The Truth About 4K Video Walls

No one likes a fuzzy picture. The crisper and cleaner the image, the higher value we put on it. With that in mind, we would like to adjust the contrast on some points about LED video walls of which most people just aren’t aware. 

As consumers, there is a perceived need for the clearest, most defined resolution a screen can offer. Most people are familiar with the buzzwords that come along with that such as 4K or full HD. And when they start shopping around, they tend to get caught up on those words. Now, if you’re shopping for your new home theater, that’s perfectly fine. But when it comes to outfitting your large venue with visual display in the form of LED video walls, you have to start thinking along different parameters. What constitutes your high-definition flat screen is very different from your LED video wall. What this article will aim to do is clarify some misconceptions people have when searching for the best LED video wall options for their venue.

You don’t want a 4K video wall

When a customer says to us that they want a wall that is 4K resolution, what they really mean is that they want a wall that looks like 4K resolution. That is a perfectly reasonable request. We all want the best picture available for our productions. The problem is that to achieve a true 4K LED video wall, you would be looking at a 49ftx28ft wall of 3.9mm panels and approximately 37ftx21ft for the 2.9mm panels. That’s a lot of wall space! It’s also considerably cost-prohibitive. We aim to help our customers get what they want by educating them as to what they need. 

Pixel pitch

To understand this better, the first thing you should be aware of is something called pixel pitch. What this basically means is that this is how close each LED pixel is to the other. They are measured in millimeters from the center of one pixel to the next. So, for a panel with a 2.9mm pixel pitch, the center of one LED is 2.9mm from the next. The lower the pitch, the closer together the pixels and, generally speaking, the higher the resolution. The determining factor in this is distance… 

Distance is Key

If there’s one thing we want to communicate clearly in this article, it’s that resolution is largely determined by the distance the audience is viewing the image. Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder and how far away that beholder is. If someone is viewing a 3.9mm panel wall from a distance of 5 or 10 feet, the image is going to appear pixelated. If you step back and view the same wall from 30 to 40 feet, your eye will be unable to distinguish the pixels. Is it possible to get a lower pixel pitch? Sure, but it’s only necessary if your audience is going to be fairly close to the walls and then you run into the issue of too much screen in your field of vision. There’s a reason the front row of a movie theater is always empty. At that close of a distance, you might as well just look at the speaker or performer on stage. Most church venues are going to have their closest audience members at a minimum distance of 20 feet. At that distance, the 2.9mm walls will look flawless. You want to see the sweat dripping from your lead singer’s nose? You got it! 

In terms of determining audience distance from your panels, we recommend a minimum distance of 5ft per 1mm. So the optimal range of a 3.9mm panel wall would be 20-30 feet away from the start of the audience and 15-20 feet for a 2.9mm panel wall. This comes with the caveat that this is highly subjective! Our AV techs would be happy to advise you as to what works best for your circumstance.

An Edge Over Projection

It’s worth noting some key factors when it comes to determining whether screen and projector or an LED video wall is the right fit for you. For only a marginally higher price point, you can achieve the equivalent resolution of a high-end projector but your video wall offers additional advantages. First, it eliminates the concern of ambient light diffusion since it is the direct source of light. You’ll never have a brightness issue with an LED wall. Second, you don’t have to worry about overheating, calibration, or costly lamp replacement. Maintenance is significantly easier with an LED wall. Furthermore, LED technology typically exceeds the lifespan of most projectors.

We Offer Our Own Line of LED Video Walls!

An LED Video Wall is a major investment in the latest technology. With Springtree Media Group, You are never alone! Every Springtree Video Wall comes with complete service training, extra parts, and extra modules for easy maintenance. We want to be completely upfront about this: any company that tells you that their video wall is maintenance free is being disingenuous. We have all seen the non-responsive panels on digital billboards or at an airport. Don’t let this deter you!  Our service is simple and fast. At Springtree Media, we make sure of this!

Our walls are designed with incredible Nationstar 2020 LED lamps, and NovaStar sending and receiving cards. While we offer all types of panels, our favorites are those with magnetic front load modules for easy module replacement. We even provide a vacuum extraction tool to quickly replace your modules. 

For the quality, you are simply not going to find a better value! Springtree offers a 3.9 and a 2.9 pixel pitch wall. We offer custom options as needed along with outdoor wall options as well.

Final Word

We hope that this article has given you a clearer understanding of LED video wall resolution and that it’s helped you determine the right choice for your venue. You can learn more about our video walls in the video below. As always, we love to educate, so if you have any questions that we haven’t yet answered, please give us a call. We are more than happy to help you make your visual presentations phenomenal.