What to ask your LED display supplier: 12 questions that separate serious manufacturers from resellers

Most LED display tenders are decided on capital price and the headline specification sheet — nits, pitch, refresh rate. Most post-installation disputes arise from something that was not in the specification sheet: a driver IC that turns out to be a budget variant, a warranty that excludes on-site labour, a supplier who does not carry AU-local spares and can not get a replacement module to site in less than six weeks.

These 12 questions, asked before you sign, expose the difference between a manufacturer and a reseller, and between a supplier who will be there in year five and one who will not.

Technical specification questions (1–6)

Question 1: What is the driver IC, by part number?

Acceptable answer: “MBI5153,” “ICN2153,” “XM11206G,” “MBI5252” — a named part number from a verifiable manufacturer.

Unacceptable: “high-refresh driver IC,” “Macroblock-class driver,” “premium-grade chip.”

The driver IC family determines scan ratio, grayscale bit depth, PWM architecture and refresh stability. Without the name, you cannot verify any downstream specification. A supplier who does not name their driver IC either does not know what ships in their cabinets (a sourcing-control problem) or is deliberately concealing a lower-tier component (a commercial honesty problem). Either way, it is a gating question.

Question 2: What is the scan ratio at full hardware bit depth and full brightness?

Acceptable: “1/16 scan,” “1/28 scan,” “1/32 scan” — a single number applying simultaneously to full hardware bit depth and full brightness.

Unacceptable: “high scan ratio,” “broadcast scan,” a number that only applies at reduced grayscale.

Some datasheets quote a 1/32 scan ratio that applies only when the cabinet is running at reduced grayscale (10-bit or below), with a 1/16 fallback at full bit depth and full brightness. Ask explicitly: “What is the scan ratio when the cabinet is running at its quoted maximum bit depth and maximum brightness, simultaneously?” The answer should be a single, unambiguous fraction.

Question 3: What is the hardware grayscale bit depth — separately from any dithering?

Acceptable: “16-bit hardware,” “14-bit hardware” — a hardware figure without dithering.

Unacceptable: “16-bit effective,” “14-bit + dithering equivalent to 16-bit,” “high bit depth.”

Temporal dithering (PWM dithering, spatial dithering) is a technique for extending apparent grayscale resolution beyond the hardware level. It is legitimate — but the hardware figure is the ceiling, and the dithering claim is an estimate that varies with content. If the hardware figure is 13-bit and the supplier claims “16-bit effective,” the wall is operating as a 13-bit system for any content that exposes the dithering method (slow-motion broadcast, long static shots, close-range fine-pitch viewing). Ask for the hardware number.

Question 4: What LED diode brand, SKU and bin grade?

Acceptable: “Nationstar NS3535 A-bin,” “Kinglight KG2727 A+,” “Cree CR3535 A+.”

Unacceptable: “Nationstar-class diode,” “grade-A LED,” “tier-one diode.”

Bin grade is the manufacturer’s own quality grading of dies from the same wafer run. A-bin and A+ have tighter wavelength and brightness tolerances. B-bin is a wider spread that presents on the installed wall as visible cabinet-edge colour seams and accelerated brightness drift. If the bin grade is not stated, ask. If the answer is “we use only the best grade” without a specific bin designation, assume B-bin pricing is in the box.

Question 5: What is the PCB stack-up — layer count, copper weight, surface finish, impedance control?

Acceptable: “6-layer, 2 oz outer, ENIG, controlled impedance on data pairs.” “4-layer, 2 oz, ENIG, controlled.”

The minimum line for a professional-grade installation: 4-layer, 2 oz copper weight, ENIG (electroless nickel immersion gold) surface finish. The 2 oz copper specification is the single most practical predictor of whether via barrels will crack under 3–5 years of thermal cycling in Australian outdoor conditions — the leading cause of “random dead lines” service calls in years 3–5. HASL-finished PCBs at 1 oz are the budget-grade spec; they are acceptable for short-duration or indoor-controlled environments and should be priced accordingly.

Question 6: What is the IP rating — separately for front and back?

Acceptable: “Front IP65, rear IP54” or “Front IP65, rear IP65.”

Unacceptable: “IP65 rated” as a single combined figure.

The front and rear failure modes of an LED cabinet differ. Front IP65 protects against rain-exposed weather. Rear IP54 is the minimum for sheltered mounting; rear IP65 is required if the back is exposed to weather or high-pressure cleaning. A single “IP65” figure without front/back separation almost always means front IP65 / rear IP54 — which is fine for many applications, but the buyer should know which one they are getting.

