Virtual Pixel Outdoor LED Products
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There are many companies offering
virtual pixel, or ‘pixel sharing’ products
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DAK and Watchfire
Vantage LED and other overseas mfgs (very
many)
Many overseas providers produce ONLY
virtual pixel products
Even YESCO Electronics used to offer a
virtual pixel product, called the ’19-11’.
We discontinued the product as we felt it
only served to deceive buyers.
Virtual Pixel Outdoor LED Products
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A virtual or pixel sharing product will use less
diodes than its ‘true pixel’ counterpart. (a
‘virtual 16mm’ will use far less diodes than a
‘true 16mm’.)
They claim that by ‘sharing diodes’ between
pixels, they can provide similar or enhanced
resolution at far less cost.
They do this by using less diodes that they
configure into different pattern than true
pixel products. They then claim that by using
proprietary software, they can offer users
‘more pixels’ with less diodes.
Virtual Pixel Outdoor LED Products
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Diodes are the major cost item in LED
displays. If you use less diodes, your
product will cost less.
The prospect of ‘higher resolution for less
cost’ is very attractive for consumers,
particularly since these displays can be
expensive.
The Truth: These products are deceptive,
because they grossly over-represent the
display resolution a customer is getting.
Scenario: Buying a TV
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You want to buy a nice TV for
your living room at home.
You go to a Best Buy to compare
side by side and determine which
one looks better.
You see a standard definition TV
right next to an high-definition
TV.
The high-definition looks better
for one simple reason….
Scenario: Buying a TV
The Reason:
The high-def TV has
more ‘points of light’
per square foot (a.k.a.
diode density) than the
standard def TV does.
Why This is Easy to Discern
• You are seeing the TV’s from close
viewing distances (7-10’), side by side.
• The TV’s are playing the same content
(usually), so resolution differences are
easy to see.
Standard Def vs. High-Def TVs
Which one costs more? Why?
Primary reason:
Each point of light has a cost to it.
More points of light = higher cost.
Why No Pixel Sharing TVs?
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Why haven’t we heard of pixel sharing TV’s?
Wouldn’t Samsung, Sony or other TV
manufacturers love the billions of dollars of
savings if they could provide ‘virtual pixel’,
higher resolution TV’s for a fraction of the
cost of standard def TV’s?
The reason they haven’t: Pixel sharing and
the higher resolutions promised by such
products are myths.
Consumers could easily see that pixel sharing
TV’s would not provide enhanced resolution
because of side by side viewing in
showrooms.
Pixel Sharing on Outdoor TVs?
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If there’s no pixel sharing on indoor TVs,
why are we led to believe from Vantage
LED, Daktronics, Watchfire and other
manufacturers that pixel sharing and
virtual pixels magically provide higher
resolution with less diodes on outdoor
products?
Buyer Beware: If you’re buying a ‘virtual
pixel’ or ‘pixel sharing’ product, you’re not
getting the resolution you think you are.
Not even close.
Why Pixel Sharing is So Enticing
 Pixel sharing outdoor LED
products have gained a foothold
because they claim to offer
‘more pixels for less cost’
 There’s no easy side by side
comparison (like indoor TV
showrooms at Costco and
BestBuy) to disprove the claims.
Why Pixel Sharing is So Enticing
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The perception of getting ‘more for
less’ is irresistible for many customers
Buyers are not educated on outdoor
LED displays, generally, and they want
to believe that getting more for less
could be true, particularly with such a
large cost item.
Specifications can be confusing or
murky
Resolution is Based on
Diode Density
Which side has the higher density
of diodes?
Which side has the higher density
of diodes?
“True”
YESCO 16mm
“True”
YESCO 20mm
With “True” Pixel Products, a product’s
resolution is distance between the
center of one red, green and blue pixel
and it’s adjoining pixels (e.g. 16mm
apart, or 20mm apart)
Which side has the higher density
of diodes?
“True”
YESCO 16mm
“True”
YESCO 20mm
With its ‘true’ pixels spaced closer
together, the 16mm offers better
resolution than a 20mm.
Which side has the higher density
of diodes?
With true pixel products, the difference
is easy to see.
Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel
Now this is a virtual
pixel product.
Notice the different
diode layout. The
diodes are spaced
out further and
there are less of
them.
Many pixel sharing products use ‘diode to diode’ instead
of the ‘pixel center to pixel center’ measurement.
True Pixel vs. Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel
Which Product Has Higher Diode Density?
“True” YESCO
16mm
Center to Center =
16mm
“Virtual” 16mm
Diode to Diode =
16mm
Many pixel sharing products use ‘diode to diode’ instead
of the ‘pixel center to pixel center’ measurement.
How Pixels Are Counted in Pixel
Sharing / Virtual Pixel Products
DAK Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel Closeup
How Pixels Are Counted in Pixel
Sharing / Virtual Pixel Products
Pixel 1
“Shared” diode
Pixel 2
DAK Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel Closeup
How Pixels Are Counted in Pixel
Sharing / Virtual Pixel Products
Pixel 1
“Shared” diode
Pixel 2
“Shared” diodes
Pixel 3
How many
diodes have
been used to
create three
‘pixels’?
