Information About the Future of Large Format LED Display Screens

1. Information About the Future of Large Format LED Display Screens Large screen displays are getting bigger and more immersive as brands and venues compete for audience eyes and memorable impact with next-level visual experiences, from Fremont Street in Las Vegas to China's giant outdoor billboards and mind-blowing corporate lobbies. As the technology becomes more affordable and simple to install and use, artists are realising the medium's potential and are using large format LED screens as canvases to create mesmerising experiences in museums and galleries. SNA Displays is well-known in the industry for creating some of the world's largest LED installations, such as the 32-meter screen in the Salesforce lobby at 50 Fremont Street in San Francisco and the massive wrap-around installation at 20 Times Square in New York. According to Paul England, the company's Director of Design Solutions, as the digital signage industry grows, screens get bigger, pixels get smaller, and the content displayed on video walls gets more elaborate and exciting. "New ideas and designs—in both display hardware and content—are emerging at a rapid pace," he says. "In recent years, display installations have grown much larger and more complex, and in many cases have become woven into the fabric of the surrounding space." This is due to a variety of factors, including lower costs, laxer local regulations, incredible artistry and creativity on the part of content creators, and a general recognition that large-format video is worthwhile." The pixel pitch, or the distance between the centres of two adjacent pixels, influences the quality of images displayed on interactive led display screens. When viewed at close quarters, an image displayed on a large screen with a 10mm pixel pitch appears sharp from a distance but begins to degrade. Manufacturers are increasingly able to produce large-format screens with a tighter pixel pitch that are suitable for viewing from any distance as LED display technology evolves. "The most advanced large-format displays in Times Square featured 10mm pixel pitches in the early 2010s," Paul says. "We introduced the Square's first large-format 8mm exterior LED display in 2016, and we recently built the Square's first large-format 6mm display for a well-known retailer." We've already started introducing 2.9 mm and 3.9 mm exterior LED boards, which will undoubtedly change the game." Pixel pitch is a key area of focus for the industry today, but every aspect of the technology, including the types of LEDs used and the supporting components for the screens, is being developed and transformed. "Another advancement will be transparent LED display technologies and slimmer designs, which will allow for more seamless, integrated installations that blend with or are part of the architecture," Paul says. In recent years, there has been a lot of buzz about the use of optical illusions like forced perspective or anamorphosis to make content on large format displays appear three dimensional—particularly when using installations that wrap around the building like the one at 20 Times Square. The wrap-around design has the advantage of giving the impression that the screen is a large cube that has been cut out of the

2. building. This "stage" area, which appears to extend back into the structure, can then be used for action. Objects can be made to appear to move out of the display if the stage area is smaller than the screen. The far end of the digital display is darkened in the first example below so that it appears to be a part of the building. When the hand enters this area of the screen, it appears to have a building frontage behind it, fooling the viewer into thinking it must have reached beyond the display's dimensions. When viewed from the right angle, the illusion is spectacular, but it fails when the viewer moves to a different vantage point. The same technique is used in the following video as well. Illusions like this one have given the impression that a new 3D technology is being developed. Paul corrects the record. "The craze for '3D LED screens' appears to have taken the industry by storm, but it's important to remember that anamorphic content on these displays is just that: content." While these images are eye-catching and memorable, which is great for the video display industry as a whole, the effects have little to do with LED technology and hardware other than the general importance of product quality and good design." Dave also predicts that mass production of LEDs will further reduce prices, particularly for microLED, an emerging technology that uses microscopic LEDs and is currently very expensive. MicroLEDs will be embedded in glass, transparent film, and other surfaces in the future. "This will necessitate a reconsideration of what we know as displays," he says. The hologram is the next step in the evolution of light projection technologies. Despite many vendors claiming that their products are holograms, true hologram technology has yet to hit the market. "Spinning rotor blades with LEDs on them, Pepper's ghost projections, and transparent LCDs are all referred to as holograms—but they are not," Dave explains. "One day, a full-scale visual of, say, a person will appear, which you will be able to walk around and interact with." That will be fascinating."