do lcd displays wear out price
How long will your LED display last? In nearly every industry, from retail businesses to concert halls to corporate centers, decision makers need to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of their LED signage. In most cases, potential buyers go straight to the obvious place: the LED manufacturer’s spec sheet. The industry standard for LED lifespan is 100,000 hours, or about 10 years, and most people assume that’s how long their display will last. But it’s not quite that simple.
“The reality is, your screen can often last significantly longer than 100,000 hours,” says Kevin Izatt, a senior product manager in Samsung’s Display division. “We’ve had displays that have been up for 15-plus years with more than adequate brightness. Because the diode is actually only one factor in the lifespan of your LED display.”
The biggest contributor to diode degradation is heat. As you increase a diode’s brightness, it produces more heat. Your display’s physical environment also contributes to the temperature of the diodes, especially for outdoor displays.
“Fans are mechanical; they break down,” explains Izatt. “And similar to your computer, the electrical components don’t last forever. Together, these factors all contribute to the lifespan of an LED display. Looking at just the diode lifespan doesn’t give you the complete story — almost always, another part will go out first.”
“Something like airflow is very important,” says Izatt. “You need a screen that has good cooling, and a design that allows heat to flow out of the back through vents.”
It’s easy to see why: The circuit boards powering the display release heat, and that heat needs to go somewhere. Without a strong design, thermal stress will degrade the life of the display, except for the highest-quality parts — optimal conditions notwithstanding.
“Lots of variations on the color and brightness you use will impact the life of the diode,” explains Izatt. “For instance, black doesn’t use any of the diodes at all. And if your content is using lots of gray, that’s a much lower power output than white.”
That’s not to say you should hold back on displaying rich, vibrant colors — after all, that’s what LED does best. But it does factor into your product’s life expectancy.
To help businesses transition from LCD to longer-lasting LED signage, Samsung has launched a trade-in program. Samsung will come on site to remove your existing display and provide a discount on a new LED bundle kit.
Traded-in LCD displays that are still operating will be refurbished and resold, and your business will receive a cash rebate. Nonworking displays will be recycled and their parts reused.
You can’t rely on the number on the diode spec sheet; the lifespan of your LED display depends on many more factors. “Overall quality has a tremendous impact on the life of the display that diode specs just don’t take into account,” says Izatt. Your best bet is to look at the purchase holistically and invest in a top-tier product.
As you plan your LED signage rollout — or an upgrade — learn how to configure and tailor your screens’ real-time messaging with an integrated CMS in thisfree guide. And if you haven’t decided what kind of display is best suited to your current project, compare all ofSamsung’s LED displays.
I always finding it interesting when a new customer of ours calls to let us know that they can find cheap LCD displays, the same LCD we supply, for almost half the price. After all, cheap LCD displays are the same no matter where you purchase it. Right?
Let me assure you that the phrase, ‘You get what you pay for’ is just as true for LCD displays as it is for insurance, fine jewelry, car repairs and open heart surgery. You will always be able to find a lower cost product or service, but many times you are not comparing apples to apples.
After talking to a friend at school who highly suggested spending the extra money and investing in the quality, I knew the choice to make. I bought smart instead of cheap and to make a long story short, 20+ years later my Craftsman tools are going strong. They have survived rain, grease, and teenagers. Not so ironically the drug store doesn’t exist anymore and I’m confident their products wouldn’t either had I purchased them long ago.
The word “cheap” is so polarized in that in one instance you can revel in the victory of finding that super low price and yet simultaneously it is no victory at all if someone looks at your product and says, “Wow, that looks cheap.” So, let’s talk about Cheap LCD displays.
The long and short of it is that LCD’s are in investment. In many cases, they are the most expensive component in your product, but you need to balance that with the fact that they are also what the customer looks at the most. If you are building a hand held device that measures the PH of pool water, it’s a safe bet that people will be looking at the display far more than the battery compartment on the back of the unit. The cheap LCD display may save you a fraction of what other suppliers are quoting, but what is it costing you? Return customers. Good online reviews. Word-of-mouth advertising.
There is a rule of thumb statistic that says it costs a company 7 times more money to earn a new customer, than it does to keep a current customer. So why would you save 20% or even 40% off the cost of an LCD and in return lose your current customers. The savings will not offset the increased advertising cost to bring in new customers.
There are three main fluids used in a monochrome LCD module. They are TN, STN and FSTN. Each fluid has its own niche in which it operates well. One of the main factors impacted by the different fluids is acceptable viewing angle of the display.
An example of a TN display is the display found on gas pumps. You can easily read the gallons and dollars as they quickly fly by. Since most people see the display straight on, there is no need for a higher cost fluid. TN is the right choice and keeps the cost of the product down.
FSTN, film super-twisted nematic displays, are on the other end of the spectrum. They are more expensive than TN and STN, but it offers a sharper contrast and a much wider viewing angle. If you are building a portable device that measures radiation, you want to make sure you can see the numbers on the display from as wide of viewing able as possible. Using a TN in the application may save you as much as 15% on the cost of the display, but is this type of product an investment or expendable?
LCD displays are quite diverse when it comes to the temperatures in which they can operate well. Some even have as much and more than 100 degrees window of successful operation. There are three main temperature ranges of an LCD unit:Normal temperature (indoor temps—think of your living room)
Take for instance one customer of ours who needed the display to work properly on oil rigs near the North Pole. Their product monitors the safety equipment on the rig. Is it worth spending the extra $5 on a display that can survive working in all conditions? Is the LCD display an investment or expendable?
We live in a global economy where various jobs and services have been outsourced. Many of these suppliers can provide cheap products, but often with that savings comes hidden costs. These costs are often to the quality of the product and the service you receive.
