LED, the right pixel pitch for rental applications

BEWARE OF THE SIREN SONG! LED, THE RIGHT PITCH FOR RENTAL APPLICATIONS

When choosing a LEDwall for rental use, one of the first parameters analyzed is the “pitch” (pixel pitch). The pitch immediately defines the class of LEDs used, and consequently the price and application context. So it's useful to ask what the current market reference is and why.

WHICH PIXEL PITCH TO CHOOSE?

Today, LEDs with an increasingly finer pitch are a siren seducing many installers and end customers, but this trend hides some pitfalls, especially for service providers. The main one is the sustainability of the investment over time. The narrower the pitch, the more problems arise due to the fragility of the materials. It is therefore very important to evaluate whether bearing the burden of these criticalities is truly necessary in relation to the application ahead.

PIXEL PITCH AND SCREEN SIZE

Manuel Maccioni, CEO of Wave&Co., summarizes the concept in two words. “In my opinion, the perfect pitch for a medium-sized installation, approximately from 3-4 up to 10/11 meters wide, is 2.9 mm. Below this standard, the dimensions of the individual LED are reduced, which then has more fragile solders, raising the breakage rate of these components to critical levels, especially in the rental world.”

BUT HOW OFTEN DOES A LED BREAK?

We know that the main risks concern individual SMDs. But what is the average percentage of breakages? Visual Technology has data derived from material control and maintaining a historical record for each individual rental. If we take a 2.9 of medium-high constructive quality, the amount of damaged material per event is 8-9%. We are referring to repairable damages, such as broken or malfunctioning pixels. Positive exceptions rarely fall below 5%, while we often have negative peaks up to 13-14%. We consider this data endemic to this type of material, being the result of long-term observations, across different service providers, equipped with professionally trained installers.

PURCHASE COSTS AND OPERATIONAL COSTS

Speaking with various operators, it is a common opinion that the 2.9 pitch represents a kind of barrier. Pitches like 2.5/2.6 are physically much more fragile and difficult to repair, and in addition to the purchase cost, what weighs most is precisely the burden of maintenance over time. This aspect has prompted several service providers to downgrade, deciding to sell the 2.5/2.6 pitch to move to 2.9, especially when they have to manage significant quantities of materials and ensure high speed of use.

Today, therefore, the choice of a LEDwall with a fine pixel pitch not only may prove unjustified in the case of medium/small installations, but even economically counterproductive for service providers or renters. While waiting for new construction technologies to make LED panels structurally more solid; at that point, we can once again listen, without fear, to the siren songs.