Must-see Video Screens

Tour any tradeshow floor these days and you'll see video performing duties from the flashy to the functional. Whether creating showfloor sizzle, drawing buyers' eyes, reinforcing corporate branding messages or illustrating how products work, video displays, audiovisual vendors agree, are becoming event-marketing workhorses.

"I think you're going to see more and more video screens," said Harald Thiel, president of the Canadian division of AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions, part of The Freeman Companies. "They're popular, particularly with the younger attendees to tradeshows, who are so used to seeing visual displays in a home-theater environment. They've actually spent a lot of their youth with visual displays as a learning tool."

And with recent technological advances, exhibitors now have many more video options to choose from.

The best time to begin thinking about how to use video is during the booth-design process. Making decisions early about the size and type of video screens, as well as selecting the sound and images you want to use, assures a better-thought-out design.

If you've never used video before and aren't particularly tech-savvy, an audiovisual vendor is probably your best option. Not only can AV vendors provide displays and all the accompanying peripherals, they can advise on matters such as:

• Type and size of display
• Placement of displays for maximum effectiveness
• Suitable types of source material (photos, logos, moving images)
• Suitable source material formats (DVD, CD-ROM, hard drive)
• Which source materials work best with particular displays
• Equipment transportation
• Setup and operation

Bear in mind that there are five different types of video display technologies, each with its own pros and cons (See below). Screen size is a key consideration. Do you need a countertop video display to highlight your products' features or are you looking for an attention-grabbing gargantuan to draw attendees to your booth like a magnet?

Brightness is also important. Will your booth be located under the glare of mercury-halide lights or in an area with more subdued lighting? And with some types of displays heavier than others, it's smart to factor in transportation expenses when deciding on an equipment rental price range. In addition, some types of video displays are more suited to particular types of source material (for instance, liquid crystal displays work well for computer graphics).

The oldest type of display is the cathode ray tube, a mainstay of television sets and computer terminals, in use since the 1930s. CRT images are created when an electron gun fires electrons on a phosphor-coated screen. The big hint that you're using CRT technology is the massive protrusion from the back of the monitor.

Something that humongous might be fine in an office cubicle or family room, but when it comes to the exhibit floor, such bulky monitors add up to a colossal waste of space – and money. And since a larger screen means a larger electron gun, bigger displays waste even more space and money.

For many years, if you wanted a large video image, you used projection. Consequently, most AV vendors have a healthy inventory of projectors and video screens. There are two types of projection systems: front and rear. But due to the uncontrolled light conditions on tradeshow floors, only rear-projection screens are suitable. Proponents, however, say projection remains a viable option for the exhibit booth, thanks to cheaper and lighter projectors and projection screens that are far more advanced.

If you're considering projection, you have to decide how much light you want the projector to push. A 1,500-lumen projector should do an adequate job, while a 60,000-lumen projector might be overkill. Other variables like "throw distance" and hiring a union projectionist must also be considered.

"The magic is now in the screens and in the projectors. It's not as much a science as an art," said Randy Harju of 3DL Design.

Because of their compact size, flat-screen plasma displays were quickly embraced by tradeshow exhibitors when they were introduced in the mid-1990s. Plasma displays create an image when gas reacts with phosphors to produce red, green or blue light. Still relatively expensive, the technology is slowly gaining ground in the computer monitor and home TV markets. But in the tradeshow environment, where space costs money, they've been the screen of choice for at least the last five years, say audiovisual firms. "You moved to plasma because it had a much smaller footprint in the exhibitor booth," said Thiel.

Plasma screens offer the biggest range of sizes, coming in 42-, 50-, 60- and now even 80-inch configurations. Another positive attribute is the bright and natural-looking images they produce. That's not to say they don't have their limitations. Plasma screens are heavy, fragile and difficult to move. In addition, they're subject to screen burn-in when static images are displayed.

Liquid crystal displays, or LCDs – used in everything from microwaves and watches to clocks and CD players – are also making some headway on the tradeshow floor. Not only are they thin and light, making them less expensive to move, but they also consume less power. They're sensitive to temperature fluctuations, but have the advantage of not giving off heat.

The big catch is their limited size. Although a 57-inch prototype has been developed, most LCD screens available through rental companies are 32 inches or smaller. In addition, they're somewhat fragile: Push on one of these screens, and you will leave a mark.

Over the last 18 months, yet another type of video screen has arrived on the scene – one that uses light emitting diode, or LED, technology. Not only are LED displays brighter, due to their modular construction, the sky's the limit as far as size goes. Made up of tiles, they can be quickly put together and taken apart. And the tiles are much easier to handle than the back-breaker plasma displays.

Measuring 18 by 22 inches, the tiles can also be molded into curving video walls to increase the wow factor. Mercedes-Benz used that technique for its exhibit at the Frankfurt Auto Show recently, Thiel recalls. "It gives a tremendous amount of creative potential," he said. The biggest consideration with LED is the number of millimeters between pixels. The lower the millimeter level, the closer people can be to the screen without it losing clarity.

LED screens are also more durable. Les Goldberg, CEO of LMG, recalls opening a box at a show site and finding a broken plasma screen inside. The screen had to be thrown away. By contrast, if LED screens suffer a bumpy ride, their lamps only need to be replaced.

Because of all the advantages, many believe LED will eventually replace plasma displays as the tradeshow video medium of choice. "LED is the only way to go. They're amazingly bright," said Peter Putnam, president of Doylestown, Pa.-based Roam Consulting.

LEDs are already commonplace at auto shows, said Goldberg, who expects them to catch on in other sectors. "Car manufacturers figured this out a long time ago," he said. "Now other exhibit environments are trying to bring LED into their events. When you're competing on the showfloor for attention, LED is going to make a difference."

Thiel echoes that. "Anyone who has a large visual display component to their marketing campaign should use LED. You can use the backwall of your booth as a billboard. Just think how much attention you can attract to your booth."