Explaining the Pros and Cons of LED Video Walls vs. LCD Video Walls
A video wall is not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are many options to choose from when designing a commercial building video wall display: the size and shape of the digital canvas, what type of content will be displayed and the purpose of the video wall. Operationally, you may focus on desired reliability, maintenance and serviceability of the equipment. Hardware and technology decisions ensure the video wall will deliver both the desired viewing and ownership experience.
One of these choices is deciding between an LCD display or an LED video wall. Continue reading to find out more about the basics, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.
About LCD Digital Screen Displays
Most people are familiar with LCD technology, which stands for Liquid Crystal Display. These types of displays have a massive presence in this world, used in living rooms to watch movies, fast-food restaurants to showcase menus, airports to show flight schedules, and everything in between. LCD technology was developed in the 1960s and has been used worldwide as a standard for roughly 20 years. It is a tried-and-true technology that has stood the test of time and will be around for the foreseeable future.
On an LCD screen, the panel is illuminated by a light source and works through reflection or transmission of light. Overall, LCD displays have better viewing angles and less glare than LED screens. This technology was designed to be energy efficient and tends to be lighter in weight.
How does an LCD screen display work?
In an LCD monitor, there are multiple layers behind the protective glass on the screen that work together to produce an image:
- Thin layer of liquid crystal material placed in between two layers of electrodes and glass
- Color filter to produce colors
- LED backlight behind the glass and color filters to emit light
LCD video wall displays differ from those mentioned in the above use cases in that they are designed and built specifically to serve video walls.
An LCD video wall is made up of multiple LCD panel monitors mounted on a surface to create a digital canvas, which then work together to create a unified experience. They operate 24/7 at a high brightness and have thin bezels that help create a seamless look when the displays are placed next to one another.
What qualities or technical elements should I consider?
Bezel thickness and the brightness rating are among key attributes to consider for an LCD video wall display. Here is what each of these means and why.
- Bezel: Bezel thicknesses for video wall displays are measured in “bezel-to-bezel” thickness. This is the thickness of the bezel when two displays are placed next to one another. Displays can be either large bezel or thin bezel.
- Nits: Brightness is measured in Nits. A higher Nit value means the display will be brighter. A brighter display is necessary in a room that sees plenty of direct sunlight, or if the intent is to draw in visitors from far away. With LCD video walls, the price of the hardware goes up as the display size and brightness increase, and the bezel width decreases.
What content should you show?
The next item to consider is the type of content that will be displayed on your video wall. LCD displays have high resolution screens — modern 4K displays have over 8 million pixels! This means that the content being displayed is highly detailed and crystal-clear. A viewer could stand less than 1 foot away from the screen and be able to see exactly what is being shown on the screen.
Like previously mentioned with LCD video walls, an important consideration in the decision-making process is the type of content that will be displayed on the video wall. LED video walls suffer from image degradation and pixilation from up close, so fine details will be lost, and text will be illegible. If detail from up close is important, LCD displays are much better suited for that situation.
Content examples that are well-suited for an LCD video wall:
- Fine text for directory listings
- Transit schedules
- Announcements
- News, weather, and stock tickers
Wrapping it up
Video walls add exciting drama and premium value to showcase spaces. It is an investment that adds a perfect eye-catching solution for a busy lobby, conference room, or any other space.
Video walls are relatively new. But LCD technology has had decades of mainstream adoption, and with that comes both familiarity and lower costs. If those are important to you, then an LCD video wall is likely the right choice.
An LCD video wall will provide a fantastic experience for the user if:
- The intent is to have more informative and detailed content
- The content must be viewed from a close distance
About LED Digital Screen Displays
LED video walls are similar to LCD video walls, but the digital canvas is built using LED panels. Individual LED panels can be anywhere from 12”x12” to 36”x18”, which is much smaller than LCD displays. LED panels have a larger presence in this world than most might think—they are found indoors and outdoors at stadiums, arenas, concert venues, airports, and in use as large digital advertisements in iconic places such as Times Square.
What’s in an LED display?
LED panels are made up of 2 main components: the cabinet and the module. The cabinet houses internal components such as cabling and circuit boards.
The module is a small rectangular board that contains all the individual LEDs (light-emitting diodes). Unlike LCD, there is no glass or color filter on the LED video wall panels. The individual diodes that are placed on the modules produce both color and light.
One of the most impressive features of LED panels is that they can be combined to create almost any shape, without a bezel interrupting the digital canvas. LED video wall panels can be placed on curved surfaces, 90-degree edges, and other non-standard surfaces. The smaller size of the panels in relation to LCD video wall displays means they can fill more space on a surface—they aren’t limited to standard 46” and 55” sizes as are LCD video wall displays.
LED Video Wall Advantages:
- No bezel:LED panels are combined to create a bezel-less, uninterrupted digital canvas
- High brightness,high contrast ratio, no glare: creates brighter, darker, more vivid colors that can easily be seen in direct light
- Limitless shapes and sizes:the smaller size of LED panels allows them to be combined to create unique canvases, including curved, 90-degree edge, and other combinations not possible with LCD displays
- High refresh rate: ideal for moving content; creates extremely smooth motion on the display with no judder
- Easy maintenance and service; high reliability: LED module replacement takes seconds with little effort; LED panels are rated with a lifetime of 80,000-100,000 hours, depending on the product
- Indoor or outdoor: outdoor LED panels are 100% weatherproof and can withstand extremely high and low temperatures
