Nits (or, Candelas/m2)

Nits are a good metric for how visible an LED Display will be during the day, when there would normally be a lot of external light to muddy the fidelity of the sign. The term "Nit" is actually slang for the standard measure for luminance, the candela per square meter. Nits are a measurement of how much light energy is coming from a source distributed over the area of that source; in other words, it's the light density emitted by an area of light source.

Given a smartphone screen that clocks in at 400 Nits will appear to be as bright as a laptop screen that clocks in at 400 Nits, even though the laptop screen is actually emitting more light in total.

Pixel Pitch

Pixel pitch (or just pitch) is a good metric for how crisp messages appearing on your sign will be from a given distance. While it's easy to be confused by the numbers on hand (5mm is HIGHER resolution than 10mm?), it's simple when you understand what it is that pixel pitch actually measures. Pixel pitch describes the distance between the centers of pixels (usually, arrays of one red, blue, and green LED each) distributed over a given panel.

So, while the actual length-by-width size of our panels is identical for nearly every product we offer,
the pixel pitch describes the difference in clarity. A 5mm pitch panel will have twice as many LEDs per side, and thereby roughly four times as many LEDs per panel, than a 10mm pitch panel.

For frame of reference, Starbrite outdoor display panels are 16mm; Starbrite Pro outdoor display panels are 10mm; Trion Indoor HD panels are 5mm, and Trion Indoor Super HD panels are 4mm

What they mean
for displays

Nits and Pixel Pitch have a huge effect on the visibility, readability, and reasonable applications of different LED Displays. A common misconception is that some configuration of panels will be, regardless of application, "better" than all the others: this isn't true.

An example: While it's true that standing 5-10 feet away from both a 4mm and a 16mm pitch display of equal size, the 4mm display will look dramatically clearer; a billboard just 40 feet away from the viewer- a common distance from which drivers will see outdoor displays- will look roughly the same in 5mm as it does in 16mm, while the 16mm will clock in at 13,000 Nits (more than enough for any outdoor application), whereas the 5mm will clock in at 9,00 Nits (breathtaking indoors, but not as readable amidst sunlight as that of the 16mm).

One size DOESN'T fit all, and we understand that at Green Country. See the Our Process page to get an idea of how we help establish the best pixel pitch & panel setup for a client's needs and budget.