Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. The global live broadcasts of NBA games and the popularity of basketball stars are good proof of this. Beyond this popularity, we can see basketball scoreboards are widely used in the stadiums where basketball stars profusely sweat. And as technology continues to evolve, basketball scoreboards made of LED display panels, commonly known as digital basketball scoreboards or LED basketball scoreboards, appears more in basketball stadiums, especially those larger ones. They greatly increase fan engagement with live update of scores and match highlights as well as astonishing visual experience. So what is an LED basketball scoreboard, and how it improves the engagement of the basket fans? Now let’s dive into the world of basketball scoreboards and learn why digital basketball scoreboards are more popular nowadays.
LED video board at Lynn Cottrell Arena
Basketball is a worldwide popular sport since its low requirement on related facilities. We can see basketball court in schools, companies, organizations, government offices, and of course, professional basketball clubs; and sometimes, it even appears in the backyard of your house if there is enough space to accommodate 4-6 players, and you can put up a basket and play. And in different occasions, we used different types of basketball scoreboards.
Paper Basketball Scoreboard
Paper basketball scoreboard is the most commonly seen type on a basketball court especially in small scale and nonprofessional competitions in or between schools, companies, organizations, etc. Paper basketball board usually have 4 or 6 digits by flipping papers to show scores in basketball matches.
LED Digit Basketball Scoreboard
LED digit basketball scoreboard is an evolution of paper basketball scoreboard powered with LED digits. It has distinguished sections for both home and guest teams, and displays numbers with different color LED pixels, usually red, green, or yellow, so that the fans can clearly read the scores from a long distance. These numbers are the scores and sometimes time remaining of current competition, or other important information of the match.
LED video scoreboard
An LED video scoreboard is also known as a digital scoreboard. It can not only display scores of a basketball match but also give reviews or highlights of the match, or other related video content of basketball players and clubs. An LED video scoreboard is more commonly seen in a professional stadium of a basketball club or in a specialized stadium for sporting events. A basketball club utilizes an LED video scoreboard to engage the fans by displaying more visual appealing contents, and give in-depth analysis of the game with detailed information such as team and players’ stats.
As the simplest scoreboard we see in a basketball match, a paper scoreboard is the cheapest and usually costs around tens of bucks (not more 100 US$).
flip paper basketball scoreboard prices (source: Ebay)
Meanwhile, an LED digit basketball scoreboard may cost several hundred bucks, which varies according to its complexity. The more stats it displays, the more expensive it is, but usually no more a thousand bucks.
LED digit scoreboard price (source: Amazon)
Both the above types of scoreboards can be easily sourced on Ebay or Amazon.
But for an LED video scoreboard, the price is much higher, usually tens of thousand bucks or more and can vary hugely in accordance with the screen’s pixel pitch, LED pixels, size, and also some other factors. And usually, we can only source it from professional supplier or manufacturer of LED displays.
LED video scoreboard price (source: google search)
Since an LED video scoreboard costs too much, so it’s better to get a balance between your investment and the actual usage of an LED video scoreboard for your basketball competitions. Generally, we should take below factors into consideration before purchasing an LED video scoreboard.
Budget is the first factor we should consider. When being limited to a certain budget range, search on google and see the prices of different suppliers. Mark out those suppliers who provide LED video scoreboard within your budget, and then study the features and sizes of their product. This will help you to figure out the most suitable supplier for your LED video scoreboard project.
Just like purchasing any other electronics, brand also matters when invest on an LED video scoreboard. Famous brands like Daktronics, Unilumin, Absen, AOTO, etc., often mean reliability, durability, and good after sales service.
Pixel pitch means the spacing between the adjacent LED pixels of an LED video scoreboard. If you need display HD videos in a close distance, you should use a fine pitch LED display for your basketball scoreboard. If you’re going to put up an LED video scoreboard in a high position or a long distance from the fans, larger pixel pitch will work and meanwhile reduce your investment.
LED pixels are the individual LEDs on an LED video scoreboard. And of course, an LED video scoreboard made of high quality LEDs are more reliable. So it’s better to know the actual supplier of LEDs for your LED video scoreboard. Tough it may increase your investment, but in return it will work more stable and reduce overall cost in the long run.
Kinglight provides high quality LEDs for LED scoreboard manufacturing
If you’re going to use an LED video scoreboard in a limited space or have limited budget, size is in fact the first thing you should consider. Less size not only reduces the investment of your LED video scoreboard project but also the cost of power consumption in the future.
Where to use an LED video scoreboard is also a factor we must consider. For indoors, we usually need an LED video scoreboard with smaller pixel pitch but less brightness and less water proof performance; but for outdoors, we must look to high brightness and relatively larger pixel pitch LED displays with higher level of IP performance.
