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LED poster vs LCD poster: which do you actually need?
They look similar in a photo and behave very differently in a shop. This is the comparison that decides most poster budgets - brightness, tiling, text and where the screen physically sits.
The short answer
Behind glass in daylight, outdoors, or anywhere you need a large seamless image - LED. At a counter, a fitting room or a menu board where people read small text from two metres - LCD. If you need the window to stay transparent, there is only one option: aholographic LED panel.
Side by side
| LED poster | LCD poster | |
|---|---|---|
| Brightness | 800-6500 cd/m2 | 250-500 cd/m2 |
| Seamless tiling | Yes - cabinets join into one wall | No - bezels break the image |
| Text at close range | Good, depends on pixel pitch | Excellent |
| Cost per square metre | Higher | Lower |
| Sunlight readable | Yes on outdoor models | No - washes out |
| Transparent option | Yes - holographic panels | No |
| Viewing angle | 140-160 deg | 178 deg |
| Lifespan | 100,000 hours | 60,000+ hours |
| Weight (typical unit) | 39-61 kg with castors | Varies by size |
Why brightness is usually the deciding factor
Our outdoor LED posters run at 6500 cd/m2; an LCD poster runs at 250-500 cd/m2. Put both in a west-facing window in the afternoon and the LED still reads while the LCD becomes a dark mirror. That is not a preference - it is physics.
The reverse is also true. In a shaded reception at 400 cd/m2, an LCD poster looks beautiful and costs less. Paying for 6500 cd/m2 you never use is wasted budget.
Why tiling is the second deciding factor
LED cabinets are built to splice. Two, four or six of ourLED posters form one continuous image with no visible join. LCD panels always leave bezels, so a "wall" of them reads as a grid of televisions - fine for a control room, wrong for a brand.
Why text still favours LCD
At two metres, an LCD panel resolves fine detail that an LED panel needs P1.25 to match. If your content is a dense menu or a specification table, anLCD digital poster is the honest answer - and it is cheaper. If your content is a single product image and a price, LED at P1.86 is plenty.
When the answer is neither, but a transparent one
A window is the most valuable square metre a retailer has. A solid screen - LED or LCD - blocks the light and the view. Ahanging holographic panel is over 80% transparent, so the shop stays bright and the content appears to float. For many shopfronts that is the real answer, and it is only available in LED.
How to decide in five questions
- Will it face daylight? If yes, LED.
- Do you need one image across several panels? If yes, LED.
- Do people read small text from under three metres? If yes, LCD or fine-pitch LED.
- Must the window stay see-through? If yes, holographic LED.
- Is it a shaded counter or menu position? If yes, LCD.
Still split? Send us the position and the content type and we will tell you which one we would buy - including the case where the answer is one of each.
Common questions
Which is cheaper?
LCD, almost always, for a single screen of a given size. LED becomes competitive when you need brightness, a large seamless area, or a transparent panel - things LCD cannot do at any price.
Can an LCD poster go outdoors?
Not in direct sunlight. At 250-500 cd/m2 it washes out. Outdoor positions need an LED poster at 5000 cd/m2 or more, in an IP65 cabinet.
Which is better for reading small text?
LCD at close range, because the pixels are far finer. On an LED poster you need a fine pitch - P1.25 or P1.53 - for body text to look clean at two or three metres.
Can I build a video wall?
With LED, yes - cabinets are designed to tile into a seamless wall. With LCD you will see a grid of bezels between panels, which is why LCD walls are usually avoided for branding.
Is there a transparent version of either?
Only LED. A holographic LED panel is 80% or more transparent, so it can go in a window without blocking daylight or the view. There is no transparent LCD poster.
Which uses less power?
LCD for a single unit. But LED power is quoted per square metre and falls as pixel pitch widens - a P3.9 LED poster averages around 450 W/m2, and holographic transparent panels are lower still because most of the panel is open.
What if I need both?
Many sites do. A common pattern is LCD at the counter and fitting rooms where people stand close, and LED in the window and the entrance where brightness and impact matter. We supply both from one place.