{"version":"2026-09-05","publisher":"Prestige LED Displays","url":"https://prestige-digital.net","licence":"Free to quote and cite with attribution to Prestige LED Displays (https://prestige-digital.net).","summary":"Reference data for specifying commercial LED display systems: pixel pitch against viewing distance, brightness and ingress protection by environment, realistic power draw, the eight factors that drive installed cost, and published market prices from named suppliers in the UK, Ireland and the United States.","pixelPitch":{"explanation":"Pixel pitch is the millimetre distance between adjacent LEDs and is the single biggest driver of an LED wall's cost. The distance at which pixels stop being individually resolvable is approximately 3.438 times the pitch in millimetres, derived from one-arcminute visual acuity — the standard 20/20 limit.","retinaFactor":3.438,"standardPitchesMm":[0.9,1.2,1.5,1.8,2.5,2.6,3.9,4.8,6.6,10],"table":[{"pitch":0.9,"label":"P0.9","retinaDistanceM":3.09,"comfortableDistanceM":1.8,"minimumDistanceM":0.9},{"pitch":1.2,"label":"P1.2","retinaDistanceM":4.13,"comfortableDistanceM":2.4,"minimumDistanceM":1.2},{"pitch":1.5,"label":"P1.5","retinaDistanceM":5.16,"comfortableDistanceM":3,"minimumDistanceM":1.5},{"pitch":1.8,"label":"P1.8","retinaDistanceM":6.19,"comfortableDistanceM":3.6,"minimumDistanceM":1.8},{"pitch":2.5,"label":"P2.5","retinaDistanceM":8.6,"comfortableDistanceM":5,"minimumDistanceM":2.5},{"pitch":2.6,"label":"P2.6","retinaDistanceM":8.94,"comfortableDistanceM":5.2,"minimumDistanceM":2.6},{"pitch":3.9,"label":"P3.9","retinaDistanceM":13.41,"comfortableDistanceM":7.8,"minimumDistanceM":3.9},{"pitch":4.8,"label":"P4.8","retinaDistanceM":16.5,"comfortableDistanceM":9.6,"minimumDistanceM":4.8},{"pitch":6.6,"label":"P6.6","retinaDistanceM":22.69,"comfortableDistanceM":13.2,"minimumDistanceM":6.6},{"pitch":10,"label":"P10","retinaDistanceM":34.38,"comfortableDistanceM":20,"minimumDistanceM":10}],"byViewingDistance":[{"viewingDistanceM":1.5,"recommendedPitch":0.9,"recommendedLabel":"P0.9","retinaPitchMm":0.44,"legibilityFloorMm":1.5},{"viewingDistanceM":2,"recommendedPitch":0.9,"recommendedLabel":"P0.9","retinaPitchMm":0.58,"legibilityFloorMm":2},{"viewingDistanceM":3,"recommendedPitch":1.5,"recommendedLabel":"P1.5","retinaPitchMm":0.87,"legibilityFloorMm":3},{"viewingDistanceM":4,"recommendedPitch":1.8,"recommendedLabel":"P1.8","retinaPitchMm":1.16,"legibilityFloorMm":4},{"viewingDistanceM":6,"recommendedPitch":2.6,"recommendedLabel":"P2.6","retinaPitchMm":1.75,"legibilityFloorMm":6},{"viewingDistanceM":8,"recommendedPitch":3.9,"recommendedLabel":"P3.9","retinaPitchMm":2.33,"legibilityFloorMm":8},{"viewingDistanceM":10,"recommendedPitch":4.8,"recommendedLabel":"P4.8","retinaPitchMm":2.91,"legibilityFloorMm":10},{"viewingDistanceM":15,"recommendedPitch":6.6,"recommendedLabel":"P6.6","retinaPitchMm":4.36,"legibilityFloorMm":15},{"viewingDistanceM":25,"recommendedPitch":10,"recommendedLabel":"P10","retinaPitchMm":7.27,"legibilityFloorMm":25},{"viewingDistanceM":40,"recommendedPitch":10,"recommendedLabel":"P10","retinaPitchMm":11.63,"legibilityFloorMm":40}],"commonMistake":"Specifying to the retina limit typically doubles panel cost to buy sharpness nobody in the room can perceive. The commercial choice normally sits between the retina limit and the legibility floor."},"environments":[{"id":"indoor","label":"Indoor — bar, gaming floor, foyer","brightnessNits":{"min":800,"max":1500},"ipRating":"IP31 front / IP31 rear","averageWattsPerSqm":200,"note":"Controlled lighting. Higher brightness here just costs power and shortens LED life."},{"id":"indoor-bright","label":"Indoor with daylight — atrium, glazed frontage","brightnessNits":{"min":2500,"max":3500},"ipRating":"IP31 front / IP31 rear","averageWattsPerSqm":240,"note":"Sunlight reaches the screen but does not strike it directly."},{"id":"shop-window","label":"Shop window — facing out through glass","brightnessNits":{"min":5000,"max":8000},"ipRating":"IP43 front / IP31 rear","averageWattsPerSqm":320,"note":"The screen competes with daylight AND reflections off the glass. Under-specifying brightness here is the single most common and most expensive mistake in retail LED."},{"id":"outdoor","label":"Outdoor — beer garden, forecourt, building face","brightnessNits":{"min":5000,"max":7500},"ipRating":"IP65 front / IP54 rear","averageWattsPerSqm":280,"note":"Needs weather sealing and an automatic brightness sensor, or it will be blinding at night."