LED display glossary

The terms datasheets assume you know — defined in plain language, with the math where it matters.

Cabinet (LED panel)
The building block of an LED wall: a self-contained frame holding LED modules, power and data electronics.
Circuit breaker (in LED wall sizing)
The protective device whose rating caps how many cabinets one power feed can carry.
COB LED
Chip-on-board LEDs: bare chips bonded to the PCB and sealed under resin — rugged and fine-pitch capable.
Contrast ratio
Brightest white vs deepest black, e.g. 5,000:1 — heavily dependent on the LED package's blackness.
Data chain (daisy chain)
A sequence of cabinets wired in series from one controller port.
IMD LED
Integrated matrix devices: small clusters of pixels (2×2, 4-in-1) in one package — a midpoint between SMD and COB.
IP rating
Ingress protection code — how sealed a cabinet is against dust and water, e.g. IP65 front.
LED controller (sending card / processor)
The device that feeds video to the wall, port by port.
LED module
The smaller LED board several of which make up one cabinet.
Nit (cd/m²)
The unit of display brightness — one candela per square metre.
Pixel density
Pixels per square metre — (1000 ÷ pitch)², the size-independent way to compare pitches.
Pixel pitch
The distance between the centres of two neighbouring LED pixels, in millimetres.
Pixels per port
The maximum number of pixels one controller output can drive.
Power chain
A group of cabinets fed from one mains circuit, linked power-out to power-in.
Receiving card
The controller board inside each cabinet that turns network data into LED drive signals.
Refresh rate
How many times per second the LEDs are re-driven — 1,920 to 7,680 Hz on professional walls.
Rental vs fixed installation
The two main cabinet families: touring-grade quick-assembly panels vs permanent-install panels.
Resolution (LED wall)
The wall's pixel count — cabinet grid × cabinet resolution, not an inherent property of the product.
Scan rate
The fraction of LED rows lit simultaneously, e.g. 1/16 scan.
Serpentine wiring
The snake-shaped cabling pattern that keeps daisy-chain hops short.
SMD LED
Surface-mounted LED packages — the standard technology for most current LED walls.
Viewing distance
How far viewers stand from the wall — the number that should choose your pixel pitch.