faster than any port count.