Recommended Viewing Distance
& Direct View LED
When selecting a Direct View LED video wall, the most fundamental decision to make is what pixel pitch to choose. Pixel pitch, or pitch,
is the millimeter measurement of space between the centers of LED pixels in the video wall. A video wall with 2 millimeter (2mm) pitch
has 2mm distance between any two adjacent pixels.
Pixel pitch directly determines pixel density—the number of pixels in a given screen area—and pixel density directly determines
recommended viewing distance–the distance away from the video wall a viewer should be to have a satisfactory viewing experience.
The finer, or smaller, the pitch, the closer the acceptable viewing distance. The larger the pitch, the further away a viewer should be.
Fine pitch LED video walls are considered to be within the range from 0.6mm to approximately 2.5mm with anything with larger pitch
being considered Standard pitch. Pitch also directly influences cost. As pixel pitches and viewing distances decrease, pixel density and
costs increase. For the best value, it’s important to know the average viewing distance for the primary application, then select the video
wall display with a pitch that suites it best.
Viewing Distance Calculation
Acceptable viewing distance is subjective; it’s whatever a viewer perceives to be acceptable. There are, however, methodologies to
determine acceptable viewing distance in a more objective way:
Visual Acuity Distance Visual Acuity Distance Formula
Visual Acuity Distance (sometimes referred to as “Retina Distance”) is a 2.50 x 3438 = 28.1
formulated calculation of the distance a person with 20/20 vision must move
away from an LED video wall to no longer distinguish individual pixels. Pixel Pitch in mm 3438 Scale Factor of 1 arc Visual Acuity Distance
minute (20/20 vision) converted to ft from mm
10x Rule 10x Rule Formula
The 10x Rule is a shorthand method for quickly calculating an approximate
2.50 x 10 = 25.0
estimate of the Visual Acuity Distance.
Pixel Pitch in mm 10x multiplier Approx. Viewing Distance in ft
Average Comfortable Viewing Distance
The Average Comfortable Viewing Distance is the estimated viewing distance
that most people will find the video wall’s appearance acceptable. This Distance from Video Wall
estimation is based on a large number of real world installations.
Average Comfortable Viewing Distance is subjective and can be impacted
by a number of variables including the viewer’s eyesight, type of application,
content resolution and type (e.g. video vs spreadsheet).
Viewing Distance Chart
This Viewing Distance Chart lists the calculations for Visual Acuity Distance and Average Comfortable Viewing Distance related to pixel
pitches from 0.6mm to 10mm.
Pixel Visual Acuity Average Comfortable
Pitch Distance Viewing Distance
(millimeters) (feet / inches | meters) (feet / inches | meters)
0.6mm 6ft 8in | 2.07m 3ft 4in | 1.03m
0.7mm 7ft 9in | 2.40m 3ft 9in | 1.20m
0.9mm 10ft 1in | 3.09m 5ft 1in | 1.50m
1.00mm 11ft 3in | 3.44m 5ft 8in | 1.72m
1.25mm 14ft 1in | 4.30m 7ft 1in | 2.15m
1.50mm 16ft 11in | 5.16m 8ft 6in | 2.58m
1.75mm 19ft 9in | 6.02m 9ft 11in | 3.01m
2.00mm 22ft 7in | 6.88m 11ft 3in | 3.44m
2.25mm 25ft 5in | 7.74m 12ft 8in | 3.87m
2.50mm 28ft 2in | 8.60m 14ft 1in | 4.30m
2.75mm 31ft 0in | 9.45m 15ft 6in | 4.73m
3.00mm 33ft 10in | 10.31m 16ft 11in | 5.16m
4.00mm 45ft 1in | 13.75m 22ft 7in | 6.88m
5.00mm 56ft 5in | 17.19m 28ft 3in | 8.60m
6.00mm 67ft 8in | 20.63m 33ft 10in | 10.31m
7.00mm 78ft 11in | 24.07m 39ft 6in | 12.03m
8.00mm 90ft 3in | 27.50m 45ft 1in | 13.75m
9.00mm 101ft 6in | 30.94m 50ft 9in | 15.47m
10.00mm 112ft 10in | 34.38m 56ft 5in | 17.19m
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