LED Video, an exciting new range of products that are taking the entertainment and leisure industries by storm. For a long time only used in large scale events and live touring shows, LED Video products are now making their way into main stream markets and are being installed in numerous nightclubs and live venues throughout the country. This is indeed an exciting time to be a technology integrator. Being involved in some high profile, large scale projects AVL Systems have been fortunate enough to carry out a large number of LED Video installations. We have installed more "Fixed installation" LED Video screens than any other company in Ireland. We have one of the top LED Video technicians in Ireland and this coupled with the experience we have gained through our numerous installations have led to us becoming the premium Irish suppliers of LED Video products.

In the current economic climate people are being more cautious than ever with their money. This is not an Irish phenomenon but a world wide fact of life. People are no longer happy to know that they are getting a quality product and service, they want and need to be 100% sure that they are getting the product at the very very best possible price, which is understandable. However, this causes problems. With the online community ever growing and access to the worldwide markets through the internet increasing potential clients are trawling the internet for products, prices and equipment. This in itself is not a bad thing but as my previous post highlighted there can be serious pitfalls to buying professional equipment online. LED Video is similar, but worse, while the same pitfalls still apply there are far more things one needs to be aware of. It is all well and good to take the specification a company has created for you and send it to a number of manufacturers in the middle east requesting prices, but what then!

In the recent past we have become aware of people (potential clients) going to the market in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other places seeking direct pricing for LED Video screens. In most cases this is done to price check our prices against those on offer from China which does not concern us as we know the quality of our product and the pricing of our products are perfect for the Irish market. The prices returned from these companies while initially attractive do not tell the whole story and we need people to be aware of what it is that AVL Systems do to ensure each and every installation will be effective:

• Initial site visit and survey to find out what the client requires in relation to size, aspect ratio, resolution and content
• Design of LED Video screen as per site survey to include LED Video panel specification and electrical and engineering information
• Order and quality control of LED Video screen products from our authorized suppliers who we meet at least twice a year personally to monitor quality and product development
• Arrange shipping and freight of product to include all customs, delivery and freight charges, fees and customs and shipping/customs paperwork
• Supply of engineering information to relevant contractor to ensure correct hanging points, weight loadings, cable schedules, power requirements and other vital information
• Arrival of screen to our warehouse for inspection, testing and quality control procedures
• Programming of LED Video screen processors to include layout programming, systems panel processing and content programming
• Installation of LED Video screen and associated cables, connectors and control units
• Final commissioning of LED Video wall systems to include loading of customer content onto the screens
• Ongoing support and maintenance for LED Video screens 

Product Vs Price Vs Quality, an age old equation and given the current climate it is now more important than ever. Typically when a person is purchasing a product or service they have already committed themselves to the purchase whether that is a conscious decision or not who knows. This is especially the case in an industry such as ours. Whether a new build, a refurbishment or just "freshening up" typically a client has already committed to making changes or purchasing products long before they come to us. So, what do we offer. At AVL we believe we offer high quality products and services at a fair price. It is my belief that the 2 key words in the sentence above are "quality" and "value". These 2 words however do not imply or guarantee that we will be the cheapest!

Product: AVL Systems only sell and distribute high quality proven products. We represent world know and respected brands such as Crest Audio, EAW, GLP, Abstract AVR and more. Of course in an effort to reduce our costs we often use other manufacturers to design and build products on our behalf. In this instance we visit their factories, we test numerous samples and we carry out internal quality control before selling any products. I think our product range is second to none and our ability to quickly supply a range of products make us one of the premium suppliers in Ireland.

Price: Our prices are not necessarily the cheapest price you will find. If you trawl the internet you may find the same products for less money elsewhere. Some people are shocked when they see this and they cannot understand how the same product can be more expensive. There are a number of reasons and I will try to give you a few. 

