Flexible and curved LED screens in Dubai: column, circular, 3D and floor LED displays

What a flexible LED screen is

A flexible LED screen is built from soft LED modules: the LEDs are mounted on a thin, bendable circuit board with a rubber-like mask, so the module can curve around a column or follow a wave. The modules fix by magnets to a metal frame made in the shape you want, and the frame is what gives the screen its form.

It's also sold as a flex LED screen, soft LED screen, curved LED display, creative LED screen and custom-shaped LED screen.

One manufacturer's guide gives the typical figures (Unilight):

• Module size: 320 × 160 mm, the same as standard rigid modules.
• Thickness: 4 to 6 mm.
• Weight: 3 to 6 kg per square metre for soft modules, against 13 to 26 kg for curved cabinets.
• Pixel pitch: P1.25 to about P3 for soft indoor modules.
• Brightness: 500 to 800 nits indoors.
• Fixing: magnets, screws or both.

What that means in practice:

• The module is flexible. The finished screen isn't. Once it's on the frame, it's a rigid object in a curved shape. It doesn't roll up or move.
• It bends in one direction at a time. A module curves like a sheet of paper, around a cylinder. It can't stretch into a dome. Spheres need specially shaped modules.
• It's mostly an indoor product. Soft modules aren't sealed. Outdoor curves are made with rigid weatherproof cabinets set at angles.
• It's light and thin, which is what lets it go onto columns and feature walls without heavy steel.

Four ways to make a curved screen

There are four ways to make an LED screen curve: soft modules on a shaped frame, hinged cabinets that lock at an angle, cabinets cast to a fixed arc, and flat cabinets set in facets. Soft modules give the tightest and smoothest curves. Cabinets are stronger, brighter and suit large and outdoor screens with gentle curves.

A fifth product, LED film, sticks to curved glass. It's covered on our transparent LED screens page.

Soft modules

The choice for anything tight or freeform. The frame is rolled or laser-cut to the shape, the modules snap on by magnets, and the face follows the frame exactly. The trade-offs: lower brightness, no weatherproofing, a more delicate surface, and a result that depends heavily on the accuracy of the frame.

Hinged curved cabinets

Standard 500 mm cabinets with locks that set the angle to their neighbours, in steps of a few degrees. The modules inside stay flat, so the curve is made of narrow facets. On a wall with a radius of several metres, the facets can't be seen. They're quick to build and take down, which is why stage and event screens use them.

Fixed-arc cabinets

Cabinets made to one radius. They give a true curve with rigid protection, but only at that radius, so they suit round kiosks and columns of a standard size.

Faceted flat cabinets

The simplest method for a large, gentle curve: ordinary cabinets, each turned a degree or two from the last. Most curved outdoor screens and the rounded corners of 3D billboards are built this way.

Which to choose

• Radius under about 2 metres: soft modules.
• Radius of 2 to 5 metres: soft modules for the smoothest face, or hinged cabinets.
• Radius over 5 metres: cabinets. The curve is gentle enough that facets disappear.
• Outdoors: cabinets, always.
• Within reach of the public: cabinets, or soft modules with a protective coating.

How tight can it bend?

A soft LED module bends to a radius of about 500 mm, according to one manufacturer, which means it can wrap a column 1 metre across. Some products bend tighter. Finer pitches, outward curves and bends across the short side of the module all allow less. Always ask for the minimum radius of the exact module, in the direction you need.

The 500 mm figure is from Unilight's guide. What changes it:

• Convex or concave. Convex is curving outward, around a column. Concave is curving inward, like the inside of a bowl. Bending outward stretches the face and opens the gaps between LEDs slightly. Bending inward squeezes them. Many modules tolerate one better than the other.
• Which way the module is turned. A 320 × 160 mm module wrapped with its long side around the curve has to bend more than one turned the other way.
• Pixel pitch. Fine-pitch modules have LEDs packed close and less room to flex. Our LED modules and pixel pitch guide explains pitch.
• Repeated bending. Modules are made to be bent once, into place. Flexing them back and forth breaks solder joints.
• The mask. As a module curves outward, the gaps between its rubber mask sections open. On a tight convex curve, they can show as fine lines.

