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Behind LED Displays
Given today’s level of technology, the first question no longer poses a difficulty. Most displays now process signals from a computer with a video processor and a controller (signal source 1) before projecting the image onto the display. However, the ability to process signals and project an image does not equate to having a good image quality. Having said that, what then, are the factors that affect the image quality?
To answer this question, we have to turn our attention to what is behind an LED display. Though the quality of the LEDs used is important, image qualities are largely determined by the ICs used. ICs found at the back of a display can be divided into two major categories: driver ICs and peripheral ICs. Driver ICs are responsible for converting digital signals into the image seen on the display. It determines the qualities of an image many professionals look for when deciding whether the LED display is a good display or not. On the other hand, peripheral ICs—composed of the logic IC, the decoder IC, and the MOSFET switch—work hand in hand with the driver ICs to produce the characteristics of the displayed image. As such, the importance of driver ICs cannot be overstated.
The type of driver IC used also varies with its application, for instance, fine-pitch displays require high performing ICs. The following are some general features characterizing a good driver IC:
1. Current accuracy is to have an accurate value of current passing through the LED and it affects the uniformity of the color of the displayed image.
2. Having a high grayscale and high refresh rate guarantees the displayed image to be fine and smooth with no flickering. This also ensures that when photographed or filmed with a camera of a high shutter speed, the image quality captured on the camera is not poor.
3. Having a high LED utilization rate and a low power consumption greatly reduce energy.
4. Having an LED error detection function can facilitate and thus increase the efficiency of the repair process (highly recommended for traffic signs and fine pitch displays).
Apart from how an LED display is being designed, the materials used for the power supply will also affect the life of a display. Gathered from China’s outdoor advertisement operators, power failure is the number one cause of display malfunction. From an operator’s point of view, malfunctions are extremely unwanted as operators will have to bear significant losses if happened. As poor heat dissipation is often the cause of power failures, many power suppliers have switched to using materials with better heat dissipation for the casing.
The life of a display is also affected by the materials used to design the display itself. For example, using aluminum with a flat surface as base can help dissipate heat effectively thereby extending the life of a display due to lower chances of malfunctioning. Besides heat dissipation, the casing material is also related to how much noise the display produces when operating as well as the ease of installing—which is an important characteristic to look for in rental displays as they need to be assembled and disassembled easily.
