The drop in the price of LED devices has opened up countless possibilities for video-driven broadcast devices.

Large light-emitting diode (LED) video walls are now available for small stations, allowing them to tell their stories in a more visually appealing way. These LED video walls can turn previously unused spaces into video storytelling locations and provide greater flexibility than liquid crystal display (LCD) designs.

Knowing that easy-to-use tools are used more frequently, vendors are making the software driving these video walls as simple and drag-and-drop as possible. Despite continuous improvements in LED technology, there is a real difficulty: the supply chain.

Mack McLaughlin, CEO and creative director of FX Design Group, said that the decline in the price of LED video walls has made LEDs "mainstream." FX recently installed LEDs for the WRDW facility opened earlier this year in Augusta, Georgia. "They are a fairly small market station. Let them have that kind of video technology, they wouldn't even discuss it five years ago."

Estelle Parsley, vice president of news at WRDW, said that choosing LEDs "is not even a problem. We know we will get it."

The previous facility had a chroma wall and a 55-inch display. She said that the LED installation in the new facility provides many opportunities to showcase talents and set up different appearances in the studio. Brand connection

One of the biggest events held by the station every year is the Masters. In this year's report, WRDW put talents in front of the LED video wall, showing the high-resolution, slow-motion footage of "the most beautiful golf course in the world". It looks like a window in Augusta National [Golf Club]," Parsley said.

She said that the LED wall not only provides aesthetics, but also changes the way the station displays information.

"This is cool technology. It looks cool. But what we really value is how it can improve the way we tell stories," Parsley said.

Diane "DiFi" Fiolek, Vice President and Director of Creative Services at Devlin Design Group, agrees that LEDs can open up many possibilities for creating new looks.

"When we sell to customers, we like to show them what is possible, not just what they are doing now, what is also possible, what they can do in the future, how to think about it in different ways, how to Use the screen in different ways," she said.

She said that people may tend to rely on content such as logo graphics, skyline graphics, and real-time footage, but these are "basics. How can we take it to the next level?"

She said Devlin designed the set for the Tennis Channel, which has "some incredible displays" and is "more dynamic" than the previous set.

She said that Devlin also did a project for Riot Games, and it didn't want a scene that would make them look like traditional sports broadcasts. Instead, they "want to break the rules." Fiolek said that the new design replaces the desk with a display on the back of the main unit, which is "4,100 square feet of technology."

"The interesting thing about video walls is that they are infinite," she said.

Devlin designed the set for Riot Games, which has more than 4,100 square feet of display technology. Shown here is the League of Legends, League Championship Series.

She said that the final design could use different video shapes and angles, such as Devlin’s cylindrical design for Sinclair’s National Desk.

"It gave it some visual interest and made customers excited. Once again, we are thinking about how to use a collection in different ways, so it doesn't look like others," Fiolk said.

McLaughlin believes that as prices continue to fall, quality continues to increase, and the number of pixels continues to increase, the entire set will eventually be driven by video, which makes it possible to "tell stories anywhere in the studio". In short, he said, "It gives you the ability to change the scene."

At the same time, he said that he will continue to use augmented reality (AR), and viewers can expect to see more and more use of extended reality (ER), or the combination of video and AR or virtual reality (VR).

"It will all come together at some point," McLaughlin said.

Rich Ventura, vice president of B2B, Sony Electronics' professional division, said that LEDs offer more flexibility than LCDs.

He said that when multiple displays are lined up, LCD displays cause some common complaints, especially in terms of cost, size limitations, and visible lines or seams. On the other hand, LEDs are smaller and square, and many LEDs can be arranged together without visible lines separating the panels.

Fox O&O WTTG in Washington uses Chyron's PRIME video wall to power its equipment.

"When the LCD video wall took over, progress was slow," Ventura said. He said that the use of LED walls has increased 10 times. "The transformation happened so quickly."

He said that one reason is that in addition to basic size flexibility, LED walls also provide other benefits, including richer colors, higher brightness, and better uniformity than LCDs.

Mark Friedman, global head of Chyron's creative services, said that visually speaking, LED walls have opened up a world full of opportunities.

"What excites me is the use of PRIME Video Walls and all the ways you can split the screen and use non-standard 16×9 resolution," he said.

Friedman said that the PRIME Video Walls module fits the entire Chyron ecosystem and makes it easier for customers to use.

"Producers don't have to think of the video wall as some difficult problem or a separate process," Friedman said.

He said, on the contrary, this technology is suitable for the lower third or full screen. "We make it very easy. When things are easy to use, they are used more frequently."

It is no easier than drag and drop.

Paul Vander Plaetse, CEO of VuWall, said that VuWall's new TRx 3.1 video wall management platform supports NDI streaming and allows users to use drag-and-drop operations to launch preset content to the video wall. He said that using TRx as a video wall controller provides greater flexibility in installation.

"Different scenes have different technologies, but in the studio, they still need a single platform to be able to easily rearrange each show," he said. "The reconfiguration of the video wall can be done with TRx drag and drop."

FX designed the set of KHON Honolulu. The pixel pitch of the LED screen is 3.9 mm.

Black Box product management director Jonathan McCune said that how the processor aggregates video wall sources will have an impact.

"From a processing perspective, many people think that the video wall has just arrived and is working," he said.

McCune said that Black Box’s Radian Flex processor has more horsepower and bandwidth than traditional processors because it processes each screen independently.

"This makes the overall resolution deeper and more valuable than centralized processors," he said.

In general, even as technology continues to improve, the cost of LEDs is also falling.

For example, Chanan S. Averbuch, Executive Vice President of Primeview Advanced Display Solutions Americas, pointed out that the cost of finer pixel pitch is becoming more competitive. In addition, COB LEDs or LEDs with chips help reduce the cost of direct LED displays, he said.

He said that one of the reasons COB LEDs are more cost-effective is because broadcasters don't have to buy so many spare parts.

Graham Media Group's WJXT set in Jacksonville, Florida features a Primeview 1.9 mm pixel pitch LED wall.

Averbuch said that COB LED "is like buying an insurance policy." "It is built on a strong and durable foundation" and protects it from spilled coffee or bumps.

Olivia Reeves, executive vice president of business development at Neoti, said that although costs are declining, broadcasters should ensure that they are actually comparing the cost of similar quality items when comparing LED quotations from different suppliers.

"There are different components in the panel that affect pricing," she said, citing different types of diodes, brands, and soldering materials as examples. "You can buy high-end diodes or low-end diodes. Over time, there will be more failures on the low-end."

Diodes can also be soldered with gold or copper. She said that gold is more expensive and has a longer lifespan, but copper is a reliable and cost-effective choice that will not cause more diode failures over time.

The video wall can be used as a virtual scene. (Source: Sony)

With so many LED light sets designed, and many LEDs are manufactured in China, the supply chain has become a problem.

"There were 60 ships in the Port of California that were unable to land. All our equipment was delayed," McLaughlin said. "It's actually on a slow ship from China."

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