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Every LED sign is a digital sign, but not every digital sign is an LED sign. Digital signage covers every kind of sign or screen you can change electronically, including LCD screens like the panels in a TV, and an LED sign is the kind built from a grid of small LED lights.
What counts as digital signage?
Digital signage is the broad term for any sign or screen whose content can be changed electronically, indoors or out. It is usually run from one place and used to show information to people in a public space. It comes in many forms:
- LCD screens, the same panels used in TVs
- video walls made from several screens joined together
- menu screens at cafes and takeaways
- timetable displays at bus and train stations
- screens around the edge of sports grounds
- LED signs, from small window displays to roadside pylon signs
So LED signs are one kind of digital sign.
What makes a sign an LED sign?
An LED (light emitting diode) sign is built from a grid of small LED lights. Each light, or each cluster of red, green and blue lights in a full colour sign, is one pixel. Together they make up the text, pictures and video you see, bright and clear enough to read from a long way off.
The distance between the pixels is called the pixel pitch. The smaller the pitch, the sharper the picture looks up close. Signs read from across a road can use a larger pitch, because from a distance the gaps between the lights blend together. Our guide to pixel pitch explains how to choose one.
Single colour LED signs, usually red, show text and numbers. Full colour LED signs show logos, photos and video.
LED screen or TV?
A TV is a single LCD panel made for indoors. An LED screen is built from cabinets of small LED lights, so it can be made to any size and, outdoors, is bright enough for direct sun. Our FA2 outdoor screens reach more than 10,000 nits.
Where does each one work best?
LCD screens suit indoor spots where people stand close and the light is controlled, such as an office foyer or a menu above a shaded counter. They come in set sizes, and most are not made for sun or rain.
LED signs and screens suit:
- shopfronts and windows that get the sun
- pylon signs and building signs read from the road
- large indoor walls, where the screen needs to be bigger than any TV
- sports grounds, where sponsor ads and scores have to be read across a field
LED works up close too. Fine pitch screens such as our COB Ultra series show very fine detail, which is why they are used in meeting rooms, TV studios and control rooms.
Running an LED sign
You change what an LED sign shows from a laptop, phone or tablet, either straight away or on a schedule. Our signs run on NovaStar or HD software, and the apps and step by step guides are on our Downloads and Brochures & Guides pages.
Which one do you need?
If the sign is outdoors, needs to be big, or has to be read in the sun, it should be LED. If it is a small screen indoors with people standing right in front of it, an LCD screen or a fine pitch LED screen may suit. Our guide to choosing the right LED sign for your business goes through the questions to ask.
We design and build LED signs and screens in Perth at our workshop in Welshpool, for indoors and out, and install them for you. See our LED screens and video walls in Perth, outdoor LED signs and indoor LED displays, or ask us a question on 0416 053 335 or (08) 9335 7944.
