[Media Facade] How to Choose the Right Video Resolution for a Media Facade

You do not choose a media facade video resolution by format names like 4K or Full HD. You start from the real pixel count of the screen: for LED, the total width and height in pixels of all the cabinets combined; for projection, the usable output area after mapping onto the surface. Then you build the video at exactly that size, pixel for pixel. That number should be fixed before production starts.

Why not just make it in 4K?

Most media facade screens are not 16:9 like a TV. Building walls, screens wrapped around columns and corner LED walls are often very wide or very tall. If you render in 4K (3840×2160) and then fit it to the screen, the image gets cropped, stretched or framed with black bars.

Rendering far larger than the screen does not help either. The playback system has to scale it down, and thin lines and text turn soft. The file gets heavier with no gain on the wall. So our rule at VisionPencil is simple: render at the same pixel size as the screen.

How do you calculate the screen's pixel count?

For LED it is straightforward. Divide the screen width by the pixel pitch (the spacing between LEDs). A 10 m wide screen at P10 (10 mm pitch) is 1,000 pixels wide. The same screen at P5 is 2,000 pixels wide. Height works the same way.

In practice LED walls are built from cabinets, so the most reliable number comes from the installer's cabinet layout: how many cabinets across and down, and how many pixels each cabinet has. The final figure can differ from the calculation by a few pixels.

Projectors have a fixed output resolution, but mapping onto a building shrinks the area you actually use. With several projectors you also need to account for the overlap used for edge blending. For our immersive media facade space at Amnam Port for Seo-gu District Office in Busan, an indoor room with a lot of daylight, brightness and surface conditions shaped the decision before resolution did.

What about tall, folded or multi-surface screens?

For folded or segmented screens we build one unfolded canvas and let the playback software slice it per surface. The layout has to be planned so that faces and text never sit on the seam between two surfaces.

For anamorphic 3D content, such as our 3D billboard for Buk-gu District Office in Daegu, the viewer's standing position becomes part of the plan. The depth illusion only works from a set viewpoint, so screen ratio and camera angle are matched to it. For the photo zone content at the Jisandong Tumuli in Goryeong, visitors stand in front of the screen, so we kept the main characters in the upper part of the frame. Resolution is a number, but it also means thinking about where people stand.

What should you prepare before commissioning?

Send these five items with your brief and resolution and schedule get settled quickly:

• Screen type: LED or projection
• For LED, pixel pitch and cabinet layout; for projection, the number of units and their output resolution
• Photos of the site, approximate dimensions and where viewers usually stand
• Playback hardware and software (for example Resolume, a media server or a dedicated player)
• Playback mode: continuous loop or scheduled shows

If installation is not finished, we produce to the design drawings first and fine-tune by a few pixels during on-site testing. See our media facade production page for the process and our portfolio for real examples on different screens.

FAQ

What frame rate do you use for media facade content?

Usually 30 fps. For fast motion graphics, or when the screen's refresh rate calls for it, we use 60 fps after confirming what the playback system accepts.

Can production start before the screen size is final?

Yes, concept and storyboard can start. Final rendering needs a fixed pixel count, so we lock it as soon as we receive the drawings or the installer's cabinet layout.

Can we play an existing promo video on the facade as is?

You can, but if the ratio differs it will be cropped or framed with bars. Recomposing it for the screen ratio, or re-editing the key scenes, looks much better on site.

If you would like to check the right resolution for your screen, send us photos and specs through our contact page. We work with clients in English and will start with the numbers together.