As price points plummet and tech matures, the LED market has found a firm foothold in public consciousness. Reece Webb explores how the LED revolution poses new questions to the industry.
Today, the world of LED is a highly saturated market; take a wander around any trade show, anywhere in the world, and you will find how a maturation of LED technology and an ever-decreasing price point has seen LED displays proliferate into our office buildings, homes, and public spaces.
LED has also gained a foothold in the world of XR studios and virtual production environments, as direct view LED tiles, though considered an expensive, high-end offering, do not present a barrier to clients that want to pay a little extra to realise the benefit of technology and create cutting edge virtual environments [see Inavate June 2024 for a full deep dive into the topic].
Outside of high-end virtual production, LED technology continues to hold a firm grip not just on the market, but in public consciousness, too. Back in June, Inavate took a trip to Las Vegas for Infocomm 2024, or LED Vegas as it was quickly dubbed; this moniker is self-explanatory from just a short walk through the famous Las Vegas strip – LED is everywhere, proving that the impact of LED proliferation is undeniable. Taking a walk down the strip, visitors are bombarded by LED content night and day, boasting crystal clear content in the sizzling, high-brightness conditions of a Nevada summer’s day and punching through the dazzling, illuminated night where every building, every sign, every screen, is vying for your attention.
Few would deny that the LED market has expanded to the point of oversaturation, creating a dilemma for integrators and end-users alike as the product offering itself becomes overwhelming and trickier to navigate.
Johanna Ocampo, VP of marketing, SiliconCore, explains: “Because the market is saturated, people have a difficult time wrapping their head around LED. We are amazed that people are still unsure about what the technology is. It’s often thought of as a big TV, there is a lot of misinformation out there. As the market becomes more amenable to the pricing, and understanding what the technology is and where it can be used, the market will become better.”
“We’re not seeing consolidation yet,” explains Ross Noonan, marketing manager, the LED Studio, “When you went to trade shows, you never saw that many projector and TV manufacturers there, even where there were lots of players in the market, I’ve never seen anything like it. In every hall, there were LED manufacturers, often trying to do the same kind of things.
“An alarming trend that we are seeing is the purchasing of finer pixel pitch LED screens where perhaps it is not needed. As screens get bigger, and the prices come down, we are seeing people throwing pixels on a wall for the sake of it. We are seeing an increase in misspecification, and clients having to pick up the pieces from that. Much like 4K and 8K were buzzwords in TVs and projection, we’re starting to see pixel pitch follow this same trend. We need to get people to understand that resolution on LED screens isn’t as important as they think it is, it’s quality of content – how that content is being optimised, how you’re playing it back, as well as what the use case of the screen is and where you’re going to view it from.”
LED by design
The technology has become so widespread, that LED has found itself a home in the world of architecture, and no example can be more obvious than the Exosphere in Las Vegas, a first of its kind landmark that redefines the Las Vegas skyline through the power of LED, turning content into an architectural experience.
While this is the grandest, large-scale example of LED redefining architecture through AV, it certainly isn’t the first or the last example. Offices around the world are incorporating LED technology into their lobbies and creating ‘moodboards’ that evolve with real-time content to match the mood of employees or the space, an ability that would simply be nigh-on impossible to replicate without the technology.
Brad Koerner, senior product manager, Ventana, explains: “Architects are very conservative in adopting new technologies, due to the nature of the construction business. There is a gap right now between what you see at trade shows, with what architects and interior designers are conceiving of for their projects. A lot of people have a science-fiction based notion that the future is ahead of us, but a lot of the sci-fi examples of technology are two decades behind us now. What is missing is the creative concepts to drive new, unique installations, fusing the physical and digital worlds together.
“There’s a notion that the very presence of LED walls are inherently wasteful. When you talk to architects and interior designers, they reject this stuff because they don’t want ‘Times Square’. They say that the moment you put it in it becomes an advert and they lose control of their building. Even if somebody wants the technology, there isn’t enough effort into the content. When you turn the screen on, you don’t want weak content filled only by advertising.
