LED wall displays range in price depending on their size, panel quality, installation type and pixel size. In general, the cost for an LED video panel is between $600 and $3,000.
Most LED video wall systems consist of several panels plus additional components like audio and processing equipment, which adds to the final cost. Turn-key LED video wall systems can cost anywhere from $10,000 - $50,000+.
LED walls are a huge asset for businesses, venues, churches, or other organizations that host frequent events. If you’re considering purchasing LED products for your space, you may be wondering what the pricing will look like and how to budget for the cost. Keep reading to learn about the four factors that influence LED video wall cost.
It’s probably unsurprising that the size of your LED products’ screens will influence the cost of your project. If you’re unsure what size you need in the space, reach out to an LED company and see what they recommend. The best screen or panel size for you depends on the size of your room or venue and the number of seats in that space. You should also consider your organization’s goals and needs to help you find the perfect products.
Most panels we use for clients are 1.5 ft X 1.5 ft and can be “built” together in many designs and layouts. Some projects utilize these panels for design, while others build a larger screen. There is no limit to the creativity you can have with your LED panels. If it fits in your space, we can help you create it. Some clients opt for 40 ft X 60 ft, while others prefer 5 ft X 8 ft or choose a different custom size.
For screens under 100 inches, we often encourage customers to incorporate televisions in their design. When it comes to TVs and LED video wall cost, pricing and value for the technology directly correlate. TV screens under 100 inches are generally cheaper than LED panels. The price jumps drastically for TV screens over 100 inches, and at that point LED panels are a more cost-effective technology.
The quality of your product is a major factor in its overall price. If your LED Wall quote seems extremely low, you should ask yourself why. Equipment that works well for years to come will likely fall in the mid-to-high price range.
Here is a short list of components and features that could impact LED wall prices.
The design, goals, and needs of your project will all influence the final cost. Although custom sizing doesn’t necessarily increase the cost of a project, it could. Understanding how custom sizes affect the user experience is really important. If you’re unsure what sizing or dimensions you need, we recommend engaging with an organization like Refresh LED that can offer insight.
The installation of your project will also factor into the final cost. Our LED products can be hung, ground supported, or mounted directly to a wall. Whatever the design aesthetic you’re looking for, these options are available, and prices can vary for each.
Have you ever driven past an electronic billboard at night and seen an advertisement or graphic? From 50 feet away, the image looks great! But if you were to walk up 5 feet from a billboard and try to read it, the pixels in the screen become extremely blurry and hard to make out. This is called the viewing distance. With LED walls, pixel size and viewing distance are important in designing your project.
The pixel size for most LED walls or panels is a standard 3.9 mm. This means that the pixels within the screen are 3.9 millimeters from one another. This screen size is great for viewing from 10-15 feet away from the screen. Much like the billboard, when you look at the screens from a closer distance, the content begins to get pixelated and blurry. While in person events were on hault however, 2.9mm became a necessity for many projects due to live streaming and recording becoming so prominent. Cameras interact with screens in many different ways, if a pixel pitch is to big for exmaple, you might see scan lines or a moray effect. If live streaming or recording is an imporant factor for you then we recommend a 2.9mm pixel pitch or lower.
3.9 mm and 2.9 mm LED screens are the best value in the market currently. When you choose a pixel pitch smaller than 2.9, the project's cost becomes considerably more expensive. For viewing distances less than 5 feet and dimensions smaller than 100 inches, we encourage our customers to look into a TV.
Our team of experts is ready to help you find the right size, dimensions, viewing distance, and overall design for your vision with LEDs. We also have a guide with more information on LED quotes and what to look for when comparing businesses.
Get your free quote today!
Concerned about purchasing a technology that is always changing? RefreshLED has a consignment program in place for people like you. We offer past clients the opportunity to find a new home for their current panels and upgrade their space with newer technology. For more information on this program, feel free to contact our team.
There are two kinds of light sources for video: LED lights and panels. Both have advantages and drawbacks. Which is the best choice when you’re on a budget? Should you choose an LED light or an LED panel? I made my choice, but now, I have my doubts.
If the amount of ambient light isn’t enough, we need to bring our own lights. That’s one of the reasons why we use strobes. With a flash of light, we can produce our own creative way of illuminating the subject. But this doesn’t work for video, obviously. For that, we need continuous light.
When I was asked to film on location, I brought my Profoto B10 strobes with me. The built-in model light offers some continuous light. It was just enough, as long as I could keep the distance between the subject and the B10 unit within limits.
