Music festivals are great; there's a real sense of community at them and there's lots to see and do, including the opportunity to see some of the world's biggest artists at what could well be their only UK dates of the year, but there is a downside to this - there are so many people at festivals that it's usually almost impossible to actually see these artists. Sure you can hear the music, but with in excess of 100,000 people in attendance at most of the UK's main music festivals every year, there are a lot of people who simply cannot see the artists themselves, except maybe a tiny speck in the distance. This is where the big screens come in.

Big screens are a common feature at festivals and large concerts at venues such as Knebworth or Hyde Park where it's unlikely that everyone at the show will get a clear view of the performers. The stage will typically have people moving around with video cameras and a production crew will switch between shots, aiming to provide as good a show as possible for the crowd who can't see the performers. But what are these screens made of and how do they work?

A common assumption when it comes to big screens is that they are giant LCD TV's, similar to what many of us have in our homes, but put simply, this is not the case. These screens are made up of LED's, which gives them several advantages over an LCD, plasma or CRT solution.

An LED screen works on the principle of making the picture up out of clusters of LEDs. Each cluster contains a red, green and blue LED and they light up accordingly to the requirements of the picture they need to show. This gives them a noticeable advantage over plasma, LCD or CRT screens in that these units must always all be in one piece, either because the tube cannot be separated or because they must have a front on them to keep the gases or liquids inside, whereas an LED screen can be dismantled and moved in sections, making them ideal for use at concerts or festivals, where they will only be needed for a few days. An LED screen is often only centimetres thick as well, making them the most logistically feasible option when providing visual displays for large venues.

Though watching a performance on the venue's big screens isn't the same as being up close to the stage and watching your favourite artists perform with your own eyes, seeing it on the screens is the ideal way to watch the performance while still having the great sense of community that only comes from being at a festival.

Anna Stenning is a music journalist with many years of experience attending and writing about music festivals. Find out more about big screens at http://www.adi.tv/

Tags: gadgets, technology, gizmos, big screens