When a supplier is promising you the cheapest deal out there, you need to make sure that you are again dealing with an apples-to-apples comparison. Make sure that they aren’t saving you money by offering you a display that has the cheapest temperature range or the narrowest viewing angle, especially when those aren’t what will suit your product and your situation. They may just be choosing the cheapest alternatives of all the many options available, all to have you wind up with a unusable or inferior product. Then, you not only have a product you aren’t thrilled about but you face the problem of shipping the product back to the foreign country from which it came. This is not a convenient way to deal with the fallout from the “cheap” product! There is a real advantage to buying a product that has American support and part of that advantage is simply the convenience of speaking the same language and being within one shipping day apart from your customer support.
Another primary issue—and one that has become a sensitive topic in recent years with widespread outsourcing—is service. When you are calling for help with an issue, the likelihood is that you are already a little frustrated and just want the customer service representative to solve your problem with a quick, clear, and intelligible 2 minute conversation. When you spend a painstaking 20 or 30 minutes trying to explain the problem and understand the representative after you already spent 20 minutes in a phone tree or on hold waiting to talk to someone that is an intolerable situation.
We understand that frustration and at Focus Display Solutions we offer uncompromising customer service and we provide it in a way that we would want to be served. We strive to pick up the phone on the first ring. We can talk to you about the products from a knowledge based on years of experience and not from a script that someone else wrote to troubleshoot only the most common problems. When you call us you talk to humans, not machines. We offer personal service to get the product right the first time and we do it in a way that works with your personal style.
Some customers want to talk on the phone, some only like email. We cater to both. And by the way, we do not believe in the weekly ‘email blast’. This may have been helpful at one time, but when you receive 50 to 100 emails a day. You don’t need to read about, “A one day sale on yellow/green LED backlights. Call today and mention savings code 123!”
The engineer took our price and specs and called back a few days later saying that another LCD vendor came in with a similar product that would cost in the low $5 range. Red flags immediately went up in my mind. Something was not right about this cheap LCD display. The display was similar, but upon inspection there were some ‘strings’ attached.
This is critical if you plan to build your product for the next few years. You will need to purchase more of these exact LCD displays in the future. When that time comes and you find out that the LCD modules are discontinued, you are in deep trouble. Your only option is to redesign your product for the current LCD.
Keep in mind that if you plan to repair your customer’s product, it is critical to have a supply of the original LCD. You cannot use a new LCD in an old product in the same way you cannot use a VHS tape (for those of you over the age of 20) in a blue ray player.
A simple tip is to do a little research on the product. Google can be your best friend. When someone offers you a screaming deal on a cheap LCD display, type in the part # and manufacture into Google; you may quickly find out why the prices are so cheap.
There are companies that contact us to buy our surplus/returns. These companies are providing a valuable service by keeping displays out of the landfills. If you need to be able to purchase the exact same LCD in the future, stay away from refurbished units. Once they are gone, there are no rain checks. Many of these displays can be found on eBay and other online auctions.
FOB means Freight On Board. In other words, when it comes time to pay the freight bill, how much will it cost? Are you paying to bring in the parts all the way from the Far East? Or does the quote include the cost to bring them to your door step.
Focus Displays Solutions prefers to include the cost of the freight of those component parts from the Far East to Chandler, AZ. This way the customer only has to pay for the shipping from Arizona to their location.
That engineer quickly realized that asking the three critical questions makes all the difference in the price of the product! Getting cheap LCD displays is not always a mistake, just remember to ask questions and really think through whether this is an investment or an expendable item.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) MonitorThe LCD monitor usually comes with a rating of 30,000-60,000 hours of usage. This is equivalent to 10-20 years of service life if you make use of your desktop setup 8 hours per day.
Most LCD monitors have a lifespan ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 hours. That"s equivalent to 5-7 years using the monitor for 24 hours per day. It could also translate to 10-20 years with running the monitor for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
LED technology has improved drastically in recent years improving quality while driving costs down. LED is a bigger investment up front but generally has a lifespan of about 100,000 hours. LCD is cheaper and generally more familiar. A LCD screen typically has a lifespan of about 50,000 hours.
When properly maintained, liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) can last for a very long time. Many LCDs, in fact, last for up to twice as long as their plasma counterparts. Whether it"s a computer monitor, a tablet or any other LCD display, though, you"ll need to maintain it.
Lifespan. LG has said their OLED TVs have a lifespan of 100,000 hours to half brightness, a figure that"s similar to LED LCDs. Generally speaking, all modern TVs are quite reliable.
Mobile devices use LCD screens which emit blue light and thus negatively affects not only vision but also overall health. Continual extended screen time mainly can impact your eyes in two major ways. When we look at a screen, our blink rate drops significantly, thus causing digital eye strain.
When it comes to picture quality, full-array LED monitors are almost always superior to LCD monitors. But bear in mind that only full-array LEDs are superior. Edge-lit LEDs may actually be inferior to LCD monitors.
In addition to humidity and temperature exposure, cyclic loadings and handling conditions (bending, repetitive shock, and drop loading) have been shown to cause failures in LCDs.
If you observe lines, black spots, screen flicker, or discolored areas on your screen, the LCD is damaged. If the screen entirely doesn"t light up, you have Phone LCD problems. Book a phone repair reservation at Carlcare as soon as possible to have your damaged LCD fixed.
LCD "dead pixels" problem; life is limited; when the resolution is lower than the default resolution of the monitor, the picture will be blurred; when the resolution is greater than the default resolution of the monitor (mandatory setting by the software is required), the color of the details Will be lost.
LED displays generally have better picture quality compared to their LCD counterparts. From black levels to contrast and even colour accuracy, LED displays usually come out on top. Among LED screens, full-array back-lit displays with local dimming provide the best picture quality.
LCD screens also tend to offer better viewing angles and a wider field of view. LED monitors, on the other hand, can be the better option with general eye fatigue related to prolonged use and blue light, as they tend to offer a more robust dimming system.
To test brightness, press the Dim, Normal, and Bright buttons in the LCD Intensity Control group. To test the backlight, press Backlight Off to ensure the backlight turns on and off. To test the colors, press the Red, Green, Blue, Black, and White buttons in the Display Color group.