Why rigid modules won't do on a tight curve

A flat module on a curved frame touches the curve at its middle and stands away at its edges, or the other way round. The gap grows fast as the radius shrinks.

That's simple geometry, and it's why the rule above puts the changeover from soft modules to cabinets at a radius of a few metres.

Shapes we build

Flexible and custom LED modules make columns, curved walls, waves, ribbons, circles, spheres and cubes. Each shape has its own limits, usually set by how the modules meet at edges and by how the content has to be made.

Column wraps

The most common shaped screen. A frame is built around the structural column, standing off it by a few centimetres for ventilation and cables, and soft modules wrap it. A full 360-degree wrap is seen from every direction. A half or three-quarter wrap suits a column against a wall. Minimum diameter is about 1 metre with standard soft modules, less with products made for tight curves. The join where the wrap closes is placed at the back, facing the least-used direction.

Concave and convex walls

A concave wall, curving towards the viewer, wraps the picture around the audience and feels immersive. It's the shape used for showroom backdrops, simulators and studio sets. A convex wall, curving away, suits the outside of a round room or a feature drum. Concave walls focus sound and light a little, and need content designed so that straight lines don't look bent.

Waves and S-curves

A frame that curves in and out along its length. Soft modules follow it as long as each bend is within their limit and the curve is in one direction only at any point. Waves make striking ceilings and feature walls. They need content designed for them, since a flat picture distorts across the ripples.

Ribbons and rings

Narrow bands that follow a curved fascia, the edge of a balcony or a circular bar. Large rings hung in atriums are ribbons closed into a circle, with the screen on the inside, the outside or both.

Circles and discs

A round, flat screen: a clock face, a logo, a porthole. It's built from rectangular modules with the edge made from specially cut modules, or from a rectangle with a circular mask over it, which is cheaper and loses the corners. Diameters from about 1 metre up. The content is made on a square canvas with only the circle used.

Spheres

A ball-shaped screen is built from custom modules, typically trapezoids and triangles arranged like the panels of a globe. It's the most demanding shape: every module is special, the frame is a precise geodesic structure, and the content has to be mapped onto a sphere so it doesn't pinch at the poles. Diameters usually run from about 1 to 5 metres. Spheres suit museums, lobbies and exhibition centrepieces, hung or on a base.

Cubes

Four or five flat faces joined at right angles, hung in an atrium or standing on a plinth. Each face is an ordinary flat screen. The craft is in the corners, where the modules of two faces must meet with no dark edge. Content can run as one image folded around the cube or as separate images per face.

Corners and wraps

A screen that turns a 90-degree corner, with a sharp edge or a small radius. This is the shape behind 3D billboards, covered below.

Arches, tunnels and ceilings

Screens overhead. An arch over an entrance, a tunnel people walk through, a ceiling of sky. These are concave curves seen from inside and below. They need light modules, secure fixing against gravity, and safe access for service.

Working out a column or curved wall

To size a curved screen, measure along the curve, divide by the module width to get a whole number of modules, and let the frame's diameter follow. A column wrap is the circumference, 3.14 times the diameter, divided by 320 mm. The frame is then made to the diameter that takes exactly that many modules.

A column wrap, worked through

Points that follow:

• The frame diameter is set by the modules, to the millimetre. A frame made 10 mm too big leaves a gap at the join. Too small and the last module won't fit.
• Content for this column is 1,280 × 960 pixels, and the left edge must match the right edge so the picture runs round without a visible seam.
• Nobody sees more than about a third of a column at once. Design content that repeats or travels round, with nothing that needs the whole width to make sense.

A curved wall

For a concave wall 6 metres along the curve at a 5-metre radius:

• Modules across: 6 ÷ 0.32 = 18.75, so 19 modules, 6.08 metres along the curve.
• Angle between neighbouring modules: about 3.7 degrees.
• Sweep of the whole wall: about 70 degrees.
• Depth of the curve: the middle of the wall sits about 0.9 metres behind a straight line between its ends. That depth comes out of the room, so check the floor plan.

