I realized that most of the time I dont have time to make a post to comment all the news, articles and interesting information I find on the internet.

My RSS reader is constantly packed with interesting articles that I would like to share, but that inevitability end up under the pile of newest information before I had the time to report it to you.

Therefore I decided to dedicate one post a week to all these "wanna-be-post" that I could never write about, but that I still think might be interesting for you. And I decided to call this kind of post, the "Weekly Digital Billboards Summary". So now you know what to expect every time you see this title.

What's the RSS reader I just mention above?

Let's start the first Weekly Digital Billboards Summary with this video that explains you what a RSS reader is and how it works. I know that's not about Digital Billboards and LED Screens, but if you read blogs and you don't know what an RSS is yet - it's time to find it out.

New USA Legislation (good news)

So the first news that caught my attention this week, is the fact that the in the United States, the Federal Highway Administration ruled that digital billboards are allowed! In particular the key sentence says: "[digital billboards] do not violate a prohibition against ‘intermittent’ or ‘flashing’ or ‘moving’ lights as those terms are used in the various FSAs [federal-state agreements] that have been entered into during the 1960s and 1970s.”

Could it be the consequence of the study that found out that accidents are not more likely to occur because of digital billboards?

Anyways, that's of course a great news both for advertising companies and LED screen manufacturers. I think the USA are the first country to allow the usage of outdoor LED screen with a clear national regulation. Let me know if otherwise.

Consumers

Another good news is that consumers seem to be more interested in billboard ads than in any other forms of advertising, even more than TV (49% vs. 43%)!
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Here's the second round of our virtual match between, on the right coner, the LED Screen manufacturers from China and, on the left corner, the potential Customers from the rest of the word. Today I'm publishing a second message I got from Tom (see the first email here) and another message I received from Asia (and Edwin seems to be more a Customer than a Vendor).

Following the suggestion of a friend, I removed the comments I initially posted.
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It seems that a large number of readers are interested in the Chinese LED Screens debate going on the blog these days. So today I'd like to publish the contrasting opinions sent by two of you.

From Tom (no email address available)

It's possible to find reliable LED manufacturer in china! They force all other to low the price and it's good!

Reliable china companies buy LEDs from same manufacturers like others with trusted brands so don't believe in "BAD" china companies - they are like all others in the world  - you can find reliable and not.

From Juan Carlos (email address available)

We have two Korean LEDs screens from [brand name], the been a problem since we give money to the sales man, the screens arrived weeks late, the technicians did not know how to setup them and burned the power supplies and boards, scratched the screens while carrying them.
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Following the post series about the LED Screen from China, I received another very interesting letter from one of you.

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Dear Fabio, I represent a company specialized in electronic components, I live in China and I deal with chinese manufacturers on a daily basis. Even if we are not focused on LED Screens, after reading your blog I would like to give some advices to anyone who is considering buying anything from China.

1- Do not take too seriously any offer they make, any quotation they send and anything they promise, even if in written form - they often take back their words as soon as they need it.

2- Do not blindly trust any Chinese company (don't put all your eggs in one basket).
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Here's two questions about LED screens I received from one of you.

First Question: "Do you think Outdoor LED Billboard walls can be profitable investment in countries with lower economic power (i.e. Eastern EU)? [...] Some Chinese displays installed here showed as bad investment (weak customer interest)."

Second Question: "When do you think LED display technology will be suitable to substitute citylight static displays (2x1 m). We need to take into consider robustness of display since vandals can reach installations easily, for example?"

These questions are both very interesting and reveal a deeper than average understanding of the technology and the industry.
 
My answer to the first question is: yes, I believe LED screens can be a profitable investment even in emerging countries. Actually these countries are among the best places for an LED screen.
 
Infact, usually emerging countries have a strong capitalist attitude that makes advertising a powerful tool. One great example for what I'm saying is the LED screen we installed in the Dominican Republic (a country with very low economic power).
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