2026-07-14Welcome back! In Part 1 of our LED display screen terminology series, we covered the fundamentals – from what an LED is, to pixel pitch, SMT, SMD, and 3-in-1 LEDs. If you missed it, we highly recommend starting there to build a solid foundation.
Today, Redot continues our educational journey with Part 2. In this installment, we will explore 10 more essential terms that every professional in the LED video wall displays industry should know. Whether you are involved in LED display sourcing, installation, sales, or simply want to deepen your technical knowledge, these definitions will help you communicate confidently with suppliers and clients.
Let’s begin!
LED displays are classified by the number and type of LED chips used in each pixel. Different combinations of colored LEDs produce different display capabilities:
A dual-primary-color display uses two colors of LEDs – typically red and green, or yellow and green. These screens can display a limited color range and are commonly used for basic text and simple graphics applications such as traffic signs and information boards.
A pseudo-color display uses three colors of LEDs: red, yellow-green, and blue. While this combination can produce more colors than a dual-color display, it cannot achieve the full color spectrum. The term "pseudo" reflects that the color reproduction is not fully true to nature.
A full-color display uses three pure-color LEDs: red, pure green, and pure blue. By leveraging the three-primary-color principle, full-color screens can reproduce an extraordinarily rich color palette – ranging from millions to over a billion colors. This allows for near-perfect reproduction of natural colors, making full-color displays the standard for high-quality LED video wall displays in concerts, broadcast, retail, and outdoor advertising.
Luminance refers to the intensity of light emitted per square meter of an LED display screen. It indicates how bright the screen appears to the human eye.
Unit of measurement: Nits (or cd/m² – candela per square meter).
This specification is critical because it determines visibility under different ambient light conditions:
Indoor displays typically require 500–1,500 nits
Outdoor displays require 4,000–8,000+ nits to remain visible in direct sunlight
When sourcing LED display screens, matching brightness to your installation environment is essential for optimal performance.
Brightness refers to the number of adjustable steps between the minimum and maximum brightness of an LED display.
A higher number of brightness levels allows for more precise control over the screen’s output. This is particularly useful in:
Energy-saving scenarios where dimming the screen when not needed reduces power consumption
Most professional modular LED display panels offer 256 or more brightness adjustment levels.
Grayscale (also known as color gradation) refers to the number of distinct brightness steps that a single primary color (R, G, or B) can produce – from the darkest to the brightest.
Why it matters:
Modern fine pitch LED display panels typically offer 14-bit to 16-bit grayscale (16,384 to 65,536 levels per color). This enables the smooth gradients and cinematic visual quality expected in high-end applications like broadcast studios and concert stages.
Maximum brightness is the highest luminous intensity an LED display screen can achieve when displaying a full white screen with all primary colors at their maximum grayscale levels. It is measured in nits (cd/m²) .
Outdoor environments – high brightness is essential to overcome sunlight
When planning your LED display sourcing, choose a LED display screen with a maximum brightness that matches your venue’s lighting conditions.
PCB stands for Printed Circuit Board. In the context of LED displays, the PCB is the physical foundation and electrical backbone of every LED module.
The quality of the PCB directly affects the display’s performance, reliability, and lifespan. High-quality PCBs use thicker copper layers, better heat management design, and robust materials to ensure long-term stability – especially important for modular LED display panels used in demanding rental and outdoor applications.
BOM is short for Bill of Materials. In manufacturing, a BOM is a comprehensive list of all the raw materials, components, sub-assemblies, and parts required to build a final product.
For an LED display screen, the BOM typically includes:
...
Why the BOM matters for buyers: The BOM reveals the quality and origin of components used in an LED display. LED display manufacturers using top-tier components will typically list these in their BOM.
Red : Green : Blue = 3 : 6 : 1
When these three colors are mixed at this ratio, the human eye perceives the result as pure white – not tinted red, green, or blue.
White balance adjustment is the process of fine-tuning the brightness levels and color coordinates of the R, G, and B channels to achieve this correct white point.
Professional LED video wall displays undergo rigorous white balance calibration to deliver consistent, accurate colors from the factory floor to the installation site.
Contrast ratio is the ratio of the brightest white to the darkest black an LED display screen can produce simultaneously. It is typically expressed as a number (e.g., 5,000:1).
Low contrast ratio: washed-out, "grayish" images with less depth and detail
In LED displays, contrast ratio is influenced by:
For applications where image quality is paramount – such as broadcast studios, luxury retail, and high-end events-choosing modular LED display panels with high contrast ratios is essential.
Color temperature is measured in Kelvin (K), based on the theoretical concept of a black-body radiator that changes color as it is heated.
High color temperature (6,500K – 9,000K): cool (bluish white) – similar to daylight or overcast sky
This concludes Part 2 of our LED display screen terminology series. We hope these explanations help you navigate the LED video wall displays industry with greater confidence and clarity.
We have covered 10 more essential terms today – from color classification and brightness metrics to PCB, BOM, white balance, contrast ratio, and color temperature. These concepts are fundamental to understanding how modular LED display panels work and how to make informed decisions when sourcing displays for your projects.
