Understanding Full Capabilities of Display When Purchasing LED Sign
Quite often the customer, or end-user, is dependent upon the local sign shop for guidance and insight on the features and benefits offered by each Electronic Messaging Center (EMC) brand prior to purchasing their display. The end-user is often left unaware of the full capabilities of the hardware and software they're purchasing and makes key decisions based solely on price - A decision they may come to regret once the sign is operational. Ignoring the details can lead to customer dissatisfaction a year or two down the road when the display starts to show signs of problems, (such as lines across the display and wrong or misfiring diode colors). It is in this case that a customer comes to appreciate the cost/benefit of having a higher resolution display that's driven by the latest technology.
Let's compare P16 DIP VS P10 SMD. See LED Basics 101: Pixel and Pixel Pitch.
At One World LED (OWLED), we are already moving away from the P10 to the P8 because the price of the P8 is now similar to the price of the P10. The majority of the outdoor digital industry in the United States is still using P16 DIP. With the lack of explanation of the benefits of using an SMD product, in settling for a P16 DIP end-users are not able to capitalize on their investment and marketing ability. P16 DIP is an outdated technology that was invented back in the mid 20th century. In the early 2000s, SMD was designed and introduced to the International Sign Association in 2011 by One World LED.
Recently, we have been asked to bid on a project for a school where the sign shop is asking for a P8 SMD display. Knowing that our SMD products are similar to the cost of most P16 DIP we were confident about the bid. After submitting our bid, we were $3,500 over the other supplier. Why is that? After using our price match guarantee, we found several reasons as to why the other supplier was so much cheaper. Comparing the two quotes side by side we found the following differences:
** OWLED alone provides warranted protection against hacking from outside sources and the inherent risk of cyberattacks when using OWLED's Adverpost platform
In this instance, the competition was quoting lesser quality components, no cybersecurity, and the removal of spares to generate a lower price. When purchasing based on price, the end-user may not be aware of the capabilities they are missing out on.