Calculate Pixel Density and Optimal Viewing Distance
Pixels Per Inch (PPI):0
Pixel Pitch (PP):0 mm
Total Pixels:0
Visual Retina Distance:0 meters
Understanding Pixel Pitch (PP) in Displays
Pixel Pitch, often abbreviated as PP, is a critical metric for LED screens, monitors, and smartphone displays. It measures the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the adjacent pixel. In the display industry, a smaller pixel pitch indicates higher pixel density and higher resolution potential.
Why Pixel Pitch Matters
The pixel pitch determines the minimum viewing distance of a screen. If the PP is too high for your viewing position, you will be able to see individual pixels (the "screen door effect"). If the PP is low, the image appears seamless even from a close distance. This is why a massive outdoor billboard can have a pixel pitch of 10mm to 20mm, while a high-end laptop display has a pixel pitch of approximately 0.1mm.
How to Calculate Pixel Pitch
To manually calculate the Pixel Pitch (PP), you first need to determine the Pixels Per Inch (PPI) using the Pythagorean theorem based on the diagonal screen size. The formula is:
The "Retina" distance is the point at which the human eye can no longer distinguish individual pixels. A common rule of thumb for LED displays is that the comfortable viewing distance (in meters) is roughly equal to the Pixel Pitch (in millimeters) multiplied by 1.5 to 2.5.
function calculatePP() {
var h = parseFloat(document.getElementById("horizRes").value);
var v = parseFloat(document.getElementById("vertRes").value);
var d = parseFloat(document.getElementById("diagSize").value);
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("ppResult");
if (isNaN(h) || isNaN(v) || isNaN(d) || d <= 0 || h <= 0 || v then convert to meters
var retinaInches = 3438 / ppi;
var retinaMeters = retinaInches * 0.0254;
// Display results
document.getElementById("ppiVal").innerText = ppi.toFixed(2);
document.getElementById("pitchVal").innerText = pixelPitch.toFixed(4) + " mm";
document.getElementById("totalPxVal").innerText = totalPixels.toLocaleString();
document.getElementById("retinaVal").innerText = retinaMeters.toFixed(2) + " meters (" + (retinaMeters * 3.28084).toFixed(2) + " ft)";
resultDiv.style.display = "block";
}