PANSTADIA & ARENA MANAGEMENT SHOWCASE SPECIAL 2014

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THE BIG PICTUREOY Darepro’s Managing Director, Henri Orpo, discusses the technological innovations happening in the LED video screen and scoring system sector, and how to ensure the best overall solution for your venue.

How long has Darepro been involved in the sports venue market and what was one of your first standout projects in this sector?

Darepro has been developing and manufacturing LED video screens and scoring systems for the sports venue market since 1993, with one of our first large-scale sports projects being in Kazakhstan. We supplied a total video screen and results service system to a large indoor venue used for athletics. The project included a 57m² large full colour video screen, plus scoreboards, timing devices, studio equipment, camera system, audio system etc. In those days, the blue LED wasn’t bright enough to be used in LED screens, so we made large video screens with red, green and blue fluorescent discharge tubes. One challenge was that we had to create several new words for the Kazakh language because some of the terminology required in our results service system didn’t exist in their language! You can certainly call this a real turnkey project!

Can you give us a brief overview as to the services you provide and the kinds of people you often work with on a project?

We offer the complete package. This means designing a suitable overall solution, the supplying of required LED screens and scoring systems, system integration, all installation works, maintenance and service, system updates and other required works during the lifetime of the system. Our aim is to provide a complete turnkey service to the client as required.

We work with various people and it always depends on the exact nature of the project and how early on in that project we get to liaise with the client. Usually everything starts with the architects or the low voltage engineering company, although sometimes the first contacts are made with federation people, club owners or the venue operators. Another important partner for us are the system integrators.

When it comes to LED technology, what are the most important factors sports clubs and venue managers/operators need to think about when deciding which manufacturer to work with? And do stadia and arenas have different kinds of requirements?

These days it is increasingly difficult for the buyer (sport clubs or venue managers) to evaluate the competing manufacturers. All salesmen tend to promise the best product with the lowest price but, as we all know, this never happens… First of all, any good and reliable product has three quality factors: good engineering; quality components; and standards fulfilling manufacturing. These quality factors can’t be evaluated by the buyer, however, they can evaluate the manufacturers based on supplier’s references and experience, and by asking the following kinds of questions: How do the supplier’s earlier products and systems work? Have they been able to carry out the services they have promised? Have they been able to supply systems to major sporting events or venues?

In terms of requirements, first of all, the surrounding environment for indoor

arenas and stadiums are completely different. An indoor venue will always have a stable climate (in most cases) but in a stadium environment your product must survive 12 months a year outside, sometimes in extreme conditions. Therefore, the following factors should be taken into consideration:

In indoor venues, the bright lights and small pixel pitch require extremely good contrast of the front surface. This can be made by black face LEDs and by a correctly designed and painted front surface. TV and slow motion material require a high quality control system and a high refreshment rate of the screen. Indoor venues can experience great differences in lighting conditions during different events, which necessitates the need

OY Darepro’s Managing Director, Henri Orpo

Darepro offer a complete turnkey package, from designing a suitable overall solution, to supplying the required LED screens and scoring systems, along with systems integration, all installation works, maintenance, service, system updates and all other required works during the lifetime of the system.

www.psam.uk.com

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for high-end brightness and a colour control system, with an easy to use user interface. Nowadays, screens are becoming bigger, and wireless data transfer is increasingly used, which means the products must meet EMC requirements in order to avoid potential problems.

In outdoor venues, the screens are often not in operation for several days in a row. During that time, it is critical to maintain dry conditions inside the screens. Depending on the location, this might require the use of heaters. Perimeter displays must also tolerate certain hits and kicks, without getting broken.

Finally, as events are becoming ‘spectacles’, this requires new features from a controlling system. It must be possible to control several screens and displays and several different combinations of screens and materials.

How important is it for sports venues to consider the long-term cost issues when selecting an LED system?

