LED Video Walls 101: What They Are and How They Work

1. LED Video Walls 101: What They Are and How They Work Digital signage is great for engaging customers and boosting sales. It allows you to deliver custom video, images and text based on the time of day, location, business goals and even an individual customer’s preferences. As powerful as digital signage can be, however, you can’t beat the impact of a video wall. Think of that same content from a single digital sign being delivered on multiple displays, sometimes more than 100, as if they were part of a single screen. Now that’s an attention-grabber. A video wall is made up of many displays that work together as a cohesive unit to display content. Displays typically have very thin bezels to minimize the gap between display areas. You’ve probably seen video walls in a TV studio or control room, a shopping mall, an airport, or at a large sports stadium or entertainment venue. Although some video walls are hundreds of feet high and wide, they can also be used to create impact in smaller venues where people view displays up close. LED technology is used for video walls because each LED display is capable of generating sharp, bright images. Instead of relying on backlit images, LEDs produce their own brightly lit images and deliver the best refresh rates of any video wall technology. Also, LEDs don’t get hot or burn out, which makes LED video walls very efficient, durable and long-lasting. As pixel density continues to increase, resolution continues to improve. However, pixel density should be chosen based on the average proximity of viewers. Pixel density is calculated by the

2. pitch. A finer pitch, or distance between LEDs, is required when viewers are closer to the video wall. For example, a relatively small display in a conference room will have a finer pitch than a large outdoor display at a sporting event. Images are split among many screens using a hardware-based controller or a software- based PC and video-card controller. While a hardware-based controller offers high reliability and performance, it lacks flexibility. There are also limitations with pixel resolution, and you can’t display multiple inputs simultaneously. A software-based PC controller includes special multiple-output cards, and some include video capture input cards. The primary advantage of the software-based controller is that it can support multiple applications and use the full pixel resolution of the video wall. There are several types of LED video walls. Direct view LED video walls, which traditionally have been used for large, outdoor displays, now offer the resolution required for indoor displays. With a narrow profile and no bezels, direct view LED video walls deliver a seamless experience with a variety of mounting options. Indoor LED video walls are now the go-to technology for entertaining, educating and advertising indoors. Made from surface-mounted LEDs, indoor LED displays deliver high-resolution imagery and can be designed in a variety of curved shapes. Blended projection video wall systems use the output of multiple projectors to generate images of virtually any shape or size with higher resolution than a single projector can generate. Rahi Systems installs and configures LED video walls in a variety of sizes and shapes, indoor or outdoor, fixed or mobile. We’ve also vetted display and controller technology for a wide range of audio and video use cases to help you make informed decisions. Let us show you how LED video walls can be used efficiently and powerfully to grab and keep the attention of your customers, deliver relevant, valuable content, and increase sales.