What is the difference between LED movie screen and indoor LED display screen?
In recent years, “LED movie screens” have received more and more attention and attention in the movie market, and many such screens have been put into actual use in China.
Some theaters have begun to gradually upgrade to LED movie screens to adapt to market demand, but many viewers are still full of doubts about this new thing.
Especially compared to ordinary indoor LED displays, what are the significant differences between the two.
In order to explain this, I will discuss in detail the development history of LED technology, related technical details, and its practical application in the market in today’s sharing to help everyone understand this cutting-edge technology more deeply.
Historical origins
Before explaining the difference between the two, let’s briefly review the history of LED display technology in China.
LED screens are based on light-emitting diode technology and were born in the 1960s.
In 1992, the first batch of commercial companies focusing on LED displays appeared in China.
Today, China’s LED display industry occupies a dominant position in the world, with leading technology and manufacturing levels.
After experiencing various technological developments from single- and double-color, full-color plug-in lamps to the current SMD and COB, the LED display industry has entered an era of technological diversification.
As the dot pitch shrinks and technology advances, the application scenarios are gradually shifting from outdoor advertising to indoor detailed display.
New products such as micro-pitch and flexible screens are being born.
At the same time, emerging fields such as LED movie screens and XR applications continue to expand application scenarios.
Generally speaking, LED movie screens are a subdivision of indoor LED displays, and the two can be regarded as different branches evolving from the same node.
Technical Details
The main difference between the two boils down to the necessity of DCI certification.
LED movie screens must obtain DCI certification before they are allowed to be used effectively in movie theaters.
Indoor LED screens are not subject to this restriction, which makes the latter more flexible in use and application.
DCI certification is an international standard set by the Digital Cinema Initiatives that requires all digital cinema projection equipment, including LED movie screens, to meet these strict standards.
As a result, LED movie screen manufacturers need to invest more resources and undergo more stringent testing, which inevitably leads to an increase in costs.
Currently, some suppliers in China have successfully obtained DCI certification for multiple sizes of LED movie screens, allowing them to meet the diverse needs of different cinemas.
In addition, there are significant differences between these two types of screens in terms of technical details:
The brightness of indoor LED screens is usually between 200-600cd.
LED movie screens have very strict brightness standards, with SDR brightness of 48nit and HDR brightness of 300nit, which enables LED movie screens to provide a better viewing experience.
01 Screen Size
Indoor LED screens do not have fixed specifications, and the size ratio is affected by site conditions.
The shape is not limited and can present curved surfaces, polygons, etc.; the resolution is not fixed, and the common point spacing is around 1.25-4.0mm.
The LED movie screen is specially designed for movie screenings.
It has fixed specifications, follows the DCI standard, and has fixed resolution and dot spacing, which meets the screening requirements of movie screenings.
02 Color aspect
The white field requirements for indoor LED screens are relatively broad. The color temperature is usually in the range of 8000-13000, and the gamma value is in the range of 2.5-2.8. There are no specific requirements.
The LED movie screen must comply with the DCI-P3 cinema standard, with a color temperature of 6500 and a gamma value of 2.6.
The wavelengths of the three primary colors also have specific requirements. Only by meeting these important optical conditions can movies be screened without distortion.
03 Structural aspects
Due to their wide application, indoor LED screens also have very diverse structural requirements.
Common ones include simple frame type, box type, quick-packing box type, etc.
As a fixed installation, the LED movie screen has higher requirements for flatness, and the structural design requires easy replacement of parts to reduce the difficulty of later maintenance.
In addition, in terms of signal source, indoor LED screens generally use graphics card HDMI output, and the digital format is RGB 8bit or 10bit.
The LED movie screen uses a movie player for signal output, and the digital format is a specific X’Y’Z’ 12bit.
The amount of information on the movie screen is much larger than the general indoor LED screen.
The usage environment is different: the LED movie screen is viewed in a lightless environment (theater), and the dark details and levels of the picture can be displayed stably and clearly.
Generally, indoor LED screens are used in light environments.
Due to the complex lighting conditions of the environment, they cannot take into account the levels of dark parts.
The ability to show dark details is the core ability of a display screen in video display, and LED movie screens are far better than ordinary LED screens in this aspect.
Through the above comparison, it is not difficult to see that there is a considerable difference in technical requirements between indoor LED screens and LED movie screens.
In particular, LED movie screens have been refined in many aspects for cinema applications.
They not only provide better projection effects in terms of visual experience, but are also more in line with cinema usage habits in terms of installation and maintenance.
It is still important to mention here that unlike ordinary LED screens, LED LED movie screens adopt a variety of low-power designs, so they generate very little heat, making the entire screen age and decay more slowly.
Market application
The introduction of LED movie screens is not just an upgrade to traditional LED displays.
Behind it is a more complex technical optimization process, covering the application and integration of many high-end technologies.
At the same time, in the process of operating theaters, operators need to comprehensively consider the dynamics of the entire industry chain, which undoubtedly poses more stringent requirements and challenges to LED movie screen suppliers.
In order to meet these requirements, suppliers not only need to have sufficient economic strength to deal with complex processes such as DCI certification, but also need to provide a series of thoughtful services, such as equipment maintenance and publicity and marketing support.
This comprehensive service can effectively help theaters reduce the pressure on hardware and provide them with timely operational support, thus improving overall box office performance and market visibility.
Postscript:
Against the background of the rapid development of the LED movie screen industry, projectors need to carefully choose cooperative brands and manufacturers.
The ideal choice is those companies that understand the needs of theaters and have strong comprehensive capabilities to ensure technical support and service guarantees, thereby reducing potential problems and risks.
Only in this way can we maintain our advantages in the fiercely competitive market and achieve better cooperation and development.