How to choose the right LED billboard
What affects the quality of an LED billboard
Kinglight all scenario LEDs for top quality LED billboards
We live in a highly commercialized world. Advertising is always a must if we want to stand out in fierce competition. There are various way to do this, such as TV ads, newspaper report or online propaganda, but to promote your business, products, or service with more engaged experience to possible clients, advertising in a crowded place is always the best way. So what should be the right choice? The answer is to use LED billboards.
Nowadays, LED billboards are widely used because of versatile usage, high energy efficiency, reliability and durability, and meanwhile impeccable visual attraction. We see LED billboards everywhere, at commercial centers, highways or traffic arteries, populated streets, convention centers, or exhibition halls.
LED billboard is a good option for effective commercial advertising
LED billboards easily attract attention with resilient application scenarios, flexible designs, most importantly, their dynamic visuals. This makes them beat traditional paper posters, signage or billboards easily.
Here in this article, we will explore all aspects of LED billboards, and learn why they become the most popular way to help your business win the competition.
An LED billboard is a new type of billboard composed by various LED display panels, which consist thousands of LED pixels.
Comparing it with traditional printed billboard, an LED billboard is more versatile and can quickly switch between different visual contents, either short texts, or static images, or high dynamic videos.
An LED billboard is more efficient and attractive than traditional billboard, and a better way to promote your business with impressive and immersive visuals at populated places.
LED billboards are designed for displaying different types of contents, or used for different application purposes, or installed at different locations. Therefore, LED billboards often come in different types to suit different demands. So here is a basic categorization of different LED billboards based on their content types, application scenarios, and specific display effects.
First, we can categorize LED billboards according to their different content types, which is easy to understand.
1-1. LED billboards for simple text information
We often see some banner-shaped LED billboards around some small hotels, commercial buildings, and factories.
Generally speaking, this type of LED billboard only displays some simple text information, such as the company name, the products it sells or the services it provides, and of course, their contact numbers.
This type of LED billboard usually displays texts in one color or two contrasting colors, such as a highly visible red color or a combination of contrasting colors, such as red and blue.
These are the simplest form of LED billboards, and we often call them LED message boards.
1-2. Full color LED billboard
Unlike previous mentioned LED message board, full color LED billboards are more widely used due to their more visual appealing performance.
A full color LED billboard utilizes numerous RGB LEDs as its pixels. Each pixel is an LED that incorporates red, green, and blue LED chips to produce full colors we see in our eyes.
Full color LED billboards have much wider application scenarios than LED text billboards. They attract more attention and give deep impression to the audiences.
Most business owners would prefer full color LED billboard if they want to promote their brands, products or service better. So here we mainly focus on full color LED billboard.
Also we can categorize LED billboards according to where they’re installed, either indoors or outdoors.
So why do we talk about this categorization here? That’s because there are significant differences in features and performances between an indoor LED billboard and an outdoor LED billboard.
Let’s proceed to the details.
2-1. Indoor LED billboard
Indoor LED billboards are usually used indoors, such as in large shopping malls, exhibition halls, waiting rooms at transportation hubs, airport terminals, etc.
Since an indoor place usually has a limited space and the audiences get a relatively close viewing distance, indoor LED billboards prefer smaller pixel pitches to ensure more comfortable viewing experience and high resolution display at relatively smaller size.
2-2. Outdoor LED billboard
Outdoor LED billboards are the most popular options, especially for the businesses that want to expand their influence to more audiences.
Generally speaking, outdoor LED billboards are mainly found at major traffic arteries or hubs, large shopping malls or commercial centers, etc.
Outdoor LED billboards usually need to deal with complex outdoor conditions and ensure visibility at a relatively longer viewing distance.
Therefore, outdoor LED billboards generally have relatively larger pixel pitches, and offer ultra high brightness to endure with strong ambient light or even direct sunshine, and also have excellent waterproof, dustproof, and sometimes extreme weather resistant performance.
