A year (plus) of Digital Signage information!

-Deacon Wardlow

It's that time of year again. The days, weeks, and months have FLOWN by and we're all in the countdown scramble to finish, close, and clean things up before the year's end. We hope the blog articles have been informative and helpful for you all and we're thankful for your readership, feedback, support, and encouragement. This makes article #151 (not bad, 151 articles written since this blog was started in April 2012).

We hope you all have safe and wonderful (very likely hard-earned) time away from work coming up over the holidays. We'll be picking up the articles again from January 8th. So much has been written and said over the last year and a half, it's worth a breakdown. If you find yourself with a moment (or a client in need of some answers), check out the information below (broken up, as best I could, into categories for easier information sourcing). Click on any title to go to the article. You can also search (in the search bar above) by a specific topic, author, or subject you're looking for. If you're a Vantage LED partner (or want to be one) definitely go to our site www.vantageled.com and checkout Vantage University. We've got some great courses (videos, presentations, resources, and tools) coming out in the year ahead and plenty in there for immediate use.

Happy Holidays (whatever you're celebrating) and have a safe and happy new year. See you in 2014!

-The "geek speak specialists" at Vantage LED blogspot.

Digital Signage Sign Tech & Spec:

1. What to Expect when you're expecting your LED Sign...
2. Providing Correct Power Voltage to LED Signs and Why 120 VAC and 240 VAC are Both Important
3. Power Supplies
4. Don't get screwed, modern module securing systems
5. Front Access Design Considerations for Digital Signage and Hinged Faces
6. Factors Affecting Image Quality on Outdoor Digital Signage
7. How Color Values are calculated
8. Viewing Size vs Cabinet size (big differences can add up to false $$ savings)
9. Controller options for LED Signage
10. Virtual Resolution (aka pixel sharing)
11. LED Sign Components
12. Service Access options for LED Signs
13. The truth behind "ultra bright" LEDs
14. Communication Methods for LED Signs
15. Myths and Misunderstanding about LED Signs
16. The good and bad of LED Signs and how to tell the difference
17. Powder Coating
18. New Coating materials (Dragon Skin)

Digital Signage Content:

1. The New Expectations for LED Sign Content
2. Professional Content is a Must!
3. Real World Effects of LEDs per Pixel on Outdoor Digital Signage
4. Time and Temperature on LED Signs...to Be or Not to Be
5. Quality LED Signs Managed Responsibly Improve the Community
6. Professional Quality Content on LED Signs Benefit Resellers Directly
7. How 'LinkedIn' is Digital Signage for you/your clients?
8. Why DS Fails
9. Keeping Content Current/interesting
10. Ensuring text comes through LOUD AND CLEAR
11. LED Signs & Free Speech
12. Create a call to action with Digital Signage
13. The benefits of PSAs (Public Service Announcement)
14. Get the most from your website (Digital Signage is online as well)
15. Being a good neighbor with LED Signage
16. Content scheduling/creation (planning ahead)

Digital Signage Sales 101:

1. Without a defined desire, there is no sale.
2. ADAPT the sales technique
3. Be a "go-to" person; know your LED Sign and DS information!
4. What does Digital Signage Cost?
5. Sell your company first, product second...
6. Why Cheap LED Signs Sell Well But Fail
7. Door to Door is Dead
8. Sticker Shock Syndrome; dealing with cost objections
9. LED Sign Sales- Closing Technique Suggestions- 1 of 3
10. Closing Technique Suggestions- Installment 2 of 3
11. Closing Technique Suggestions- 3 of 3
12. Objection Handling Part 1 of 2
13. Objection Handling Part 2 of 2
14. Stop selling and start solving - Customer Centered Selling
15. Better is Better, Always!
16. Value Based Selling Is a Win for Local Sign Companies
17. The cost of a system - Good/Quick/Cheap... Speed, Quality, and Price with LED Signs/DS Solutions.
18. Wow Your Customer
19. Build bridges, don't burn them
20. Business Relationship Suggestions

