Resolution, Evolution, and What’s Next for LEDs with Dan Rossborough

Much of the focus on LED technology has been about resolution, but there comes a point where screens may have a sharper resolution than what the eye can see. In this episode of NanoSessions, Dan Rossborough, Director of Strategic Projects with NanoLumens, explains that the Pro AV industry has reached this peak, but at the end of the day it’s all about perception.

“Resolution is directly tied to pixel pitch or the density of pixels in an area. Resolution is also in the context of viewing distance. So, yes, we’ve come to a point where resolution is probably at its max, but what we’re most concerned with is helping architects and designers find the appropriate products based on viewing range and resolution,” Rossborough said.

While in most scenarios, LED screens are flat, NanoLumens began to look at screens from a different perspective. “LEDs have been traditionally flat. But if you look at the roots of NanoLumens, the company’s foundation has always been around R&D. We have many more engineers than sales professionals. We really wanted to revolutionize the industry,” Rossborough said.

“LEDs were initially used outdoors. We didn’t just want to take the outdoor solution and bring it indoors. That’s when we started looking at the screen as a material, one that could be flexible,” he said.

NanoLumens screens can now fit any surface, and they are moving toward compound curvatures that are nonlinear. It all started with the company’s first direct view LED display in 2012. “Coca-Cola came to us in 2012 and had a hallway that they wanted screens all down the hallway. They originally spec’d 60 plasma screens. The catch was that these screens had to be front serviceable. So, we started developing a product and created the first fully front serviceable direct view LED. We installed them, and they are still running today,” Rossborough said.

This first foray into customization has become the specialty of NanoLumens. “Most of the products we have now started from a customer needing something that didn’t exist. Everything we build is application specific and bespoke. Why? There are not two architectures that are identical, so why should displays be the same,” Rossborough said.