A pitch perimeter system sells advertising to the people in the stands and to the cameras. A big screen shows replays, scores and sponsor content to a crowd that may be 100 m away. The two have little in common technically. The perimeter board is short and long, watched from 20 to 100 m at a shallow angle, and has to stay clean while a broadcast camera pans past it. The big screen is large, watched from far away, and is judged on brightness and colour consistency across a wide, curved seating bowl.
| Display | Typical pitch | Brightness | Refresh rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch perimeter | P6.67 to P10 | 5,000 to 7,000 cd/m2 | 1,920 to 3,840 Hz | Single or double row, around 800 to 1,000 mm high |
| Big screen or scoreboard | P8 to P16 | 6,000 to 8,000 cd/m2 | 1,920 Hz or higher | Hooded or angled to keep sun and rain off the face |
| Indoor arena ribbon | P3.91 to P6.67 | 1,500 to 3,000 cd/m2 | 1,920 Hz or higher | Viewed from courtside up to the upper tier |
| Indoor centre hung display | P4 to P8 | 3,000 to 5,000 cd/m2 | 1,920 Hz or higher | Four or eight faces to serve the whole bowl |
A camera does not capture a screen the way the eye does. Shutter speed and frame rate interact with panel refresh, and when the two are out of step the broadcast shows horizontal bands or flicker. 1,920 Hz is the usual minimum for a screen that will appear on television, and 3,840 Hz gives more headroom for slow-motion replays and short shutter speeds. Grey scale processing matters for the same reason: a panel that dims smoothly at low brightness keeps sponsor artwork clean on camera during a night match, when a screen running at full output would bloom and shift colour.
Perimeter boards are watched from the stands almost along the surface of the screen, so a wide horizontal viewing angle matters more than a fine pixel pitch. A big screen faces a bowl, which means off-axis brightness and colour consistency should be checked across the whole surface on a sample before the steel is fabricated. Structures are normally steel frames on concrete plinths, with the cabinet row levelled to a tolerance that keeps the image straight over 100 m or more. Peak power draw of 500 to 800 W/m2 applies to the screen area, and a stadium running a perimeter, a big screen and ribbon displays at the same time is a significant load that belongs in the electrical design from the start.
Send the screen size, the nearest and furthest viewing distance, whether the display is indoor or outdoor, whether it will be filmed and the destination country, and we will return a written quotation with a cabinet layout and a refresh rate recommendation.
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