Why does pixel pitch move the budget so much?
Pixel pitch sets how many packages sit in a square metre. Halving the pitch multiplies that count by four, which means more modules, more receiving cards, more power supplies and more calibration work for the same wall area. This single decision moves the panel line of a quote more than any other.
The right pitch follows viewing distance and content. A wall read from across a lobby does not need the pitch a control room needs, and specifying a finer pitch than the audience can resolve adds spend without adding anything a viewer can see. Decide the closest viewing position first, then let that decide the pitch.
How does screen size change more than the panel count?
Area drives the number of cabinets, and cabinets drive everything downstream: the frame that supports them, the number of data and power runs, the capacity of the processor, the weight the building has to carry, and the hours needed to align and calibrate the surface. A larger wall can carry a higher cost per square metre than a smaller one of the same pitch once structure and access are included.
Shape matters as much as area. Two designs with the same square metreage can need different cabinet types when one has a curve, a corner, or a non-standard aspect ratio. Non-standard shapes usually mean custom cabinets, more spare units and a longer alignment process. Share the drawing early, because a shape change late in the process is expensive.
What does the structure and installation actually involve?
Panels are only part of a wall. Behind them sits a frame or support structure engineered for the weight and the fixing surface, with provision for service access, ventilation and cable routing. Whether that is a simple wall mount, a floor-standing frame, or a suspended steel grid depends on the building, and each carries a different engineering and labour cost.
Access shapes labour more than most buyers expect. Working at height needs scaffolding or lifts, restricted sites may allow installation only outside trading hours, and a long cable route adds materials and time. Ask who provides access equipment, whether out-of-hours work is priced separately, and what the building requires before installation can start.
Where does brightness and environment enter the cost?
An outdoor wall needs higher brightness to compete with daylight, sealed cabinets, protection against water and dust, and thermal management for the heat that follows. Those requirements change the modules, the cabinets, the power distribution and the maintenance plan. Specifying outdoor capability for a screen that never leaves an indoor lobby is money spent on a condition that will not occur.
Match the specification to the actual environment. Direct sun, a shaded entrance, a shop window behind glass, and a dimmed auditorium place very different demands on the same size of screen. Write down where the screen sits, what light it competes with, and what it is exposed to, then let the supplier price that condition.
What does the control and signal path add?
The processor, sending units, receiving cards, cabling and software form a separate line from the panels, and they scale with the wall's resolution and source count. A wall showing one fixed-resolution source needs far less processing than one mixing live camera feeds with several windows and saved presets.
Confirm what is included. Ask whether the processor ships with the job, how many inputs and live windows are supported, whether the software licence is perpetual or tied to one machine, and whether expansion needs additional sending capacity later. Those answers change both the initial figure and what a second phase will cost.
What ongoing costs should be planned from the start?
A display is a long-term installation, and the running side is easier to budget before handover than after it. Power draw and heat, spare modules and cards, cleaning and periodic inspection, corrective work after a repair, software and firmware updates, and the person who receives fault alerts all belong in an operating plan.
Ask what the service arrangement covers, what response looks like, which parts are stocked locally, and what documentation arrives at handover. A wall whose team can replace a module and restore calibration data without waiting for a visit costs less to run over its life than one that requires a call every time.
How do you compare two quotes that look similar?
Normalise the scope first. Two numbers that look close can describe different things: one may include structure, installation, spares and commissioning while another covers panels only. Ask each supplier to quote against the same drawing, the same pitch, the same brightness class, the same access assumptions and the same spare and documentation list.
Then compare on what is written down. Cabinet model and count, module type, receiving card quantity, processor model, structure responsibility, access equipment, commissioning and calibration, spares, training, documentation, and the service terms after handover. A quote that states these clearly is easier to compare, and easier to hold anyone to later.
Key takeaway
Decide pitch from the closest viewing position, then price the wall as a whole: panels, structure, access, processing, power, shipping, spares and the service plan that follows. Send every supplier the same drawing and the same scope, and compare what is written in the quote. Our contact page takes a project brief if you want a like-for-like comparison.