“The advocacy that the industry needs to do is to go higher in the food chain of design and educate them on the content story. Think through the content and the creative potential, explain it to their clients etc. Architects are going to be using AI video for their moodboards, showing the rendered content as a preview.”
Work efficiently
Conversations with integrators have revealed time and time again that LED displays are one of the biggest energy consuming technologies that integrators work with, emitting a high amount of heat. This is largely driven by LED’s high light output and by components such as driver ICs and power supplies operating in the background. Consequently, LED requires more energy to operate and remain cool than most other AV technologies.
Many today would consider the global energy market to be volatile; prices for energy have been driven sky high around the world by international events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an issue which has led to higher bills for consumers and commercial clients alike.
“For the first time ever, LED manufacturers are starting to become aware of some of the problems that display manufacturers have come across,” explains Noonan, “ERP regulations, power consumption, what the screen is doing when not in use, and we are now seeing the emergence of energy saving techniques. We have released our Edge Series platform that doesn’t just save energy because of the pixel technology, but also reduces raw material usage, upgrading capabilities where you can swap out the modules for higher resolution or different pixel technologies.
“There is a shift happening where LED is being used for consumer-based applications rather than just roadside signage, you’re starting to see some of those rules and regulations creep in to LED displays, and it’s going to be interesting to see how LED manufacturers react to that.”
An upgradeable, long-lasting platform offers end-users a product that may start as a one-off purchase, lasting more than a decade or longer into the future with the ability to swap out modules as the technology evolves and becomes more energy efficient.
Jim Wickenhiser, COO, SiliconCore, explains: “Sustainability has been a buzzword for a while. LED is a much more sustainable technology than others that have come before it. Our LEDs are rated for 11.5 years at full light, you don’t need to replace it all the time, it’s not disposable technology. This allows you to make a purchase that’s a little more expensive, but you know that you don’t have to replace it for a while.
“The double-edged sword is that, with one-off customers, we don’t get a lot of repeat business, because the products just last. A customer has had one of our displays in an atrium since 2013; this product is 11 years old, it’s still performing and doing its job, so having a tech that is low energy, low power, and longevity on top of that is very important for a lot of customers, especially in the EU.”
Ocampo adds: “We have saturation in the market, and it’s the integrators who have to stand behind the product, and they’re the ones who need to check and see how sustainable the product is. When your customers start shopping, you have to talk about the value proposition for the customer, and ask ‘what are you willing to put up with?’ You need to choose your supplier wisely, don’t be drawn in by the pricing and do your homework.”
Future thought
The LED market is evolving and moving into new spaces, so how can the market continue toevolve? For Damon Crowhurst, Ventana, the world of architecture will prove to offer lucrative opportunities by providing architects with the ability to create digital structures that are quite literally outside the box.
Crowhurst says: “Shapes are going to be everything now. Clients are wanting architectural art statements, not TVs, we’re going to be seeing more of this, especially in hotel lobbies. Typically, an interior designer puts up a physical piece of art, and they’re not keen on digital art. We’re going to see more interior designers creating very interesting pieces that are both digital and physical pieces.”
This is by no means an uncommon opinion, as Ocampo predicts the world of LED expanding beyond its traditional 16:9 ratio, into a world of infinite possibilities.
Ocampo explains: “In the next five years, I think the ‘rectangle’ [shape of LED] is going to go away, but not entirely. We are so used to seeing the world in 16:9, and we were kept that way by what broadcast and television was capable of. We are breaking out of that thanks to where content today is coming from and how we can stream it.
Outside of this growing market, LED will continue to see massive growth in commercial spaces, so what will set LED manufacturers apart in the future? For Noonan, the answer is all in the service offering. “We’ve gone from a screen on the side of the road, to a screen in the front lobby of one of the biggest banks in the world, where it has to look perfect and be working all the time,” explains Noonan.
“You could pick up the ‘best brand’ on the market, but if you make a phone call to them due to an issue and it takes six weeks to resolve the issue, then it doesn’t matter that you bought the ‘best screen’, service is becoming the differentiator for brands. All our design and maintenance is done in the UK, so it means that we are able to offer a different service to bigger brands that are out there.”