In addition, LED billboards also incorporate creative designs for unique application purposes, such as transparent LED billboards with look through visual effects, interactive LED billboards with interactive functions, mobile LED billboards that can flexibly change their locations, LED billboards for naked eye 3D visuals, and irregular shaped LED billboards designed to promote unique brand or product features.
3-1. Transparent LED billboard
Transparent LED billboards use transparent LED screens to offer a unique look through experience and the visual contents are like floating in the air.
Usually, we realize transparent visuals on an LED display in two different ways.
One option is to leave large gaps between the adjacent LED bars in an LED display panel. And when we watch it at a long distance, the slim black metal bars become invisible to us behind the bright LEDs. That comes the transparent looking of the display.
At this circumstance, the transparency of the screen usually is decided by the size of the gaps between the LED bars. The larger the gap is, the higher transparency for the screen.
Another way to achieve transparency on an LED display is to package transparent LEDs with transparent and flexible PCB films.
Usually, we call this type of display as transparent LED films.
Transparent LED film are usually put up onto glass surfaces to work as glass curtain walls for commercial centers or glass partitions inside a shopping mall.
3-2. Interactive LED billboard
Interactive LED billboards are composed by LED display panels that incorporate interactive functions.
With built in sensors or infrared, interactive LED billboards can react with end users, and respond to their touches and gestures, and then provide interactive functions or visuals.
Generally speaking, interactive LED billboards are mainly used in indoor environments to provide users with more interactive experiences for shopping.
3-3. Mobile LED billboard
Mobile LED billboards stand out for their mobility, which helps to increase the coverage of your target audiences.
Mobile LED billboards also come in various types.
The most commonly seen type is LED screens being installed onto the surfaces of the sides or the rear of the truck body.
Another type of mobile LED billboard utilizes an independent trailer to rise up an LED screen. We often call it an LED screen trailer, and drag it around the streets with a pickup truck.
An LED screen trailer usually has four wheels and can stand up steadily by itself. That means we can transport it to any location where we want, and then drive away the pickup truck for other usage.
3-4. 3D LED billboard
3D LED billboard is another commonly seen creative design to attract wide attention with unique naked eye 3D visuals.
Usually, a 3D LED billboard is installed at two adjacent wall surfaces of a large building and form a 90 degree L shaped screen. The design utilizes the slight visual differences between our left and right eye, which can create 3D images in our brain.
Naked eye 3D visual is no doubt the best way to grab our eyes.
Thus, the building where a 3D LED billboard stays usually will become a landmark, and attract a lot of visitors. Hence we get an increased rate of brand or product promotion with a naked eye 3D LED billboard.
That’s also why we usually see 3D LED billboard at famous places or buildings in metropolises. They help to strengthen their attraction to citizens and visitors, and meanwhile get an increased allure to top brands or brands that want to be the top.
3D LED billboard catches your eyes easily when you’re walking in the street
3-5. Irregular shaped LED billboard
An irregular shaped LED billboard is usually designed for unique theme of advertising, either the special characteristics of the brands and products being promoted.
This can not only strengthen the image of the brand or product, but also often bring great visual impact, thereby maximizing the influence of the brand and product.
3-6. Kinetic LED billboard
In addition, beside the above mentioned creative LED billboards, in recent years a lot of famous brands turns to kinetic LED display.
A kinetic LED display consists of a number of independently retractable LED display panels. These panels can either stretch forwards or draw backwards in different speeds and depths to form dynamically wave like patterns on the whole screen, thus to get a more dynamic display of visual contents.
This make your business easily stands out too.
For example, Coca Cola had already put up a kinetic LED display at the Times Square in 2017.
Coca Cola installed kinetic LED display at Times Square
In the previous section, we introduce some common types of LED billboard. So why we do see so many different types of LED billboards?
The answer is that LED billboards are more versatile and offer a lot of advantages that traditional billboards don’t have.
