When choosing to work with LED there are a few details you need to know to find the right screen for your event. We’ll walk through the different factors that play a role when selecting the best option.
First, the basics. LED screens and walls are created with individual LED panels tightly connected together. It’s important for these to fit perfectly with each other because any slight variation can disrupt the entire screen. The panel size options can vary, but the current, most common size is 1.6ft by 1.6ft. The pixel pitch varies much more. What is pixel pitch? Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of an LED pixel to the center of the next LED pixel, measured in millimeters.
An LED panel’s pixel pitch is shown as “4mm”. The most common sizes being used at corporate meetings and events today are 3-6mm and 14-20mm for outdoor events.
When choosing LED panels to build your screen you will want to consider how you’ll be using the screen, your preferred resolution, the content you want to display, and the venue. For example, is it your main screen with high-resolution graphics or accent pieces for logos and smaller graphics? Will it be an indoor or an outdoor event?
If you’re using an LED screen as the centerpiece at your event with high-res graphics in an indoor space, you want a smaller pixel pitch, like a 3-6mm. The overall appearance of the screen will be better and will ensure your graphics appear more vivid. In addition, if you use a LED screen with a larger pixel pitch, the closer your audience is to the stage the more likely they are to see the space between pixels in this type of setting. This is not ideal for conveying high definition imagery. However, for outdoor events, you can usually use a larger pixel pitch LED like a 14-20mm. Often the audience will not be as close to the screen and that pure distance is very forgiving to the audience’s eyes when it comes to the space between pixels. If you want to ensure a higher definition appearance at your outdoor event, a 10mm LED is a great option.
How you want the graphics displayed on a screen is important when configuring the size of your screen. For instance, if you want true HD and have a 3mm LED the screen has to be 18.9ft long before it is truly HD (1920 times 3mm equals 5760mm, then convert to feet). If the pixel pitch is 10mm the screen would have to be 63ft long before it would be HD.
Since LEDs are very specific when it comes to displaying pixels, it’s also important to keep in mind the size and resolution of your graphics as it relates directly to the size of your screen. For instance, if you want a 4k resolution (3840 × 2160) for your LED screen you will also want to be sure your graphics are created to those specifications (3840 × 2160, aspect ratio 16:9). Scaling graphics up or down on LED can lead your images and videos to appear pixelated, so you always want your content to be as close to the final, desired screen resolution as possible. This also pertains to the orientation of the screens. If you have a portrait, LED accent wall, you’ll want to build your graphics in the same layout. When trying to use landscape graphics on a portrait screen these will have to be scaled down much smaller to fit.
Once you have your venue, know how you want to use your LED screens, and what resolution you want them to display finding the right LED is simply in the math.
Sources: Tom Alford, Executive Vice President & Scott Miller, National Account Manager
