By David
A dvLED brief that gives an integrator the room, the content, the hours of use and the service expectation will produce proposals that can be compared; a brief that gives a size and a budget will produce prices that cannot. The difference is decided before anyone quotes.
This guide covers what an end user should put in the brief, what to ask during selection, and how to compare proposals that arrive in different formats.
Five items make proposals comparable.
The space, with dimensions and photographs. The viewing distance, nearest and farthest, measured rather than estimated. The content, described specifically — live data, video conference, presentation, imagery — because it drives the specification more than the room does. Hours of use per day and days per week. And the service expectation, in terms of how quickly a fault has to be resolved and whether the building has anyone to do it.
Two further items prevent later confusion. State the budget envelope, including installation and service, so the proposal is scoped to it rather than to a wish list. And state whether the building work — power, structure, access — is inside or outside the contract.
The questions below are the ones whose answers vary most between integrators, and they are not usually covered by an equipment quotation.
What is the response time if a module fails, and where are the spares held? What is the brightness headroom over the measured room light level, given that output declines over the life of the screen? Who witnesses the acceptance test, and what are the pass criteria? What is the delivered cost to the building, on a named delivery term, including installation? And what happens to the price if the site is not ready on the planned date?
| Question | What a weak answer sounds like | What a considered answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Response time on a module fault | “We'll respond quickly” | A stated time, with the spares location named |
| Brightness headroom | A single cd/m² figure | The figure with the drive setting and the measured room level |
| Acceptance test | “We'll test it” | Named witness, stated criteria, recorded result |
| Delivered cost | An equipment price | Cost to site on a named term, installation included |
| Site readiness | Not addressed | A stated position on re-mobilisation cost |
Proposals arrive in different formats, and the comparison is usually being made between a cheaper option described in detail and a more expensive one described in general.
Three normalisations make the comparison fair. Compare the delivered cost to site rather than the equipment price, because freight, installation and the service arrangement are frequently excluded. Compare against the same specification, meaning the same pitch and brightness, since a proposal that has quietly reduced either is not cheaper, it is different. And compare the service arrangement as a line, because a lower equipment price with no local spares can be the more expensive decision over the term.
During selection it is worth understanding which manufacturer sits behind each proposal, because the integrator’s service commitment is only as good as the supply behind it.
Two documents tell you most of it. The cut sheet shows whether the specification is actually achievable, and the certification file shows whether the installation will pass inspection where a code applies. An integrator who can produce both without delay is working with a manufacturer who has them.
Our factory runs 8 IC production lines and 7 LED SMT production lines under ISO 9001:2015, with CE, FCC and RoHS certification, a 15 to 20 working day lead time and a three-year warranty, and issues cut sheets and certification documents from the factory.
For this requirement our range covers it directly: the All 12 LED display series the COB CV-PRO series.
Send your specifications for a detailed LED display price quote with UL/ETL certification.
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