Color Selection
Monochrome (one color) displays are available in “Red” or “Amber (Yellow).”
Color displays are either RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or RGBW (Red, Green, Blue, White.)
The more colors, the more LED lights in each pixel, the larger each pixel, the further back from the sign you must be so that the sign is not “grainy.”
Display Capability - Palette
Because the intensity of a LED light can be changed by increasing or decreasing the voltage to it, the better monochrome displays can feature over 4000 shades of Red or Amber.
Good color displays (RGB) can display over 260,000 color variations; exceptional units 6 million.
We have units available with 256/4,000/26,000/6,000,000 and 281,000,000,000,000 shades/colors.
Pixels
An electronic message center is in many ways a large computer screen. The screen is illuminated by turning many individual lights, or pixels, on/off (or varying the voltage to them.)
Tighter spacing between pixels allows more data to be displayed and makes the sign look better but increases cost.
Pitch
How far the pixels are from one another is called “pitch” and is usually expressed in millimeters (mm.)
The pitch must be small for a display not to appear grainy up close.
Color displays, because each pixel is actually 3 or more different colored LED’s, cannot have as small a pitch as a monochrome display. Therefore they must be viewed from a greater distance to have a quality appearance.
Monochrome displays are available in 9mm, 17mm, 19mm, 25mm, 35mm, 46mm and larger, some very larger pitches.
The tightest pitch for a quality RGB color display is 17mm.
Pixel Size - Clusters
Some electronic message center manufacturers try to overcome inferior LED’s (which are greatly less expensive) by adding more than one LED of the same color to each pixel.
This makes the pixel larger, which makes the pitch larger, which increases the minimum viewing distance. It also uses more electricity.
Viewing Angles
As a driver drives toward an electronic message center installed on the side of a road his horizontal viewing angle increases from near 0° to 90° as he passes beside the sign. As the viewing angle increases the intensity of the display decreases in this direction also. The horizontal viewing angle of the LED’s used in the display also plays an important role in the usefulness of the display.It is important to understand the vertical and the horizontal angle that the display will be viewed from.
LED lights are directional. High quality LED’s can be viewed by as much as 140° horizontally and 40° vertically and still observe over 70% of the lumen potential. Some LED’s lose all of their light at angles over 45°
Less-expensive signs must be viewed nearly straight-on to be legible.
Glare Shields
Glare shields keep the sun from illuminating the display, making your message unreadable.Viewing Distances
The minimum viewing distance is the point at which the display loses its graininess. This can vary depending on the message being displayed.
The maximum viewing distance is the point at which the smallest character which the display can generate becomes unreadable. A potential solution is to generate larger characters; this may increase the minimum viewing distance.
Minimum Character Size
Seven (7) pixels high for the alphabet in most letter styles.
A 19mm display can display a 5” minimum character.
Matrix
How many pixels wide and high the display is, which determines how many of what size letters can be displayed at one time. Most matrix dimensions are in multiples of 8 pixels.Ventilation
Heat is the enemy of LED’s. All quality electronic message centers have ventilation fans. Larger units incorporate air conditioners into their design. Excessive heat can shorten LED life by up to 80%.Decreasing pitch, increasing the size of pixels, or over-driving LED’s with higher-than-required voltage to increase their brightness, increases heat, shortening the life of the unit.
120 volt single phase service is normally required because these displays do not consume a great deal of energy.
Remember, however, that other parts of the sign will have electrical requirements also.
Energy Consumption
This varies by the message displayed, and how long the electronic message center is on. That said it is uncommon for ANY electronic (LED) message center to use over $1.00 in electricity in a day.Energy Caveat
Some electronic message center manufacturers, more interested in the sale than the needs of the customer, overdrive their LED’s to make them brighter (usually because they are using inferior LED’s.)Besides shortening the lifetime of the display to 1/6 of a properly manufactured display it wastes energy.
Temperature Sensor
A thermometer installs on the sign cabinet and plugs into the sign computer in systems set-up for this feature.Time and Temperature Display Options
With this option, and a temperature sensor, the controlling computer can have the display flash, scroll, or constantly display time and temperature. The best systems display “atomic” time and self-adjust for daylight savings time.
Software
The system should have easy to use control software with built in features such as scrolling and blinking messages and a time and temperature display. It should also allow you to preview both individual messages and your whole display queue without forcing you to show the world your half-finished ads by running them on the display. The message should be able to be changed from inside your business, or the system should be configured so that “headquarters” can change the message at each store.
Software Training
Learning how to program an electronic message center is not hard.
Most good manufacturers have teaching CD’s in addition to Technical Assistance.
Many have telephone training included as part of their package.
Signs Manufacturing is particularly adept at these systems, and helps our customers until they no longer need us.
Then we come back when they find they were premature.
Text, Graphics, or Both
Some units can only display text, some must display text as a graphic (drawing), some can display both text and graphics.
Ours display both.
On monochrome units (one color) graphics are displayed in 256 shades of the one color. Full-color units display 281,000,000,000,000 separate shades.
Many varied letter-styles (fonts) are pre-programmed in all our units.
Our units can also automatically place text over graphics pictures.
Animated Text and Graphics
Some units can only display fixed messages; some can “scroll” a message or display.
Some units can show a display, such as a cartoon, with character movement, for instance.
Twenty frames per second is common but some systems support 60 frames per second. Fifteen per second is the minimum acceptable for animation.
Our units support 60 frame per second animation.
We also include pre-programmed clip-art.
Slideshow Playback
The more sophisticated electronic message centers can display pre-programmed messages and pictures in a slideshow format, much like a screensaver slideshow.
Ours do this.
Video - Prerecorded Clips
The more sophisticated units can display varying length videos.
Ours do.
Computer Link Types
Optical Fiber - Run underground from the sign to the controlling computer, usually inside the building. This fiber must be run in separate conduit, but it can be buried in the same trench as the electrical supply.
Phone Control - The unit can have a cell phone number and a modem. Simply call the sign from the controlling computer and tells it what to do. The internal memory of the electronic message center repeats these instructions until they are changed.
RF Wireless Modem Communications - An antenna is placed on the sign, and on the building, which is hooked to the controlling computer.
Group Links - It is possible to have one computer control multiple of our electronic message centers (all Long John Silver’s are, for example.)
Minimum Computer Requirements
Most up-to-date computers, purchased within 2 years, have enough memory to create control programs.
It is usually NOT necessary to buy a separate/additional computer to control an electronic message center.
(800) 333-7137
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