The benefits of large-format LED displays for attractions and amusements.
The industry for attractions and amusements might be the most aptly named economic sector, relying on a business model that requires literally attracting and amusing customers. Whether the entertainment offering takes the form of games, go-karts, roller coasters, museum exhibits or interactive digital-art installations, there is no better way to engage and delight customers than with dynamic, large-scale imagery. Digital displays are virtually guaranteed to play a major role in creating and shaping these experiences. As crowds begin returning to these venues, integrators have a prime opportunity to prove to business owners that new video-display solutions—in particular, direct-view LED (DVLED)—can help improve communication, entertainment and interaction year-round, in any weather, at any size.
Direct-View LED Displays Open Endless Possibilities
Amusement operators know the value of guest engagement, and many of them already use some form of display network for entertainment, queue management, wayfinding, food courts, merchandise sales and emergency messaging, as well as to create a “wow factor” with scalable, bezel-free videowalls. With DVLED displays now approaching the affordable price points of LCD solutions, integrators can help innovative business owners initiate new opportunities with a technology that can do far
more than just presenting a rectangular video on a wall.
The inherent benefits of the latest DVLED technologies include ultra-high-brightness capabilities, a working lifespan of 100,000 hours or more, low weight, limited energy requirements, and the option to use preconfigured, all-in-one solutions or to design a custom display of nearly any size or shape for a specific need. Leading manufacturers have designed various types of customizable DVLED solutions that can be used indoors and outdoors, can conform to fit curved walls, can offer double-sided visibility, and can deliver non-standard shapes and aspect ratios. Some DVLED solutions even offer interactive capabilities through touch-sensitive or motion-activated add-ons.
Give People What They Want
Today’s customers are accustomed to digital displays being a part of nearly every daily activity; they’re conveniently available in their pockets, on their walls and in their vehicles. It’s no surprise, then, that customers have come to expect attractions and amusements to integrate digital displays throughout the experience.
Enhancing the customer experience when people are in the queue is often considered a key aspect of optimizing an attraction. If customers encounter wait times or lines for specific attractions, business owners have a prime opportunity to reduce perceived wait times by entertaining, informing, advertising to, and engaging and connecting with patrons of all ages. And with the placement flexibility that DVLED technology naturally offers, a display can go on a wall, it can be hung from the ceiling or it can even wrap around a column to place messaging wherever a customer is located.
Reach Everyone All At Once
No matter what content a display presents, visibility is key. Simply put, the more eyeballs that can see a visual, the more effective the engagement. In nearly all cases, visibility comes down to size, resolution, brightness and display placement.
There’s virtually no limit to the shape or size of a custom DVLED display. If an amusement park or a sports stadium wants a welcome banner over its entrance booths, it no longer has to design a paneled videowall with multiple LCD screens and content processors; instead, it can utilize a single curved DVLED display with a 1:5 ratio, for example. The same goes for videowalls and large interactive exhibits, games or information displays. DVLED virtually eliminates the need for bezel lines, and the technology helps guarantee color and timing consistency across the entire digital surface.
Because resolution (pixel pitch) and brightness are customizable, a display’s size and expected viewing distance can greatly affect its cost and the characteristics that are required. For large displays intended to be viewed from far away, a lower-resolution DVLED solution with high brightness might deliver excellent results with lower costs. Weatherproofing and brightness capabilities as high as 8,000 nits deliver outstanding performance for outdoor applications or window-facing situations. Displays intended for close-up viewing or interactive experiences, on the other hand, require a higher resolution with smaller pixels; however, they might not require such extreme brightness capabilities.
Owners/operators of amusements and attractions are eager to resume somewhat-normal operations, and most of them are willing to consider investments in displays to enhance the guest experience in ways that will make customers feel safe, welcome and excited to return. For example, business owners can use DVLED installations to
share daily updates on health-and-safety protocols.
More generally, owners have to show that they are just as excited as their customers are to get back to the job at hand—having fun. And they have been working over the past year to make their amusements even more fun. Our job now is to present new opportunities and possibilities to these businesses’ key decision-makers, helping to deliver entertaining, engaging, meaningful, creative digital solutions to suit all their onsite communication needs.
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