Unlike older cathode ray tube (CRT) displays that scan an electron beam over a phosphor screen to create light, LCD displays are composed of a fixed grid of tricolor pixels that change transparency based on a range of voltage levels provided by the monitor"s controller. Without a voltage the pixel is opaque and blocks the screen"s backlight from transferring through it, and when a full voltage is applied then the pixel allows full transmittance of the backlight. When this is done over the entire pixel grid in patterns, then you see those patterns on the screen.
This pixel-based setup for LCD monitors provides many advantages over CRT displays, but does have potential drawbacks arising from the fact that the image is dependent on millions of independent electrical components as opposed to a single scanning beam, so if faults occur in these components then the display output can be affected. The resulting problems include stuck or dead pixels, as well as a residual image effect.
One of the more common problems with LCD displays is the potential for stuck or broken pixels, where the pixel either does not receive a voltage and remains black, or does not respond to voltage changes and stays at a set luminance level. Sometimes this can happen for individual pixels, suggesting a problem with the pixel itself, or it can happen to groups of pixels, suggesting the possibility of problems with the display"s controller or a defect in a portion of the pixel grid.
When stuck or broken pixels occur, there are a couple of things you can try in order to fix the problem. One is to apply a small amount of pressure to the pixel when turning the display on or off, which can sometimes help stimulate the electronics to work properly. Unfortunately, Apple"s glass-covered glossy displays prevent this from working on modern Mac systems.
The alternative to using pressure is to exercise the pixel"s electronics by using a program that displays quick-changing patterns on the screen and thereby rapidly switches the pixels on and off. Three such programs that will work on the Mac are the following:
LCD monitors can also be affected by another problem called "transient persistence" that is reminiscent of CRT burn-in. Classic burn-in would happen because the phosphor coating on the screen would get depleted by the persistent bombardment of electrons from the CRT, resulting in the inability of those sections of the display to convert the electron beam to visible light. This meant that if you kept a specific pattern showing on the screen then over time it could become a permanent residual image on the display that would show even when the display was turned off. This was a reason why screensavers were developed--to keep the wear on the screen"s phosphor coating as even as possible.
The physical burn-in of displays is no longer an issue now that LCD displays have taken over, but while transient image persistence is not a physical burn of the device, it is an alteration of the pixel response to voltage changes (usually temporary) that prevents pixels from getting as bright as others on the screen.
Similar to CRT burn-in, LCD image persistence generally happens after you have displayed a pattern of intense colors on screen; however, unlike CRT burn-in, LCD persistence can sometimes set in after only a few hours of displaying the image, as opposed to the weeks or even months that it can take for burn to set in on a CRT monitor. Additionally, unlike CRT burn-in, image persistence can often be reversed.
What happens with LCD monitors is the affected pixels have lost their ability to respond to the full range of voltages that the display gives them, resulting in a limited range of colors that can be output. This can happen if the pixel is acting like a capacitor and is retaining a residual charge, or if it is not able to reach the level of luminance that is desired when given a specific voltage. Either way, the pixel is not able to reach its full range of possible intensities.
Unlike stuck or dead pixels that may benefit from having the monitor turned on and off rapidly to produce rapid voltage changes, image persistence will benefit from a lengthy stretching of the pixel"s range. Therefore, instead of using tools like JScreenFix to run random patterns over the affected screen area, you might instead place a pure white window (such as an empty TextEdit window, or what you get using the "White" option in the LCD Repair tool listed above) over the affected area for a few hours or even a few days if necessary. Doing this will force those pixels to be fully on, and over time their intensities may increase to be the same as the surrounding pixels.
Likewise, try turning off the pixels fully by shutting down the display for a long period of time or placing a pure black texture over the affected area (see the LCD Repair tool listed above for this option as well). This will turn the pixels completely off and allow residual voltage in them to drain slowly over time.
So far we have discussed pixel-based problems with LCD displays, but the system"s backlight can also suffer some common problems that include the backlight randomly blinking off, not turning on, or only illuminating part of the screen.
When the display fully cuts out and does not show any light, one possibility could be that your computer is not properly communicating with the display, or the display"s controllers or power supply are not working properly. If this occurs, try connecting the display to another system. But if power LEDs and other indicator lights turn off when the backlight goes out, then it may be your display"s power supply is failing.
If only the backlight is malfunctioning, then the LCD panel itself should still be working just fine and should be rendering the text and images of your computer"s output. To test for this, use a bright flashlight and shine it on your screen at an angle in an area where you expect images and text to be (such as the Dock or menu bar). On Apple"s laptop systems, you can shine the flashlight through the Apple logo on the back to illuminate the screen on the front and better detect text and images that way.
I have a Samsung 19" lcd monitor for about two years now. This is the first LCD monitor I"ve owned. I mostly game with it and I"ve noticed that images from the games I play are begining to burn into the screen long after I"ve quit playing the game. Is this normal? Do LCD normally wear out like this?
Have you ever left your TV or monitor on for days, stuck on the same image? You return to your screen, only to find an image burned into the display. No matter what you do, it won"t go away. It is a permanent image burn.
Why do monitors and TVs get image burn? Why can"t manufacturers prevent LCDs and plasma screens from a burnt image imprint? Moreover, what can you do to fix an image burn?
Before flat-screens and crystal displays, most TVs and monitors featured CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) technology. In CRTs, individual pixels comprise a red, blue, and green phosphor component. Depending on the intensity of each phosphor component, the pixel appears to the human eye as a unique color.
Plasma displays use plasma, a gaseous substance containing free-flowing ions. When the plasma is not in use, the particles in the plasma are uncharged and display nothing. With the introduction of an electric current, the ions become charged and begin colliding, releasing photons of light.
LCD and LED do not work in the same way as CRTs, either. LCD and LED screens use backlit liquid crystals to display colors. Although manufacturers market screens using LED and LCD, an LED screen is still a type of LCD. The white backlight filters through the liquid crystals, which extract particular colors per pixel.
LCD and LED displays don"t suffer from the same type of image burn as CRTs and plasma screens. They"re not completely clear, though. LCD and LED screens suffer from image persistence. Read on to find out more about image persistence.
