Ross Video Exits LED Display Business, Just Two Years After Acquiring D3LED
December 15, 2023 by Dave Haynes
In a move perhaps best described as curious (or maybe inevitable), Ross Video has announced it is getting out of the LED display business, two years after acquiring D3LED and getting squarely in that business.
The Ottawa, Canada pro AV tech firm announced its plans Thursday to “exit the LED display business and is now considering strategic opportunities for D3LED. While this process takes place, Ross has suspended taking orders for new displays. Service and support will continue to be offered.”
“We’ve made a decision to refocus our business on other market opportunities,” says CEO David Ross. “We continue to maintain spare component inventory and the ability to support the D3LED customer base.”
Ross had picked up D3 from a company called Southpaw Live, that had merged in 2020 with D3, which is based in the Sacramento area. I understand it was done at a bit of a fire sale price of $7 million.
On announcing the deal, Ross said: “D3 is in a class of their own for LED processing technology and the services that make customers succeed! They are innovators who were first to market with many technologies including IP Data/Video distribution between LED Controllers and Receivers using their True Element technology to deliver the highest quality imagery. It’s great to add another world-class brand to the Ross family, and I can’t wait to have our R&D teams collaborate and help our customers overcome their creative, business and technical challenges.”
D3 was among the most recent acquisitions by a company that has done almost 20 over its operating lifespan, but the company is mainly about live productions and broadcasting tech. While the virtual set business, using LED video walls and clever software, has exploded in the last few years, it is VERY competitive … as is LED display in general.
Many of the people involved in D3 have put their band back together, so to speak, under a new-ish company, i5LED – also now based in Sacramento.
My name is James and I am an A/V technician at Lockheed Martin in Ft Worth Texas. We have a D3 billboard and need to know if you guys still support the D3 billboard signage