Why LED Signage?:

1. Use Outdoor Digital Signage to Give Thanks, Spread the Holiday Cheer, and Grow Your Organization.
2. Outdoor Digital Signage Helps Focus and Sustain Advertising to Potential Patrons
3. A Road-Map to Success is Important With Digital Signage
4. Common Misconceptions About LED Signs
5. How an LED Sign can help business
6. LED Signage earning potential

Costs for Digital Signage:

1. How much can an LED Sign Cost?
2. Short term gain, long term costs (cost of a "cheap" LED Sign)
3. "Value Line" vs. Single Level of quality (i.e. why there aren't iPhone or Droid "lite" versions)
4. Is an LED Sign (or any Digital Signage) an investment or a purchase?
5. Selling the value of a Digital Signage Solution (LED Sign, LCD, or other)

Digital Signage 'How To':

1. Networking Basics
2. Securing Wireless ( WiFi ) Communications for LED Signs
3. System monitoring obstacles and options
4. Check The Power! Electrical Supply and Outdoor Digital Signage
5. Basic LED Sign Troubleshooting and Logic
6. LED Sign Permitting Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
7. Finding a reputable installer for LED Signage
8. Sourcing the best LED Sign manufacturer for your business
9. Calculating Power Costs
10. Information on the National Electrical Code as applied to LED Signage
11. Electrical Safety Certification Marks explained
12. Different LED Sign Sales approaches
13. Project Management with LED Signage
14. Embracing new technology for business
15. CRM/ERP Options for your business
16. Simple LED Sign troubleshooting

Digital Signage 'Need To Know':

1. Boiling Down the 7 Key Elements of Digital Signage
2. What's the best solution for a Digital Signage system?
3. Isn't "The Cloud" the Same as Wireless Connectivity?
4. Test drive an LED Sign (aka EMC) BEFORE buying...
5. Make your LED Sign Stand Out From the Pack
6. What makes a good LED Sign?
7. Why cloud control for your LED sign is better than using localized software
8. How an LED Sign Manufacturer's Approach to Support Can Affect Your Reputation
9. Scrap Temperature Probes!
10. Notes on Successfully Implementing an LED Sign Program
11. Border Versus Borderless LED Displays
12. Things To Consider During a Live LED Sign Demonstration
13. Why simple software is better with DS.
14. FAQ about LED Signs for IT Professionals, End Users and the Industry
15. Custom Content -vs- "Stock" or In-House Content
16. CMYK vs RGB and Other Design Factors for Digital Content on LED Signs.
17. New technology making things simpler with LED Signage
18. Insurance and Warranty
19. What is Pixel Pitch and How Does it Relate to LED Signs?
20. Explaining LED Sign Technology Simply and Effectively to Your Audience Directly
21. The Cloud, Cloudware, and LED Signs
22. Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between On-Premise Digital Signage and Traffic Safety
23. Educate yourself and your clients, before the competition does it for you!
24. How an LED Sign Manufacturer's Approach to Design and Engineering Can Affect Installations
25. Don't Be the Beta for a Manufacturer
26. China Manufacturing Stumbles
27. Parts and Labor doesn't always equal warranted repairs...
28. Exponential Growth for the LED Sign Industry?
29. When comparing LED Sign solutions (EMC/EDS/CMS/Etc), make sure you're getting what you expect
30. You Deserve to Make a Profit on LED Signs
31. What does Web App/Cloudware mean for Digital Signage/LED Signs?
32. US Based Support for LED Signs is More Than Phones and Technicians
33. Own It! Be The Trusted Authority on LED Signs and Educate Truth
34. Is Anything Really ‘Made’ in the USA?
35. Domestic LED Sign manufacturers vs. off-shore
36. Importing from China
37. Low quality systems' affect on business
38. Supply Chain Logistics on components
39. Beware of a "bait-and-switch"
40. The Ghost of LED Signs past (the cost of going with the cheapest option)
41. Heat
42. How to protect against heat
43. Power (undervoltage)
44. Power Supplies
45. Is after service an after-thought?
46. The Value of a warranty
47. On Site Service Warranties (underwritten vs. carried by the manufacturer)
48. Proper Conformal Coating
49. Silicone Coating on the back of LED Modules
50. The cost of going cheap on component choices from a manufacturer

Please comment here or send questions or requests for information to deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.

