LED Walls: Tips to Saving Money without Sacrificing Quality or Timeliness

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LED Wall Tips to Save Money Without Sacrificing Quality

It can be challenging to capture the attention of your customers and visitors. LED walls can help. These large scale, high-resolution digital displays make an impression that’s difficult to ignore. But an LED wall is a significant investment, so savvy buyers are seeking ways to lower costs without sacrificing quality or wasting time throughout the buying process.

Quality, Timeline, and Budget Affect One Another

The Project Management Triangle, also known as the Triple Constraint or Iron Triangle, has been used to represent the constraints of project management since at least the 1950s. In language simple enough to fit on a T-shirt, it can be summarized as “Fast, cheap, or good…pick any two.” When it comes to LED walls, that philosophy implies that if you want an inexpensive display quickly, it won’t be of good quality. And if you want high quality at a low price, you’ll have to wait. In reality, this model is a bit too simplistic, since these three factors are not measured as absolute “good” or “bad” choices, but on a sliding scale. All three considerations are important, so finding the right solution for your unique situation is a balancing act.

Balancing the Three Sides of the Triangle

If you’re operating under both a tight timeline and budget, don’t expect your supplier to design a high-end LED wall for you. Lead times on large LED displays are typically much longer than other types, and high-resolution displays are obviously more expensive. If you have a longer timeline and a more generous budget, however, you have more options available to you, depending on the size, content type, and installation desired. If you want high-quality with a quick turnaround, however, be prepared to pay the big bucks. If you don’t have a budget in mind or have no idea what the associated costs might be, have a conversation with your supplier. They can help establish a theoretical budget, the details of which can be finessed as your needs become more evident. Working from the timeline and budget side can help point you toward the best quality solution for your unique situation.

Maximize Your LED Wall Budget

Like anything, you get what you pay for with digital displays. Manufacturers continue to push the envelope in an effort to create an ever-finer display. The lower the pixel pitch, the closer individual pixels are to each other and the higher the resolution. A decade ago, 10mm to 20mm pitches were standard, but today pixel pitches of one millimeter or less are not uncommon. Before choosing a high-resolution LED wall, a buyer should consider how they will use the display. First, consider how far away viewers will typically be. A good rule of thumb is to multiply the pixel pitch times ten to get the approximate viewing distance in feet. Any higher resolution would largely be a waste of money. Also, consider buying older technology. What was deemed high-resolution a year or two ago may be regarded as “old hat” by techies today, but may be perfectly acceptable for your use – and sold at a big discount. Finally, look for manufacturers who are creating standardized displays that allow you to easily upgrade in the future as more powerful technology becomes more affordable.

Consider the Following When Budgeting Your Project:

  • Time affects everything – Leave yourself enough time to do thorough research so you can buy the right product for your solution. A lot of LED manufacturers can have lead times that vary anywhere from 30 to 90 days. If you need to rush, additional charges may be incurred.
  • What are you trying to accomplish? – This seems like a fairly simple question. However, it can influence the product, pitch, and other processing variables you choose, which, in turn, significantly affect the price of your LED video display solution. Do you really need the highest resolution pitch on the market, or can you move down to a slightly lower resolution to accomplish the same thing and potentially save thousands of dollars?
  • Think through content and playback before you purchase – This is often the most overlooked aspect of any LED video display build. Ultimately, your display is only as good as your input source. Having quality content and the right media server in place will help maximize your investment.
  • Pick a provider you trust and asks the right questions from the beginning – A great LED manufacturer with strong partnerships with integrators and designers can save you money in the long term. Whether through its warranty and service or presales engineering and support, a partner offering these features can catch a lot of things upfront that could end up costing you money later.

PixelFLEX Can Help

PixelFLEX® is an American-based LED manufacturer that offers creative solutions, reliable products, and dependable service for their industry-leading LED display technologies. PixelFLEX® delivers one-of-a-kind designs for your tour, event, or installation through their award-winning line of LED video walls and video screens. PixelFLEX® will work with you to identify your project goals and needs and create a display that meets your quality, timeline, and budget constraints. To find digital solutions on a smart budget, visit https://pixelflexled.com/products/.