Times Square

What are you dealing with?

Times Square in New York City might be the perfect example that LED technology is more impressive than a billboard could ever be. And the LED walls do not only look outstanding, but at the same time they are practical. You do not have to paste over a poster once the message is outdated – you can easily run a new instalment. The construction can stay put, however, it is able to change its surroundings lastingly. One of the big advantages of LED walls is that they are more efficient, despite their higher power consumption over their alternative on paper. And although they might seem bulky at first, their single cabinets can be connected flexibly and can be set up wherever they are needed.

There are numerous advantages to LED walls, but one disadvantage is important to be mentioned: LED walls come in many formats and choosing the right one right away saves you time, trouble, and money. Therefore, we would like to help you to find the LED wall that meets your expectations.

An introduction

It is helpful to start with a general overview. This article is supposed to not only help light advertising manufacturers, but also everyone else. Here we want to change our viewpoint and determine which decisions are important to make when the purchase of a LED wall is considered. At first, we want to name the differences that concern the long-term character of the LED instalments. We offer you permanent instalments, as well as so called Rental-Walls, that can be built up or taken down whenever you need them.

The following aspects are of importance as well:

LED illuminants use light-emitting diodes to produce light. A special technique allows them to shine especially bright, but to be economical at the same time. To understand how energy saving they are, it is useful to compare them with a lightbulb. Inside it has a small glow wire that lets it become uncomfortably warm after longer usage. This means that it invests most of its energy in the production of warmth instead of light.

And now imagine if the single LEDs of a LED wall produced only a small amount of this heat. The possibilities of using the walls and especially their catalogue of advantages would be cut in half. Luckily, the production of warmth of the LED lights keeps within environmentally conscious limits. Worrying that an advertising medium run by electricity could cause a fire can therefore be set aside after correct commissioning. This applies to all LED walls from LEDTEK.

Eventcrew Großer Preis von Sacshen

Großer Preis von Sachsen, source: Eventcrew

The image

A billboard can be set up without fire hazard, too. However, the LED technology brings further advantages. The picture quality is impressingly good. If a LED wall shows black pixels, the diodes do not shine dark, they simply do not shine at all. This results in deep black, remarkable contrast and especially energy saving. However, contrast is not solely created by dark image elements. LEDs create impressively bright light. Considering the outdoor use of LED cabinets, one thing is important: the brightness of the LEDs is not indicated in watt, but “nits”. With LED wall it is the same as with a computer monitor at home: the more sunlight, the more the brightness needs to be increased. This means that LED walls that are used outdoors need to have a higher nits number than the indoor version. While the LEDBRIX cabinets have 5,500 nits and the P4+WH cabinets have 4,500 nits, the indoor version needs less, usually around 1,000 to 1,100.

The resolution

Regarding the resolution the following aspect needs to be considered: the outdoor and indoor cabinets differ by spacing in between the individual diodes. In practice this means gradations concerning the ideal viewing distance. If the spacing is smaller, the pictures also seems more connected when viewed up close. If the spacing is bigger, it is more comfortable to watch from afar. While it may sound like the first option is always better, it is important to note that the viewer only profits from a higher number of diodes if he is in the immediate environment of the LED wall. If the wall is positioned further away from the audience, a less closely spaced wall might be enough. This decision has financial implications, as a high number of diodes raises the price.

LED-Screen

LED wall of various resolutions, source: LEDTEK

Construction and location

It is not without meaning where and how the installation is attached. LED cabinets are becoming less heavy and their construction less complex. However, one should take a look at it beforehand.

There are three ways of construction: a hanging construction, which is the classic version. Furthermore, the standing construction, that supports the LED cabinets up to 6 meters in height. And lastly, the permanent installation directly on the façade. A special form is the use as perimeter advertisement. The same LED cabinets can be used for all variations.

At the moment, we, LEDTEK, offer four LED types, indoor and outdoor cabinets. We would like to start with the former: these products are called P2+sBL and P3+BL. They differ by pixel pitch, and the decision for either wall should be made by considering the viewing distance. For the P2+sBL the distance reduces from 3.5 to 3m. Therefore, the P2+sBL is the better fit for a smaller premise. By the way – the “s” is connected to the cabinet size: it marks the cabinets of smaller size.

Following products are fitting for a location outdoors: the P4+WH cabinet and the outdoor system LEDBRIX. Here as well there is a difference in the number of diodes that you read off the cabinet description. Their overall difference lies in the construction. The LEDBRIX cabinets are to be removed and exchanged individually from the front of the wall if required. This innovation revolutionizes the maintenance of LED walls and makes the LEDBRIX cabinets a perfect solution for façade installations. Here it would be laborious to take down entire walls because of one broken cabinet.

Hanging outdoor installations contain a danger: if it is too windy, big constructions become unstable. A wall needs to be especially weatherproof if it is supposed to stand outside. For this we developed a Tri-Frame system ourselves that is placed behind the cabinets to strengthen the walls. It does not only secure the construction, but as well makes it easier to build up a wall as only one single truss needs to be installed on the back of the cabinet in order to strengthen it. In addition to this safety system, a free-standing scaffolding system is also available through the cooperation with Layher.

LED-Wand kaufen

Simple construction LED wall, source: LEDTEK

Bee Movie

Contrast on LED walls, source: LEDTEK

LED-Trailer E2 Event Engineering, source: LEDTEK

Last but not least: size

To be honest, the measurements are not to be disregarded. We want to go back to the moment before the decision on LED technology. Especially here, alternatives like LCD walls remain behind LED technology. LED walls might consist of individual cabinets; however, they seem to be of one piece only. This means that there are no upper limits regarding the size of the LED installation. It is not surprising that with increasing number of square metres the price goes up, but it is important to be mentioned. Not only the complete wall, but also the cabinets are available in different sizes. The P4+WH, as well as the P4+WH PRO and the indoor series P3+BL are available for you as smaller options with a width and height of 500mm. The bigger option has a height of 1000mm and a width of 500mm. Two sizes that offer an endless number of possibilities. The P2+sBL cabinets measure 500x500mm, the cabinets of the LEDBRIX series are 640mm in width and 320mm in height.

LED-Wand kaufen LED-Wand mieten

LED outdoor installation, source: LEDTEK

LEDTEK

The most spectacular areas of application of LED walls are probably live shows and big events. However, a LED wall even makes the most boring advertisement an eye-catcher. Therefore, LEDTEK tries to exploit all opportunities of LED technology, because a LED wall technically cannot be boring. It asks for motivation and inventive spirit. It provides cinematic atmosphere anywhere you need it. We would be happy to help you in the process of finding the fitting LED wall for you.

You find information on LEDTEK or further questions on the topic on our website. Otherwise, you are welcome to contact us by phone on +49 551 492 493 44 or by mail to vertrieb@ledtek.de.