When it comes time to selecting an LED video wall or screen rental for your event, if you’re not an AV expert, the options can be overwhelming. Although understanding and interpreting industry jargon can be a challenge, educating yourself on the specifications and configurations of different display technologies will help you make the best decision for your unique event and space. As you peruse the options, there are a few considerations to keep in mind.
LED walls and screens are a fantastic way to create drama and add excitement, and they can be creatively incorporated into any event or occasion. Designing fun and exciting interactions with attendees is the best way to make an event unforgettable. An LED wall connects with guests and visually captivates audiences, all the while getting your brand noticed and message delivered. Having a dynamic LED wall gains the attention of visitors and helps motivate social interaction and brand awareness. LED walls enhance your company image while increasing visibility to your business. Budget restraints may deter companies from purchasing a LED video wall, but purchasing is not the only option when it comes to customizable LED applications. LED walls can be rented and configured with custom options tailored to the user’s needs.
When choosing an LED wall or screen rental for an event, it is critical to understand the available options and configurations in order to create the most enthralling environment possible. Unfortunately, researching LED options can be at first overwhelming. Industry jargon can be hard to wade through, but understanding the different aspects of display technologies will ultimately help make the best decision for the event and space.
There are three main components to consider: screen size, pixel pitch, and screen structure.
Screen size is one of the most important features when selecting the right LED wall because inappropriate size can hinder the audience’s interaction. There is a vast array of sizes to choose from for many different locations and crowd size. There is no magic formula, but first consider the size of the audience, total size of the location, and what will be displayed on the screen. A good rule is with 500 viewers or more, chose a screen of at least a 17 feet wide for optimal visual influence.
Pixel pitch is another important property and is defined as the distance in millimeters between two pixels on an LED board. Pixel pitch directly correlates the display resolution and optimal viewing distance. A lower pixel pitch means more pixels are used to make up the image, thus improving the resolution and optimal viewing distance. The lower the pixel pitch, the closer a viewer can stand to your display and still have a great resolution. Pixel pitch is important in determining the minimum required viewing distance for a clear image. The higher the pitch, the farther the required viewing distance.
LED screens are only as effective as the structures that support them. Screen structures can either be mobile or modular. Mobile screens are prebuilt and attached to a vehicle or other means of transportation. Mobile units are more cost effective and quicker to activate but may be limited by space constraints. When opting for mobile structures, ensure the venue has adequate space to navigate and place the screen. Modular units come in small LED tiles that are built out using trussing. Modular walls are popular with custom shapes and indoor events since they are built out on-site and can be fully customized to the available space.
PixelFLEX is the one stop shop for all things Live Production: audio, video, lighting, and LED rental. Partnering with this experienced multimedia firm allows for amazing service and guidance throughout the entire rental process. A great partner will listen to the user’s needs and understand their goals. PixelFLEX is a privately-owned, leading supplier of the most up-to-date audio, video, and lighting technologies today. With over 85 years of industry experience, their team of dedicated professionals knows how to pair the right technology with any vision.
To bring creativity, excitement, and motivate social interaction at your next event visit our rentals page today!
Digital signage is an effective solution for attracting eyeballs, displaying creative content, and broadcasting information. In the past, LED displays were mainly used for outdoor applications such as billboards, while their LCD counterparts dominated the indoor market. But recent advances in LED technology has allowed these screens to make considerable inroads into the indoor territories that LCD’s once monopolized. In fact, Transparency Market Research expects the booming LED display market is expected to reach $12.5 billion by 2020, up from $4.8 billion in 2013, for a compound annual growth rate of 14.7 percent. When deciding between LED and LCD displays, consumers looking to deploy LED digital signage either indoors or out should keep the following key considerations in mind when making an investment:
COST
While LED displays have a higher initial cost than those of the LCD variety, their energy efficiency gives them a lower overall operating cost in the long run. Not only do LED displays use less power, they last longer and require fewer maintenance interventions, reducing associated replacement and service costs.
ENGAGEMENT
The mission of digital signage deployment is to attract and hold people’s attention. LED displays have a high brightness aspect that encourages engagement, and gives creators the ability to develop exciting content that will retain interest. And because LED displays offer a wider viewing angle than LCD’s, they are able to capture a larger audience.
SERVICEABILITY
While LED displays are very durable, they may need to be serviced at some point within their useful lifespan. Because most rely on a modular design, repairs typically only require replacing one of the defective modules, and not the entire unit. In this instance, the screen may also have to be recalibrated to ensure uniform color and brightness.
NETWORK CONNECTION
It is important to consider the availability of a network connection when choosing a digital communication solution. A network connection will allow for the easy distribution of content to all displays linked to the network. Users will be able to remotely control their system from an internet connection, placing real-time access and content updates right at their fingertips. This can prove powerful for deploying LED displays across far flung locations, while still maintaining consistency and quality of messaging.
LED displays are poised to continue expanding across sectors, providing captivating communication in both outdoor and indoor spaces. PixelFLEX ® is a leading provider of custom LED solutions offering top-tier customer support throughout the entire experience. To learn more about the advantages of LED, visit our LED University!
For live productions of all shapes and sizes, visual aids can significantly enhance the experience for everyone involved. Depending on the situation, however, productions run the risk of encountering screen size and outdoor projection limitations. The good news is these obstacles can be easily overcome with LED video screen rentals. By providing some simple information to consider before renting LED screens, PixelFLEX can help ensure your event is a success, and that you have access to all of the LED video screen rental options you need to produce an appealing, immersive event.
