For much of the past decade, complicated, cost-prohibitive direct-view LED (dvLED) technology has been inaccessible to all but the most well-resourced commercial consumers. However, with a cutting-edge suite of all-in-one products ranging from fully mobile to custom permanent dvLED displays, the industry veterans at ViewSonic have been in the vanguard of a changing narrative.
“Our all-in-one dvLEDs are exactly what it sounds like,” said Shane Roma, technical product manager at ViewSonic. “The power supplies and video processing are pre-integrated. A unique benefit to our all-in-one dvLEDs is that they arrive pre-mapped and pre-calibrated. It's about as plug-and-play as a direct-view LED can be without compromising on any features.
By far the most dynamic dvLED offering from ViewSonic is its mobile line. The LDS138-151 is a 138-inch foldable, height-adjustable all-in-one display that brings direct-view technology to a wider audience than ever before—an audience which now includes employees at ViewSonic.
“Here in our headquarters, we have a regular passenger elevator; we don't have a freight elevator. We were still able to fold this up and bring it up to the second floor,” Roma said. “It's a lot more than just a direct-view LED on wheels. This is going to ship fully assembled and fully integrated. You take it out of the road case, plug it in, and you're good to go. It uses a standard 20-amp plug as well, so it's going to be accessible in a lot of commercial environments.”
The company’s pre-configured solutions, according to Roma, are what people will think of when they picture traditional direct-view LEDs.
“Our pre-configured solutions are in set sizes, aspect ratios, and resolutions to make it as easy as possible,” Roma said. “It's going to be a single part number, so as easy as specifying, let's say, a commercial display. We have the 1080p series, 4K series, 136-inch, 163-inch, and then the 217- or 231-inch. The part number is going to include everything from the cabinets, mounts, tiles, 5 percent spare tiles, all the cabling—everything that you need.”
Configurable All-In-One LED Displays
ViewSonic's configurable all-in-one LED displays are ideal for environments that require custom aspect ratios and resolutions, where a standard size or aspect ratio may not be the best fit.
“We can do any shape, any size, custom resolutions, custom aspect ratios—you can really make it your own,” Roma said. “Those aren't going to be stocked here, of course, because they are all custom. But what's done in our factory is we're still mapping it, calibrating it—all of those advantages of the pre-configured to make those installs easy.”
While each product line in ViewSonic’s dvLED portfolio is designed to suit end users’ unique needs, two common threads run through every display. ViewSonic offers two technologies for durability and reliability. Glue-on-Board (GOB) is a protective surface treatment technology used directly on the LED modules. This both improves device longevity and saves customers money on frequent, costly repairs. Chip-on-Board (CoB) LED technology is where bare LED chips are directly mounted onto the circuit boards to create a tighter, more uniform pixel pitch, allowing for higher resolution, better visual performance, and increased durability.
“We want all our solutions to be durable and reliable,” Roma said. “Glue on Board gives it an IP54 rating as well as IK06 impact rating, so we can actually give this some pretty good hits.” He continued, “For Chip on Board, there's a similar coating to make sure they're impact resistant, liquid resistant, and dust resistant in heavy-use environments.”
Data Visualization In Action
Confidence in ViewSonic products is perhaps nowhere more manifest than at California State University, Fullerton. The latest commission in a longstanding professional partnership—Willie Peng, associate vice president for the school’s IT and Academic Technology Services, recently called upon ViewSonic to help outfit the school’s multi-purpose Data Visualization Room with a custom 200-inch, 1.2mm-pixel-pitch 4K dvLED video wall.
This new, bezel-less solution, according to Peng, has been a drastic improvement on its previous scheme, which involved stitching together four 46-inch 1080p screens. The videowall is designed to display multiple data sets in different formats, simultaneously and can switch inputs as needed. Peng explained, “[It’s about] having someone able stand in the middle of the room and see all the data as we're adjusting them, so, you're not just seeing one, but multiple sets of data.”
Peng added, “I can either create a four-quadrant where I can show all four screens from my stations onto the big screen, or I can have multiple inputs to multiple outputs. Now I can really display 4K resolutions and display a lot more content.” If I could, I would just put these dvLED walls on all four sides,” Peng said. “Moving over to this is definitely a game changer.”