We draw every curved screen in the workshop before any steel is cut, and give you the exact size, sweep and depth.

3D LED screens and 3D billboards

A naked-eye 3D billboard is an ordinary high-quality LED screen wrapped around a building corner, showing content drawn in forced perspective so that objects appear to stand out from the wall. The 3D effect comes from the content and the corner shape. As one manufacturer puts it, the 3D capability "comes almost entirely from the content and the screen geometry".

That quotation, and the figures below, are from Unilight's guide to naked-eye 3D.

How it works

• Two faces at a corner. The screen covers two walls meeting at about 90 degrees, with a sharp or rounded edge between.
• Forced perspective. The content is rendered from one chosen viewpoint. From there, the two faces read as a box set into the building, and objects inside it seem to have depth.
• Breaking the frame. The trick that sells it is a drawn border, a false "screen edge" inside the picture. When an object crosses that border, the eye reads it as coming out of the screen.
• No glasses, and no special LEDs. Both eyes see the same picture. It's an illusion of perspective.

What the site needs

• A corner seen from the diagonal. The guide puts the best viewing zone at 30 to 45 degrees from the corner and 15 to 50 metres away. From far to one side, the picture looks skewed.
• A place for people to stand. A plaza, a crossing, a mall entrance. The effect is for pedestrians who can stop and film it.
• Size. The illusion needs a big canvas. Small corner screens work indoors at close range, in a shop or lobby.
• A good screen. High refresh rate, 3,840 Hz or more, so it films cleanly on phones, since being filmed and shared is much of the point. Good contrast and fine enough pitch for the distance: the guide suggests P2.5 to P4 for viewers 5 to 10 metres away and P4 to P6 for 10 to 30 metres.

A flat screen can do it too, a little

Forced-perspective content on a single flat screen gives a milder effect from a narrow range of positions. It suits a screen at the end of a corridor or facing an escalator, where everyone approaches from the same direction.

The content is half the project

We produce 3D content in-house, modelled and rendered for the screen's exact shape and its chosen viewpoint. This is where the money and the time go.

• It's custom every time. Content made for one corner doesn't fit another.
• Published production costs run from about US$3,000 to $8,000 for a simple 15 to 30 second loop, $8,000 to $25,000 for a brand-specific piece of 30 to 60 seconds, and $25,000 upward for cinematic work, taking from one or two weeks to two months. The same guide advises budgeting 15 to 25% of the project for content.
• It needs refreshing. A 3D piece draws a crowd for weeks, and then people have seen it. Plan for new content several times a year.
• Ordinary adverts still play. Between 3D pieces, the screen runs normal content like any other.

Where it works in Dubai, and where it doesn't

Dubai's outdoor advertising manual says video and animated signs won't be approved on road reserves or where they're visible to drivers, as reported by Khaleej Times. A 3D billboard is animation by definition. So the realistic sites are those facing pedestrians: plazas, pedestrian streets, mall forecourts and interiors, and private developments with their own authority. A corner facing a main road should expect a still-image permit, which removes the point. We check this before anything else. See LED billboards and advertising screens for the permit process.

Is it worth it?

• Yes, for a landmark. A mall entrance, a flagship store, a destination that wants to be photographed.
• No, for routine advertising. The same budget buys more area of plain screen.
• Indoors is the easier win. A corner screen in a mall atrium or a showroom has pedestrians, controlled light and no road rules.

LED floor screens

An LED floor is a screen you walk on. The modules sit in strong frames under a toughened, non-slip surface and are rated to carry people, furniture and, in some products, vehicles. One manufacturer gives a standard load rating of 1,500 to 2,000 kg per square metre.

The figures are from Unilight's floor display guide.

