Pixel
A pixel (short for picture element) is an image component of an LED display's overall resolution. The more pixels used to represent an image, the higher the resolution is to offer greater picture quality. In an LED display, a pixel can consist of 1 or more LED diodes. A monochrome or grayscale LED display pixel has 1 or more LED diodes of the same color. A color LED display pixel either has LED diodes of different colors or 1 single diode which contains semi-conductor chips that emits lights with different colors.

Pitch
Pitch is the distance from the center of a pixel to the center of an adjacent pixel. Pitch is very important because for the same display area, the pitch determines the resolution of the display. For smaller, tighter pitches, you have more pixels per unit area thus a better resolution. Selecting the right pitch when you are purchasing an LED display may save you money as well as getting you the appropriate resolution for your particular application. Please feel free to contact us to help you select the right pitch for your display!

Matrix Resolution
An LED display's matrix resolution represents how many pixels there is on the display. A display with a matrix resolution of 320 (h) by 480 (w) means it has 480 pixels from side to side and 320 from top to bottom. The higher the matrix resolution is, the better an image is represented on the display. As we discussed earlier, for a fixed display area, selecting a smaller pitch will increase the matrix resolution of the display which means better image quality.

144x720 Matrix

RGB Display
Red, green and blue (RGB) are the 3 basic colors human eyes can perceive. By using an appropriate combination of red, green and blue intensities, many colors can be represented. An RGB display simply means it's a full color display. However, how many colors can be shown on an RGB display depends on many factors. Two of the most important factors are the input data signal quality and the display's color processing ability. For example, if the input video signal only has 8-bit of information per color, no matter how many colors your display controller can process, the display will only show 8 bits of shadings per color. Our current full color display controller can process up to 16 bits of information per color, that's total of 281 trillion gamma corrected color levels. However, most of today's video input signals are less than 10 bits per color. Therefore the actual color depth showing on an LED display is only as good as the quality of the input signal.

LED per pixel

3 LED per pixel vs. 5 LED per pixel

Viewing Angle
Diodes can put out a single, narrow beam of light like a flashlight, or they can output a wide array across a room like a light bulb. Diodes output about the same amount of light no matter what type they are - but the "high-beam" diodes with a narrow angle focus more light into one small spot, whereas the "wide angle" diodes spread their light across the horizon. So, if you were to stand in front of a sign made from "high-beam" sdiodes with narrow viewing angles, you would see an extremely bright sign if you stood directly in front of it, but the minute you walked away from the small spot light of its focus, you would see nothing but black.

With wide viewing angle LEDs, the image is visible in consistent brightness and uniform colors throughout the entire viewing range of the display. Our media only uses wide angle 1400 LEDs to maximize audience exposure, maintain the highest color accuracy and extend reading times. Maintaining brightness across a wide spectrum also requires greater light output, which is why our displays use a higher LED diode density than any other in the industry.

Advantages of LED Lighting
LED technology is quickly becoming tomorrow's primary light source and have several advantages over conventional light sources:

• LEDs for sign illumination are rated for continual use for up to 100,000 hours.
• LEDs radiate a "cold light", meaning they generate very little heat compared with other lighting technologies. This also means less wasted energy.
• LEDs are energy efficient meaning they consume less energy to produce brighter illuminated displays that creates much greater readability and flexibility of use than traditional signs and billboards.
• LEDs are manufactured in a full range of colors and with appropriate mixing schemes can generate billions of colors.
• LEDs are continually declining in price, making LED displays extremely affordable.

---

Ask yourself: "What does my LED sign say about my business?"

Monochromatic, color or video display:
Choosing the best LED for your business.

• If you are dealing with simple text message, price changing or time and temperature displays, a simple digit or monochrome text message center would suffice for your display needs. Motels, convenience stores or a gas station owner who deal with on going price changes and vacancy information prefer a one - three line monochromatic message center
• If your sign messages are image oriented with graphics, icons and video imagery, a full color display will better represent your business look. A sports bar showing sports highlights, a shopping center advertising upcoming events, or a movie theater showing trailers from forthcoming films all do the same thing; bring customers to your business.

Viewing Distance and Speed
The distance between your sign and its viewers is the number one factor in determining the type of LED display you will need. Longer distances require less resolution and shorter distances require higher resolutions. In addition, if you are traveling at 55 MPH on a freeway, and the sign is 600 feet away at a truck stop, the text letters must be at least 20 inches tall to be legible. Likewise, if you are standing 60 feet away from a street level sign, the letters need only be two inches tall to be legible. The rule of thumb is that you need 1 inch for every 30 feet of viewing distance.

Character Height
In addition to the discussion of viewing distances, it is important to know that at least seven rows of diodes are required to make one text character. For multiple lines of text, it requires an eighth line as a separator. This means that for each line of text there needs to be eight rows of pixels, and that those eight rows together measure the required character height.

In other words, if you need three lines of ten inch text characters, you need to have 24 rows of 36 mm pitch pixels to get the proper character height. Of course, you can always use a higher resolution display and combine lines to make bigger text letters.

What about the message content on my display?
Transfer your business expertise to communicating specific messages to attract your customers' attention. A good word, an inspirational thought for the day, new sales specials, you're a keyboard click from keeping in touch with your customers on an ongoing basis.

Your business image:
A good display tells who you are.
LED displays are an on-premise advertising medium, and intended to direct nearby traffic flows into your business location. Once you install an LED display outside your business location, it becomes part of your business image. LED displays add a high tech, modern feeling to your business location and help influence 'impulse stops' from passing motorists to do business with the store beneath the sign.

Speedy customers:
Are your customers passing you by?
In advertising with any outdoor marketing medium, make sure your audience can easily notice and read the messages on the display.

• When purchasing and installing an LED display, identifying the viewing distance between your audience and the proposed display location is very important.
• Sign location is everything on roadside location. The sign's angle of view, and the amount of time allowable to read the sign messages are important determinants in how your LED sign is placed on location.
• A long viewing distance requires careful though in size of text, pitch of LEDs, and display time per message. The below table is a quick reference to tell you what kind of pitch is ideal for certain viewing distance as well as how much time your audience will have to read the messages on the display.
• When choosing display size and creating messages, it is also important to factor in the speed your audience will be traveling. The best message content is short and sweet. Long text messages are usually have read. It is always a good idea to fit the key information of a message into 1 frame that stays still for several seconds so the audience can finish reading the whole message in one glance.

Government Regulations On Sign Use
In many states and cities, there are regulations governing the use of an LED message center. In certain urban centers, moving messages or video clips may not be permissable. In planning any new sign installation, it is important to talk to your local LED display dealer for assistance in interpreting your local municipal sign codes for regulations about what the kinds of displays that can be put up in public and roadside locations.

Please feel free to contact us. We will be glad to help you.

Our Displays See The Light of Day
Getting your customers' attention and getting your messages across is the first step in any form of advertising. A boring, non-attention grabbing advertisement will not grab your customers' attention, no matter how effective the marketing message is. A low price, low performance (low brightness, poor readability) LED display can be a big expense with a low return on attracting new customers or bringing in increased sales.

When someone is trying to sell you a display at a low price, it is important to compare their sign's performance during daylight before you make the purchase. Think about how many of your customers will miss the messages you are trying to tell them if your display underperforms.

To help in your decision about the best LED display for your business consult with our sales representatives for selecting the most suitable displays for your application.