The different types of LED displays

As LED lighting technology evolves, LED displays have become more versatile. This article takes readers through the new developments in the field.

By Deepshikha Shukla

An LED display is a screen display technology that uses LED panels as a light source. In such displays, a single LED panel consists of several LEDs. It is well known that LEDs produce more brilliance and greater light intensity than other light-emitting sources. LED display screens are used in a large number of small and large electronic devices as a user interface. Modern electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, TVs, computer monitors, laptop screens, etc, use an LED display to show their output. LED displays are the most commercially used screens, due to their high efficiency and low energy consumption.

In recent years, LED displays have evolved rapidly, mainly because of their many advantages like high brightness, low forward voltage, low power consumption, easy large scale installation, long life span, impact resistance and stable performance. LED displays can be divided into many categories, based on their type, shape and size.

Types of LED display screens
Outdoor LED display screens are a popular medium to carry commercial advertisements and various types of information for the public. They provide high visibility and can be easily fixed on different kinds of structures like buildings, hoarding boards, shop windows, etc.

Indoor and outdoor displays: For indoor environments, the display brightness required is moderate. Since such displays will be viewed from close by, they have a wide visual angle. They are also lightweight and have a high density. For outdoor displays, dot density is relatively sparse and brightness requirements are different since viewing conditions vary during the night and during daylight hours. Also, these displays need to be seen from a much longer distance. The display cabinet should be able to withstand environmental conditions like wind, rain, lightning, etc.

The semi-outdoor displays (which are placed in environments that are a mix of the outdoor and indoor) have ultra-high brightness and can be used in sunlight, though not directly. In this case, the display body is sealed, and is usually installed under the eaves of a building or in a window.

Displays with a single colour, double primary colours and three primary colours: Single colour displays are based on the lighting material, the most commonly used being the single red colour, and on some special occasions, yellow and green. LED displays with double primary colours are made up of red and green LEDs. Screens with three primary colours offer red, blue and green LEDs. These can display white balance and 16,777,216 colours.

Synchronised and unsynchronised displays: Synchronisation is the working mode of an LED display, which is similar to a computer monitor. It can display many grayscale colours, which can achieve the effect needed in multimedia advertising.

In the case of asynchronisation, an LED display can store and auto-play the characters and non-grayscale images. The images are edited in the PC and transmitted to an LED display (where they get auto-played) via a serial interface or other network interface. Usually, it can’t display many grayscale colours, and is mostly used to display characters.

Types of displays as per performance

• Video display: This is a full colour LED display screen. It is made up of many LEDs and can
• display video, animation and other video files.
• Text display: This is a single primary LED display screen.
• Image display: This is a double primary LED display screen.
• Digital display: This is a seven-segment digital Nixie tube, used in clock displays, interest rate screens and other digital displays.
• LED lattice image text display: This lattice display module is made up of many even-array LEDs. It is used to display characters and image information.

Conventional LED displays: These typically require a steel structure to install an LED display at a particular place. They include outdoor, large, single column LEDs or double LED displays. Typically, they are used to display traffic information at bus stands or railway stations.

Rental LED displays: While designing these, installers factor in the need for such displays to be changed frequently. So, their left and right cabinets have the fast lock feature, to ensure position accuracy. The installation of the whole display cabinet can be completed within just ten seconds. Rental LED displays are generally used at performance venues, large festival galas and wedding celebrations.

Industrial indicator LED displays: This kind of LED display is popular inside buildings like in malls. It is connected to a distributed control system, in order to be able to display rotational speed, flow, temperature, pressure, etc, in industrial settings.

Different shapes of outdoor LED displays
LEDs are available in many different types, shapes and sizes today. This is a direct result of the tremendous improvements we’ve seen in semiconductor technology over recent years. Modern LEDs offer better illumination, longer service life, and lower power consumption. With so many types of LEDs to choose from, the selection can sometimes become tough, though.

Standing pillar outdoor LED displays: These consist of three main parts—the underground base constructor, the steel column and an LED display fixed on a framework. The pillar has to be strong enough to support the weight of the whole LED display screen. So the number of pillars, their size and thickness are different for different installations, depending on the size of the LED screen.

Wall mounted and building-top fixed outdoor LED displays: These are fitted to the building and covered with an aluminium composite panel on the perimeter of the waterproof cabinet. These displays are used when the message they carry requires wide coverage; so they are often of a size suitable to be mounted on top of buildings.

Outdoor curved LED display boards: These displays are designed to take the shape of the building. The inner curved LED displays are for a smaller audience, while the outer curved LED displays are for the viewing experience of a wider audience. The latter are better than flat displays, because of their wide-angle view, which can be seen from more than one direction. The curved LED displays need curved LED display cabinets and angular LED display modules.

Outdoor dual- and tri-sided LED displays: These displays are mainly used on streets, public roads or highways. In dual-sided displays, people approaching from two directions can view the advertisements displayed on both sides of the LED screen. Outdoor tri-sided LED displays are usually used at crossroads so that they can be viewed from four directions.

Outdoor round LED displays: These are creative LED displays that use a customised module to assemble unique shapes. Outdoor round LED displays can be used in several display windows to broadcast multimedia advertisements that can be viewed 360° by the audience.