Before you can fix screen burn-in, take a second to understand why these images burn in the first place. LCDs and LEDs don"t suffer from burn-in as seriously as plasma screens. But static images can leave an imprint on both display types if left alone for too long. So, why does image burn happen?
First, let"s tackle plasma screen burn-in. Remember why CRTs experience image burn? When a still image remains on the screen for too long, the phosphor components in each pixel wear out at different rates. The uneven burn rates leave behind a ghost image, forever etched into the screen.
LCD and LED screens can also experience image burn, though the image burn process can take longer to develop into a permanent issue. In addition, LCD and LED screens suffer from another issue, known as image retention (also known as image persistence or an LCD shadow).
Image retention is a temporary issue that you are more likely to notice before it becomes a permanent issue. However, proper image burn can still affect LCD, LED, and OLED screens.
When you load up the video game on the screen, you can still see the faint outline of the steam train on the screen. The steam train image will remain for a short while, but the movement and color changes of the video game (or film, TV show, or other media type) should erase the retained image.
Issues arise when a screen shows a single news channel 24 hours a day, every day, causing channel logos to burn-in, along with the outline of the scrolling news ticker and so on. News channels are a well-known source of television burn-in, no matter the screen type.
Image burn-in fixes exist for LCD and plasma screens. How effective an image burn-in fix is depends on the screen damage. Depending on the length and severity of the image burn, some displays may have permanent damage.
My personal rule of thumb is to turn off the display if I plan on being away for more than 15 minutes. That way, it is difficult to get caught out, plus you save yourself money on electricity costs and monitor or TV wear and tear.
If your plasma or LCD screen already has image burn-in, you can try turning on white static for 12 to 24 hours. The constant moving of white-and-black across your screen in random patterns can help remove the ghost image from your screen.
Unfortunately, this won"t work for extreme cases. Some TVs will have a built-in pattern swiping option that basically accomplishes the same thing (filling your screen with random patterns).
Pixel-shift constantly slightly adjusts the image on your screen, which varies the pixel usage to counteract image burn. You might have to enable a pixel or screen shift option in your screen settings. Pixel-shift is a handy feature for LED and OLED screens that cannot recover from image burn and should help counteract an LCD shadow.
While the Deluxe version uses advanced algorithms to repair burned screens and prolong plasma and LCD longevity, the official site is no longer up and running, and there is no way to download the full version officially.
You can find the free version of the Deluxe app online, but it is limited to 20 minutes running at a time. Furthermore, we"re not going to link out to the versions you can find online as we cannot verify the security of these installations. If you do use the Deluxe version, you do so at your own risk.
If you drop your phone and the screen is cracked or shattered, but the display is still lit up, you have probably only damaged the front screen. However, if you see lines, black spots or discolored areas, or the screen won"t light up, your LCD screen is most likely damaged and will need to be repaired.
If you observe lines, black spots, screen flicker, or discolored areas on your screen, the LCD is damaged. If the screen entirely doesn"t light up, you have Phone LCD problems.
Pixelated screen: A distorted screen can also indicate a damaged LCD. This can look like multi-colored dots, single or multiple lines of discolorations, rainbow lines, etc. So, inspect the screen closely before bringing your phone to T.I.N.Y. Repairs for a same-day cell phone screen replacement in Queens.
In addition to humidity and temperature exposure, cyclic loadings and handling conditions (bending, repetitive shock, and drop loading) have been shown to cause failures in LCDs.
Burn-in on the LCD screen is a form of image retention but is permanent and virtually impossible to fix. The prolonged use of static images would cause screen burn-in.
Scientists have discovered that LCD screens leak chemicals into just about every environment where they are found, according to a new study, and these particles have the potential to be toxic over time.
Can backlight bleed go away on its own? Sometimes. All LCD screens have some backlight bleed at first, but as the pressure around the panel weakens with use, it will become less noticeable. If you"ve had your device for a while, the backlight bleed probably isn"t going away.
Becuase the LCD and Digitizer are fused together, damaging the LCD will cause the touch function no to work. There have been instances where touch function will still work even with a broken LCD. LCD damage will usually show colored spots around the screen and or lines.
Most LCD monitors have a lifespan ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 hours. That"s equivalent to 5-7 years using the monitor for 24 hours per day. It could also translate to 10-20 years with running the monitor for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Originally Answered: Can touching an LCD screen cause damage? Yes it can. It can cause damage or cracks to the the glass that the liquid crystal is stored in. It can also damage the backlight making your TV or monitor very dim or just have a black screen.
LCD monitors have many complex components, so it"s not unusual for them to encounter problems. Most issues short of serious physical damage can be repaired at home. Read the instructions carefully for your own safety, as some repairs may expose you to risk of serious electric shock.
If your screen is cracked or broken, you can try replacing the screen, LCD, Plasma, or LED part. If your TV screen is cracked and damaged, it is mean that you have damaged the LCD, LED or Plasma display.
The heart of an LCD is a special liquid that is called a twisted nematic liquid crystal. This liquid has the capability of rotating the polarization of linearly polarized light.
In terms of monitors, older CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors could emit X-ray radiation, but in small amounts. The small amount was not considered to be harmful to the human body. Newer LCD (liquid crystal display) and flat-panel monitors do not emit X-ray radiation.
Mercury is used in LCD screens and monitors. It is also used in laptop screen shutoffs. Televisions manufactured before 1991 may also contain mercury switches.
In case you’ve been wondering if Direct View LED video wall vs LCD video wall is synonymous with ‘future vs past,’ you’ve come to the right place. The interest in video walls is only growing and we’ll be seeing more of those, especially within business environments, event solutions, and advertising industries. It all comes down to the technologies that drive both displays, so here’s some food for thought that’ll help with decision making.
Read on to learn about the difference between a Direct View LED video wall and an LCD video wall or go ahead and checkViewSonic’s LED video wall solutions now.