• AVL Ship the products you need to Ireland for your use. These are CE certified products with 220v power and electrical supplies made and built for our market
• AVL pay the shipping and insurance costs to get these goods to Ireland as well as any import taxes, duties, storage, customs procedures etc that may arise as a result of shipping goods
• AVL supply goods that come with full manufacturer support and warranties. Our products are not grey imports and are all fully supported by the manufacturers and AVL warranty and workshop
• AVL provide swop out warranties on the majority of the equipment we supply, meaning if you do experience a problem we will offer an instant replacement

These are not all of the benefits, just a few. So we may be slightly more expensive but imagine purchasing something like an amplifier from the internet. 6 months later it goes dead, you call the supplier who may be in a different time zone and have poor english, you agree to ship it back, you wrap it up, label it and send your amplifier back all at your own cost, hoping you will see it again one day. Now how long will you be waiting, will you have to figure out time zones etc. to get an update,will they even know what product or whose product you are talking about when you call, and so on so forth.

So I hope the above may give you some idea of why sometimes our product may be slightly more expensive, if at all.

To be honest, anything you want can be found cheaper on the internet now if you have the time and patience, LED Video, Cars, Helicopters, Beer, Watches, Flights all available cheaper but would you buy a Rolex or a Bentley off the internet........I didn't think so. So why would you invest your own hard earned money with someone you cannot talk to, someone you have never met, and someone you may likely  never hear from again.

Quality: This is the most important term of the above 3 terms that started this post. Quality, it covers everything, quality of your product, quality of your installation, quality of the delivery, quality of your support, quality of your operation, quality of the vehicle you delivered it in, QUALITY. At AVL we aim to offer QUALITY goods and services. The quality of our products speaks for itself in the brand names we represent, the quality of our installations is visible in the number of very high profile clients we look after, the quality of our support and delivery is evident because many of these clients are repeat clients who we support and maintain equipment for on a regular basis, we have a fleet of modern vehicles kitted out with everything required for every element of any project and we have a brand new high quality office and warehouse space in Dublin where our technical workshop is located.  Quality is very important to everybody at AVL Systems and this determination to delivery quality projects on time and on budget is what has led to us becoming the premium supplier of audio, video and lighting equipment in Ireland.

I had started out with the intention of writing a very different post, but these days people are losing sight of the things that matter when looking at the price of a project. We are very aware of our clients needs and we are sensitive of the economic situation we find ourselves in. However, we cannot sit idly by and watch people spend sums of money (sometimes large) on products and systems that will fail, will not be supported and will be worthless in a short period of time. The products and equipment you buy are an investment. They should be looked after, serviced and maintained. They should be worth something should you decide to sell them in a few years. This does not happen with cheap, inferior products which fail, cause problems, cannot be repaired and ultimately end up in the bin, and they are not the products we will ever sell or supply to match anyone's prices!

So, yet again AVL are pioneering new LED Products and searching the globe to bring only the best LED products to our customers. We now have a brand new range of our own engineered and developed LED products to add to out extensive LED porfolio of products which currently boasts names such as Ledion and Collingwood.

In recent days we have received samples of our new range. RGB LED, White light and custom fixtures are all now possible with our new range of high output LED products for architectural, commercial and industrial use. Multiple control options such as DMX, RS232 and DALI mean our LED systems can be installed in any environment and controlled by many of todays best known and most widely used control systems. The ability of our LED to be controlled by so many different protocols also means our LED products are perfect for retrofit installations into existing projects.

Our new range of AVL LED fixtures are available in all of the formations you would expect, linear, recessed, surface and so forth. We have now added a brand new AR111 fixture which is perfect for fitting into Par36 or AR111 housings.  We have a new RGB or Mono colour LED Flood light, which is rated to IP67, is completely sealed and comes with a range of different optic options. We have a single chip mix at source RGB MR16 fixture and so on. As you can see form this very brief introduction to the range it is a very comprehensive range capable of fulfilling the needs of even the most demanding products. So for DMX LED, DALI LED, high output LED or just an overall LED solution please  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Ok, just very quickly.

A very simple and tasteful LED installation into a ballroom that had an absolutely massive effect on the room and the ambience. Note the curtains are still open in the after shot, no tricks.

A very effective LED installation: