Budget, location, design. Technical requirements for an advertising video are considered last. Or not considered at all — until the day an operator sends the file back because it was made without meeting the specs.

 

This is not a rare situation. This is standard. And it costs money, nerves, and worst of all, time — which is always in short supply before a campaign launch.

 

Let’s go through everything in order: where mistakes tend to hide, which parameters are critical, and how to get your video on air without unnecessary rounds of approvals.

 

 

Where ads are shown and why it affects requirements

 

Advertising LED screen is installed in different locations. A highway with heavy traffic is one thing. An entrance area of a shopping mall is something entirely different. And the requirements for a video differ in each case, even if both screens are formally the same size.

 

On outdoor roadside screens, a viewer passes by in seconds. Large LED screen along roads is designed for instant readability. Here, contrast, large type, and minimal detail matter. Nobody reads small text from a car window at 60 km/h.

 

Inside a shopping mall, everything moves slower. Pedestrian flow, more contact time. Slightly more text is possible, more detailed visuals too. But even there — not a novel.

 

Transit stops, petrol stations, business centres — each has its own viewing scenario. Before preparing a file, you need to understand where it is going.

 

 

Basic technical parameters: what gets checked first

 

This is where most people run into trouble. Not at the concept stage, not with colours — with technical details that are easy to check in advance.

 

Resolution. Every LED screen has a spec sheet with an exact pixel map. 1920×1080, 3840×2160, sometimes non-standard aspect ratios. Scaling “by eye” is a bad idea. Black bars along the edges or a stretched frame are immediately visible.

 

Frame rate — 25 or 30 fps. No interlacing, no choppy motion. If a video was edited at a different frame rate and converted carelessly — it will show on LED screen.

 

File format. MP4 with H.264 codec — the standard for most operators. MOV is less common. Always confirm before sending.

 

Bitrate — from 8 to 20 Mbps. Below 8 — details blur, especially in motion. Above 20 — the file may fail on size. The sweet spot is around 12–15 Mbps for most formats.

 

Audio. Outdoor screens have none. A file without an audio track is the norm. If audio is present, some operators may return the file for revision.

 

Safe zone — 5–7% from each edge. Logos and text must not go beyond this boundary. It seems like a minor detail, but on a real LED screen the edge of the frame is often cropped due to mounting hardware or playback settings.

 

 

How many seconds and what fits inside them

 

10 seconds is the most common format for outdoor video advertising. 5- and 15-second options exist, but ten is the de facto market standard.

 

In 10 seconds, a person has time to absorb one idea. One — not two, not three. It is better to understand this at the brief stage, rather than trying to fit five product benefits into a single video.

 

The first 2–3 seconds are the most important. The brand and the main message must be on LED screen immediately. Not at the end, not after a slow build — immediately. If in the first three seconds a person does not understand what they are being shown, they have already driven past.

 

After that — one argument or offer. Short, without small-print terms and conditions.

 

The ending — a static logo and a clear call to action in outdoor advertising. “Scan the QR”, “Visit today”, “advision.digital” — something concrete and simple.

 

Fifteen-second videos offer a little more room, but even there one idea equals one screen. The temptation to “say more” almost always does more harm than good.

 

 

Text on LED screen: readability above all

 

A headline of four to six words is read instantly. Anything longer — is not.

 

A sans-serif font, large type size, tight leading. Maximum contrast between text and background. White on yellow — bad. White on dark blue — good. Black on bright orange — also good.

 

Thin lines and outlines blur on LED screen. If a designer uses a thin typeface or stroke effect — ask for a test render. It is better to spot the problem in the editor than on a real screen after launch.

 

Disclaimers and small print — a painful subject. If they are legally required, they must be legible. Shorten the tagline, but do not sacrifice mandatory text.

 

 

Animation: motion helps, but not always

 

Smooth movement, product scrolls, soft transitions — all of this works well on digital billboards. This format allows for dynamics that a static banner cannot deliver.

 

But some things are better avoided. Sharp flashes and stroboscopic effects are prohibited by most operators for road safety reasons. Rapid frame changes with fine geometric patterns produce a moiré effect on LED matrices — especially on screens with a large pixel pitch.

 

Check your animation with a test render from the operator. What looks clean in Adobe Premiere may look entirely different on a real panel.

 

The rule is simple: motion should emphasise, not distract.

 

 

Adapting for different formats: one file will not solve everything

 

This is where most people cut corners and later regret it.