LED video wall vs LCD video wall comparison takeaways will be relevant for several forms of display technology and will help you make the right choice when exploring video wall options. Getting your message across to dozens if not hundreds of people daily is an important endeavor, and you want to make sure the display helps you connect with your audience, team, or community more easily.
Over the past few years, video walls have become ever more ubiquitous; today, you won’t only find them in public places but also in workplaces, schools, art galleries, exhibition centers, research institutions, social and sports events, and even houses of worship. Of course, you want the images to be bright, sharp, and immersive. The beauty isn’t only outside, though, as it’s the underlying technology that impacts the video wall’s quality.
In the past, the most common display technology for video walls was LCD, but today’s large-format all-in-oneLED displays have many advantages that have helped them become the new industry standard very quickly. In this post, we’ll discuss the differences between LED and LCD large format displays in more detail, give a general overview of each technology, and delve into the reasons why a high-quality all-in-one LED displayis invariably the best option for large-format display requirements.
Historically, LCD video wall display technology has been the most popular and it’s a good place to start with technical insights. LCD stands forliquid crystal display. Liquid crystals are sandwiched between the polarizing filters and electrodes and topped withthe display surface (something we casually refer to as a screen). The bottom part of the video wall is made of fluorescent lighting which backlights the liquid crystals. The light passes through the crystals and those – powered by varying electric current – produce the desired color.
LCD video wall displays are usually constructed by linking together four or more LCD screens. That’s because individual panels are not big enough and have size limits. The downside is, the bigger number of panels will be assembled, the heavier the display will become. That makes delivery and installation more difficult.
A major benefit of LCD displays is the sharp, crystal-clear image quality, which is especially apparent when you come up close to the display. Besides, its long-standing status as the most popular technology for video walls has helped to ensure the product’s relatively low price.
LCD technology remains a perfectly viable display option, but, aside from challenging delivery and setup, it is no longer regarded as the go-to video wall solution. Keep reading to find out more reasons.
While LCD is a multi-layered thick device, the LED is much thinner and more effective. In contrast to LCD technology, LED video walls are typically constructed from modules of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) making the whole display slimmer and with higher brightness capability (discussed later in the post). Each diode works as the actual display pixel — emitting Red, Green or Blue (RGB) values to create any desired color. Since the LEDs produce the image for the display themselves, they don’t need any backlighting or filtering which considerably reduces the number of layers.
Within the broader category of LED video walls, there are also different packaging technologies. For more context, those include surface mount diode (SMD), integrated matrix device, and dots in place, but the real breakthrough happens elsewhere. It’s the chip-on-board orCOB technology, that has emerged as the LED game-changer of recent times. The most revolutionary aspect of this invention was the tightest pixel pitch that allows the direct mounting of the diodes onto the print circuit, placing them evenly along its surface.
The emergence of all-in-one LED displayshas also helped to improve the technology’s popularity. A Direct View LED display eliminates the LCD panel, resulting in a brighter picture and greater color clarity. Most importantly, it eliminates the grid issue and image uniformity when combining multiple LCDpanelstogether, so there are no lines breaking up the displayed content. This is whyDirect ViewLED technology can now create much larger video walls. The very latest all-in-onesolutions also integrate power, display,image stitching,and control systems for the ultimate user experience.
At the heart of the LED display vs LCD display comparison, it’s all about the use, impact, and price. In the sections below, let’s explore some of the various elements that make up the user’s experience and the cost-effectiveness of a video wall. That includes some of the plus points and drawbacks of these two competing technologies.
Let’s tackle the overall viewing experience. This is an area whereDirect ViewLED technology excels. Rather than serving as a backlight, the LED display adopts red, green, and blue LEDs for each pixel, and adjusts the values of each of those colors to create billions of possible colors for use on the display itself. Coloring the image directly from the light emitted from the diodes helps to provide a truer depiction of color, which can work magic in terms of heightening the audience’s sensory receptiveness.
Calibrating and synchronizing all the LCD screens require specific software that will add, both in costs and complexity, to the overall system. Each LCD panel operates, and therefore degrades, on an individual basis, which means they require calibration at different times. Panel degradation definitely adds up to the total cost of ownership.
Finally, it should be noted that added thickness of LCD displays — imagine over 110 mm — can also look cumbersome or unwieldy in an indoor space. This can detract attention away from the content being shown on the screen. By contrast, a high-end,All-in-One LED displaywill have a thickness of 25 mm – 35 mm with a 5 mm frameless edge. This is substantially less thick than LCD video walls and positively influences ideal viewing distance and immersion.
Even if LCD video walls are made of high-end screens, still their lack of brightness invariably results in poor visibility as soon as they’re viewed from a distance or under strong ambient light. This means that there are clear limitations when it comes to using an LCD video wall to display content.
Prior to the emergence of Direct View LED video walls, these limitations may have been more acceptable to the average user, but that has started to change. The high-end LED displays provide higher brightness while also making it possible to adjust brightness levels on the device itself. This often may be essential for optimizing the specific settings of the video wall (as low brightness images won’t be clear even if you can adjust the display for the strong ambient light).
Resolution-wise, most LCD displays come with 1080p but 4K UHD is available, which is the same as LED’s. However, the Direct View LED’s fine pixel pitch means that the LEDs are ultra-close to each other, so even when you’re closer to the display than usual, you’d still be able to clearly see the visuals. This can have an extra impact when showing vivid landscapes, detailed product images, design sketches or mechanical drawings in spaces of various sizes.The real-to-life color depiction is made possible thanks to the light being directly seen by human eyes without going through different materials which is the case for LCD. LED also delivers a wider color gamut, and the very best options on the market offer 120% coverage of the Rec.709 color space.
Another important thing to remember when comparing LED display vs LCD display is the difference in shipping, installation, and all-around maintenance of a video wall. This is one of the areas where all-in-one LED video walls really outperform LCD video walls in almost every way imaginable, resulting in a far better experience for end users and greatly reducing the amount of time and effort needed to set the video wall up.
