For a busy Buffalo Wild Wings franchise in New Philadelphia, Ohio, live televised sports are key for keeping a constant flow of customers coming into the restaurant. With a total of 60 video displays paneled across the 6,800-square-foot space, ownership was looking for a solution that would allow staff members to operate the system easily, ensuring that fans never miss a second of the action.  Designing such a large entertainment system that is easy to use and manage is no small task.  To tackle a project of this scale integrator VST Productions turned to RTI’s powerful control solutions. Combining intuitive design with powerful control, employees merely tap a dedicated touchscreen to operate any individual or group of televisions in a matter of seconds — eliminating the need for any training or complex processes.

“The Buffalo Wild Wings experience banks on immersing customers in a live sports environment that’s totally unique to the franchise,” said Gary Purvis, Owner at VST Productions. “Clients get the game they want, when they want to watch it, through an installation of 60 flat screens lined across the walls and above the bar. The only drawback was that a system of this magnitude can create complications for staff. Management was concerned that the customer experience could be compromised if employees weren’t able to operate the system properly. So we went straight to RTI. Managed by a powerful control processor, RTI’s intuitive technology lets us program touchpanel interfaces that allows employees to easily select and send programming to any screen inside the restaurant.”

Powered by RTI’s powerful XP8s control processor, New Philadelphia’s Buffalo Wild Wings bar and restaurant obtains fully automated operation of their entire television installation. The second generation of RTI’s best-selling XP-8, the XP8s provides even more processing power and additional memory to bring incredibly robust remote control processing to automated electronic systems such as A/V, lighting, security, as well as HVAC systems in both residential and commercial settings. Paired with the KX7 — RTI’s award-winning 7-inch WVGA LCD in-wall touchpanel — Buffalo Wild Wings staff members are able to simply swipe through screens, select inputs, or tap individual televisions to deliver live sports to any or all of the restaurant’s   60 flat screens. Equipped with both wired and wireless Ethernet, the beautifully designed KX7 enables convenient access to advanced capabilities including two-way control of devices, digital video viewing, browsing, and more. 

Customized using RTI’s Integration Designer^® programming software, the KX7 interface allows staff members to control the entire TV installation with no more than two button presses — minimizing errors and speeding up the selection of live sports without any delay or skip in image quality. Grouped into predetermined groups of televisions with predetermined sources, the interface’s tailored design allows anyone to operate the system with minimal training or experience. Since televisions and sources are often switched over the course of the day, the interface was also programmed with a single-button reset to automatically reconfigure the system to the master setting. To quickly switch to Ohio State University (OSU) Buckeyes games, the KX7 has also been programmed with an “OSU” button that instantly switches every television in the bar to the game. Using the Image Pull™ feature from the installation’s parallel Just Add Power solution, staff can also see what screens are playing directly on the KX7.

“We were on a tight timeframe for this project so RTI’s intuitive Integration Designer really streamlined the interface design process,” added Purvis. “Using drag-and-drop tools, we were able to completely customize the KX7’s interface and the installation’s two-way programming without the need for any complex coding. That’s why there was no question going into this installation that RTI would be the only viable solution. Their products allow us to create sophisticated systems for our commercial clients, whether it be lighting control, video switching, or even integrating phone and QS systems that can work seamlessly with RTI’s solutions. The company has really cornered the market for bringing customers automation systems that are powerful, beautifully designed, and extremely easy to use.”

“Some of the staff members felt overwhelmed operating so many televisions,” added Purvis. “That’s why they were looking to implement something that was powerful but wouldn’t take too much time to learn or operate. Using RTI’s KX7, this Buffalo Wild Wings location was able to train new employees on how to manage over a dozen sources and every television in the bar in only ten minutes, which lead to better service for their customers. They’re so pleased that we’ll be expanding the installation to include an additional KX7 inside their management office to monitor the entire restaurant.”