An LED wall makes an impression, but the wrong LED wall costs you money and still doesn’t look good. Two things decide whether a screen works for your event: the pixel pitch and the brightness. Here’s what you need to know before you hire.
Pixel pitch: the distance between the pixels
Pixel pitch is the distance between the centres of two LEDs, measured in millimetres. A P3 has 3 millimetres between the pixels, a P5 has 5. The smaller the number, the finer the picture and the closer you can stand without seeing individual dots.
The rule of thumb: the pixel pitch in millimetres is roughly the minimum comfortable viewing distance in metres. A P3 looks crisp from about 3 metres, a P5 from 5 metres. If your audience is right in front of the screen, say behind a DJ booth or at an entrance, you want a fine pitch. If everyone’s 10 metres away or more, a coarser, cheaper pitch is fine and your audience won’t see the difference.
Choose the pitch for your audience: fine where people stand close, coarser (and cheaper) where they’re further away.
Brightness: indoors or outdoors?
Brightness is measured in nits. This number decides whether your picture beats the ambient light.
Indoors, in a room with dimmed lighting, a screen of around 800 to 1,500 nits is enough. Outdoors in daylight you need a lot more. In the shade or under a canopy, count on about 3,500 nits, and in direct sunlight 5,000 nits or more, or you’ll be looking at a dull grey slab. An indoor screen put outside is money down the drain, and it can’t handle rain either: outdoor panels have an outdoor IP rating (usually IP65), indoor panels don’t.
So always tell us where the screen will stand and what time your event is. An outdoor event that starts at 21:00 has very different needs from one that peaks at 14:00 in full sun.
Size and aspect ratio
LED walls are built from panels, so you’re free to choose the size. You can go wide for a backdrop behind a stage, or square for an entrance. Do keep your content’s aspect ratio in mind: a 16:9 video on a square screen gives you black bars or a stretched picture. Match the size of the screen to what you want to show on it.
What we do for you
We work out which pixel pitch and brightness suit your space, your audience and the time of day. We build the wall, fly or ground-stack it safely, and test your content on it before the first guest arrives. Outdoors we also look at wind and weather, because an LED wall is a big surface that catches the wind. Our hire stock includes outdoor screens from 7 to 24 m², with a pixel pitch of 3.9 to 8 mm.
Got an event in the diary with an LED wall in the plan? Send us the location, the date and the time, and what you want to show on it. Call +31 (0)10 307 54 76 or email info@massivepro.nl, and we’ll put the right wall together.
Frequently asked questions
What is pixel pitch?
Pixel pitch is the distance between two LEDs in millimetres. A lower number means a finer picture that you can stand closer to. P3 looks crisp from 3 metres, P5 from 5 metres.
Which pixel pitch do I need?
That depends on the viewing distance. If your audience is close, choose a fine pitch (P2 to P3). If everyone’s 10 metres away or more, a coarser, cheaper pitch will do.
Can I use an indoor screen outdoors?
Best not. An indoor screen reaches around 800 to 1,500 nits and disappears in daylight. Outdoors in daylight you need about 3,500 nits (shade) to 5,000 nits or more (full sun), and a screen that can cope with rain.
What size LED wall suits my event?
LED walls are built from panels, so the size is flexible. Match it to your content’s aspect ratio, so you don’t end up with black bars or a stretched picture.
Do you set up the LED wall too?
Yes. We deliver it, build it safely and test your content on the screen before your event starts. Outdoors we also take wind and weather into account.
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