LCD large-format displays will have significantly higher shipping and installation costs. This is partly because an LCD video wall installation will require at least three people, often taking more than 4 hours. Furthermore, on top of free-standing models, LCD video walls can only be installed on a wall.
One of the challenges associated with LCD video walls is the fact that each panel operates independently, so there is a realistic chance that one panel will wear out before the others. The core issue here is that if one panel wears out, the cost of tearing down the display to replace it and then deliver it will be high.Besides, the repair process takes around a month and during this time the LCD cannot be in use. After fixing, the display will need to be calibrated again. In the long term, this translates to high maintenance costs.
This is not true for LED video walls, thanks to the modular approach. In such cases, you would need to replace the single LED module without removing the whole screen. Besides, the LED modules can be swapped out while the display is powered on and in continuous use. This means anyone can replace a defective piece for quick and easy maintenance. The industry term for it would be “full front maintenance with no downtime”.
Each LCD display has different color and brightness, so calibration is needed upon installation. And each display will change over time (the degree of degradation of brightness and color performance also varies by each display), so users will take further time and effort to calibrate for maintenance.
LCD video walls have traditionally required an additional control box and a variety of other accessories and components to provide a smooth display and an acceptable user experience. Until relatively recently, this has also been true for LED displays and resulted in an unsatisfactory user experience, more complex maintenance, and day-to-day management. Often, a specialist technician would be needed to even get a large format display up and running.
Fortunately, the emergence ofAll-in-One Direct View LED displays has helped to change all of this. Such a comprehensive solution will combine everything the user needs in a single package. Imagine a control system, display system, and power supply that are all integrated together along with the image stitching technology. Crucially, such an approach results in a far superior and more user-friendly experience, with no need for specialist knowledge.
These latest displays are compatible with AV control systems, includingCrestron, Extron, and AMX, providing excellent control and automation options without complicated setup. These devices also offer many connectivity options for maximum levels of convenience.
While LCD video walls have historically been the most popular option, improvements to LED technology and thus its greater affordability ensured a clear frontrunner of any Direct View LED wall vs LCD video wall debate. A high-quality, Direct View LED video wall will be easier to install, manage, and operate on a day-to-day basis. There are affordability benefits as well, and modern all-in-one solutions deliver excellent user-friendliness from the get-go.
A Direct View LED video wall, otherwise called LED display, will also offer a superior overall viewing experience, with improved brightness, color gamut, contrast, and all-around flexibility. Users will not need to worry about grid issues or irregular aspect ratios, and for these reasons, LED’s cutting-edge technology is widely regarded as the ultimate solution for large displays.
So, how does e-paper stand up? Can the technology make up for these LED/LCD roadblocks, or is it just hype?Ise-ink paper the most energy-efficient digital signage out there?
✓ Installation costsThe best part about e-paper displays is that they’re virtually wireless and require little to no installation. No holes in the wall, no unsightly cables, and no contractors are required. Instead, they can be mounted on virtually any surface. Each device can run for months to a year on a single charge, making maintenance a breeze.
✓ Energy usageE-paper displays only use power when you change what’s on the display or when the wireless display pushes over WiFi for new updates. In fact, an e-paper low-power display can use merely0.008% of the power an LCD display requiresin a day. The ultra-efficient technology hardly makes a dent in your electricity bill. What’s more, the low power consumption allows these devices to run on battery power, lasting months between charges.
✓ Long-livedWhile a baseline LCD might be cheaper upfront, e-paper devices make up the difference in longevity. With such low refresh requirements, electronic ink displays are dormant most of their lives. This inactivity greatly increases the lifespan of the devices, resulting in an ultra-low failure rate and incredible longevity.
✓ EffectiveElectronic paper displays are just that — digital paper. As with paper, these displays reflect light in the environment off of the surface of the display. The result is a glare-free experience, improving screen readability in any setting. What’s more, electronic ink displays function perfectly in a wide range of temperatures, thriving from 32°F to 122°F (0°C to +50°C) and working in more extreme conditions.
✓ Long-term costContrary to LED and LCDs, e-paper displays cost substantially less in the long run. The initial purchase price is about equal to a high-quality LCD display made of sustainable materials, but that’s where the similarities end. E-paper technology uses very little energy, keeping utility costs down. The displays require no installation, aside from the two minutes it takes to mount them on a surface. Their low refresh rate gives them an unparalleled lifespan, keeping replacement costs negligible.
✓ SustainableAs far as power consumption goes, e-paper displays are naturally more sustainable than LED or LCDs. Therefore, e-paper technology has a small carbon footprint in comparison. Many top-of-the-line e-paper devices are made of quality, sustainable materials that are reusable or recyclable, making e-paper the most environmentally-friendly display technology on the market.
Photo: A trick of the polarized light: rotate one pair of polarizing sunglasses past another and you can block out virtually all the light that normally passes through.
Photo: Prove to yourself that an LCD display uses polarized light. Simply put on a pair of polarizing sunglasses and rotate your head (or the display). You"ll see the display at its brightest at one angle and at its darkest at exactly 90 degrees to that angle.
Contrast ratio is a measure to compare the darkest black with the whitest white. Plasma TVs score well on this parameter with a contrast ratio of up to 3000:1. LCD TVs have a contrast ratio of up to 1000:1; however, this metric is calculated differently for LCDs so it"s not an apples-to-apples comparison. Plasma TVs, in general, offer a better contrast than LCDs.
Older models of Plasma TVs can suffer from burn-in produced by static images. After extended periods, stationary images "burn in" the screen and produce an after-image ghost which remains permanently on the screen. This no longer affects new Plasma displays, as they continually shift the image around to prevent the image from being stationary.
LCD TVs do not suffer from burn-in. However, it is possible for individual pixels on an LCD screen to burn out. This causes small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen.
In comparison, the nature of LCD technology – where a backlight shines through the LCD layer – makes it hard for it to achieve true blacks, i.e. true absence of light. There is always some light leakage from adjacent picture elements in an LCD panel.
