My Situation

My best mate owns a stage hire business, and I plan to work alongside him at many of his events. His work is roughly:

• 60% outdoor events
• 40% indoor events

Most events are held in the evening or at night, whether they are indoors or outdoors.

Because of this mix, I'm trying to determine whether I should invest in indoor panels or outdoor panels that can be used in both environments.

Questions About Indoor vs Outdoor Panels

I'm particularly interested in 2.6mm pixel pitch LED panels.

I've heard the following from various suppliers:

1. Indoor panels generally have black-face LEDs, which provide better contrast and image quality.
2. Outdoor panels often use white-face SMD LEDs, which may not look as good indoors due to lower contrast.
3. Some suppliers have told me that outdoor rental panels with pixel pitches below 3.9mm can be more fragile, particularly around the panel edges where LED lamps may be easier to damage during frequent setup and pack-down.

Can anyone confirm whether this is true based on real-world rental experience?

Using Indoor Panels Outdoors

Most outdoor events I attend will have marquee or roof cover.

Would indoor rental panels be suitable for these types of outdoor events, or is this still too risky due to moisture, humidity, dust, and other environmental factors?

In general, is it practical to use indoor panels outdoors under cover, or would I eventually regret not purchasing outdoor-rated screens?

Supplier Recommendations

The challenge is budget.

I've received quotes from premium brands such as:

• Absen
• Leyard/LianTronics

However, they are currently beyond my budget.

I'm therefore considering manufacturers such as:

• Canbest
• LEDER
• HongkingLED
• RX Vision
• Gloshine

Does anyone have experience with these companies, particularly for the Australian rental market?

I've noticed Canbest has some presence in the US market, but I'd love to hear feedback from anyone using these brands for rental applications.

Current Quotes

Option 1

Gloshine Outdoor 3.91mm

• Black-face LEDs
• Refresh rate: 3,840Hz to 7,680Hz
• Can reportedly be used both indoors and outdoors
• Significantly cheaper

Option 2

2.97mm Panels

• Approximately USD 10,000 more expensive than the 3.91mm option

Option 3

2.6mm Panels

• My preferred pitch for image quality
• Higher cost and potentially more fragile

Most of the complete system quotations I'm receiving are around USD 30,000.

What Would You Do?

If you were starting from scratch today with a budget of around USD 30,000, would you:

1. Buy a 3.91mm outdoor rental system and use it for both indoor and outdoor work?
2. Spend the extra money on 2.97mm outdoor panels?
3. Focus purely on 2.6mm indoor panels and avoid outdoor work initially?
4. Choose a different approach altogether?

Also, what factors should I be considering that a newcomer might overlook? For example:

• Brightness
• Contrast ratio
• Refresh rate
• Black-face vs white-face LEDs
• Corner protection
• Spare parts availability
• Calibration
• Weight
• Processor compatibility
• Resale value
• Local support in Australia

Any advice, lessons learned, or supplier recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!