Frequently asked questions.

Two reasons. First, scope — a complete quote covers modules, cabinets, controller, power, structure, install/calibration, and warranty. Cheap quotes typically omit two or three of these. Second, brand tier — tier-1 modules from Liangtronics, Unilumin, Absen, Leyard cost meaningfully more than tier-2 or no-name modules. Always ask for the seven-line itemised breakdown to compare like for like.

Only as a rough sanity-check, never as a quote basis. Per-sqft cost varies by 4× across the common pixel pitch range and another 1.5× for indoor vs outdoor. Per-sqft is also affected by total wall area (controllers and labour amortise across larger walls). Use it to compare similar specifications, not as a procurement number.

Standard SMDSOLUTIONS quotes include site survey, supply, structure, installation, calibration, and a 2-year manufacturer warranty as the default scope. We itemise each line so you can see exactly what is in and out of scope. Calibration is never an optional extra — uncalibrated walls look patchy from week one and waste premium hardware.

LED display equipment is subject to standard import duty, sales tax, and any applicable regulatory duty at the time of import. These are baked into the supplier landed cost. Rupee-dollar parity movements can shift pricing meaningfully between quote and order, so written quotes are typically valid for 14 to 30 days.

Yes. We work with several Pakistani banks and leasing companies who offer commercial-equipment financing for LED display projects, typically 12 to 36 month terms — the client (or the financing party) owns the screen and SMDSOLUTIONS supplies, installs, calibrates, and maintains it. We do not rent, lease, or operate screens as a media owner, so there is no build-own-operate arrangement where we retain ownership. Tell us at quote stage if financing is relevant and we will share options.

A strong tier-2 P3 or P4 indoor wall in a sensible cabinet with a basic but capable controller is the lower limit of "still worth buying" for typical commercial use. Going below that — no-name modules, no real controller, no calibration — almost always produces a wall that looks tired in 18 months and fails outright in 3 years. Spend slightly more upfront, fail less often.

A 5×3 m P2.5 indoor wall draws 5 to 7 kW peak — that is a dedicated 32-amp single-phase or 16-amp three-phase circuit fed from a sub-distribution board. Most existing rooms do not have spare capacity; circuit upgrades are part of about 70 percent of indoor projects. We confirm power requirements at site survey and coordinate with your electrical contractor.

Yes for any project above a threshold size. We physically inspect structure, ambient light, sightlines, power, HVAC, and content connectivity. Survey output is a written engineering brief signed off before hardware is ordered. Skipping site survey is the single biggest cause of cost and timeline overruns on Pakistani LED projects.

It depends on wall construction. A 5×3 m P2.5 wall weighs around 200 to 300 kg fully loaded. Solid concrete or brick walls usually carry that load on through-bolts; drywall and hollow masonry need a steel back-plate. Older Pakistani buildings should always be physically tested at survey, not assumed adequate.

Yes, with planning. We work outside business hours, weekends, or in dust-curtained zones during business hours. Cabinet hanging is best done after-hours; calibration and content workflow setup can run in business hours without disruption.

Handover is a written acceptance test — full-wall white-balance, colour-bars, pixel-level test pattern, source switching across all configured inputs, and content playback. When signed off, warranty officially starts and you receive the calibration report, operating manual, as-built diagram, and warranty certificate. Spare modules (2 to 3 percent of total) are stocked on site.

Yes — we handle PHA (Lahore), KMC (Karachi), MCI/CDA (Islamabad), and cantonment board permitting on a project-by-project basis. NOC processes vary by city and structure type and can take 4 to 12 weeks. Start the application as soon as the BoQ is signed; do not wait for hardware to arrive.

Yes. We complete projects in Gwadar, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Mardan, Mirpur AJK, Sahiwal, Abbottabad, and other cities outside the 11 main hubs. Lead time is typically slightly longer because of survey logistics. Tell us the site address and we will share a realistic timeline.

A correctly specified, installed, and maintained SMD screen lasts 8 to 10 years (80,000 to 100,000 hours) in typical Pakistani indoor conditions. Outdoor billboards typically achieve 6 to 8 years. Brightness fades slowly over the lifespan; periodic recalibration keeps the wall looking close to factory new. Unmaintained walls fade within 3 to 4 years.

Standard SLA includes scheduled quarterly preventive maintenance, annual full service with recalibration, on-site spare module stock management, controller firmware updates, and emergency response with contracted SLA windows (24-hour, 8-hour, or 4-hour). Pricing is annual and depends on tier, location, and on-site spare arrangement.

Daily and monthly visual checks can be done by an internal ops team after a 30-minute walkthrough. Quarterly cabinet ventilation cleaning is also feasible for trained internal teams. Annual recalibration is hard to do credibly without specialised tooling — most clients hybrid this: internal team for routine, SMDSOLUTIONS for annual full service.

Yes meaningfully. Modules run cooler when ambient is below 35 degrees Celsius and ventilation is unobstructed. At 45+ degrees ambient with dust-loaded heat sinks, internal LED junction temperatures climb past safe operating range and lifespan compresses. Quarterly dust cleaning is the highest-impact summer maintenance task.

Annual recalibration is standard for premium walls. Every module is remeasured and per-module correction values are reapplied. The cost of skipping annual recalibration is a wall that looks visibly aged compared to its day-one calibration; the cost of doing it is one day of engineering labour per year.

Tier-1 cabinets are front-serviceable — module swap is a 5 to 10 minute job once a technician is on site. With on-site spare modules at 2 to 3 percent of total count, mean-time-to-repair is typically under an hour. Without on-site spares, the swap waits for the spare to ship from our regional depot — multi-day delay possible.

Rule of thumb: budget annual maintenance at 4 to 8 percent of original hardware cost for a self-serviced wall, or 6 to 12 percent for a full SLA contract. The variation depends on wall size, location, response-time tier, and spare-stock arrangement. Cheaper than skipping maintenance and replacing the wall in 4 years.

Two years standard, extending up to 5 years through SLA contracts on tier-1 hardware. Modules carry the manufacturer's factory warranty in addition; we coordinate factory claims on the client's behalf where applicable.

A warranty claim starts with a service ticket through your project's nominated SMDSOLUTIONS account manager. Standard SLA tier ships a technician within 24 to 48 hours; premium tiers within 4 to 8 hours. On-site assessment confirms the failure, modules are swapped from on-site or depot spares, and the failed unit is returned to the manufacturer for analysis.

Physical damage from external causes, water ingress in indoor cabinets, unauthorised hardware modifications, operating outside specified environmental envelope (e.g. running indoor cabinet in direct sun), and use of unapproved third-party replacement parts. We document the install environment at handover so warranty boundary is clear.

Standard hardware warranty covers replacement parts. Labour for warranty service is covered if you have an active SLA contract. Without an SLA, hardware replacement parts are free and labour is invoiced at our standard service rates. SLA economics typically work out favourably for any wall above a threshold size.

Yes — extended warranty is available on tier-1 hardware up to 5 years total cover, structured as part of an annual SLA contract. Pricing depends on hardware tier, wall size, location, and SLA response time. Renewal decisions are usually made before the standard 2-year period expires.

SMDSOLUTIONS provides repair, maintenance, and warranty service for screens originally installed by other vendors, subject to a takeover assessment. The assessment documents existing condition and identifies any pre-existing issues that fall outside our subsequent service responsibility. This is a common scenario and we handle it routinely.