Digital Signage Need to Know: What is Pixel Pitch and How Does it Relate to LED Signs?

-Scott Hofheins

Pixel Pitch (or dot pitch) is a term used on a daily basis in our industry. It is a core specification that will determine the clarity, effectiveness, and cost of an LED sign. Although Pixel Pitch is also used in any type of digital display (computer monitor, LCD TV, etc...) it is still not a common term for the general public and can sometimes be difficult to understand it’s role.

I’ve listed some common questions about LED signs below. You may feel like they move off the subject, but I promise it will make sense at the end.  

What is Pixel Pitch?

At it’s core, it is a measurement of how close each pixel is to another on a display, typically measured in millimeters. The lower the Pixel Pitch, the more pixels you can fit together on a display.

Great...so what is a pixel?

A pixel is a single point of light on display, consisting of (3) individual colors: Red, Green and Blue. When each is lit at the same full intensity, the pixel produces white light. When they are at different intensities, shades of colors are produced.  

A display contains thousands of pixels, laid out on a grid. The actual number of pixels high, and the number of pixels wide is call the “Native Resolution” of a display. The computer monitor I am using to write this post is 1600 pixels wide, by 900 pixels high, or 1600x900. An HD, LCD Television would be 1920x1080. Notice the “1080”? This is where the HD 1080p classification comes from. It designates that the display is 1080 pixels high.

What does that have to do with LED signs?

They use pixels just like LCD TVs and Monitors. However, LED signs are outdoors, large, and fighting sunlight so they must use physical Red, Green, and Blue LED’s instead of liquid crystals. Additionally, they use significantly less pixels than monitors or LCD TV’s (unless you're in Las Vegas) because they are viewed from a distance.

We call the “Native Resolution” of an LED display it’s Pixel Matrix. Typical digital billboards will have matrixes like 168x584 or 216x763, while typical commercial displays would include smaller matrixes like 32x128 or 48x96. The larger the matrix, the more information you will be able to fit on the sign.

What does the Matrix have to do with Pixel Pitch?

The more pixels you can fit into a sign (higher matrix) the higher the resolution will be, and the closer you can be to the display and still clearly see the image or text. Believe it or not you may be more familiar with Pixel Pitch than you realize. Do you know why Apple’s “Retina” displays are so crisp? Because they have been able to squeeze more pixels into the same amount of space. This is done by decreasing the Pixel Pitch. In fact, pixels are so close to each other these days that they are now measuring them in PPI (pixels per inch).

How does Pixel Pitch affect an LED sign?

The same way it affects a computer monitor, but on a larger and more noticeable scale. Pixel pitches on LED signs may include 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12.5mm, 16mm, 20mm, 25mm. Most commercial outdoor LED signs will stay in the 16mm - 25mm range.

16mm and lower pitches are typically used for smaller signs to fit more pixels into a smaller area and maintain a quality image. However, they can be used for larger systems where the intended viewers will be close to the sign.

The 20mm pitch is a good middle ground for many sign owners who need to have a little of both worlds. A larger sign, but with the viewers a little further away.

25mm and sometimes 32mm pitches are commonly used for digital billboards. You may see a 20mm or 16mm on smaller billboards, or where the sign is closer to the viewers.

How does “Virtual Resolution/Pixel Sharing” relate to Pixel Pitch?

The simple answer is: it doesn't really. It’s like comparing ounces to inches. They both work together in the real world, but are not directly related. However, I am a big fan of Virtual Resolution technology when done correctly. Deacon Wardlow posted a great article about it awhile back.

Virtual Resolution technology allows a sign to share the other pixels around it to smooth out lines and graphics providing a higher quality image and increased clarity at closer distances. When this is done correctly, the actual video signal size will be double the pixel matrix of the sign. For example, a 64x144 sign would use video data sized at 128x288.

This will make a 20mm sign using virtual resolution look better than a standard 20mm sign. However, a 10mm sign of the same physical size will always look better than a 20mm sign (even with Virtual Resolution). This is because a 10mm sign physically has more LED’s, they are physically closer together, and it has a higher “Native Resolution” than the same sized 20mm.

Remember, Pixel Pitch determines how many pixels you can fit onto a display. The more pixels you have, the higher resolution the display will be when viewed close up. However, larger signs viewed further away do not require a low pixel pitch. Keep in mind that Virtual Resolution technology is great, but is not directly related to pixel pitch so make sure you compare apples to apples. I hope this post has been helpful, and for those looking into buying an LED sign I encourage you to educate yourself as much as possible; I promise it’s worth the effort.

-SH

I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!

**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.

A year+ in review - Articles from the Vantage LED team for your edification & education.

-Deacon Wardlow

It's been a little over a year now since we first started the blog. We've delivered new content 2x/week every week since the start (including this post, that's 123 articles in 13 months or an average of 9 articles every month). When we first started off, some friends and colleagues asked if we'd run out of things to write. The great thing about DS (Digital Signage) is it's constantly evolving and there's always something new to learn/share.

We're taking a short break (the next post will start up again from August 6). After the short break, we'll continue to bring you fact-based approaches to education on DS issues relating to technology, sales, end-user support, technology, and more. If you'd like to see something in particular, please email us (deacon@vantageled.com) and we'll be happy to get right on it for you.

For all of our fellow Americans, "Happy Fourth of July!" Play safe and come back with all your fingers and such intact on the other side of the holiday (there've been a few times I wasn't as careful as I should have been and am grateful for nothing more than a slight burn to teach me a lesson...).

So you don't have to sort/search and dig around for what you need, I've broken the articles into categories. Here's everything going back to last May 2012:

Digital Signage Sign Tech & Spec:

1. Providing Correct Power Voltage to LED Signs and Why 120 VAC and 240 VAC are Both Important
2. Power Supplies
3. Don't get screwed, modern module securing systems
4. Front Access Design Considerations for Digital Signage and Hinged Faces
5. Factors Affecting Image Quality on Outdoor Digital Signage
6. How Color Values are calculated
7. Viewing Size vs Cabinet size (big differences can add up to false $$ savings)
8. Controller options for LED Signage
9. Virtual Resolution (aka pixel sharing)
10. LED Sign Components
11. Service Access options for LED Signs
12. The truth behind "ultra bright" LEDs
13. Communication Methods for LED Signs
14. Myths and Misunderstanding about LED Signs
15. The good and bad of LED Signs and how to tell the difference
16. Powder Coating
17. New Coating materials (Dragon Skin)

Digital Signage Content:

1. Professional Content is a Must!
2. Real World Effects of LEDs per Pixel on Outdoor Digital Signage
3. Time and Temperature on LED Signs...to Be or Not to Be
4. Quality LED Signs Managed Responsibly Improve the Community
5. Professional Quality Content on LED Signs Benefit Resellers Directly
6. How 'LinkedIn' is Digital Signage for you/your clients?
7. Why DS Fails
8. Keeping Content Current/interesting
9. Ensuring text comes through LOUD AND CLEAR
10. LED Signs & Free Speech
11. Create a call to action with Digital Signage
12. The benefits of PSAs (Public Service Announcement)
13. Get the most from your website (Digital Signage is online as well)
14. Being a good neighbor with LED Signage
15. Content scheduling/creation (planning ahead)

