Flat panel displays based on LED technology are popping up everywhere these days. The problem is, though, they are popping up on the shelves of consumer electronics retailers, and not in the warehouses of AV integrators, or in conference rooms.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions as to why this is. I’ve also been getting a lot of questions as to why I’m not spec’ing them out. Here is what I know at this point.

When things get smaller and sleeker, they look much cooler. This is not often the case in the professional display industry. Sometimes, professional equipment needs to be a bit bigger to get the job done because of the duty cycles we expect them to perform. For example, a display in an airport or conference room could be used eight, 12, or sometimes even 24 hours a day. When being used for those durations, there needs to be much more onboard cooling capacity. Most professional display manufacturers are currently weary to “slim” their products down to such a level for fear that it would sacrifice cooling capacity and degrade reliability. In a consumer world though, some displays are only used a few hours a day.

Another thing to keep in mind with these ultra slim displays is cabling and mounting them. Some mount manufacturers have followed suit and begun offering “ultra slim” mounts. They might look great, but they leave absolutely no room for cabling to be managed or dressed behind a display. This makes it very difficult for installers for service displays or check connections without completely removing a display from the wall. But how much fun will that be if there is little or no service loop of cabling on the rear of a display using an ultra slim mount? Backbox and even the placement of an AC receptacle now become critical. Even if you place everything logically though, I still fail to see where one would tuck a sixfoot power cord behind a slim display with a .33 wall mount. Mission impossible.

Lastly, since most ultra thin displays are still intended for the consumer realm, you’ll want to remember that they will most likely lack locking connectors such as BNCs, lack RS-232 control for interface with third party control systems, and static PC display capabilities come in second to basic video display.

There is no doubt that in the consumer realm, an LED display makes a good deal of sense from an energy standpoint. In fact, that’s a really good benefit of LED technology. I really want to be excited about these new ultra thin LED displays, and when a professional version is made available, chances are I will enthusiastically specify them. But for right now, the best thing we can probably do, is sit back and wait to see what the future holds.

Joey D’Angelo is a principal consultant with Charles M. Salter Associates in San Francisco, CA, and specializes in AV/telecommunication systems. He can be reached at joseph.dangelo@ cmsalter.com.