500 × 500 vs 500 × 1000 mm Rental LED Cabinets: How to Plan Your LED Wall

Rental LED screens are built from cabinets, and the cabinet size you choose decides how fast your crew builds the wall, which screen sizes you can make, and how the screen ships. Our rental range uses two die-cast aluminium cabinet sizes — 500 × 500 mm and 500 × 1000 mm — on the same 250 × 250 mm module. This guide explains how to plan a wall with them.

Why every rental cabinet is a multiple of 250 mm

Each rental cabinet holds 250 × 250 mm modules: four in a 500 × 500 mm cabinet, eight in a 500 × 1000 mm cabinet. Because cabinet sizes are whole multiples of the module, the pixel count is always a clean number, the image has no partial pixels at the cabinet edges, and the same spare modules fit every cabinet in your stock.

Fixed-installation screens work differently. They usually use 320 × 160 mm or 256 × 128 mm modules on larger cabinets such as 960 × 960 mm, which suits permanent billboards but not equipment that is built and struck every week.

500 × 500 mm or 500 × 1000 mm?

	500 × 500 mm	500 × 1000 mm
Modules per cabinet	4	8
Cabinets per m²	4	2
Best for	small walls, odd sizes, finishing the top row	large flat walls, fast builds, hanging screens
Build speed	more units to lock	half the units, faster rigging

Most rental companies stock mainly 500 × 1000 mm cabinets for speed, plus some 500 × 500 mm cabinets to reach heights in 0.5 m steps. The two sizes lock together into one flat wall.

Cabinet resolution by pitch

Pitch	Module 250 × 250 mm	Cabinet 500 × 500 mm	Cabinet 500 × 1000 mm
P1.953	128 × 128 px	256 × 256 px	256 × 512 px
P2.604	96 × 96 px	192 × 192 px	192 × 384 px
P2.976	84 × 84 px	168 × 168 px	168 × 336 px
P3.91	64 × 64 px	128 × 128 px	128 × 256 px
P4.81	52 × 52 px	104 × 104 px	104 × 208 px

Worked example: a 16:9 stage wall

Say you need a backdrop about 5 m wide and close to 16:9. Ten columns of 500 mm wide cabinets give 5 m. A 16:9 wall that wide would be about 2.8 m high; the nearest height you can build in 500 mm steps is 3 m:

• 2 rows of 500 × 1000 mm cabinets (2 m) plus 2 rows of 500 × 500 mm cabinets (1 m) = 3 m high
• Total: 20 cabinets of 500 × 1000 mm and 20 cabinets of 500 × 500 mm, a 5 m × 3 m wall (15 m²)
• Resolution at P2.976: 1680 × 1008 px. At P2.604: 1920 × 1152 px, enough for Full HD content.

Planning tip: decide the content resolution first, then pick the pitch and cabinet count that reach it. Our sales team does this calculation for every quote.

Curved and shaped walls

If the design calls for a curve, column or wave rather than a flat wall, tell us the radius or send a drawing. We will confirm the cabinet layout, or suggest flexible LED modules, which bend around curves on a custom frame. See our creative LED solutions.

Shipping and flight cases

Rental orders ship in flight cases that hold a fixed number of cabinets, so the cases roll straight from the truck to the stage. For a real example of what a full order contains — cabinets, receiving cards, power supplies, spare modules, spare LEDs, hanging bars and connection kits — see our 154 m² P2.9 shipment to Colombia, which used 308 cabinets of 500 × 1000 mm in a 40HQ container.

Frequently asked questions

Can the same cabinets be used indoors and outdoors?

Only the outdoor version. Outdoor rental cabinets are sealed to IP65 front and rear and use brighter outdoor LEDs. Indoor cabinets are IP30 front and IP54 rear.

How many spare parts should I order?

We include spare modules, LEDs, ICs, power supplies, receiving cards and cables with every order. The quantity scales with the screen size; our case studies list the exact spares shipped with real orders.

Plan your wall with us

Send the target wall size and the content resolution you want to show. We will reply within 8 hours with a cabinet layout, the number of 500 × 500 and 500 × 1000 mm cabinets, and a quote. Compare all pitches on our rental LED display page or request a quote.