Supply chain and warranty questions (7–9)

Question 7: What does the warranty cover — parts only, parts and on-site labour, or full on-site replacement?

Three-year parts warranty is the industry minimum. The question that separates real warranty from paper warranty is what happens at the site:

• Parts only: The failed module is shipped to you at no cost. The technician to fit it, the scissor lift to reach it, and the lost revenue while the screen is down are all your problem.
• Parts + on-site labour: The supplier’s technician swaps the module on-site. You still book access equipment.
• Full on-site: The supplier handles parts, labour and access equipment for the full warranty term.

For any installation above 6 m off the ground, or in a venue where access requires booking a lift and a safety officer, the cost of on-site labour over a 3-year warranty can exceed the cost of the original hardware. Ask before you sign.

Question 8: Where are your Australian spare parts held — and in what quantity?

An onshore spares commitment is worth more than a longer warranty on paper. Ask:

• Which state (or states) is spares stock held in?
• What is the stock level — number of modules, PSUs and receiving cards, expressed as a percentage of the installed base?
• What is the lead time from a warranty claim lodged at 9 am to a replacement module on-site?

“We can air freight from our warehouse” is not an Australian spares commitment — it is a 2–6 week wait. “We hold 3% module spares in Adelaide and Sydney for same-day dispatch” is a commitment.

Question 9: What is the expected PSU replacement schedule, and is it included in the warranty?

Power supply units in LED cabinets are the second-most-common failure point after LED modules, and they fail on a more predictable schedule: electrolytic capacitors in budget-grade PSUs degrade under sustained Australian operating temperatures within 3–5 years. Premium PSUs rated at 150–200% of operating load degrade more slowly, typically 5–8 years.

Ask the supplier to state explicitly whether PSU replacement within the warranty term is covered (parts and labour), whether there is an expected replacement schedule, and what the per-cabinet PSU cost is for out-of-warranty replacement. A supplier who has not thought about this has not serviced a 5-year-old wall.

Australia-specific questions (10–12)

Question 10: Does the cabinet carry current RCM marking for Australian use?

RCM (Regulatory Compliance Mark) is mandatory for electrical equipment sold in Australia. Ask for the RCM certificate number, not a claim that the cabinet meets Australian standards. The certificate is issued by the accredited test laboratory that performed the compliance testing; it has a certificate number and an expiry date.

A supplier who cannot provide an RCM certificate is either selling non-compliant hardware into the Australian market or re-selling under another entity’s certificate in a way that may not cover the specific product configuration being quoted. Either situation creates a liability exposure for the site owner — the equipment is non-compliant under the Australian Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS), and the site owner’s insurer may decline a claim arising from a non-RCM-marked installation.

Question 11: Can you name three completed LED installations in the Australian market, with venue and contact details for reference?

This is not a gotcha question — it is standard due diligence. An established AU-market supplier will have a list of completed projects, including venue names, installation years and a contact at each venue who is willing to take a reference call.

What you are verifying: that the supplier has dealt with Australian electrical standards, AS 1170 wind loading requirements, RCM compliance, AU-climate operating conditions, and — most importantly — has serviced those installations at years 1, 2, 3 onward. A supplier who can only point to their most recent project (which has not yet had its first warranty service) is not yet a proven AU-market operator.

Question 12: Who in Australia is responsible for this project after handover?

This question should have a name and a phone number as the answer — not a company name and a support ticket system.

The question is specifically about who is:

• Accountable for warranty claims (an escalation path, not just an email address)
• Available in an Australian time zone for commissioning support
• Responsible for on-site warranty work

A supplier whose post-installation support routes through an offshore team or a 48-hour response window SLA is not providing AU-market support — they are providing international support at international response times. For a public-facing installation at a venue with operating hours, that is a commercial risk.

What a full, honest answer set looks like

The answers to all 12 questions, together, form a picture of operational maturity. A serious manufacturer — as opposed to a reseller or a first-time AU-market entrant — will answer all 12 without hesitation, with specifics, and will produce documentation for questions 10 and 11 on request.

If any of the 12 produce a vague, deflecting or unavailable answer, the appropriate response is to return the question in writing and request a documented response before issuing a purchase order. The total cost of the resulting service exposure, if the question reveals a real problem, is greater than the cost differential between vendors.

Aurora publishes the answers to questions 1–6 on every datasheet. Questions 7–9 are in our standard warranty and support schedule. Questions 10–12: RCM certificates are available on request; AU reference sites are available on request for any qualified tender; and every Aurora project has a named AU-based project manager and account manager from day one.

Request a quotation or talk to the Aurora team about your project.