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Tips you can use while buying LED screens

December 16, 2021

Mac Gangam, President, Shenzhen Atenti Technologies Co., Ltd, shares with Retail4Growth, his insights on how to make informed decisions while buying LED displays .

Mac Gangam, President<br>Shenzhen Atenti Technologies Co., Ltd, How do you see the market in India for LED displays especially in the outdoor segment? Any trends you can share ?

There has been an increase in the amount of inquiries for outdoor LED displays and we have installed quite a few lately. They are a lot of new trends evolving in the Indian market. The number of retail chain stores using LED displays for advertising their in-store products has also increased of late. With outdoor permission for LED billboards being opening up in Mumbai, we will definitely see more LED displays in the DOOH segment. We are also installing screens in stadiums for sports. We have installed India's first giant outdoor LED screen this year, that is more than 4000sq.ft, which was not a possibility a couple of years ago. With the recent pandemic situation a lot of call centers and software companies are also using large format LED screens for zoom calls etc.

Very often one finds a lot of price variation in the market when it comes to LED displays. Why is this so?

The price variation is directly related to quality. Unfortunately 80% of the Indian market is very price conscious and not quality conscious when it comes to LED displays. We get a lot of inquiries asking for cheaper cost models but the client does not understand that the cost of ownership is very high for LED screens. For this reason you will see many people who have invested in LED display screens in India have lost interest in the product as it becomes too expensive to maintain and service. Another reason is that most clients do not know how to check, if what they are buying is what they are getting, so they do not want to risk with an expensive model unless they see a reliable or good brand in LED display.

There are too many components such as LED wafer size, PCB quality, driver IC type, LED brightness, the LED brand, all of  which contribute to the cost of the product. If the client has to make an informed decision, they must get the know-how of the product, so they can compare vendor quotes apple to apple. A general 5-8% difference between one vendor and another is normal, but if it’s more than that, there are definitely specs that are no longer same. Most vendors do not disclose the LED type, driver IC model, scan type, color gamut etc., so that they can play around with these components to make better margins or reduce quality based on the price that is offered by the buyer. It’s very important to choose a company that has good references of quality with screens running at least 2-3 years or above in the market. 

What are the best options available for buyers?. Could you share some tips, like do’s and don’t for buyers while buying and running LED’s screens?

The products available in the market range from a minimum of 1 year warranty to 10 year warranty. The best way for the buyer is to first determine the location where they want to put up the LED screen, get a vendor to visit that location to see what Pixel pitch type is suitable based on screen size and viewing distance. I personally believe they should choose a minimum 3 year warranty product with onsite service support so that they don't have any unforeseen expenses after using it for a year or two. This way the buyer is protected and the vendor will also be obliged to fulfill their contractual conditions with right quality. Other wise the vendor will risk his name and the whole project.

If you are looking for a Pan India LED screen setup, look for a single manufacturer / vendor who can service, install, support pan India. Most resellers just ask for a budget price from the buyer and they go out searching for the product, this approach might end up with a product that you don't want in spite of meeting the budget. This approach must change to be based on specs and warranties.

Then of course you can work on the financials with the choice of your vendor. They key is the know how of the product, warranties and the specification of the product. When running LED screens, as a manufacturer we set the brightness up to 85-90% of the actual brightness and we suggest to increase the brightness when the screen starts to age. Please ensure you have 20% more power than the prescribed for any spikes and use a power box with circuit breakers. Never give direct power from mains to led screen. Always turn down the brightness of LED screen for 30 minutes before totally switching it off. This will avoid sudden cooling down of screen and its components making the screen run in a much better way. Please ensure that all screens are must run a default service check every 8-10 months to avoid any unwanted failures. Cleaning of screens and color calibration every 4 years is advisable. If screen accumulates lot of dust and dirt then the brightness is impacted. Choose a vendor who is a manufacturer of the product who has been in the business for at least 5-10 years and has local service support offices There are quite a few Do's and Don'ts but these are the major ones we should look into when buying and running screens. 

What are the specific challenges when it comes to after sales service?

The servicing of LED screens is in fact not very complicated, if you choose the right quality product. The major challenge is finding a good technician with experience who knows how to trouble-shoot when you see any problem. For our company we have experienced service engineers who are in this business from 2007 when LED business started to enter India market. If the technician is a novice or does not have experience then the after-sales service becomes a challenge. LED screen is made up of many smaller parts, so if you have enough spare cables, power supplies, LED tiles, then it’s easy to replace and repair it at your service center.

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