Digital Signage Sales 101:

1. Sell your company first, product second...
2. Why Cheap LED Signs Sell Well But Fail
3. Door to Door is Dead
4. Sticker Shock Syndrome; dealing with cost objections
5. LED Sign Sales- Closing Technique Suggestions- 1 of 3
6. Closing Technique Suggestions- Installment 2 of 3
7. Closing Technique Suggestions- 3 of 3
8. Objection Handling Part 1 of 2
9. Objection Handling Part 2 of 2
10. Stop selling and start solving - Customer Centered Selling
11. Better is Better, Always!
12. Value Based Selling Is a Win for Local Sign Companies
13. The cost of a system - Good/Quick/Cheap... Speed, Quality, and Price with LED Signs/DS Solutions.
14. Wow Your Customer
15. Build bridges, don't burn them
16. Business Relationship Suggestions

Why LED Signage?:

1. Outdoor Digital Signage Helps Focus and Sustain Advertising to Potential Patrons
2. A Road-Map to Success is Important With Digital Signage
3. Common Misconceptions About LED Signs
4. How an LED Sign can help business
5. LED Signage earning potential

Costs for Digital Signage:

1. How much can an LED Sign Cost?
2. Short term gain, long term costs (cost of a "cheap" LED Sign)
3. "Value Line" vs. Single Level of quality (i.e. why there aren't iPhone or Droid "lite" versions)
4. Is an LED Sign (or any Digital Signage) an investment or a purchase?
5. Selling the value of a Digital Signage Solution (LED Sign, LCD, or other)

Digital Signage 'How To':

1. Securing Wireless ( WiFi ) Communications for LED Signs
2. System monitoring obstacles and options
3. Check The Power! Electrical Supply and Outdoor Digital Signage
4. Basic LED Sign Troubleshooting and Logic
5. LED Sign Permitting Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3
6. Finding a reputable installer for LED Signage
7. Sourcing the best LED Sign manufacturer for your business
8. Calculating Power Costs
9. Information on the National Electrical Code as applied to LED Signage
10. Electrical Safety Certification Marks explained
11. Different LED Sign Sales approaches
12. Project Management with LED Signage
13. Embracing new technology for business
14. CRM/ERP Options for your business
15. Simple LED Sign troubleshooting

Digital Signage 'Need To Know':

1. Explaining LED Sign Technology Simply and Effectively to Your Audience Directly
2. The Cloud, Cloudware, and LED Signs
3. Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between On-Premise Digital Signage and Traffic Safety
4. Educate yourself and your clients, before the competition does it for you!
5. How an LED Sign Manufacturer's Approach to Design and Engineering Can Affect Installations
6. Don't Be the Beta for a Manufacturer
7. China Manufacturing Stumbles
8. Parts and Labor doesn't always equal warranted repairs...
9. Exponential Growth for the LED Sign Industry?
10. When comparing LED Sign solutions (EMC/EDS/CMS/Etc), make sure you're getting what you expect
11. You Deserve to Make a Profit on LED Signs
12. What does Web App/Cloudware mean for Digital Signage/LED Signs?
13. US Based Support for LED Signs is More Than Phones and Technicians
14. Own It! Be The Trusted Authority on LED Signs and Educate Truth
15. Is Anything Really ‘Made’ in the USA?
16. Domestic LED Sign manufacturers vs. off-shore
17. Importing from China
18. Low quality systems' affect on business
19. Supply Chain Logistics on components
20. Beware of a "bait-and-switch"
21. The Ghost of LED Signs past (the cost of going with the cheapest option)
22. Heat
23. How to protect against heat
24. Power (undervoltage)
25. Power Supplies
26. Is after service an after-thought?
27. The Value of a warranty
28. On Site Service Warranties (underwritten vs. carried by the manufacturer)
29. Proper Conformal Coating
30. Silicone Coating on the back of LED Modules
31. The cost of going cheap on component choices from a manufacturer

-DW

*I invite you to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note my posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.