A successful advertisement often stems from its unique visual content.
LED billboards can perfectly present a variety of creative visual content, whether it is a set of exquisite static pictures or a highly impactful dynamic video, thereby attracting the eyes of potential customers and increasing the transaction rate of your products or services.
In addition, we can also use the creative LED billboards mentioned above to further enhance the visual appeal of related advertising content.
LED billboards can use a variety of content styles according to the visual effects of actual advertising needs. For example, when we need to spread some key information, we can use more eye-catching large red text content; if we need to show the various functions of the product well, we can play carefully designed and shot product display animations or videos.
LED billboards can also use more rational designs to improve their visibility in different application scenarios.
For example, at indoor environment, we generally use LED screens with smaller pixel pitch to avoid visible LED pixels at short distance and lower brightness to ensure comfortable viewing experience at relatively dim ambient light.
For outdoors, we’re more inclined to use LED screens with larger pixel pitch for better visibility at a long distance and higher brightness to endure with much brighter ambient light.
LED billboards provide much wider viewing angles than traditional billboards.
Generally speaking, the vertical and horizontal viewing angles of LED screens can easily reach more than 120°, and some even reach 160°. This further ensures the visibility of the visual content on LED billboards. No matter from which direction or angle you look at the screen, you can get clear images.
LED itself is an energy-saving and environmentally friendly light source.
LED converts electrical energy into light energy without generating unnecessary heat. This unique feature of LED reduces wastes of power.
Thus, LEDs are environmentally friendlier and reduce the overall cost for long time operation.
And that’s why LEDs are not only used on display screens but also for lighting.
LED billboards can last for more than 5 years without obvious light decay and screen degradation.
In addition, if we keep appropriate daily maintenance, the service life of LED billboards can reach 10 years or more.
Long service life does not only greatly reduce the cost of frequent billboard replacement, but also effectively decrease the consumption of natural resources, which is positive for keeping a green planet.
An LED billboard consists of a number of seamlessly spliced LED display panels.
So it’s highly customizable. We can easily modify it into different sizes and shapes according to our specific requirements.
If we get a limited budget, we can use less LED panels; but if budget is not a major concern, we can use large format LED billboard, or adopt pricey designs, such as naked eye 3D visuals, or integrated interactive functions for comprehensively increased experience.
Like talking over any other product, the price of LED billboards is also an unavoidable topic.
As we mentioned earlier, LED billboards are highly customized products, and their prices often vary greatly depending on the size of the screen, pixel pitch, brightness, and other special properties (such as waterproof and dustproof) or functions (such as interactivity).
So here in this section, we will give some basic information over the price of LED billboards so that you can use them as a reference when purchasing LED billboards.
Single color LED message board: the cheapest option, usually several dozen dollars per square meter
Double color LED text billboard: relatively higher price, around dozens or hundreds of dollars per square meter
Full color LED billboard: requires more budget, usually costs hundreds or even to thousand dollars per square meter
Pixel pitch is an important factor deciding the cost of an LED billboard.
P2.5 LED with brightness reaching 5500cd/m², costs more than a thousand dollars per square meter;
P3 LED with brightness of 5500cd/m², costs nearly a thousand dollars per square meter;
P4 LED with brightness of 5500cd/m², costs around 500 US$ per square meter;
P5 LED with brightness of 5000cd/m², costs about 400 US$ per square meter;
P6 LED with brightness of 5500cd/m², costs approximate 500 US$ per square meter;
P8 LED with brightness of 5500cd/m², costs about 400 US$ per square meter.
LED billboard size: the larger size, the higher cost;
Duration of advertising: If you use the service of an LED billboard for a longer time, the price will be relatively higher;
Location: The price of LED billboards located in busy business districts or transportation hubs will be relatively high.
Of course, the above is only a reference for the cost of LED billboards. In actual applications, we should try to consult different suppliers for relevant price information to choose the LED billboard solution that best meets our actual needs and budget.
