An online industry survey conducted by NanoLumens has shown that the future of LED displays is very bright.

The survey focused on LED and LCD solutions, and the total cost of ownership (TCO) of both. It aimed to highlight the perceptions held by industry professions, learn of their experiences with each technology, and explore what the future might hold for each format.

AV integrators accounted for half of the survey participants with architects, designers and end-users making up the remaining 50%. The survey was conducted between November 2018 and February 2019.

NanoLumens vice president of global marketing and business development Joe’ Lloyd says the survey showed that experts assign primary value to longevity, durability, adaptability and performance, but customers still primarily value price over performance.

She acknowledges that LCD displays are still the more common solution in the marketplace but points out that once you move beyond the initial purchase cost to more complex issues, the picture changed.

In terms of servicing, while experts didn’t agree on the frequency of service for each format, they did recognise that LED displays are built in a way that avoids full replacement while LCD displays are built in a way that may actually exacerbate it.

Joe’ says: “While LED displays – at least those built by NanoLumens – are composed of interchangeable and interlocking subcomponent boards, LCD displays are not. This means that repairs for LED displays are much more likely to be quick fixes with spare parts rather than the wholesale replacements often necessitated with LCD malfunctions.”

The survey also raised issues with the ‘sun-setting’ of older LCD monitor models.

“While LCD manufacturers often enact sun-setting policies to keep their plants rolling out only the newest display lines, LED manufacturers avoid having to do this because the lifespan of their displays is a lot longer. A like-for-like part replacement is thus viable in an LED display system where it is not in an LC system.”

The level of brightness on both systems was also touched upon as the highest ranked cause of LCD replacement is loss of brightness. With LCD technology already far dimmer than LED, Joe’ points out that in this case, the disadvantage is not just a weakness but a disqualifier.

Looking to the future, experts are predicting that the LED share of the market will grow dramatically and price drops will support this.

Joe’ says: “A declining price point will obviously boost LED sales, but that’s really not the point. The point is that, based on their own responses, LED displays already offer a better total cost of ownership when every element of the purchase is looked at. Experts acknowledge that LED displays require service less frequently, last longer, and perform better.”