Unlike traditional media such as newspaper and magazines, LED displays quickly capture attention with a combination of light, color, motion and graphics that get noticed. They also offer infinite options for creating a brand thatgets remembered and, in turn, gets results. For most advertisers, the most important market is the local one. Think of LED displays as local advertising and sales partners that are “on” 24/7, working night and day to attract attention, deliver marketing messages and drive sales. LED displays also cost 40 to 60 percent less per thousand viewers than most other forms of advertising. In fact, businesses can communicate with thousands of people each day for just a few dollars. When purchasing an LED display, it is important to understand a few basic principles that will help you select the right product for your application. The following sections present a brief overview of some of these basic principles.

Resolution, or the total number of pixels in a display, is a very important factor that affects the performance of the sign. More resolution means more LED diodes and more circuits, which usually means better picture quality.

Pitch is the distance (usually in millimeters) between pixels. Pitch is always measured from the center of one pixel to the center of an adjacent pixel. The smaller the pitch number, the higher the resolution quality. Larger the pitch numbers indicate a lower resolution. A pixel can be one single diode, or a pixel can be a cluster of many diodes running off the same circuit.

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” diodes 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. Optec Digital Billboards 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 Optec Digital Billboards uses a higher LED diode density than any other manufacturer in the industry.

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 Brightness of an LED display is generally expressed by a numerical value in NITs. A NIT is defined as unit of illuminative brightness escribed as candela output per square meter (cd/M2). The higher the number of NITs, the brighter the display. In general, 1,500 NITs, provides readable text in outdoor daylight, while grayscale and outdoor video require up to 5,000 NITs for acceptable color depth.

Optec Digital Billboards displays are built with a high-density of super-bright, high quality LED diodes, so our displays typically exceed this standard by a long shot. Contrast ratio is another important factor in overall brightness, and refers to the difference between levels of blacks compared to the levels of whites in the display. Things like reflective surfaces, glare from the sun, and dimming all affect contrast ratio. To optimize the contrast ratio and overall brightness, Optec Digital Billboards displays feature a unique louver system to shade each individual diode from the glare of the sun. The louvers were computer modeled to optimize the view from onlookers below while blocking the maximum amount of sun from all sides. No other system on the market offers this unique, individual diode shading. Together with the high-density array, Optec Digital Billboards displays are truly the brightest, longest lasting product on the market today.