Date of issue:2025.08.27
Company News
LED Display Lamp Bead Technology Comparison DIP/Kingaurora DIP570/SMD vs. COB/IMD Differences and Applications
Lamp Beads - The Core of LED Displays
In various fields such as outdoor advertising, stage performances, and even indoor conferences, LED displays are playing an increasingly important role. However, faced with a wide variety of products on the market, many consumers are confused: why do LED screens vary so much in price and performance when they look similar?
The answer largely lies in those tiny lamp beads. Lamp beads are the "pixels" of the display, and their packaging technology directly determines the screen's display effect, stability, lifespan, and applicable scenarios. Today, we will deeply analyze the mysteries of mainstream DIP, SMD, and emerging COB/IMD packaging technologies, with special interpretation of Kingaurora DIP570, the outdoor display expert's technical choice.
1. Technology Elder: DIP Packaging
DIP, commonly known as Dual In-line Package, was the earliest mainstream packaging method for outdoor displays. For example, the DIP346 lamp bead is independently packaged with red, green, and blue beads, which are then combined into one pixel. The characteristic is that the lamp bead has a long "pin" that needs to be inserted into the holes of the PCB board for welding.
Working Principle
The LED chip is fixed in a "bowl cup"-shaped reflection cavity, and then potted with epoxy resin to form independent lamp beads.
Core Advantages
Strong protection: Fully encapsulated with epoxy resin, sturdy structure, excellent waterproof, moisture-proof, and UV resistance, naturally suitable for outdoor use.
High brightness: The reflection cavity structure can more effectively gather light, so single lamp brightness can be made very high, able to fight against noon sunlight.
Good heat dissipation: The lamp bead pins are long, making it easier for heat to be conducted through the pins to the PCB board for dissipation.
Disadvantages
It is difficult to achieve small pitch, the screen pixel density is low, close viewing shows obvious graininess, and it is not suitable for indoor applications.
Kingaurora DIP570
Traditional DIP technology is also evolving. Taking Kingaurora, which has been focused on outdoor applications for 16 years, as an example, the DIP570 lamp bead encapsulates red, green, and blue LED chips together. Different combinations can produce light of various colors. Because the lamp bead volume is large, it can accommodate larger chips, so its luminous efficiency is high, and it can achieve strong brightness output at lower currents. Especially in outdoor strong light environments, the high brightness of DIP570 lamp beads makes their power consumption relatively low when achieving the same brightness.
Super environmental adaptability: Using special epoxy resin and packaging process, the working temperature range can reach -40℃ ~ 85℃, with protection rating up to IP68. This means it can not only withstand sun and rain, but also work stably in extremely cold or hot tropical areas.
Energy saving and long life: Through optical design and material innovation, while ensuring high brightness, it saves 30% electricity compared with similar products, with a service life of up to 10 years, greatly reducing the operating costs of outdoor screens.
2. Market Mainstream: SMD Packaging
SMD, or Surface Mount Device, is the absolute mainstream for indoor displays and some outdoor displays. Its characteristic is that the LED chip is directly packaged in the cup of the bracket and then soldered to the surface of the PCB board.
Working Principle
The red, green, and blue chips are packaged in the same bracket to form a complete pixel point, which is attached to the PCB board through surface mount technology (SMT).
Core Advantages
Small pitch: Can achieve very small pixel pitch (currently can achieve below P0.6), high resolution, fine picture quality when viewed closely, no graininess.
Wide viewing angle: The horizontal and vertical viewing angles are larger than DIP, providing a wider viewing range.
Lightweight and cost controllable: Suitable for mass production with high cost performance.
Disadvantages
Waterproof, moisture-proof, and UV resistance are relatively weak compared to DIP (although it can be compensated by potting, it increases process complexity and cost). The brightness is usually lower than that of similar DIP products, and heat dissipation is slightly worse.
3. Technology Newcomers: COB and IMD Packaging
In pursuit of more extreme display effects and stability, new packaging technologies have emerged.
COB (Chip on Board)
Technical principle: Directly package LED chips in batches on the entire PCB board without brackets, and then cover and protect with epoxy resin.
Core advantages:
High reliability: Fully sealed structure, impact-resistant, anti-collision, dustproof, moisture-proof, anti-static, surface wear-resistant, very suitable for high-frequency touch scenarios.
Good heat dissipation performance: The chip is in direct contact with the PCB board, the heat dissipation path is short, the thermal resistance is small, and the service life is longer.
Better picture quality: Soft light, no graininess, almost "surface light source"发光, effectively solving the "caterpillar" and bad spot problems of SMD.