Virtual Resolution (VR) Demystified

-Deacon Wardlow

Virtual Resolution (VR), Pixel sharing, Enhanced Pixel Performance, whatever you want to call it, the technology has been around for more than a decade, but has only recently begun to truly shine with regard to performance.

A Pixel is a grouping of LEDs (1 red, 1 green, 1 blue aka 1R1G1B, sometimes 2R1G1B). A pixel pitch is the measurement from one center point of a pixel to the next center point. The tighter the pitch, the closer the pixels and the higher the resolution of the display. As you can see from the images, virtual pixel technology improves the resolution of letters and images.

         20mm Non‐Virtual                 20mm - 10mm Virtualized



Virtual Resolution (VR)
 
Virtual Resolution: LED pixels are able to share LEDs between them, thus halving the distance from one pixel to another and virtually doubling the resolution of the display (ex: If you have a 20mm display with a 48 x 96 matrix, its virtual resolution would be double at 96 x 192). This results in smoother graphics (less blocking) and extremely dynamic and fluid video.

This improvement is achieved by sharing individual LEDs between pixels. While a “regular” pixel only has single red, blue and green LEDs available, a virtual board can use blended LEDs from any other nearby pixel thus making a sharper, cleaner image. With any technology which is hard to reproduce, there are the nay-sayers and rumor-mongers.

A few of the biggest myths out there regarding virtual resolution:

1. The technology overdrives LEDs and causes them to burn out faster.
2. LED Signs using VR has blurry text and static images don’t look clear.
3. VR puts a strain on the system causing the controller to fail prematurely.
4. VR makes a 20mm sign look exactly like a 10mm sign.

There is a small amount of truth in the best of lies and it's important (as always) to pay attention to the details. In brief:

1. LED Early Burnout Some unscrupulous manufacturers overdrive their LEDs to make them brighter. Unfortunately these same manufacturers also utilize VR technology. The overdriving of LEDs has nothing to do with VR. Overdriving LEDs is a poor choice for a short-game sale which causes a display’s LEDs to depreciate faster and the sign to lose performance over time; a sign which should have been good for five to ten years is only good for two or three (at best). Because the two were coming hand-in-hand when the technology first was in use, people still associate VR systems with overdriving.

2. Poor Resolution
Take a look at the picture above, if anything the e is vastly improved and not “fuzzy" at all. The same is true with images. VR helps tremendously with animated content (especially video). Video runs at 25 frames per second and often has a slight "blur" with heavy motion. Real Pixel displays often have issues replicating the blur where a VR display can smoothly duplicate the effect. Some people mistakenly associate the "blur" explanation with VR overall and thus the fuzzy understanding.

3. System Strain
VR technology simply shares LEDs. The way it shares each LED is complex but doesn’t burden a controller with any additional computing power which it isn’t already pushing to the sign. Most of the “work” is done in the chipsets themselves and how the chips are “addressed” in a system.

4. I can't believe it's not a real pixel
A lot of salespeople will tell you a 20mm virtual looks just like a 10mm real. This simply isn’t true. The real thing will always be better. A 20mm virtual will make the display look crisper, more defined with sharper images and smoother lines. It’s an upgrade on the system which makes it stand out from the competition and usually the upgrade comes at a lower cost than buying a tighter pixel pitch (great for end-users who just can’t afford the next step up).

Virtual Resolution technology is here to stay and with the vast improvements in the technology, it’s just going to keep getting better. It’s a cost efficient option to improve sign definition for end-users and should definitely be an option carried by your manufacturer. If the manufacturer you’re looking at doesn’t offer VR, ask them what other technologies they aren't offering/integrating. Make sure they're giving you the best system options possible. Don't make the very real mistake of overlooking the virtual option for your LED sign.

*Always feel free to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment.

**Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.