Hoping to explore the relationship between price and performance in the minds of digital display industry professionals, Nanolumens conducted an industry-wide survey last year centered on total cost of ownership. While we came away from the survey with a refined picture of how our industry views itself, one key finding revealed a discrepancy in the way industry experts assess the maintenance requirements of LED vs LCD display technologies. Survey data shows that while industry experts generally agree the two display technologies require initial service within the same time frame, they do seem to recognize that LED displays are built in a way that avoids full replacement while LCD displays are built in a way that may exacerbate it. Regarding service needs within the first three years of ownership, 73% of respondents recalled experiencing trouble with LCD displays while a similar 68% did said so about LED.
LED vs LCD: Service Needs
When asked about the severity of these service needs, however, survey respondents found a clear distinction between the two technologies. Two-thirds of respondents believed LED malfunctions result in replacement less than a quarter of the time, while fewer than half believed LCD issues require replacement so infrequently. This speaks to the clear difference in the way LED and LCD displays are manufactured. While LED displays –at least those built by Nanolumens– are composed of interchangeable and interlocking subcomponent boards, LCD displays are not. This means repairs for LED products are much more likely to be quick fixes with spare parts rather than the wholesale replacements often necessitated with LCD malfunctions.
Major University Cites Serviceability When Choosing LED Display
The University of Texas at Dallas cited this easy serviceability as the primary reason they opted for LED in their new Engineering and Computer Science West Building. The school was originally looking for an LCD solution but upon reevaluating how difficult it would be to service a recessed LCD wall, they changed tack. Said Blake Overton, the account executive for the integrator who worked on the project, “when we considered the difficulty of servicing a recessed video wall…it was clear LCD would not provide the best value.” Noting that LED displays can be repaired in five minutes while LCD replacements might take an entire day, the school moves forward incredibly confident in their 23.5-foot-wide by 6-foot-tall Nanolumens display.