What Is Pixel Pitch?
Each basic unit of an image displayed on a color visual display unit, known as a picture element, or pixel, actually consists of three components, known as subpixels. Each subpixel represents the contribution of a single color -- red, green or blue -- to the overall appearance of the pixel. Pixel pitch, also known as dot pitch, is the distance between one subpixel and the next of the same color.
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Measurement
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Pixel pitch is typically measured in millimeters or fractions of a millimeter. A pixel pitch of .28, for example, indicates that subpixels are 28/100ths of a millimeter apart. Pixel pitch is important because it determines the fineness of the detail that can be distinguished in an image displayed on a computer screen -- otherwise known as its “resolution” -- and its optimal viewing distance. Typically, a pixel pitch of .31 or less provides a clear, sharp image, especially for text.
CRT
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Traditional cathode ray tube computer monitors -- which create an image by focusing a beam of negatively charged particles, called electrons, on a light-emitting substance, called a phosphor -- use two screen technologies, known as aperture grill and shadow mask. In aperture grill screens, which use microscopic vertical wires to separate the phosphor dots, pixel pitch is the horizontal distance between two phosphor “stripes” of the same color. In shadow mask screens, which use a plate with thousands of tiny holes to focus the electron beam, pixel pitch is the diagonal distance between phosphor dots of the same color. CRT monitors typically have a pixel pitch of between .28 and .51.
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LCD & LED
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On liquid crystal display and light emitting diode computer monitors, the pixels are right next to each other, so the pixel pitch is measured as the distance between the center of one LCD cell, or LED cluster, and the next. In effect, in this case, the pixel pitch can be considered the size of each individual pixel, rather than the distance between pixels. LCD monitors typically have a pixel pitch between .16 and .29.
Considerations
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Some computer users consider buying a larger computer monitor in the mistaken belief that a larger monitor automatically means larger text. However, the size of the text depends on the pixel pitch, not the physical size of the monitor, so a larger monitor only displays larger text if its pixel pitch is larger as well. Furthermore, some rear projection TVs may claim pixel pitches as low as 0.008, but this refers to source pixels in the microdisplay, not the screen pixels that you actually see.
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References
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