• Where it's used. Showroom car plinths, exhibition stands, retail entrances, museum galleries, wedding stages and dance floors, and children's play areas.
• Interactive floors sense footsteps and change the picture under them: ripples, footprints, games. The same guide puts the extra cost at 25 to 35% over a plain floor.
• It's seen from above, at a steep angle and close. P3.9 is fine for standing adults. Finer pitches cost more and gain little, since nobody studies a floor.
• The floor level rises. The screen and its supports stand about 15 to 20 cm above the slab. It needs a recess in the floor, or a ramp or platform around it.
• Slip resistance matters more than anything else. Ask for the surface's slip rating, wet and dry, and think about what's spilled in the venue.
• Scratches. Heels, grit and trolley wheels mark the surface over time. Polycarbonate resists impact better, and glass resists scratching better. Panels are replaceable.
• Cleaning. Mopped like a floor, with the product's approved cleaner and not much water.
• Glare. A bright floor shines up into faces. Run it dim.
• Combining floor and wall. A floor that meets a wall screen, with the picture running across both, makes an immersive corner for showrooms and exhibitions.

Frames and installation

The frame is what makes a shaped screen look right. Soft modules follow whatever is behind them, so a frame that's a few millimetres out shows as a ripple, a gap or a dark line on the face. We build frames in our own workshop from laser-cut and rolled steel or aluminium, and trial-fit the modules before the frame leaves.

• Material. Steel, since the modules fix by magnets. Aluminium frames carry steel strips or plates where the magnets land.
• Accuracy. Curves rolled and checked against a template. Ribs laser-cut to the exact profile. A tolerance of about a millimetre on the face.
• Stand-off from the structure. Space behind the modules for power supplies, receiving cards, cables and air.
• Ventilation. A column wrap is a closed tube that traps heat. It needs openings at the bottom and top so air rises through it.
• Fixing to the building. Into the slab, the column or a steel sub-frame. Never into plasterboard or cladding alone.
• Weight. Soft modules are light, 3 to 6 kg per square metre, but the frame, power supplies and cabling add to that. We give the total.
• Overhead screens. Mechanical fixings as well as magnets, and a safety wire, on anything above people.
• Edges. A trim ring, a cap or joinery to finish the top and bottom of a column and the ends of a curve.
• Protection. A clear coating on modules within reach, or a kick-plate and a start height above trolley level.
• Calibration on site. Curved faces show brightness differences more than flat ones, since each module is seen at a slightly different angle.

Installation of a column wrap takes about two to three days on site once the frame is fixed. Spheres, large waves and 3D corners take longer and are programmed individually.

Service access on shaped screens

Every module on a shaped screen has to be removable from the front, because there's usually no way to get behind it. That's simple on a column and hard on a sphere or a ceiling. Decide how each part will be reached before the shape is fixed, since some shapes are easy to build and awkward to repair.

• Magnets make it possible. A module is pulled off the face with a suction tool or a magnetic handle.
• Power supplies and cards sit behind the modules. On a column they're reached by removing the modules in front. Put them at a comfortable height, not at the top.
• Height. A screen above about 3 metres needs a tower or a lift to service. Check that one can reach it, across the finished floor and around the furniture.
• Spheres and hung shapes may need to be lowered, or reached from a platform. Agree the method at design stage.
• Floors lift out panel by panel from above.
• Custom modules need custom spares. For circles and spheres, the special-shaped modules can't be bought off the shelf later. Order spares of each shape with the screen.

Content for shaped screens

Content for a shaped screen has to be made for that shape. The screen's controller treats it as a flat rectangle of pixels, and a template shows where each part of that rectangle lands on the real surface. Standard 16:9 video stretched onto a column or a sphere looks wrong.

• The template. We give the designer a pixel map: the canvas size, and which areas are visible. For a column it's a wide rectangle that wraps. For a circle it's a square with the corners unused. For a sphere it's a world-map style projection.
• Seams. On a full wrap, the left and right edges of the canvas meet. Content must tile across that join.
• Nobody sees it all. On a column or sphere, a viewer sees about a third at a time. Repeat key elements around the shape, or let them travel.
• Curves bend straight lines. On a concave wall, a horizon drawn straight looks bowed from the side. Either design for a chosen viewpoint or use content with no long straight lines.
• Slow movement suits curves. Flowing patterns, drifting particles and water read beautifully on a wave. Hard cuts and fast text don't.
• Text. Keep it short and large, and repeat it round a column. Arabic and English each need their own run.
• 3D pieces are modelled and rendered for one viewpoint, as described above.
• Several screens as one. A column, a wall and a floor can be driven as one canvas, with content moving between them.

