The trend of outdoor LED display screens
Technology keeps changing and evolving, and the same goes to consumer’s expectations. As with any digital display, consumers are looking for sharper, brighter, lighter, higher quality and cheaper-to-maintain LED screen display for outdoor applications. We have studied and gather 7 key trends of outdoor LED screen display.
1. Higher Screen Display Resolution
Outdoor LED screen usually has a large pixel pitch of 10mm above. However, with matured manufacturing processes and extensive R&D budget, we are getting fine pixel pitch as narrow as 2.5mm which is in the realm of indoor LED display territory. This enables outdoor LED screen to be visually sharper and have more detailed images. Such high-density outdoor LED screen provides new applications in areas with close viewing distance while requiring the robustness and waterproofing capability of outdoor LED screen.
2. 3D Outdoor LED Screen
3D LED screen is a display technology that combines the use of 3D rendered animated videos and specially shaped LED screen display to create the illusion of three-dimensional images, all without the use of professional 3D glasses. The most popular shape employed for 3D LED screen is an L-shape, where there will be two sides of rectangular outdoor LED screens join together at around 90 degrees angle. Several key landmarks and malls around the world have employed such design for the outdoor LED screen. Normal 3D Outdoor LED screen uses flat module design with a right-angle joint that resulted in a black line that separates both sides of the display. Nowadays, new technology enables seamless outdoor LED screen by using a special design outdoor LED cabinet panel that wrap around the corner smoothly without any pixel loss.
3. Fully Front Accessible
Generic outdoor LED screen typically requires a service platform at the rear for the ease of service and maintenance. It is a general perception that outdoor LED screen display is thick and bulky due to the rear service requirement. However, some applications call for front accessibility and slim display screen design. In such cases, outdoor LED screen with fully front service capability is demanded. LED module, switching power supply unit and LED receiving card can be replaced from front by using simple tools in a true fully front accessible design of an outdoor LED screen. Therefore, the profile or the thickness of a front accessible outdoor LED screen can be as little as the LED cabinet panel thickness plus the single layer of mounting bracket. A fully front accessible outdoor LED screen can have a thickness ranging from 200-300mm, while a rear accessible outdoor LED screen have a thickness ranging from 750-900mm.
4. Lightweight Design
Traditional outdoor LED screen uses steel metal plate due to the ease of customization and low cost. The main drawback of using steel material is weight issue, which is a disadvantage for any weight sensitive application such as cantilever or hanging outdoor LED screen. A thicker and sturdier structure design is required to support a heavy outdoor LED screen, elevate the weight issue further. Therefore, one of the key trends of outdoor LED screen is to use lightweight material such as aluminium alloy, magnesium alloy or even carbon fibre. The most cost-effective option of the three options above is aluminium alloy, which allow for great weight saving over steel material and cheaper compared to magnesium alloy and carbon fibre.
5. Fan-less Operation
By using aluminium alloy extensively in the outdoor LED screen design, heat dissipation level increases over traditional steel material. This enables fan-less design, which reduces energy and noise level, and remove the inherited mechanical issue of ventilation fans. Hence, a fan-less outdoor LED screen is suitable for applications that require silent operation and green sustainability design. The only moving/mechanical part in an outdoor LED screen is ventilation fan, which has a definite lifespan and will breakdown over time. Fan-less outdoor LED screen eliminate this potential breakdown altogether.
6. Superior Weather Resistance
A traditional outdoor LED screen has an IP rating of IP65 for the front display area and IP43 for the rear area. The IP rating difference is because of the fact that traditional outdoor LED screen requires opening vents for the cooling ventilation fans to cool down the LED screen’s internals. The active ventilation design inherits another problem which is dust accumulation within the outdoor LED screen cabinet. Therefore, some manufacturers suggest to install an aluminium enclosure to the outdoor LED screen with air-conditioners to mitigate the problems above. This increases carbon footprint and operation costs because air-conditioners and fans require periodic service and maintenance. New outdoor LED screen such as Big Outdoor S series features all aluminium LED module design that enables IP66 rating on both front & rear surface of the outdoor LED screen without any mechanical part. The switching power supply unit and LED receiving card are also fully enclosed in an aluminium compartment with heatsink design. This enables the outdoor LED screen to be installed in any venues with harsh operating environments.
7. Lower Operation & Maintenance Costs
After years of LED screen development in the industry, a new LED driving method known as common-cathode has emerged to reduce the energy consumption by as much as 50%, compared to common-anode LED driving method. Common cathode refers to the method of supplying electricity to individual Red, Green and Blue chips of the LED screen. This is especially useful for outdoor LED screen where high power consumption is required for high brightness output for visible images under bright sunlight. Outdoor LED Screen such as MuenLED Outdoor S series can be specified with this common cathode LED driving method to reduce the energy consumption. Therefore, the operation & maintenance costs can be further lowered, improving the return of investment (ROI) and high screen uptime availability for advertisers.
Conclusion
Display technology of Outdoor LED screen keeps on evolving in accordance to market needs. Unlike indoor LED screen, outdoor LED screen design requires proper consideration of shape, resolution, front or rear accessibility, weight, energy consumption, operation and maintenance costs. Selection of a good outdoor LED screen product is essential to the success of a digital display investment. A properly designed product like Big Outdoor FPro series guarantees long lasting display performance with a peace of mind product ownership.