In my opinion, the decision makers should think about the LED technology product as an investment that has a total cost consisting of three parts: the initial investment; maintenance costs;

and total lifetime. All too often the buyer only looks at the figures of the initial investment.

If the product has lots of failures and problems, then how well and fast can that be taken care of? This situation can create lots of problems, which sometimes can’t even be calculated. Also, how much power does the product consume and what will be its total lifetime be (i.e. over how many years can the buyer use the same investment)? It is actually simple mathematics. That is as long as the supplier doesn’t disappear…and unfortunately, over the last decade, this has happened in increasing numbers of cases, with low cost suppliers appearing in the market for 6-12 months and then disappearing. This can create quite complex problems for both the users and the buyers.

In summary, the total cost of ownership is a very different story than just the initial investment.

What are some of the potential problems owners may experience with their LED systems if the technology used is not high quality?

Eventually every electronic product will experience some problems during

its lifetime. In LED screens, these can include a broken power supply or a broken LED or connector. These are so called ‘normal problems’ but of course they shouldn’t occur frequently. The more serious problems would relate to bad quality components, poor manufacturing or even to mistakes in engineering, which can cause some real reliability problems, such as an increasing number of broken LEDs, broken modules, continuous shortcuts or even electromagnetic disturbances in a venue. If the manufacturer uses unacceptable components (LEDs, ICs, PCBs, connectors, etc.), the problems may not be repairable without replacing all of the parts that consist of these components.

The second serious issue is poor manufacturing quality. Nowadays all components are getting smaller and more delicate. This requires more skills and high-end machinery from the manufacturers. Unfortunately even good quality components can be destroyed with poor manufacturing. However, it is impossible for the venue operator to check and control that everything is manufactured well, and it is not his/her job either, therefore he/she has to trust the supplier.

In the case of indoor

venues, the bright lights and small pixel

pitch require extremely good contrast of the front surface. This

can be made by black face LEDs and by a correctly designed and painted front surface. TV and slow motion material

require a high quality control system and a high refreshment rate of the screen.

PANSTADIA & ARENA MANAGEMENT SHOWCASE SPECIAL 2014

Some of our readers have experienced unfortunate situations where their LED system has malfunctioned but the supplier has not provided any guarantee or post installation support. How critical are these factors in your experience?

This is really unfortunate and should never happen. Every LED screen needs maintenance and service. Without a manufacturer’s support it can sometimes be challenging to locate the problem and to analyse what has caused the malfunction. If the supplier just gives you a pack of spare LEDs and power supplies it is the same as if you go to buy a TV and instead of receiving a guarantee you walk out with a soldering iron!

Considering that the expected lifetime of the LED screen is around ten years, and the need of service support increases

every year, it is vital that the buyer has a reliable supplier or a direct contact to a manufacturer who is able to provide service, system updates and spare parts for up to ten years.

Sports venue owners and operators are increasingly looking to run their venues in a more sustainable way. How important is sustainability and what benefits can your solutions offer in this respect?

Sustainability has an increasingly important meaning in every aspect of our business. It is clear that LED technology represents low power consumption but inside the industry we can still see screens with 50% less power consumption than other similar screens. This is due to engineering and component choices. Another sustaining issue is long lifetime, which is where you really need to invest in good

quality products. We are constantly working on durability and reliability issues. The third important issue is to buy the most suitable solution for the application. By investing in a product that turns out to be unusable – that is not sustainable.

Are you working on any new innovations or enhancements to your solutions that will be of benefit to the sports venue sector?

We are currently developing two new solutions. One is a high-contrast/high-refresh screen for indoor venues that sometimes struggle with dark environment/low brightness issues. The other work is concentrating on a diagnostic and monitoring system that can help us, and the user, react to any possible errors on a real-time basis or even prevent these errors from happening. n

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Video screens for outdoor use must be able to withstand extreme conditions.

Designing concepts for LED displays andmanufacturing

long-lasting impressions

www.darepro.com