LED hoarding sizes and resolution.
Feet to pixels, for designers, agencies and site owners.
A flex hoarding is designed in feet and printed at any resolution. An LED hoarding is a grid of pixels, and content made at the wrong size looks soft or stretched. Here are common hoarding sizes with their real pixel resolution at each outdoor pitch, and how to brief your designer.
Common sizes in pixels.
Calculated on standard 320 × 160 mm outdoor modules, rounding the size up to whole modules. P6 modules vary between makers, so its resolution is given on the quotation.
| Hoarding (ft) | P4 | P5 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 × 5 | 800 × 400 | 640 × 320 |
| 12 × 6 | 960 × 480 | 768 × 384 |
| 16 × 8 | 1,280 × 640 | 1,024 × 512 |
| 20 × 10 | 1,600 × 800 | 1,280 × 640 |
| 24 × 12 | 1,840 × 920 | 1,472 × 736 |
| 30 × 15 | 2,320 × 1,160 | 1,856 × 928 |
| 40 × 20 | 3,120 × 1,560 | 2,496 × 1,248 |
Why the size rounds up.
An LED face is built from whole modules. A 320 mm module means width goes up in 320 mm steps and height in 160 mm steps. Ask for 20 × 10 ft and the built face is about 21 × 10.5 ft. If the steel frame or the permission is for an exact size, ask for a module grid that fits inside it instead.
Briefing your designer.
Not 1920 × 1080, not feet at 300 dpi. A 20 × 10 ft P4 face is 1,600 × 800: design at that, export at that.
Road viewers get a few seconds. One line of text, a logo and an offer. Text at least a tenth of the height for junction hoardings.
Many local rules expect still images or slow changes on road-facing screens. Check your permission before running video.
The screen dims after dark. Avoid large white areas at night; dark backgrounds read better and glare less.
Choosing the pitch for a hoarding.
| Nearest viewer | Pitch | Typical site |
|---|---|---|
| 4–15 m | P4 | Shopfronts, forecourts, petrol pumps |
| 15 m and more | P5–P6 | Junctions, main-road building faces, flyover approaches, rooftops, highways |
More on structure, wind and permissions on the LED and digital hoarding page.
Questions.
What resolution is a 20 × 10 ft LED hoarding?
On 320 × 160 mm modules it is about 1,600 × 800 pixels at P4 and 1,280 × 640 at P5. The exact figure depends on the module grid the wall is built on, which your quotation should state.
What size should I design hoarding content in?
At the exact pixel size of the screen, not in feet or at a TV resolution such as 1920 × 1080. Ask the installer for the wall's pixel width and height and design to that, so text and logos stay sharp and nothing is stretched or cropped.
Which pitch suits a road-side hoarding?
It depends on the distance to the nearest viewer. Shopfront and forecourt hoardings read from 4 to 15 m suit P4. Junction and road hoardings read from 15 to 60 m suit P5 and P6. Very large highway faces suit P6. On a big hoarding the size of the screen matters more than a finer pitch.
Why is the built hoarding slightly bigger than the size I asked for?
LED walls are built from whole modules, so the size rounds up to the nearest module multiple. A 20 × 10 ft request on 320 × 160 mm modules becomes about 21 × 10.5 ft. Ask for a fit-within size if the frame is fixed.
Keep learning.
Get the exact resolution.
Send the hoarding size and road distance. We reply with the pitch, the built size and the exact pixel resolution.