How do you choose an LED display?

What is an LED display?

First, you need to know the specifications of the LED display project.

Indoor or outdoor?

The brightness is different for indoor and outdoor different applications. The brightness of the outdoor LED display product is 4000-5000nits on average, and 6000-8000nits for the sunlight project, which is sunlight all day and direct sunlight on the LED display. For the indoor application, the brightness is 900-1200nits on average and 500-600nits for the narrow pixel pitch LED screen project. For the particular indoor project, it has to be up to 1500 units.

Is it fixed or rental?

We need to determine whether we will use the LED video wall for a fixed installation or for rental, as this will require different products. For the rental used, the cabinet will be 500x500mm or 500x1000mm; for the outdoor fixed, the product can be a 960x960mm steel cabinet.

What size?

There are 2 ways to know what size you need. One is just according to the size you want to install. For a 6x3m LED display size request, the final size can be similar to 5.76×3.20m.

Another is according to the resolution of the image or video you want to play. The resolution is 1280×720 dots; if the pixel pitch is P5, the final size will be 6.4×3.68m (the closest size to 6.4×3.6m).

What pixel pitch?

There is a most straightforward way to calculate what pixel pitch you need. The pixel pitch is equal to the minimum viewing distance between you and the screen. If the minimum viewing distance is 10 meters, the pixel pitch will be the P10 you need(or you can choose a slower pixel pitch).

As a video wall device, you have to know how to choose this equipment.

There are 2 essential parts for the LED display. The structure, cabinet, module back shell, and PCB board are the structure parts that can keep the LED screen stand still, for the components are the LED lamp, IC, power supply, receiving card, and connector, which can keep the LED screen work more extended time.

After discovering the composition of an LED display, we must determine which LED display is outstanding and appropriate for you.

For the structure part:

Cabinet (How to choose the LED display cabinet)

  1. Material of the cabinet:

The empty cabinet is the most significant part of the space.

You can make the cabinet from various materials such as steel, aluminum, die-casting aluminum, and aluminum-magnesium alloy, excluding the use of a cabinet.

Steel serves as the most common choice for cabinets, particularly for outdoor fixed installation LED display products, owing to its affordability and stability. Usually, for outdoor use, the whole screen is big, so the disadvantage is that it is heavy and easy to get rusty. So, we need to do the spray painting on the steel cabinet in the processing.

Aluminum has a lower weight in the same size, so for some application which has strict demand of the weight on the building, the aluminum cabinet is very suitable. People should use an aluminum cabinet for certain indoor or outdoor fixed LED screen products.

Many rental LED display products widely use die-cast aluminum due to its robustness and high precision. Operators assemble and disassemble rental LED display cabinets for each show or event, requiring them to move the cabinets from the flight case to the ground and connect them one by one. In hanging installations, the cabinets connect from top to bottom, while in standing installations, they connect from bottom to top. During the installation process, there is a higher likelihood of cabinets colliding with each other, underscoring the need for cabinets to possess sufficient strength.

Also, for the same size rental LED display, different design cabinet has different weight. In the 500x500mm cabinet, some final screen cabinet is 7.5kg/pc, and some are 8.5kg/pc. The distinction depends on how extensively the material will be utilized. For different designs, they have different advantages and disadvantages. For the heavy design, the advantage is the cabinet is more robust in order to keep the whole screen stable, and the disadvantage is that it takes more power to carry the cabinet. The advantage of the light design is that it requires less power to move the cabinet, and the disadvantage is not as significant as the heavy one because it uses less material.

More and more people are using aluminum-magnesium alloy for rental LED displays because it offers a lower cost and reduced weight compared to rental LED displays, while also providing sufficient strength for use in shows and events. But the precision is lower than die-casting aluminum.

In addition, the cabinet requires certain installation methods. To perform a wall-mounted indoor fixed installation, you can assemble the entire wall with a steel structure and mount the modules, power supply, receiving cards, and cables directly onto the structure. The advantage is less cost. This installation solution typically requires greater expertise, involves higher labor costs, and cannot ensure flatness and precision, so it is generally advisable to opt for a pixel pitch higher than P3. The pixel pitch is less than P2.5, so it’s better to install it in cabinet design.