I made a small studio for video. Just a simple recording and the Profoto B10 with umbrella were perfect for the job.
I agree, it wasn’t the ideal situation for shooting video. I had to crank up the ISO to get a good exposure. When I got asked more often to video, I decided it was time to buy something that was more suitable for the job. Although the Profoto B10 worked for the few times I needed more light, I knew it eventually wouldn't be enough.
There are a lot of different continuous lights available. The price ranges from less than a hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. I had to find something that would be good for my work without breaking the bank. That’s why I decided to buy a couple of cheap LED panels to start with.
The Viltrox LED panels in use during a video recording. The LED panels were at close range, but I still had to turn the brightness almost to full.
There was one thing that was important for me. It had to produce enough light to suit my needs, more than the model lights on my Profoto B10 at least. On top of that, an LED panel that could change its color temperature would be nice — not an RGB, but a bicolor light. The panels I bought were the Viltrox VL-S192T LED light.
It sounded good: 192 LEDs that could change color temperature from 3,300-5,600 Kelvin, with 5,300 lumens. I’d read some reviews, and they were quite positive. But after I have used the panels a few times, I’m not that sure these LED panels were the best choice.
First of all, 5,200s lumen sounds great, but it turns out that the amount of light depends on the color temperature setting. Although it has 192 LEDs, it’s divided between 96 white LEDs and 96 orange LEDs. If both are at full power, the maximum amount of lumens is reached, but vary the color temperature, and you end up with half of the LEDs at a lower power to achieve the requested color temperature or completely turned off.
Bicolor LED panel up close. The amount of LEDs lit depends on the color temperature that has been set.
Although the LED panel measures 28.6 cm by 19 cm, it’s still a relatively small light source. If you keep it at close distance, it can produce a reasonable light quality, but the light falloff becomes prominent. The panel at a larger distance solves the light falloff, but the light becomes a bit harsh.
There is another downside to this kind of LED panel. If any shadow is visible behind the subject, it isn’t a very nice one. It shows a pattern because of the distribution of the LEDs. To avoid this, a diffuser needs to be placed over the LEDs, making the light more even. The downside to this is the loss of two stops of light.
The shadow pattern of the LED panel can be disturbing. I don't like it.
To get better light quality, a diffuser is needed. But unfortunately, it will reduce the output by two stops, which is a lot. Imagine when you have only half the amount of LEDs active.
I realized that this kind of LED panel has a lot of downsides, which you have to take into account. It helped me to get my shots, but it felt a bit limited. Let’s make one thing clear: this isn’t a downside of the Viltrox LED panels itself, but it's more about this kind of LED panel. I’m sure every other brand of LED panel that has a similar design will show the same downsides. Te Viltrox is not bad, even though it’s a cheap plastic product. But this is something I was aware of and the reason why it's so affordable.
During this video recording, the LED panels produced not enough light to my liking. Would a LED light with an umbrella or softbox be the better choice?
The best alternative is a big daylight lamp in a large softbox, but that is not workable if you have to take the lights with you on assignment. Such a big light is perfect for a stationary studio setup. The other alternative is a compact LED light, which might be more suitable for my needs.
I’ve seen the Amaran LED lights in 60 watts, 100 watts, and even 200 watts. It will require a diffuser of some kind, like an umbrella, a lantern softbox, or just a regular softbox. One thing is for sure: it will provide more flexibility to shape the light compared to an LED panel.
The Amaran 60-watt light with a lantern softbox.
There are a few requirements for this kind of light, though. It has to be able to work on both battery and wall socket, the amount of light it produces has to be sufficient for my needs, and the light has to be quiet. In other words, no loud fan noise.
I think a 100-watt or 200-watt light should be a good choice, especially when the loss of light by the softbox or umbrella is taken into account. But I have some doubts about the noise levels produced by these LED lights. I’ve been told how the fans of some LED lights can be quite loud or even disturbing.
A 60- watt LED light might produce not enough light. A 100-watt light is better. But I have to watch out for loud fan noise.
Both LED lights and LED panels have their pros and cons. I believe both are perfectly usable, but the situations in which these type of lights shine may differ. Looking at my experience, I now see more downsides to the LED panels. Or perhaps it’s because of my choice of a cheap panel, which would mean more expensive panels would perform much better. That said, I do believe a LED light is more suitable in a wide range of situations, and it offers more possibilities with light-shaping accessories.
What do you think? Is an LED light better compared to an LED panel? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.