As LEDs become more popular, Ben Hu talks to Hurrairah bin Sohail about RGBlink’s plans on tackling a market that is evolving and growing ever more competitive.
The increasing pervasiveness of
LEDs over the years is something
that cannot be doubted.
Increasing functionality and
decreasing costs have seen LED
tiles become suited to a wide range of AV
applications.
Ben Hu, founder and CEO of RGBlink, looks
back at how his journey started: “RGBlink
was founded out of an emerging need for
quality video processing and scaling solutions.
There was not a lot of innovation at that time
and, particularly with LED technology really
emerging as a force, there was a real need for
quality affordable video processing solutions.
Up to the point RGBlink started, just over eight
years ago, much of the LED industry required
PC software to do basic scaling. So, there was a
great opportunity and need, however from the
beginning the focus was on developing products
with quality scaling and processing that could
be utilised anywhere.”
He continues: “The development of universal
processors was a key moment as this gave
RGBlink the ability to support the very large
displays that are becoming the norm today,
and really compete for major international
projects. The AiO range has been very important
as it opened up the market for everyone with
integrated ‘one-box’ solutions that really reduce
complexity for a lot customers as LED becomes
more mainstream.”
The LED vertical today is extremely competitive
and continues to grow even more so with new
entrants joining. Hu says: “At RGBlink we
exclusively focus on video processing technologies
and solutions. This is not just a division of the
business, it is what we do. This focus along with
our proximity to the LED manufacturers gives us
an edge and incentive. We are always looking
forward, but also have a keen eye on supporting
our customer base, with dedicated domestic and
international support teams backed up by our in-
house engineering teams.”
The proximity that Hu mentions is down to
the fact that RGBlink is located in Xiamen with
a large regional support facility in Shenzhen.
But, it also poses certain challenges. Hu says:
“RGBlink is proudly Chinese, however we believe
we stand out from the crowd in some important
ways. Our focus at RGBlink is on technical, high
performance products, which means we really
concentrate on the fundamentals of quality
electronic design and engineering, as well as
selecting components for performance not
purely price point.
“In video processors there is a lot that goes
on ‘under the hood’ – that means heavy
investments in R&D, and we have one of the
largest investments in R&D in the industry,
including a team dedicated to technology
research independent of the product line
development.”
Hu also has a broader vision for RGBlink
and says: “We are competing in the global
marketplace and aim to provide a solution-of-
ï¬ rst-choice, regardless of origin. Let’s face it,
much of the world’s electronics, including those
from well-known US and European brands are
actually manufactured in China, so the origin
is not much of an issue as how you bring it all
together for the customer in a quality, seamless
experience. That comes from a great team and
focus in excelling at what you do.”
Being a video processing manufacturer,
RGBlink has to respond to the evolution in the
LED space. Of recent changes, Hu says: “No
debate, displays are getting larger and getting
to be much, much higher in resolution as pixel
pitches get smaller and smaller. At RGBlink we
are in unique position of working day-to-day
with many of the leading LED companies, so we
have a keen focus on keeping ahead of the curve
in terms of product capability.
“At the user end, the requirements are evolving
even more rapidly with displays becoming more
creative rather than just being rectangles of
conventional ratios, so we are really working
also closely with the installers and users to make
these possible.”
Broadcasting applications are a staple portion
of RGBlink’s business. But the manufacturer
also has its sights set on the ï¬xed installation
market. While the popularity of LEDs for
ï¬ xed installation is growing Hu says: “It is
a little surprising at this point that there is a
large part of the integration market that really
has not discovered LEDs. That being said,
there are massive investments in conventional
technologies, and honestly RGBlink covers video
processing for those conventional videowall
processing solutions too.”
RGBlink is ready to tailor its approach and
Hu details: “For the smaller installations, simple
one-box solutions are really important not
only to keep the costs down, but to make the
installation and ownership as straightforward as
possible. In the larger applications, integration
is becoming even more key, as the displays
become more creative and dynamic to fulï¬ l
their purpose and stand out from the crowd.
We will have some new announcements at
ISE around extended capability for videowalls,
with products that can be speciï¬ ed even more
closely to the needs of speciï¬c installations,
and understanding the needs of mixed
environments.”
Moving forward, Hu believes that the ï¬xed
installation market will become more crucial.
He says: “Our capabilities, are continuing to
grow and be built upon. Creative displays are a
big trend. We released some rotation products
this year, so you can expect to see more on
that front at ISE 2018. However this is just the
beginning of what we have planned, and we
are looking forward to 2018 with some exciting
new announcements which we hope will propel
RGBlink even further.”