 

Even if the main part of a network consists of horizontal 16:9 screens, there will always be a vertical LED screen at a mall entrance or a panoramic structure with non-standard proportions. A single master file simply will not fit.

 

Plan adaptations in advance. Build key elements — logo, headline, offer — on a modular grid that can be reassembled for a different format. Keep backgrounds and secondary elements flexible.

 

This does not double the workload. If the system is built properly, adapting to a new format takes an hour, not a day.

 

Content management becomes far simpler when files are named according to a clear template: network\_city\_address\_format\_version\_date. It looks pedantic. But when a campaign involves 30 screens and three versions of a video — that pedantry saves the day.

 

 

What else operators check

 

A few things that rarely come up in conversation, but genuinely cause files to be returned.

 

Large bright fills covering the entire frame. Some networks limit the area of a “light patch” to avoid blinding drivers and overloading panels. The exact threshold is in the technical requirements of the specific operator.

 

Colour profile. The standard is sRGB. Materials with a wide colour gamut or excessive saturation can blow out details. Bright reds and neon tones are a risk zone. Check previews at high brightness.

 

Imitation of road signs and signals — strictly prohibited. Even if it is part of the creative concept.

 

Content rights. Music is not used on outdoor screens, but images and likenesses of people are. Rights must be properly cleared.

 

 

How to evaluate results

 

Programmatic DOOH and modern platforms provide solid analytics — play logs, photo reports, audience flow data. But the basic monitoring tool is a Proof of Play from the operator. That is the minimum anyone asks for first.

 

If a campaign includes QR codes or short links — they show the concrete response from the street. Real-time ad campaigns make it possible to change content quickly if a particular variant underperforms.

 

DOOH campaign analytics are not just numbers in a report. They are feedback that helps you prepare the next video better.

 

The visual hierarchy on a LED screen is built exactly as in any other medium: brand, message, action. But here you have 10 seconds and a viewer who never stopped. So every element must be in the right place from the very first frame.

 

Branding in a DOOH campaign is not a logo in the corner at the end of a video. It is recognition from the first second. Colour, shape, style — before a person has even read the name.

 

 

Pre-submission checklist

 

– Resolution and aspect ratio match the screen’s spec sheet. No scaling by eye.

 

– Text is readable from 20–30 metres, depending on the size of the display. No thin lines or small inscriptions.

 

– Logo and offer are within the safe zone. No overlapping with complex backgrounds.

 

– No sharp flashes or imitation of emergency signals. Motion is smooth.

 

– File has no audio, codec is H.264, bitrate is within the permitted range.

 

– Disclaimers and age ratings are present and legible, if required.

 

– Content synchronisation with the operator’s schedule has been confirmed — the video was uploaded before the deadline, not at the last minute.

 

 

In brief

 

Technical preparation is not bureaucracy. It is part of the work that either launches a campaign on time or delays it by a week.

 

Dynamic content and video content for DOOH is a powerful tool. But only when the file is properly prepared, adapted to the specific screens, and checked before submission.

 

Managing advertising content at the platform level is a separate topic. But it starts here: with a properly prepared source file.

 

If you want to understand how this works inside the Advision system — get in touch. We’ll show you how it works in practice.

 

 

When to prepare files and how much time to allow

 

The typical pace for a campaign with a ready creative is about one week. One day to confirm formats with the operator, one day to adapt for specific screens, one day for a test render and revisions, one day for uploading and confirmation from the network.

 

If the video still needs to be filmed or edited from scratch — the timeline at least doubles.

 

The most common mistake is sending files on the last day before launch. Most operators update playlists on a schedule, and “urgently by tomorrow” is simply not always technically possible. Build in a technical window in advance — and there will be far less stress.

 

Assign one person to be responsible for handing over materials. When revisions arrive from multiple people through different channels — someone will inevitably send the wrong version.

 

 

A few words about non-standard structures

 

Not all screens are rectangular. Media facades, stepped ribbons, curved surfaces — formats like these are becoming more common in large cities. They have zones of low readability, joins between modules, non-standard proportions.

 

If the screen’s technical specification includes notes about “zones with limited visibility” — take them into account at the storyboarding stage. Key elements must not fall into those zones. Reworking an already-edited video always costs more than thinking it through from the start.

 

Digital billboards in non-standard formats require a dedicated approach to creative production. But the principle is the same: brand and message in the zone of maximum visibility, everything else around them.