What is the Difference Between True Pixels and Virtual Pixels?

There has been a lot of marketing around virtual pixels recently. Some manufacturers tout virtual pixels (also referred to as enhanced or optimized) as the next great thing in digital display manufacturing.

At the same time, many manufacturers of LED displays have stopped using virtual pixel configurations while others have always refused to deviate away from the use of true pixels.

What is the real difference between the two? Does the use of true or virtual pixels affect the operation of your LED displays?

Possibly.

What Are They?

True pixels are the traditional configuration of LED lights on a display. One red, green, and blue diode is placed in a triangular cluster. Collectively these lights are referred to as one pixel. Resolution is measured from the center of one group to the next.

In virtual pixels, however, two red diodes are placed in a rectangular grouping with one green and one blue. “LEDs are shared to other pixels in an overlapping pattern,” says Watchfire Signs. Each diode is being counted as part of multiple pixels, and the space between each individual diode (rather than pixel to pixel) is measured to determine the screen’s resolution.

How Does This Affect Operation?

The proponents of virtual pixels claim this allows for sharper images without the costs that come from a higher resolution. The manufacturer Philips points out that a “30 square meter pitch 25mm LED display can display only 192 lines, whereas a normal TV image is made up of 576 lines.”

This results in the blocked-off edges seen in some screens. Philips claims virtual pixels allow viewers to perceive cleaner details. Guadalupe Tofalo of Cirrus Systems LED has a different view. She says, “at very close distance, a virtual pixel sign might look crisper but at farther distances, the lack of black space between pixels does not allow for enough contrast and the image gets blurrier.”

However, Philips is also quick to point out the claim from some manufacturers that LED screens with virtual pixels have twice the resolution as a true pixel screen is erroneous. These manufacturers are saying a 16mm virtual pixel screen has an equal resolution to an 8mm true pixel screen. Most others agree that 8mm screen will always outperform the higher resolution, whether it’s true or virtual pixel.

Having two red diodes to every green and blue diode does change how the screen works slightly. The red diodes operate at 50% power because manufacturers know red diodes are less energy-efficient than blue or green ones.

Since red diodes are operating at less power than blue and green ones, though, they don’t start fading as fast as the ones operating at 100% power. Once the blues and greens begin to fade, the image may affect a reddish tinge.

What Does This Mean for You?

Whether you are considering a display with true or virtual pixels, one aspect is clear. If a display with clean, sharp images is important for your messaging, you’ll be best served by looking for a screen with a higher resolution.