Rental vs Fixed LED Display: Which One Do You Need?
Die-cast rental cabinets or fixed iron cabinets? How to decide based on how often you move, where you install and what you show.
Every LED screen is either built to move or built to stay. Rental screens travel from event to event; fixed screens are installed once and stay in place for years. The two look similar when they are switched on, but they use different cabinets, different structures and different budgets — and choosing the wrong type is an expensive mistake to fix later. This guide explains the real differences and gives you a short checklist to decide which one your project needs.
1. What “rental” and “fixed” actually mean
A rental screen is made from die-cast aluminium cabinets in 500×1000 mm and 500×500 mm sizes. They are designed to be assembled, taken down, transported and reassembled again and again — the standard choice for concerts, festivals, exhibitions and stage backdrops. Our flagship rental model is the P3.91 outdoor screen, and P2.6 and P2.9 are available for indoor and outdoor rental use.
A fixed screen is made from iron cabinets in 960×960 mm size — our P5 fixed outdoor screen is the typical example — plus a dedicated poster format of 640×1920 mm for shop windows and retail. Fixed cabinets are mounted once to a wall or a steel structure and left in place. They are built for permanent installation, not for the road.
2. How often will it move?
This is the question that decides almost everything. If the screen travels to a new venue every week or every month, it must be a rental screen: light aluminium cabinets, fast assembly and teardown, and a design that survives repeated transport. If the screen will stay in one place for years — a shop front, a building facade, a church, a sports venue — a fixed screen is the right tool: heavier iron cabinets, a permanent mount, and no need to pay for portability you will never use.
A screen that moves only twice a year sits in between. Rental cabinets still make sense there, because a fixed installation cannot be moved without a full reinstall. When in doubt, ask yourself what the screen will be doing in two years: if the answer is “a different venue every month”, the choice is already made.
3. Indoor or outdoor?
Both types cover indoor and outdoor use, but the environment sets the brightness and sealing you need. Outdoor screens need a brightness of 5,000 nits or higher and IP65 sealing against rain and dust. Indoor screens need 1,000 nits or more and, for P3.91 indoor cabinets, IP45 protection. A stage backdrop at an outdoor festival and a billboard on a building facade face the same sun and rain, but one is taken down on Sunday night and the other stays up for years.
Match the brightness and the IP rating to the location first, then choose rental or fixed by how often the screen moves. If you want the full comparison, read our guide to the 5 key differences between indoor and outdoor LED displays.
4. Power and signal planning
Power planning is the same for both types, and it is worth doing early — especially for a fixed installation, where the circuits are permanent. Each cabinet draws a maximum of 300 W and carries two 200 W power supplies sharing one AC input. On a 16 A branch circuit with a 20% safety margin, you can connect 9 cabinets at 220 V, 5 at 127 V, 5 at 120 V, or 4 at 110 V. Count your cabinets, check your local voltage, and plan the circuits before installation day.
The video processor follows the same rule for both types. One port carries 650,000 pixels, and the processor must meet two conditions: enough ports for the number of zones, and enough total capacity for the total pixel count. Small screens — up to 2 zones and 1.3 million pixels — run on a single CMS130. Larger walls step up through CMS260 (4 ports, 2.6 million), VX600 PRO (6 ports, 3.9 million), VX1000 PRO (10 ports, 6.5 million) and VX2000 PRO (20 ports, 13 million).
5. What it costs over the life of the screen
Rental cabinets cost more per square metre than fixed iron cabinets, because die-cast aluminium and quick-assembly hardware are built for repeated use. But that premium pays for itself across many events: one rental screen can serve dozens of venues over its life. A fixed screen is the economical choice for a single permanent location, where portability has no value.
Compare the total cost, not just the screen: the processor, the mounting structure, installation, and shipping. We quote on CIF (cost, insurance and freight to your destination port), DDP (delivered duty paid to our Mexico City warehouse, self-pickup), EXW (ex-works Shenzhen) and FOB (free on board Shenzhen) terms, so tell us which term you need. Our standard terms are a 30% deposit to start production and the remaining 70% before shipping; quotations are valid for 7 days and lead time is 15–20 days, with sea freight taking 35–45 days.
6. The decision checklist
Answer these five questions and the answer usually picks itself:
- 1. Will the screen move to a new venue more than a few times a year? Yes → rental; no → fixed.
- 2. Is it outdoors? Then brightness of 5,000 nits or higher and IP65 sealing are non-negotiable, either way.
- 3. How far away is the nearest viewer? Under 4 metres points to P2.6 or P2.9; stage and festival distances point to P3.91.
- 4. Is permanent power and a mounting structure available at the location? If not, a rental setup with temporary power is simpler.
- 5. One venue or many? One permanent venue favours fixed; many venues demand rental.
If three or more answers point the same way, that is your type. If the answers split, tell us the details — mixed-use projects are common, and the right answer is often a rental screen for the events plus a fixed screen for the permanent location.
Still deciding? Send us the screen size, the location, whether it is indoor or outdoor, and how often it will move. Message us on WhatsApp at +86 155 7321 7152, or use the Request a Quotation button below, and we will recommend the right type and prepare a quotation. Cabinets carry a 2-year warranty and the sender box 1 year.