Video walls are a great example of an AV solution that has, in recent years, matured from being a costly niche solution to one that is increasingly affordable and popular for everyday situations. You can now find video walls in lobbies and atriums, train stations, airports, lecture theatres and large meeting spaces, to name just a few.

Due to their size and vibrancy, video walls are ideal for engaging large crowds (either static or dynamic) and enhance audience experiences by making it easy to follow the action. Therefore, it’s no surprise that more and more organisations are interested in this solution and that we are getting asked about them a lot these days.

To help you learn more about video walls, we’ve compiled the questions we hear most and our answers to them.

1. What are the benefits of video walls?

There are numerous benefits to video walls depending on the specific use case. Overall, they are a great way to WOW, engage and inform an audience. Their size and vibrancy mean that they get noticed and are visible from a distance. They help organisations get the right message in front of the right people at the right time – the benefits of that cannot be underestimated in today’s busy world where everyone is fighting for your audience’s attention.

In addition, certain types of video walls are fully weatherproof and bright enough to be viewed in well-lit spaces, making them an ideal solution for outdoor areas.

2. What are the benefits of video walls compared to projectors?

Video walls offer many benefits compared to old-school projectors. Most importantly, video walls are much brighter, making the visual content crisp and vibrant no matter the lighting. With projectors, there are often a lot of other factors that need to align to ensure a pleasant viewing experience. From the light level in the room to the colour and material of the projection surface, the physical location of the projector and the visual content being shown, all of them can significantly impact the viewing experience for the audience.  LED or LCD video walls remove all these problems by providing sharp, vibrant visuals – no matter the environment.

In addition, video walls can be designed in virtually any size and shape, something that is not generally possible with projectors.

3. What is the difference between LCD and LED video walls?

LED panels use individual light emitting diodes for each pixel (generally 3 or 4 per pixel, red, green, blue and sometimes white).

LCD displays, in contrast, use a backlight that shines through a liquid crystal display matrix. Each pixel is comprised of a red, green and blue matrix, which can be switched on or off to allow the light to shine through. There have been many different types of backlights over the years. Currently, the backlight is frequently an LED light source. As a result, confusingly so, sometimes these LCD screens are referred to as LEDs even though they are very different to the LED panels described above!

When it comes to the viewing experience and possible applications, this small difference can have a significant impact. One important difference is that LCD video walls are created by attaching multiple standard TV-style panels together, which results in visible lines between them, whereas LED video walls are made of smaller panels that connect together and appear as one seamless display.

In addition, LEDs are generally brighter, have a better contrast level, are easier to maintain and have a longer life-span. On the other hand, LCDs offer better resolution, and the upfront cost is often lower.

To learn more about the specific pros and cons of LEDs and LCDs, download our free Video Walls and Web-Conferencing Buyer’s Guide.

4. Why should I pay for a product from a top brand when I can get the same much cheaper from a lesser-known brand?

As video walls have become more popular, the number of available suppliers has also grown significantly. New brands have popped up and some of them, especially those from Asia, offer their products at considerably lower prices. While that can be tempting, it has been our experience that in this case, what looks too good to be true, generally is too good to be true.

Often, low-cost products lead to expensive repair and maintenance work later on, which can quickly eliminate the initial cost savings. In addition, we’ve seen performance issues with low-cost products such as a tight pixel pitch (and high resolution), but at the cost of brightness, a lower refresh rate which can cause blurring when viewed while moving, and some are overbearingly heavy.

Therefore, caution is advised with new products and brands even if they are more affordable. You might pay the price in high repair and maintenance cost later.

If you would like to learn more about video walls, as well as web-conferencing, another critical AV solution, check out our free buyer’s guide. The guide provides an overview of these two communication technologies and outlines the various benefits, use cases, pitfalls and common mistakes, as well as the key factors organisations need to know about when investigating such a solution.

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