LCD TV displays reproduce colours by manipulating light waves and subtracting colours from white light. This makes it more difficult for maintaining colour accuracy and vibrancy. But, LCD TVs have colour information benefits from the higher-than-average number of pixels per square inch found in their displays.
In plasma TVs, each pixel contains red, green, and blue elements, which work in conjunction to create 16.77 million colours. Colour information is more accurately reproduced with plasma TV technology than it is with any other display technology, including LCD TVs.
Plasma TV displays refresh and handle rapid movements in video about as well as normal CRT TVs. LCD TVs were originally designed for computer data displays, and not video. Refresh rates are therefore not as good, but LCD TVs are fast catching up.
LCD TVs life span is typically 50,000-60,000 hours, which equates to about 6 years of 24/7 use. However, LCD TVs will actually last as long as its backlight does, and those bulbs can be replaced - so in essence there"s nothing which can wear out.
The life span for Plasma TVs is 25,000 to 30,000 hours, which equates to about 3 years of 24/7 usage before the TV fades to half the original brightness.
Plasma TVs do not use Mercury while LCD TVs do in their CCFL backlight. However, this issue is a red herring. Most common high-efficieny phosphorescent lamps use mercury and it is not a big deal. The amount of mercury used in LCD TVs is very small and besides, the user never comes in contact with it.
Most electronics retailers carry both LCD and Plasma TVs, including Best Buy, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Dell, Target, P.C. Richard & Son, Sears, Costco and hhgregg.com.
Most modern computer monitors, and even televisions, have an edge-lit LCD display that’s fundamentally similar to the first such displays sold decades ago, but that’s not where the future is headed. The twin threats of Mini-LED and OLED want to conquer the world of PC displays for themselves.
Modern OLED displays rarely exceed 1,000 nits of brightness, and when they do, are incapable of sustaining it. LG’s C9 OLED television, for example, can’t sustain a peak brightness above 160 nits (according to testing by Rtings). Mini-LED displays like Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR, Samsung’s Odyssey Neo G9, and Samsung’s QN90A television can hit peak brightness well above 1,000 nits and sustain at least 600 nits.
Wyatt points to this as a key advantage. The best HDR standards call for up to 10,000 nits of brightness. Current consumer Mini-LED displays don’t achieve this, but it’s possible future displays will.
Such brightness is not necessary for computer monitors or home televisions and instead targets demanding niche components, such as avionics displays. Still, it hints that we’ve only seen a sliver of HDR’s real potential – and that Mini-LED and Micro-LED, not OLED, will lead the charge.
The advantages of OLED add up to superior contrast and depth. You’ve likely noticed this when viewing an OLED television at your local retailer. High-quality content has an almost three-dimensional look, as if the display is not a flat panel but a window into another world.
Modern Mini-LED displays often claim to rival OLED. Apple’s Liquid Retina Display XDR, for example, lists a maximum contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. In reality, Mini-LED still noticeably lags the contrast performance of OLED because it can’t light pixels individually. This will remain true at least until Micro-LED, which can light pixels individually, goes mainstream.
Mini-LED improves on traditional edge-lit LCD displays by improving the backlight. The LCD panel itself, however, is much the same as before and retains some flaws common to the technology.
Display quality can shift significantly depending on viewing angle, and significant blur will be visible when displaying fast motion. Both problems are inherent to LCD technology. The liquid crystals do not block light uniformly, so the image looks different from different angles, and require a few milliseconds to respond to a charge, causing blur or ghosting in rapidly changing images.
OLED is different from LCD technology. There’s no liquid crystals to twist or move. Each pixel is an organic element that creates its own light when a charge is applied. The light is emitted in a relatively uniform pattern and can turn on or off extremely quickly, removing the viewing angle and motion performance issues of LCD entirely.
Wyatt hammered this point during our conversation. The “O” in OLED stands for organic, and organic material will wear out. Indeed, exposure to light itself (and blue light in particular) wears down OLED, reducing the light produced by pixels over time.
This problem is most often discussed in the context of burn-in or image retention. Burn-in happens when specific pixels on an OLED panel degrade differently from those around them, creating a persistent shadow in the image.
OLED manufacturers downplay this issue. LG said in 2016 that its OLED televisions can endure 100,000 hours before they degrade to half their original maximum brightness. The company’s current OLED reliability page says that “reasonable, responsible usage” should not result in burn-in.
This explanation is backed up by the hardware you can buy today. OLED panels are available at reasonable prices in notebooks like the Dell XPS 13 and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro. OLED panels for monitors, on the other hand, are so expensive most manufacturers don’t even bother. The LG UltraFine 32EP950, which briefly went on sale this summer, retailed for $3,999.99.
This advantage will likely continue in the near future. OLED pricing is reliant on availability of OLED panels, which are not as widely produced as LCD panels. Companies looking to build Mini-LED displays can design the backlight somewhat independently of the LCD panel and choose panels as needed based on the panel’s capabilities and pricing.
Because of this, there’s more ways for manufacturers to deliver Mini-LED displays in notebooks and monitors, which may lead to a more aggressive reduction in price.
OLED’s big break may come with the introduction of new fabs. Young says they will “lower costs significantly for 10-inch to 32-inch panels, giving OLED fabs the same flexibility as G8.5 LCD fabs, meaning the ability to target multiple applications from a single fab.” The first of these new fabs should start producing panels by 2024.
Affordable OLED seems alluring, but Wyatt champions a different approach. He believes the Micro-LED technology championed by Pixel Display will meld the strengths of LCD and OLED while ditching the weaknesses of both.
Personally, I think Mini-LED shows more promise—when it comes to PC displays, at least. The static images, long hours, and sustained brightness of Mini-LED displays pinches on OLED pain points, which will remain even if pricing becomes more affordable.
If the picture responds to input but displays a messy image, such as jumbled multicolored squares, the AV (audio visual) board may be damaged. This is usually a rectangular circuit board located near the audio and visual cables. Replace obviously damaged parts using a soldering iron, or order a replacement board and carefully install it to the same screws and ribbon cables.