We produce content in-house for the shapes we build: abstract loops, brand pieces and 3D work. We also supply templates and specifications to your own agency.

What flexible and 3D screens cost

A flexible LED screen costs more per square metre than a flat one at the same pitch, because the modules are dearer and the frame is custom-made. One manufacturer gives a range of about US$500 to $3,000 per square metre for flexible LED, depending on pitch. The frame, installation and content are extra.

The flexible and floor figures are from Unilight's flexible and floor guides, and the content figures from its 3D guide. These are manufacturer and studio prices abroad. An installed price in Dubai is higher.

For a 3D billboard, another manufacturer's worked example for a 100-square-metre corner screen comes to about US$215,000 in total, with the LED cabinets at $120,000 and the structure, electrics, installation, control, content and contingency making up the rest (EagerLED). In other words, the screen itself was a little over half the project.

Our own guide prices, supplied and installed:

What moves the price

• The shape. A column is a known job. A sphere or a free-form wave is many hours of design and fabrication.
• Pixel pitch and area.
• Custom modules. Circles and spheres need modules made to order, with a minimum quantity and a longer lead time.
• The frame. Material, accuracy and finish.
• Height and access for installation.
• Content. For shaped and 3D screens, it's a real share of the budget.
• Spares of every custom part.

Where to save

• Use a standard shape. A cylinder or a simple arc costs far less than a compound curve.
• Mask a rectangle to make a circle, if losing the corners is acceptable.
• Pick the pitch from the distance. A column in a mall concourse doesn't need P1.5.
• Cover part of the column. A band at eye level and above often does the job of a full-height wrap.

See our LED screen price guide for flat screen prices.

Maintenance and lifespan

A flexible LED screen lasts as long as a rigid one when it's bent once, within its limit, and left alone. Manufacturers quote 100,000 hours. The risks are specific: trapped heat inside a closed shape, knocks to a soft surface within reach, and running out of matching spares for custom parts.

• Cleaning. A soft dry brush or cloth. The rubber mask holds dust, so brush gently along the rows.
• Don't flex installed modules. Remove them straight off the magnets.
• Heat. Keep the vents at the top and bottom of a column clear.
• Knocks. Protect the lower part of anything in a public area.
• Spares. Modules from the same batch, plus every custom shape.
• Recalibration every couple of years.
• Floors. Check the surface for wear and the feet for level once a year.
• Warranty. Our screens carry a 1-year warranty, and we offer maintenance contracts afterwards.

Mistakes to avoid

Shaped screens go wrong at the drawing stage.

1. A curve tighter than the module allows.
2. A frame made before the module count was fixed, leaving a gap at the join.
3. Soft indoor modules used outdoors.
4. A closed column with no ventilation.
5. No way to reach the power supplies.
6. Standard 16:9 content stretched onto a shape.
7. A 3D corner facing a road where animation won't be permitted.
8. 3D content budgeted as an afterthought.
9. A 3D screen with no place for people to stand at the right angle.
10. Unprotected soft modules at trolley height.
11. No spares of custom-shaped modules.
12. An LED floor with no thought for the step up or the slip rating.

How we deliver a shaped screen

A shaped screen is designed and trial-built in the workshop before it reaches site.

1. Survey and brief. We measure the column, wall or corner, check the structure, power and access, and talk through the shape and what it should show.
2. Design. A drawing of the screen with exact dimensions, module layout, pixel map, frame, ventilation and service method, with a price.
3. Fabrication. The frame is cut, rolled and welded in our workshop, and the modules are trial-fitted.
4. Content. Produced in-house to the pixel map while the frame is being made.
5. Installation. Frame fixed, modules fitted, power and control connected, calibrated on site.
6. Handover. Content loaded, staff trained, spares and the pixel map handed over, warranty started.

Lead time is typically 4–8 weeks from order, longer for custom modules.