When investing in outdoor digital signage, most companies focus on upfront costs: hardware, installation, and maintenance. But two of the most overlooked expenses in the industry are: 1) the cost of installing primary AC power; and 2) The ongoing power consumption. Electricity costs can add up quickly, especially in large-scale deployments.
Engineered for low power consumption
BoldVu® by MRI, prides itself in being designed for the industry’s lowest power consumption. Apples-to-apples, for the same digital image size and brightness, BoldVu® typically consumes up to 50% less electrical energy than our competitors.
How is this possible? Every BoldVu® component and subassembly is designed from the ground up to minimize power consumption and heat buildup within the unit. Every BoldVu® unit:
1. Uses the highest optical transmission LCDs available in the industry.
2. Uses the highest optical efficiency diffuser stack behind the LCD in the industry to maximize image brightness at the lowest possible power consumption.
3. Uses custom formulated mini-LEDs in the BoldVu® LCD backlight to deliver not only the industry’s highest image color saturation (typically > 96% DCI-P3), but also extremely high efficiency (typically > 150 Lm/watt).
4. Uses only direct, dynamically block dimmed backlight architecture (DynamicVu®) to provide an additional 15-20% power savings while enhancing image contrast (i.e., blacker blacks).
5. Uses only AR (anti-reflective), laminated vandal/weather resistant cover glass (ToughVu®). ToughVu® is IK-10 rated against impact damage, has a visible transmission of >95% for low loss of image brightness, while also providing significant attenuation of IR (infrared) and UV (ultraviolet) rays from the sun which otherwise could add significant heat to the display and/or degrade/destroy the LCD polarizers, color filters and optical films (i.e., the “browning” of the image often seen in competitive products).
6. Uses the multi-patented CoolVu® thermal management system, which:
a. Is maintenance free (i.e., no air-filters)
b. Is IP66 sealed against water, moisture and dust intrusion (i.e., clean, dry and cool for life, with no internal condensation)
c. Utilizes very efficient centrifugal speed-controlled fans (typically 30% more power efficient than more common tube-axial fans).
d. Typically manages the LCD, backlight LEDs, power supplies, and other active electrical components to maintain component and subsystem temperatures with as little as a 10°C rise above local ambient temperatures (5-10x less temperature rise than most competitive products).
e. Has the cooling the fans only run when necessary (for even lower power consumption).
f. Has the cooling fans always run at the lowest speed required for given ambient temperature and solar conditions (for even lower power consumption and noise levels).
g. Has one of the lowest noise signatures in the industry, typically < 60 dbA SPL during the day (about the level of gentle rain or conversational voices) and < 40 dBA SPL at night (about the level of a quiet library)
h. Is industry unique in that it efficiently removes the thermal load from the sun, backlight and power supplies BEFORE this combined thermal load can heat up the BoldVu® chassis and associated electronics and optics. Therefore, CoolVu® itself has the industry’s lowest thermal burden to manage and the result is that very little BoldVu® power consumption is required to cool the product.
Why does this matter?
NYC
Simple, the cost of installation of site power for each digital sign.
Pulling “new” or higher voltage/amperage power to EACH unit installation site typically costs at least $20,000 USD and can exceed $100,000 USD depending upon geographical location, unions, local electrical codes, length of the power run, etc. This expense may exceed the cost of the digital sign itself!
With its low power consumption, BoldVu® is often capable of being installed and operated from the existing power infrastructure where competitive products often can’t. This eliminates the need to pull new power and therefore completely eliminates the cost associated with “new” power.
Should the planned installation site not currently have power or the power is inadequate, BoldVu® will always require smaller minimum wire gauge and a lower amperage circuit breaker at the city or the venue’s power panel which means pulling such new or upgraded power for BoldVu® will always cost less than the competition.
There are several instances where BoldVu® products have been selected for projects as “the value leader” in that they could be operated at full performance without any changes to the existing site power, where none of the competitive products could. In one particular case involving 100 sites, selecting BoldVu® saved the customer $2.5M USD in installation costs by being able to utilize existing power.