}],"power":{"explanation":"Panel datasheets quote maximum power, which assumes an all-white screen at full brightness. No real content sustains that. Typical mixed content averages roughly a third of the maximum, so quoting the datasheet figure overstates running cost about threefold.","method":"annual kWh = area in m² × average watts per m² ÷ 1000 × hours per day × 365"},"cabinets":{"explanation":"LED walls are assembled from fixed-size cabinets, most commonly 500mm × 500mm, so the buildable size steps in cabinet increments rather than varying continuously.","commonSizesMm":[{"width":500,"height":500,"note":"Most common"},{"width":500,"height":1000,"note":"Tall format"},{"width":600,"height":337.5,"note":"16:9 module"}],"commonMistake":"Quoting the requested size rather than the buildable one. A 3.7m width builds as 3.5m or 4.0m, which is the number that catches people out on fitting day."},"costDrivers":[{"factor":"Pixel pitch","impact":"The biggest single lever","detail":"Halving the pitch roughly quadruples the pixel count, and the price follows. A P1.5 wall can cost two to three times a P2.6 wall of identical size. This is where most budgets are lost — to sharpness nobody standing in the room can actually perceive."},{"factor":"Area, in real cabinets","impact":"Steps, not a smooth curve","detail":"LED walls build from fixed cabinets, usually 500mm. A 3.7m wall is quoted as 3.5m or 4.0m, never 3.7m. Ask any supplier for the buildable size, not the size you asked for — this is the number that catches people out on fitting day."},{"factor":"Environment","impact":"Roughly 2× between indoor and shop window","detail":"A screen facing out through glass into daylight needs around five times the brightness of the same screen hung indoors, plus better thermal management. Under-specifying brightness here is the most common and most expensive mistake in retail LED — the screen is unreadable by noon and cannot be fixed without replacing it."},{"factor":"Structure and fixing","impact":"Typically 10–20% on top of panels","detail":"Wall-mount on a sound masonry wall is cheap. Suspended, curved, freestanding, or anything needing a structural engineer's sign-off is not. Curved and custom-entry builds carry bespoke framework, which is where the difference between a catalogue price and a real quote usually sits."},{"factor":"Processing and control","impact":"A fixed cost, not per m²","detail":"Every wall needs a sending card, receiving cards and a processor sized to its resolution. A wall above 4K needs a considerably more capable processor than one below HD, which is why resolution matters to the budget even when the physical size does not change."},{"factor":"Installation and commissioning","impact":"Often underquoted","detail":"Access equipment, power supply work, cable routing, calibration and content commissioning. A quote that omits the electrical supply and the first content build is not a quote you can compare against one that includes them."},{"factor":"Content and CMS","impact":"The recurring one","detail":"Hardware is a one-off; content is not. Budget for the initial creative build and for whoever keeps it current. A screen running the same loop for eighteen months has stopped earning its capital."},{"factor":"Spares and warranty","impact":"Around 3–5%","detail":"Buy spare cabinets and modules from the same production batch at the same time as the wall. LED bins drift between batches, so a module bought two years later can be visibly a different colour."}],"publishedMarketPrices":[{"region":"UK & Ireland","what":"Standard indoor LED panels","detail":"Mid-pitch panels for a bar, gaming floor or foyer wall.","publishedPrice":"from £1,000 per m²","derivedPerSqm":null,"source":"Dynamo LED Displays (UK), DX Series","sourceUrl":"https://dynamo-led-displays.co.uk/led-video-walls/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"UK & Ireland","what":"Fine-pitch LED panels","detail":"Close-viewed walls — reception, control room, retail feature.","publishedPrice":"from £2,500 per m²","derivedPerSqm":null,"source":"Dynamo LED Displays (UK), DFC Series","sourceUrl":"https://dynamo-led-displays.co.uk/led-video-walls/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"UK & Ireland","what":"A complete video wall","detail":"Panels, frame and processing as a package, before fitting.","publishedPrice":"from £8,900 + installation","derivedPerSqm":null,"source":"Dynamo