DSE Mixer Sponsor Profiles: SNA Displays Bolstering Its Broad LED Range With Expanded Back-End Solutions
November 10, 2022 by Dave Haynes
Just a week out now from the reboot of DSE in Las Vegas, and the return of the used-to-be annual Sixteen:Nine networking mixer, which is seriously sold out.
The event happens because of eight great sponsors who help cover the considerable costs. I like to thank and recognize sponsors by running company profiles. So far, profiles have been posted on SignageOS, Creative Realities, TSItouch, Screenfeed and Seneca.
Next up is SNA Displays, which has emerged as a major player in both the indoor and outdoor LED markets. SNA have great product and are also very effective marketers. The company is also interesting because it doesn’t just manufacture and sell indoor and outdoor LED displays, it becomes a direct partner in jobs – helping finance projects that might otherwise remain just ideas.
Here’s the Q&A …
Q: Can you summarize what SNA Displays does and the main markets it serves?
SNA Displays is an LED display system manufacturer, building high-end systems for indoor and outdoor applications across various market sectors including commercial and out of home, sports and live events, corporate spaces, casino gaming, retail, the arts, and more. We also provide backend systems equipment and expertise as well as post-installation managed services. We provide displays across the globe, but our primary geographical market is of course North America. Though we’ve carved out a bit of an identity as one of the industry’s top providers of flashy outdoor LED mega-spectaculars, we’ve quietly earned key business in other areas like indoor fine-pitch, ultra-fine-pitch, sports, etc.
Q: What’s new with SNA’s product line-up?
We’re certainly accounting for a much higher demand in extremely tight-pitch, sub-1mm display products. We’re also further developing software and back-end products that give owners and managed-service firms quality tools to obtain real-time monitoring data as well remote troubleshooting and correction capability. We’ve recently made quite a few expansions to our back-end solutions for sports and live events, which of course has improved our offerings for other sectors too.
For example, we’ve recently rolled out an in-house diagnostics software V3 Pro which, when coupled with the diagnostics PC we provide with each display system, gives owners and operators piece of mind that their system is fully operational and will stay that way. We have integrated this platform with third-party control systems like Crestron and QSC to provide clients the ability to integrate our LED display, control from their platform of choice, and have full visibility to the status and health of all displays in their system LED system.
Q: I have been writing a lot about how LED is now a mainstream display product. Do you agree?
Absolutely. Given greater affordability and improved technology for both indoor and outdoor environments, there really aren’t many spaces dvLED hasn’t worked itself into. From retail and restaurants to corporate campuses to entertainment LED display technology has proven it can be a ubiquitous messaging platform. LED is even being employed with greater regularity in public spaces and commissioned art, further emphasizing that this kind of visual technology is not just for advertising, entertainment, or brand enhancement.
Q: Are buyer profiles shifting and evolving? Are buyers, for example, better informed about LED does and can do?
To a large extent, sure. As with any technological mainstreaming, increased exposure – and lots of investment – has led to a much-improved knowledge base. This includes industry providers – integrators, consultants, installers – as well as owners, investors, and end-users. But of course there are plenty of opportunities to educate. The more companies angling for a slice of the pie, the more information, jargon, and ploys there are out there to deal with, and that’s obviously a recipe for confusion in the marketplace.
Q: There is a lot of jargon in LED marketing and quite a bit of misrepresentation and misunderstanding about what products are and what they can do. I’m thinking of microLED displays that aren’t and displays marketed as 3D when it’s just the creative producing an illusion. Is clarity important?
Very. With so many competitors, white-labelers, and international providers flocking to the North American marketplace, it’s incredible the sheer amount of nonsense your readers and others have to parse through. But as your question implies, this kind of atmosphere offers an ideal opportunity to win over prospective customers with clarity, honesty, and expertise. In the long term, providers offering those kinds of “products” should win the day.
Last year, we created a kind of exclusive group within SNA Displays, which we call SNAPros. Really, these are just experts in their fields who can both provide technical expertise to help solve real-world issues for various projects and simply work with clients to help them better understand their systems and capability. This group comes in handy when clarity is needed with prospective customers, too.
Q: Is LED taking over from LCD beyond video walls?
LED is taking over just about everywhere! Fine-pitch display technology, particularly with 2.5mm and above, is just too affordable, scalable, and versatile.
Q: What’s the LED technology to look for in the next three to five years?
Certainly tighter-pitch offerings and improved processing capability will continue to move the needle. More rugged packaging and surfaces will help dvLED get into even more spaces, particularly with interactive and experiential applications.
Q: What do you see as the main reason to be at DSE?
Toss-up between good old-fashioned networking and to witness how DSE’s resurrection will make an impact. The folks over at DSE have done some really good work already, and everyone in the digital signage industry benefits from a stronger, more attended, and prominent DSE show.
Our 2022 Sponsors:
I was able to make room in my schedule last minute to attend DSE and I am excited to see everyone in Vegas, but I am definitely bummed that your event is sold out as I really wanted to attend. Impressed with SNA displays and the team. Exciting to see all of the advances in technology, both on the software and hardware side in the DOOH space. Keep up the great work at Sixteen-Nine.