Disadvantages: High initial maintenance cost, extremely high requirements for packaging process and equipment, expensive.
IMD (Integrated Matrix Device)
IMD can be regarded as a "middle ground" between SMD and COB, also known as "four-in-one" Mini LED technology.
Technical principle: First integrate multiple Mini LED chips into a small unit (such as 2x2, 4x4 pixel matrix), and then attach this integrated unit to the PCB board like an SMD lamp bead.
Core advantages:
Balance reliability and maintainability: Higher protection and reliability than SMD (anti-collision, moisture-proof), and easier to maintain than COB (can replace bad spot units individually).
Perfect transition: While inheriting most of the advantages of SMD, it is easier to achieve Mini LED-level micro-pitch display, and it is the preferred solution in the current technology transition period.
Disadvantages: The technical complexity is between the two.
4. Application Scenario Comparison
DIP (e.g. Kingaurora DIP570): Outdoor billboards, building giant screens, highway billboards, gas station screens and other occasions that require extremely high reliability, brightness and environmental adaptability.
SMD: The absolute main force of indoor LED displays (such as conference screens, command centers, shopping mall atrium screens), rental screens, TV studios and outdoor occasions with high pixel requirements (require waterproof treatment).
COB: High-end conference all-in-one machines, command and control centers, radio and television, medical displays, education screens and other indoor fields with stringent requirements for reliability and picture quality.
IMD: High-end commercial displays, radio and television, indoor micro-pitch (P0.9~P1.5) markets with high requirements for pixel gap and reliability.
5. Technical Comparison Summary
Feature
DIP (e.g. Kingaurora DIP570)
SMD
COB
IMD
Pixel Pitch
Large pitch (P6 and above)
Small pitch (P0.6~P10)
Micro pitch (P0.5~P1.5)
Micro pitch (P0.9~P1.5)
Protection
Extremely strong (IP68)
General (requires potting)
Extremely strong
Strong
Brightness
Super high
High
High
High
Resolution/Fineness
Low
High
Extremely high
Extremely high
Main Scenarios
Outdoor (advertising, architecture)
Indoor (mainstream), outdoor (after treatment)
High-end indoor (command, conference)
High-end indoor (commercial, broadcasting)
Cost
Medium
Low
High
Medium-high
6. How to Choose the Right Technology?
Outdoor advertising operators: If you pursue extreme stability and long life, and are not afraid of wind and rain and extreme climate, then high-performance DIP products like Kingaurora DIP570 are your best choice.
Indoor conference screen or stage background screen: If you pursue high cost performance and clear picture quality, mainstream SMD displays are sufficient for most needs.
Command control center, high-end commercial exhibition hall or broadcasting studio: If you have sufficient budget and pursue top reliability, stability and picture quality, then COB or IMD micro-pitch products are the future direction.
Kingaurora DIP570: 16 Years of Focus on Outdoor Display Technology
As a professional brand focused on outdoor LED display for 16 years, Kingaurora deeply understands the challenges faced by outdoor displays. Its flagship product DIP570 lamp bead is an innovative solution specifically designed to solve the pain points of outdoor environments:
Special optimization for outdoor grid screens:
Wind and heat dissipation design: The grid screen structure is not easily affected by strong winds, the grid screen has high light transmittance, good heat dissipation and wind load, and does not require additional heat dissipation equipment.
Balance of light transmittance and display: Through precise optical design, while ensuring 40%-60% light transmittance, maintaining high brightness display effect.
Weight reduction solution: Compared with traditional outdoor screens, the weight is reduced by 30%, reducing the load on the building facade and expanding application scenarios.
Core problems solved:
Stability in high temperature and high humidity environments: Through special packaging process and material selection, the problems of PCB copper foil oxidation and lamp bead yellowing are solved.
Failure caused by rapid temperature changes: Wide temperature range design (-40℃~85℃) avoids cracking and desoldering caused by internal stress due to sudden temperature changes.
High maintenance costs: Modular design and front and rear maintenance solutions reduce the replacement time of a single module to 20 seconds, greatly reducing maintenance costs.
Energy efficiency issues: The "one square meter, one kilowatt-hour per day" technology saves 30% energy compared to traditional outdoor screens, reducing operating costs.
Kingaurora DIP570 lamp bead technology has been verified by actual projects in many high temperature and high humidity regions around the world, proving its excellent performance and reliability in extreme outdoor environments.
There is no best packaging technology, only the most suitable product choice. Understanding the technical logic behind the lamp beads can help you make the wisest decision in the complex market.