Live productions often require high-quality visual aids to help enhance the experience and ensure an engaging, successful event. Unfortunately, projection limitations are a common occurrence for outdoor events, and screen size limitations can be an issue regardless of venue.
LED video screen rentals represent a convenient solution for these issues.
Regardless of the occasion, there are many positive benefits to using LED video screens for your live productions. When used properly, LED video screens can create an incredible impact, offering a high degree of immersion for your audience. From a business perspective, LED video walls provide an easy-to-use, excellent vehicle for sponsorship activation and branding opportunities. These screens can be used as stage backdrops, making them the center of attention for your audience and further compounding these advantages. Screens can be run from media servers, which allow for more freedom to implement interactive elements to suit any occasion. Logistically, LED screens are lightweight, and can be arranged for either ground-supported or aerial-rigged configurations.
PixelFLEX offers a wide range of high-quality products to address your specific production needs, no matter what the event may be, through its rental vendor network. From their LED display system sales and LED screen rentals to their after-purchase support and service, PixelFLEX has you covered. The company is dedicated to providing top-tier, customer-focused support throughout the entire experience. PixelFLEX is a U.S. company driven toward excellence to meet your own personal standards of customer support, and wants to help ensure customers make the most out of their live events.
PixelFLEX provides high-quality products capable of withstanding the elements at indoor and outdoor events. PixelFLEX products are used regularly for the Luke Bryan Tour, ESPN X-Games and for large corporate companies like Boing and Google. PixelFLEX offers an array of high-quality LED screens to choose from, including the FLEXLite II, FLEXLite Plus, FLEXCurtain, and FLEXCurtain HD, all of which can be rented for live productions. These visual aids can dramatically improve the impact of your event, allowing you to produce a memorable scene for any occasion. The wide selection of video screen rental options means you can easily enjoy the perfect solution for your production, tailored to meet your own specifications.
To plan and orchestrate a live production that truly engages an audience and enhances their experience, visual aids can make a huge difference. LED video screen rentals allow you to avoid many of the pitfalls and limitations of other options, while providing the flexibility you require to enhance your event. PixelFLEX can help ensure your success with a wide range of LED screen rental options. To learn more about how PixelFLEX can help, visit pixelflexled.com/ledrental today!
by Erik Parker – Lighting Designer and Programmer, One Republic, Billy Currington, Here Come the Mummies, Kip Moore, Lee Brice, Jennifer Nettles, and current designer forNashville Based, Chris Lisle Lighting Design.
Video has changed the game of live concerts and lighting design. I was fortunate to come into the touring game after video made its entrance, giving me a great understanding of seamlessly incorporating both video and lighting elements into the overall production design for touring artists.
In any capacity, before being able to design anything, you must look at all logistical factors as well as artist creative direction. For example, if an artist wants a HUGE video wall on stage, but you’re limited due to small transportation and stages for club tours, you have to get creative to make it happen. If the artist wants it to feel like a fantastical and elaborate Oz on stage, you don’t want to approach your design with a streamlined, Apollo 13 in mind. Another thing to look at is the content that will be shown on the screens. The artist might provide previously built custom content, pay to have it made, rely on IMAG (putting a live feed on the screen), leave it up to you, the designer, to come up with the content on your own with no additional budget, or a mixture of the above.
Personally, I typically approach the design to give as many possible “moments” to the crowd as possible. By this I mean that I try to allow for several looks throughout the show without moving the rig, if budget doesn’t allow for automation. This means also designing video and lighting so at any point during the show either could take over and become the focal element.
There’s no right or wrong to accomplish this, but I have a couple things that I try to do on each design.
1. Make the video element large enough to see what’s going on… but not too big.
If you are putting any kind of actual image on the screen, the audience needs to be able to see what it is. Whether it’s a clip from their music video, an accumulation of random shots from each city, beach clips or whatever feels appropriate at the time, you should be able to tell what the image is. With that being said, I’m not a fan of the video wall being on at all times, therefore, I don’t want the screen so large that when you turn it off you get a huge black hole. Breaking up the screen with lights would fill this space, or using a lit backdrop could add a completely different effect.
2. Figure out how the video wall design will fit in the lighting design.
You want to make sure the whole production has a flow. You may want a square wall with a circular lighting rig, but that may end up not being quite what you’re going for. Make sure everything is concise and matches what you and the artist have in mind for the overall look.
3. Look at ways to mount it and either you or the road crew will travel with it.
Nothing is going to float in thin air. Mounting everything is important, as you want it to stay where it belongs. Many video and lighting companies will have hardware for some of the most common set-ups, but as you begin to change the orientation, work more closely with the vendors to come up with a plan to mount everything that will not make the road crew’s life a living hell. And by hell I mean zip ties… nobody has time for that.
4. If all else fails… Just remember, EVERYTHING on in open white, and if it moves, point it to the monitor guy.
They’re going to blame you for that anyway. Unless that’s your PM, then go to the FOH guy. Bring your sunglasses.
Beyond this, it’s all art. Paint your picture as crazy or simple as you desire. There’s no one to tell you it’s the “wrong” way to do it. They may try, but just because it’s not their way of doing things doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the wrong way. Think outside the box, and remember that the goal is to help the artist give the audience a show worth more than they paid.
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