According to industry insiders, Samsung has taken the decision to close down its last LCD production lines, coming into effect six months sooner than expected. According to industry insiders talking to the Korea Times, the June closure has been hastened due to the precipitous fall of LCD pricing driven by competitors based in China and Taiwan. As the news comes via unnamed "industry insiders", take the news with a healthy amount of salt until an official statement is made.
The apparent sudden change of heart by Samsung needs little supplementary explanation if you cast your eyes over the chart above. The chart, courtesy of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), shows the TV panel price index plotted against year on year change from January 2015 to today. The steepness of the decline seen from late 2021 is enough to give an analyst vertigo. It may show some signs of bottoming out now, but please note that we are in negative territory, approaching -60% pricing YoY.
Samsung Display is an important player in the business of making flat panel displays. The South Korea-based firm makes some of the best screens for devices spanning tiny wearables to full wall-sized modular TVs. Some of its displays go into PC monitors that are own branded, and others will be used by partners like Asus and Alienware.
It is expected that employees who were part of the LCD business operations will be reallocated to Samsung Display"s quantum dot (QD) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen production. Hopefully the removal of the LCD lines, and rebalancing into QD and OLED, will bring economies of scale to Samsung"s operations and help make these vibrant modern screen technologies more accessible.
Liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TVs) are television sets that use liquid-crystal displays to produce images. They are, by far, the most widely produced and sold television display type. LCD TVs are thin and light, but have some disadvantages compared to other display types such as high power consumption, poorer contrast ratio, and inferior color gamut.
LCD TVs rose in popularity in the early years of the 21st century, surpassing sales of cathode ray tube televisions worldwide in 2007.plasma display panels and rear-projection television.
Passive matrix LCDs first became common as portable computer displays in the 1980s, competing for market share with plasma displays. The LCDs had very slow refresh rates that blurred the screen even with scrolling text, but their light weight and low cost were major benefits. Screens using reflective LCDs required no internal light source, making them particularly well suited to laptop computers. Refresh rates of early devices were too slow to be useful for television.
Portable televisions were a target application for LCDs. LCDs consumed far less battery power than even the miniature tubes used in portable televisions of the era. In 1980, Hattori Seiko"s R&D group began development on color LCD pocket televisions. In 1982, Seiko Epson released the first LCD television, the Epson TV Watch, a small wrist-worn active-matrix LCD television. Sharp Corporation introduced the dot matrix TN-LCD in 1983, and Casio introduced its TV-10 portable TV.Citizen Watch introduced the Citizen Pocket TV, a 2.7-inch color LCD TV, with the first commercial TFT LCD display.
Throughout this period, screen sizes over 30" were rare as these formats would start to appear blocky at normal seating distances when viewed on larger screens. LCD projection systems were generally limited to situations where the image had to be viewed by a larger audience. At the same time, plasma displays could easily offer the performance needed to make a high quality display, but suffered from low brightness and very high power consumption. Still, some experimentation with LCD televisions took place during this period. In 1988, Sharp introduced a 14-inch active-matrix full-color full-motion TFT-LCD. These were offered primarily as high-end items, and were not aimed at the general market. This led to Japan launching an LCD industry, which developed larger-size LCDs, including TFT computer monitors and LCD televisions. Epson developed the 3LCD projection technology in the 1980s, and licensed it for use in projectors in 1988. Epson"s VPJ-700, released in January 1989, was the world"s first compact, full-color LCD projector.
In 2006, LCD prices started to fall rapidly and their screen sizes increased, although plasma televisions maintained a slight edge in picture quality and a price advantage for sets at the critical 42" size and larger. By late 2006, several vendors were offering 42" LCDs, albeit at a premium price, encroaching upon plasma"s only stronghold. More decisively, LCDs offered higher resolutions and true 1080p support, while plasmas were stuck at 720p, which made up for the price difference.
Predictions that prices for LCDs would rapidly drop through 2007 led to a "wait and see" attitude in the market, and sales of all large-screen televisions stagnated while customers watched to see if this would happen.Christmas sales season.
When the sales figures for the 2007 Christmas season were finally tallied, analysts were surprised to find that not only had LCD outsold plasma, but CRTs as well, during the same period.Pioneer Electronics was ending production of the plasma screens was widely considered the tipping point in that technology"s history as well.
In spite of LCD"s dominance of the television field, other technologies continued to be developed to address its shortcomings. Whereas LCDs produce an image by selectively blocking a backlight, organic LED, microLED, field-emission display and surface-conduction electron-emitter display technologies all produce an illuminated image directly. In comparison to LCDs all of these technologies offer better viewing angles, much higher brightness and contrast ratio (as much as 5,000,000:1), and better color saturation and accuracy. They also use less power, and in theory they are less complex and less expensive to build.
Manufacturing these screens proved to be more difficult than originally thought, however. Sony abandoned their field-emission display project in March 2009,
If you spend long enough debating the merits of LCD vs. OLED display technologies, eventually, someone will touch upon the subject of the dreaded OLED screen burn in. The point made is that OLED displays will inevitably suffer from horrible-looking artifacts over time, while LCD and new technologies like Mini-LED won’t. But like most of these debates, you’ll probably hear as many overblown anecdotes as you will actual facts about the issue.
You may never have experienced it for yourself, but many consumers are wary about the possibility of burn in when pondering their next smartphone purchase. Particularly as expensive flagship smartphones have universally adopted OLED display technology. Apple, Google, and other manufacturers acknowledge that burn in can be a problem in rare cases. OLED technology has made its way to much more affordable price points in recent years, putting the issue on the radar for even more consumers.
The word “burn in” is a little misleading, as no actual burning or heat problems are involved. Instead, this term describes a display suffering from permanent discoloration across any part of the panel. This may take the form of a text or image outline, fading of colors, or other noticeable patches and patterns on display. The display still works as expected, but a somewhat noticeable ghost image or discoloration persists when the screen is on. To be considered screen burn in, these artifacts have to be permanent and are a defect cause