So, when we’re about to purchase an LED billboard, what should we do to make a better choice? What should we consider while purchasing an LED billboard?
In fact, in the previous sections, we talked about the types, advantages, and costs of LED billboards in details. And of course, all these things matter before we make a decision.
But here in this section, we’ll focus on the procedures to get a suitable LED billboard for your project on your own.
What are the purposes of your own project? What features should the billboard have to fulfill these requirements?
First, let’s ask ourselves these questions to find out the specific requirements for the LED billboard. This will give us a better guide when we talk with LED billboard suppliers.
1-1. What type of content do we want todisplay on the LED billboard? Are they simple message information or dynamic video contents?
1-2. What pixel pitch, resolution, and refresh rate would work well for the visual contents we’re going to display on the LED billboard?
1-3. Where shall we put up the LEDbillboard? Will the place for the billboard put a limit over its size or the view distance?
1-4. Will the LED billboard being used for outdoors? Is waterproof or dustproof performance required for the screen?
1-5. Do we need special visual effects or functions over the LED billboard, such as high transparency for look through experience, naked eye 3D visuals, or some special interactive effects?
By asking these kinds of questions, we can clearly understand what we need for the LED billboard.
And don’t forget to write these requirements down and take them when you’re going to visit a supplier.
After initial evaluation of specific demands for the LED billboard, the next thing we do is to consult with as more suppliers as we can, and get detail plans and quotations from them.
By comparing their plans and quotations, we can pick several relatively feasible solutions at relatively reasonable price ranges that meet our requirement and budget.
In addition, we should also know if these suppliers have a good reputation in the past. This will max prevent unexpected problems from happening if we place an order with them.
And of course, the best thing to do is to always cooperate with famous LED billboard suppliers.
After getting detailed plans and quotations from different suppliers, we can now compare the differences between them and determine a feasible option according to our requirement and budget.
Remember, the best one should be well balanced between the functionalities and the cost.
After determining the most suitable option for our project, we need to sign a detailed contract with the supplier, which includes the price, specifications, and after-sales service terms of the LED billboard.
A detailed contract will ensure that the LED billboard can be implemented completely according to our needs and help a smooth operation of the project.
Generally speaking, famous LED screen suppliers with a good reputation usually have strict procedures to make all details clear to ensure a better push-forward of the project.
That’s why we mention to cooperate with well-known LED screen suppliers in the previous section.
So while we’re talking with LED billboard suppliers, what else we can do? Just leave all the questions to the supplier? Let them give us all the answer?
No, that’s not right. We can try our best to understand better about LED billboards, especially those factors that would affect the quality of an LED billboard.
Here in this section, we will analyze the relevant issues from four aspects: device quality, manufacturing process, usage environment, usage habits and daily maintenance.
1-1. LEDs
LEDs are the core components of an LED billboards, and their quality directly affects the display effect and service life of the billboard.
Usually, LEDs can last for a very long time, but their service lives can be affected by various factors such as heat dissipation, power supply, and the quality of the LED chips.
If the current is unstable or the heat dissipation is poor, the effective use time of the LEDs will be greatly reduced.
And of course, poor quality LEDs have a short life and also inaccurate color reproduction performance.
1-2. Control circuit
The control circuit is responsible for controlling the brightness and flashing frequency of the LEDs, and its stability and reliability are equally important.
A high-quality control circuit can ensure the stable operation of the billboard and achieve a better display of visual contents.
2-1. Assembly accuracy
The assembly accuracy of LED billboards has a significant impact on their quality. If there is an error in the assembly process, it may lead to problems such as pixel loss and uneven color.
2-2. Waterproof and dustproof performance
For outdoor LED billboards, waterproof and dustproof performance is very important. If the waterproof measures are not in place, it may result in issues such as short circuits, rusted LEDs, thus affecting the service life of the billboard.
