How to Automate LED Screens Brightness Management
Have you ever been blinded by a bright screen in a dark room or had difficulty reading a dim display in sunlight? Adjusting LED screen brightness can be a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be. With modern technology and EasySignage, you can optimize your digital signage brightness for any environment, day or night, ensuring perfect clarity and viewer comfort at all times.
The best part? You don’t have to choose between manual brightness and automated brightness adjusments, because EasySignage offers both! It gives you the flexibility to adjust brightness settings on the spot or schedule changes at specific times.
Whether you need real-time control or a set-it-and-forget-it solution, EasySignage provides both options to ensure your screens always perform at their best.
What is an LED Screen?
An LED screen (Light-Emitting Diode screen) is a flat display technology that uses an array of small diodes as pixels to produce images, videos, or text. These diodes emit light when an electric current passes through them, creating vibrant, bright, and energy-efficient displays.
LED screens are commonly used for digital signage, televisions, and outdoor billboards due to their excellent brightness, energy efficiency, and durability.
Read more on What is an LED display, and how does it work.
What is Screen Brightness and Why It Matters?
In simple terms, brightness is the amount of light a screen emits, indicating the intensity of light produced by a display. It is commonly measured in nits, which is a unit of luminance per square meter. The higher the number of nits, the brighter the screen. For example:
Indoor screens usually have brightness levels between 500 and 1,000 nits, suitable for environments with controlled lighting.
Outdoor screens can reach brightness levels of 5,000 nits or more to stay visible under direct sunlight.
Brightness isn’t just about making your display visible; it’s about making it comfortably viewable. Too much brightness can be as problematic as too little, affecting visibility, viewer comfort, and even the lifespan of your screen. Optimal brightness ensures your content pops without overwhelming your audience.
Managing screen brightness ensures:
Visibility: The main purpose of screen brightness is to ensure that the content on your screen is visible in all lightning conditions. If the screen is too dim in a bright room, it can strain the eyes, or if too bright in a dark space, it can be hard to view or uncomfortable to look at. Proper brightness ensures your content stays crisp and clear, no matter the ambient light.
Energy Efficiency: Keeping a screen at maximum brightness all the time consumes more power and energy. Adjusting the brightness based on the surrounding light can greatly reduce energy consumption and costs.
Screen Life: Constantly running a display at full brightness can also wear out its components faster. By managing the brightness wisely, you can enhance performance and help extend the lifespan of your screen.
Factors That Affect LED Screen Brightness
Several factors affect how bright your display looks and how effectively it performs in different environments. Knowing these factors can help you optimize your screen’s brightness for better visibility, energy efficiency, and a longer screen lifespan.
1. Ambient Lighting Conditions (Indoor vs. Outdoor Use)
The surrounding light in the environment directly impacts how bright your LED screen needs to be. Indoor screens need less brightness compared to outdoor ones, which have to compete with sunlight.
If the screen brightness isn’t adjusted to match the ambient light, the content may become hard to see (too dim) or uncomfortable to view (too bright).
2. Screen Size and Placement
Larger screens often need higher brightness for consistent visibility from all angles. Additionally, the screen’s location—indoors, outdoors, near windows, or in shaded areas, also affects its brightness requirements.
3. Viewing Distance
The distance between viewers and the screen affects how much brightness is required. For long-distance viewers, higher brightness is needed to see clearly, while a screen viewed up close doesn’t need to be as bright and can be dimmed to avoid glare.
4. Content Type
The brightness of the content displayed on the screen, such as text, images, or videos, influences the screen’s overall brightness perception.
Dark-themed content may need slightly higher brightness levels to remain visible, while bright, colourful content can look vibrant even at lower brightness.
5. LED Panel Quality
The quality and efficiency of the LED panel itself determine how much brightness it can achieve. High-quality LED panels provide better brightness control and consistency, while lower-quality panels might struggle to maintain optimal brightness under different conditions
How to Manage LED Screen Brightness
With EasySignage, brightness management is, well, easy! You no longer need to manually adjust the brightness of each screen when the sun hides behind clouds or evening arrives.
The scheduling feature in EasySignage allows you to program brightness changes throughout the day for optimal performance.
But sometimes, manual intervention is necessary. In cases of unexpected weather or your screen is receiving more sunlight than usual, you can also adjust brightness in real-time, even if you’re miles away from your screen. That’s why EasySignage supports both manual and scheduled brightness adjustments.
There are two ways to control the brightness of your screens: individually for each screen or across all connected screens simultaneously.
Individual Screen Brightness Adjustment
EasySignage allows you to adjust the brightness of each screen independently, giving you complete control over individual displays. This feature is ideal for scenarios such as:
- Indoor and outdoor screens require different brightness levels.
- Displays in rooms with distinct lighting conditions.
- Screens located in different locations or have different content requirements.
- Perfect for high-priority displays that require special attention.
Global Settings Screens Brightness Adjustment
The second way that EasySignage offers is to adjust brightness across all connected screens at once, and any changes made to the brightness settings will apply to all displays. This feature is a time-saver for businesses managing multiple displays while maintaining consistent visibility and branding.
So, whether you’re managing one screen or hundreds of of displays, these features will ensure your content is always optimized for visibility, comfort, and energy efficiency.
Manual Brigtness Adjustment
Sometimes, you may need to quickly adjust the brightness of your screen. EasySignage offers a manual brightness adjustment feature that lets you instantly and easily control your screen brightness level directly from the EasySignage platform to match current conditions.
When to Use It:
During unexpected changes in lighting, like a sudden shift in weather or lighting setup.
When testing different brightness levels for specific content, such as promotional videos or presentations.
Scheduled Brightness Adjustment
Automatically adjust the brightness of your screens to different times of the day with the EasySignage scheduled brightness feature. Pre-set the brightness levels for specific hours or days, and the system will automatically handle the adjustments without manual intervention.
Note that the schedule will keep running smoothly on all screens, even if they go offline during network issues, and this is possible because the devices store data locally.
When to Use It:
For outdoor screens that need to counter sunlight during the day but can be dimmed at night.
In environments like offices, retail stores, or schools where lighting conditions are predictable throughout the day.
During events or campaigns that require specific brightness levels at certain times.
Read more about the steps of: How to Manage Your Screen Brightness
Wrapping Up
Managing the brightness of your LED screens doesn’t have to be a chore. EasySignage provides you with the tools to take control of your LED screen brightness, whether you prefer making manual adjustments or using the convenience of scheduled adjustments.
Remember, the goal is to make your content as engaging and eye-catching as possible, without any discomfort to the viewer while saving energy and extending the lifespan of your displays.
Ready to make your screens smarter? Let EasySignage brighten your experience—and dim your worries.