I built one of the LED Tricks displays two years ago using 2 panels across and I love it. I want to build an RGB version as soon as I can figure out the software issues. To answer your question, if you want the sign to be readable from the street, it has to be at least 16 pixels (rows) high. Otherwise, the letters are really to small to read, at least in my opinion. My sign has to be back from the road at least 20 feet because of the layout of my yard. I hope this information helps. Jim