3-1. Outdoor environmental factors
Outdoor LED billboards are often exposed to severe weather such as sunlight, rain, wind and sand. These natural factors will accelerate the aging process of the billboards and may affect the performance of internal electronic components.
3-2. Installation location
The choice of installation location is also important.
If an LED billboard is installed in a location that is susceptible to collision or vibration, it may cause problems such as loose power supply and poor contact.
4-1. Fair use
Proper use and maintenance can significantly extend the service life of LED billboards. For example, avoid displaying high-brightness and high-contrast images for a long time to reduce the burden on the LED lamp beads.
4-2. Regular maintenance
Maintenance measures such as regular cleaning of the billboard surface, checking the power supply and wiring, and optimizing the playback content can ensure the stable operation of the billboard and extend its service life.
In the previous section, we mentioned that LEDs are the main factor affecting the quality of LED billboards. So it is particularly important to choose LED billboards built with high-quality LEDs.
Kinglight, as a leading LED packaging enterprise across China, provides various types of high-quality all scenarios LEDs, which can be widely used in building various indoor and outdoor LED billboards.
Kinglight MLED series mainly include micro LEDs based on MiP packaging and several small-pitch LEDs based on TOP packaging. These LEDs are suitable for ultra-high-definition LED billboards with pixel pitches between 0.78mm and 1.5mm, which have relatively shorter viewing distance.
For example, the immersive visual space of Future Stores in London, which opened recently, is created by 175 million Kinglight MiP0606 LEDs.
Future Stores is a new concept retail store with an indoor space covered with more than 400 square meters of P1.5 AOTO ultra-high-definition LED screens, and incorporates generative AI and interactive functions, aiming to bring a brand new shopping experience for the visitors.
Future Stores is a new concept store with immersive visuals created by Kinglight MiP0606 LEDs
Kinglight outdoor UHD series LEDs mainly include various 1112 and 1515 LEDs, which are very suitable for making reliable ultra high definition outdoor LED billboards.
Compared with the micro-pitch series LEDs, this series of LEDs has a slightly larger size for larger pixel pitch and higher brightness, so it has better visibility at a longer distance and in brighter ambient light outdoors.
Kinglight also provide a number of LEDs for the manufacturing of high-end fixed screens, mainly including the 1820, 2727 and 3535 series LEDs, which are mainly suitable for the construction of P3.9 to P10 dot pitch LED screens.
In addition, another main feature of Kinglight LEDs for high end fixed screens is ultra-high brightness.
For example, an LED screen made of Kinglight 2727-A4-T70 lens LEDs can reach a brightness of 15,000 nits.
This series of LEDs is suitable for viewing at a relative far distance, and can also cope with strong ambient light, and even direct sunshine. So they’re very suitable for producing outdoor fixed LED billboards.
Also to note, the KS series in this category are flagship LEDs made of top quality raw materials and components. These LEDs are quite reliable and durable, and provide 5 years ultra long warranty service,
Kinglight 2727-KS4 LEDs were used for various HD screens at the stadiums for UEFA Euro 2024
Currently, Kinglight category for creative LEDs include two driver IC integrated LEDs, the 1515-IC LED and 2222-IC LED, which are suitable for the making transparent LED screens.
Compared with conventional LEDs, LEDs with built-in driver ICs can effectively reduce the complex wiring when making transparent LED screens, thereby improving the transparency of the screen. They are the first choice for building high quality transparent LED films.
Of course, the above are referral information about using Kinglight LEDs for different application scenarios of LED billboards.
Kinglight also provides other series of LEDs, which can be used for different types of LED billboards. For example, LEDs for stage rental screens have better anti-collision performance and are relatively more suitable for building mobile LED billboards.
In short, LED billboards for different application scenarios often have different requirement over features of LEDs. When we’re about to make specific LED billboards, it’s better to choose the most appropriate ones to meet with specific requirements.
Want to know more about us and our LED products, please feel free to write to: sales@kinglight.com.