The material for the cabinet to be used depends on the application you are going to assemble. If you still have other questions, you are welcome to talk to the Dazzview LED display.

  1. Size of the cabinet:

There are 2 types of cabinet in size.

One is the standard size. Like rental cabinets, almost all the cabinet sizes are fixed, like 500x500mm, 500x1000mm, 576x576mm, 640x640mm, 768x768mm, and 960x960mm.

Another is the customized size; the cabinet size can be customized based on the module size. If the module size is 320x160mm, the cabinet size can be 960x960mm, 1280x800mm or 640x1120mm…

Module back shell:

There 3 types of module back shell: aluminum material, plastic material, and no module back shell.

For the closed cabinet design, you do not need to use the module back shell. This design is ideal for heat dissipation, allowing hot air to exit and cool air to enter the cabinet.

A module back shell is required for the hollow cabinet design.

In certain high-end fixed installation projects, the aluminum material module back shell offers excellent heat dissipation. The heat generated by the LEDs and IC PCB can directly dissipate through the aluminum to the air, enhancing the LED screen’s lifespan.

When it comes to rental LED screen products, plastic design is the standard choice. Its advantages include higher weight and cost-effectiveness. What’s more, the Dazzview LED display will use a high-quality module back shell to guarantee flatness and heat dissipation.

PCB(Printed Circuit Board)

PCB is a board containing an LED lamp and IC, which also includes the circuit diagram. There are 2 layers, and 4 layers are the most common PCB to be used in the LED display industry. Four-layer PCB is at a much higher price and better heat dissipation. Most people prefer to use 2-layer PCBs due to their cost advantage for pixel pitches larger than P2.5. For some narrow pixel pitch LED displays, 4 4-layer PCBs will be more recommended.

For the components part:

LED lamp:

You should use LED lamps in the largest quantity. So, the LED lamp is the most essential part of an LED display. Several companies are doing the LED package; the first class global is Nichia, Cree. However, the price is also extremely high; it needs to decrease to become affordable for most customers. There are also some good LED package brands. The traditional 1st class level in China is Nationstar, and the 1st (2nd+) class is Kinglight, 2nd level is Hongsheng, KN-light, 3rd is Mulinsen, Xinlei, Huaguang.

Now, the quality distance is less considerable than before; they are much closer. What LED lamp will Dazzview LED display use? For the outdoor fixed installation, we will use Nationstar LEDs as our first choice. We will choose Kinglight as our first choice for indoor fixed and rental LED displays, and for some creative LED display products primarily designed for visual effects, we will select Hongsheng LED as our top choice.

IC

3840Hz and 1920Hz is the refresh rate of the LED screen; it depends on the scanning theory and IC type. For the rental LED display used, like indoor P2.6 or P3.9, 3840Hz is highly recommended. For outdoor P3.9, 3840Hz is the first choice, and for outdoor P4.8, both 1920Hz and 3840Hz can be chosen according to the project. Dazzview has a lot of experience in choosing a stable IC. SM16169, ICN2153, MBI5153, and FM6353 are recommended for the 3840Hz. ICN2038S, SM16208, ICN2038s, MBI5124, FM6124/FM6126 are recommended for the 1920Hz. The most important is to provide the most suitable solution according to your project.

Power supply

Many years ago, many people demanded the Meanwell power supply because the quality was good. Yes, the quality is good indeed. But the price is much higher, and it’s not suitable for all LED display products. Nowadays, more and more Chinese brands are doing well in the power supply industry, like Powerld, CL-power, RX power, G-energy, and Siqi power… After testing, Dazzview LED uses the most stable and cost-effective power supply for LED screen products.

Receiving card

You can use Novastar, Linsn, Colorlight, Huidu, SY solution, and Listen Vision as the control system. The choice of control system should align with the applicable solution.

Aviation Connector

Neutrik is very expensive; I don’t think most of the customers will need it. Seetronic and CNLinco are perfect choices for quality and affordability.

There are also some experiences to choose LED display; we can have a further chat if there is a chance.

Last but not least, the components are only the parts of the LED display. The most important is the quality control, solution provided, service support, and money you can earn. What do you think?

choose LED display