Have you ever noticed how stadium scoreboards look pixelated, but your church’s LED wall looks smooth? That’s “pixel pitch”.
What is Pixel Pitch?
On a TV, resolution is measured in pixels. If you have a 4K TV, your TV is roughly 4000 pixels wide. The more pixels you have, the sharper of an image you see.
On an LED wall, resolution is measured in “pixel pitch”. Because LED walls can be assembled to any size, “pixel pitch” references the space between each pixel instead of the total number of pixels on the wall. For example, if your LED wall has a 2.9mm pixel pitch, you know there are 2.9mm between each pixel. Of course, the tighter the pixel pitch, the more pixels you can fit in, and the sharper of an image you see.
How to Choose the Right Pixel Pitch
There are several opinions in the industry, but as a general rule, you want to follow this formula:
Distance to Nearest Viewer (ft) ÷ 7 = Maximum Pixel Pitch (mm)
That math works out to the following chart:
| Minimum Viewer Distance | Maximum Pixel Pitch |
| 5’ | 0.9mm |
| 10’ | 1.5mm |
| 15’ | 2mm |
| 17’ | 2.5mm |
| 20’ | 2.9mm |
| 30’ | 4mm |
Can I Get a 4K LED Wall?
Yes! However, “4K” might be less important than you think. Most LED walls (especially in an auditorium or large church) will be viewed from far enough away that the actual resolution is less important than the pixel pitch itself.
However, if you need a specific resolution (for example, to show detailed images of your products in a showroom), you can use this formula:
Desired Screen Width (ft) * 304.8 ÷ Desired Resolution (pixels) = Maximum Pixel Pitch (mm)
Example:
6’ (screen width) * 304.8 ÷ 3840 (4K res) = 0.47mm pixel pitch
How does Pixel Pitch Influence Cost?
Pixel Pitch significantly influences cost, because smaller LEDs are significantly more expensive to manufacture than larger ones.
When we design LED wall systems, one factor we work with our clients on is budget. Depending on your usage of the LED wall and your budget priorities, it is often possible to adapt the pixel pitch selection to your budgetary constraints!
How to Choose the Right LED Wall Resolution
To choose the right LED wall resolution, there are three primary factors to assess:
1) Distance to the closest viewer
2) What kind of content you’re displaying on the screen
3) Balance of quality vs budget
Next time you’re choosing an LED wall for your facility, give us a call at (816) 535-1015. We offer free consultations within 1 hour of the KC Metro, and we’d love to make your next project a reality!