DAK Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel Closeup
Answer: 6 diodes
(vs. 9 for ‘true pixel’
products’)
How Pixels Are Counted in Pixel
Sharing / Virtual Pixel Products
Pixel 1
“Shared” diode
Pixel 2
“Shared” diodes
Pixel 3
“Shared” diode
Pixel 4
DAK Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel Closeup
How Pixels Are Counted in Pixel
Sharing / Virtual Pixel Products
Pixel 1
“Shared” diode
Pixel 2
“Shared” diodes
Pixel 3
“Shared” diode
Pixel 4
“Shared” diodes
Pixel 5
“Shared” diode
DAK Pixel Sharing / Virtual Pixel Closeup
12 pixels vs. 12 ‘pixels’
“True” 16mm
12 pixels
“Virtual” 16mm
12 ‘pixels’
12 pixels vs. 12 ‘pixels’
Each product has 12 ‘pixels’ in the same area.
12 pixels vs. 12 ‘pixels’
36 diodes
17 diodes
Each product has 12 ‘pixels’ in the same area.
Now count the diodes in those 12 pixels….
Less Diodes = Same # of Pixels?
Diodes in True
Pixel Products
Diodes in
Virtual Product
Difference
Pixels
12
12
Same?
Diodes for
12 pixels
36
17
Virtual 50% less
Cost?
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If diode quality/costs are equal, which product will
cost less? What about if diode quality/costs are less
with the virtual product?
Most virtual products (overseas) are built with far
lower quality lower cost diodes.
Less Diodes = Same # of Pixels?
Diodes in True
Pixel Products
Diodes in
Virtual Product
Difference
Pixels
12
12
Same?
Diodes for
12 pixels
36
17
Virtual 50% less
Cost?
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Virtual products will claim to have power costs
much closer to YESCO’s products than we typically
see. How can this be?
Answer: False resolution claims with far less diodes.
If we compared equivalent diode density products,
YESCO’s power will be far less
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
 DAK does not offer a ‘true 12mm’
 Often propose 13HD as ‘pretty much
the same resolution as a YESCO 12mm’
 Claims to be better for closer viewing
than a 16mm on DAK’s website
 Costs 25% less than YESCO’s true 12mm
 Customer inclination: Same resolution
at 75% of the cost? Sign me up!
DAKs Website
A Closer Look….
Each Product is Drawn at Scale
DAK’s 13HD Product
20 RGB Pixels
X
3 diodes per pixel
= 60 diodes
3 columns of 9 diodes =
27 diodes
3 columns of 8 diodes =
24 diodes
27 + 24 = 51 diodes
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
60 diodes
51 diodes
Most buyers would think that the 13HD offers better
resolution for two reasons
1. 13 < 16, so it must be better, right?
2. The ‘HD’ in 13HD must mean ‘high-definition’, right?
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
60 diodes
51 diodes
Instead of ‘high-definition’, the HD in 13HD
should stand for ‘highly doubtful’.
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
60 diodes
51 diodes
The 16MT has HIGHER resolution
than the 13HD based on diode
count per sq ft. This is also
known as diode density.
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
60 diodes
51 diodes
The 13HD actually has a diode
density equivalent to an
18.46mm ‘true pixel’ display.
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
60 diodes
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51 diodes
A DAK 16mm (as well as any true 16mm) will
look noticeably better than a DAK 13HD.
A true 12mm display (over 100 diodes in the
same area) will look drastically better than a
DAK 13HD.
DAK’s REAL Resolution…
60 diodes
51 diodes
48 diodes
35 diodes
Diode Density = True Resolution
= true 16mm
= true 18.46mm
= true 20mm
= true 21.55mm
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
60 diodes
51 diodes
Misleading
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
There’s a
problem here…
Can you find it?
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
DAK says these
are both 13mm.
Do they look the
same to you?
Example: DAK’s 13HD Product
This one is not. It
is really just
under 19mm
The Truth: This
measurement is
correct.
Resolution is Based on
Diode Density
Diode Density
(Diodes per Sq Foot)
Diode Type
YESCO 12mm
1,728 / ft2
SMD
YESCO 16mm
1,032 / ft2
SMD
DAK 13mm HD
= 18.46mm
Through-hole
YESCO 20mm
654 / ft2
Through-hole
= 21.55mm
Through Hole
Product
DAK 15HD
Another Virtual Provider:
Vantage LED
Can you
spot the
virtual
pixels?
From Vantage’s website
From the Vantage LED Website
48 x 96 = 4,608 pixels
96 x 192 = 18,432 pixels
Even Vantage is confused by what they are
claiming with virtual pixels. In truth, they are
claiming that the number of pixels didn’t just
double, it QUADRUPLED! Sorry folks, there is no
‘halving of the distance’ to create mythical pixels.
Advantage LED
resells Vantage
LED product.
This is a real proposal.
Most customers will
think they are getting
a 12.5mm with ‘four
times the resolution’
of similar displays.
And most won’t
realize what they
are really
buying…a display
¼ the resolution
claimed in bold
print
Summary
• Virtual pixel / pixel sharing products grossly
over-represent the number of pixels in a
display.
• Virtual pixel providers are confused about what
they are offering and try to pass products off as
equivalent resolution to ‘true’ pixel products.
BUYER BEWARE!
• Key to a display’s resolution (whether indoor or
outdoor display) is the number of points of light
per square foot. In outdoor LED displays, that is
‘diodes per square foot’.
• To compare apples to apples pricing, buyers
should compare products with similar diodes
densities