LED Displays (UK)","sourceUrl":"https://dynamo-led-displays.co.uk/led-video-walls/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"UK & Ireland","what":"Single commercial display + CMS","detail":"The entry point for digital signage in Ireland — one screen, set up.","publishedPrice":"from around €900","derivedPerSqm":null,"source":"Intell Visual Displays (IE)","sourceUrl":"https://intellvisualdisplays.ie/digital-signage/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"United States","what":"Complete indoor wall, 3m x 1.5m","detail":"10ft x 5ft P3.9 turnkey package — panels, frame and processing.","publishedPrice":"$10,950","derivedPerSqm":"about $2,360 per m²","source":"DVS LED Systems, Vizra-3","sourceUrl":"https://dvsledsystems.com/product-category/video-wall-packages/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"United States","what":"Finer-pitch indoor wall, 3m x 1.5m","detail":"10ft x 5ft P2.9 turnkey package — a sharper pitch for closer viewing.","publishedPrice":"$9,950","derivedPerSqm":"about $2,140 per m²","source":"DVS LED Systems, Optic-ER2","sourceUrl":"https://dvsledsystems.com/product-category/video-wall-packages/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"United States","what":"Outdoor IP65 wall, 3m x 1.5m","detail":"10ft x 5ft P3.9 weather-sealed — the same size, rated for outside.","publishedPrice":"$12,950","derivedPerSqm":"about $2,790 per m²","source":"DVS LED Systems, Vizra-3IP","sourceUrl":"https://dvsledsystems.com/product-category/video-wall-packages/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."},{"region":"United States","what":"Coarser indoor wall, 2.9m x 1.9m","detail":"9.5ft x 6.3ft P4.0 indoor — a bigger, coarser screen for longer viewing distances.","publishedPrice":"$6,999","derivedPerSqm":"about $1,260 per m²","source":"LED Nation USA","sourceUrl":"https://lednationusa.com/led-video-wall/","note":"Quoted from the named supplier's own public website, read directly rather than from a search result. Captured September 2026; suppliers move prices."}],"quoteChecklist":["Is the electrical supply included, and is a new circuit needed?","Is access equipment (scaffold, tower or MEWP) included, and who hires it?","What is the buildable size in real cabinets, not the requested size?","Is the first content build included?","Are spares from the same production batch included? LED colour bins drift between batches.","Who owns the CMS licence, and what does it cost from year two?","Are panels front-serviceable? Rear access is often impossible once installed."],"glossary":[{"term":"Pixel pitch","definition":"The distance in millimetres between the centres of two adjacent LEDs. A P2.5 panel has 2.5mm between pixels. Smaller pitch means more pixels per square metre, a sharper image at close range, and a higher price — halving the pitch roughly quadruples the pixel count."},{"term":"Nits (cd/m²)","definition":"A measure of screen brightness. Indoor commercial displays typically run 800–1,500 nits; a screen facing out through glass into daylight needs roughly 5,000–8,000 nits to stay readable."},{"term":"Cabinet","definition":"The modular unit an LED wall is built from, most commonly 500mm × 500mm. Walls step in cabinet increments, so a 3.7m width is built as 3.5m or 4.0m, never 3.7m."},{"term":"IP rating","definition":"Ingress protection. IP65 front is the normal requirement for an outdoor screen; IP31 is typical indoors. The first digit covers dust, the second water."},{"term":"Fine pitch","definition":"Loosely, any pitch below about 2mm. Used where people stand close — reception walls, control rooms, retail features. Substantially more expensive per square metre."},{"term":"Transparent LED","definition":"Panels with high light transmission so a shop window still reads as a window. The trade-off is inherent: more transparency means less physical LED area, so transparent panels are dimmer than solid panels of the same pitch."},{"term":"Sending and receiving cards","definition":"The controller hardware that drives an LED wall. A sending card takes the video signal; receiving cards inside the cabinets drive the panels. Sized to the wall's resolution, so this is a fixed cost rather than a per-square-metre one."},{"term":"Bank end","definition":"In a casino, the display surface at the end of a row of gaming machines. Visible from across the floor, which makes it the highest-leverage signage position in the room."}]}