How Smart Power Management Lowers the Cost of Digital Signage
All BoldVu® products come standard capable of operating from single phase 90-250Vac, 50-60 Hz, AC input power. For 65” and larger image size products, single phase 90-277Vac, 50-60 Hz, input power is an available option.
All BoldVu® products come standard with a complete built-in AC load center, inclusive of a liquid tight AC junction or pull box, AC surge arrestor, AC line filter and appropriate circuit breaker.
Power connection to BoldVu® is simply connecting 3 wires, AC hot, AC return and earth/safety ground inside the provided liquid tight AC junction or pull box. If operating BoldVu® from 208Vac or 240Vac no neutral wire is required.
One of BoldVu®’s many patented features is AC AmpVu®. AC AmpVu® is industry unique in that the maximum allowed input current to a BoldVu® product is software programable over any authorized internet connection. This allows any BoldVu® product to power up, with a lower brightness level, and provide revenue generating content from whatever site power that may be preexisting, without overloading and tripping the site circuit breakers for any given digital sign. A good number of BoldVu® products have been installed across north America where this feature has proven invaluable. There are many deployments for a given city or venue, for the same project and the same set of deployed BoldVu® products, where on a unit-by-unit location, power ranged from as low as 120Vac at 10 amps, to 208Vac or 240Vac at 20-30 amps. Those units connected to the lesser available power operate at a lower brightness level, but still present quality ads and generate immediate and ongoing recurring revenue. As cashflow and ROI permit, selected sites are, or may be, upgraded to increased available AC power so they may operate at full brightness. As power is upgraded, the BoldVu® products automatically adjust themselves to provide full performance for 10+ years.
All BoldVu® products incorporate patented AmpVu®, VoltVu®, and WattVu® technology that provides real time power monitoring and dynamic load shedding (momentary reduction of display brightness) to prevent system interruption and the need to dispatch service technicians to reset AC circuit breakers due to nuisance trips resulting by brown outs, unsteady city power voltage, or inadequate city power wattage.
WattVu® also provides real time monitoring and reporting of KWHR power consumption for:
a) the moment,
b) the last complete hour,
c) the current month to date,
d) all previous complete months,
e) the current year to date, and
f) all previous complete years. WattVu® also predicts KWHR consumption to the completion of the current month and current year.
When voltage drops or spikes, our displays don’t just shut down—they adapt in real time. By dynamically adjusting LED brightness, AmpVu® ensures the displays stay operational while using only the power available. This prevents:
❌ Sudden blackouts that disrupt advertising revenue
❌ Long-term damage caused by unstable power supply
❌ Downtime that could impact advertiser relationships
Instant Alerts & Remote Troubleshooting
Through the SmartVu® Portal, operators receive instant alerts if a display experiences abnormal power conditions. Instead of waiting for manual inspections or customer complaints, teams can:
🔹 Diagnose issues remotely before dispatching a technician
🔹 Monitor performance trends to predict and prevent failures
🔹 Ensure ad delivery compliance by minimizing downtime
Why This Matters for OOH & DOOH Operators
For media owners, advertisers, and network operators, uptime and performance reliability are non-negotiable. A display that’s not running or a display that is underperforming means lost revenue, broken advertiser trust, and higher long-term costs.
Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, BoldVu®’s purpose-built hardware and software ecosystem is designed for the demands of OOH (Out-of-Home) and DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) media. With over 27,000 deployments worldwide, our technology ensures that displays not only last longer but cost less to operate.
The Bottom Line: Why Invest in Smart Power Management?
💡 Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) – Reduce energy waste and extend hardware lifespan
⚡ Fewer Service Interruptions – Avoid costly emergency repairs and technician dispatches
📈 Better Advertiser Trust – Ensure campaigns run as scheduled with 99.99% uptime
Don’t let power inefficiencies eat into your profits. Whether you’re a global OOH leader or a boutique media operator, energy management is key to maximizing ROI.
Interested in optimizing your digital signage network? Let’s talk about how AmpVu® & VoltVu® can help you cut costs and improve performance. Contact us today.
