Why use a quality LED video processor and the benefits it brings to LED screens?
It’s a fact: Event staging is constantly looking for ways to engage and interact with audiences, and today, LED displays are playing an increasingly prominent role in inspiring engagement and events. Embracing a more visual approach means that many event venues around the world are now incorporating LED displays into their staging productions as a tool to engage audiences, share information, and even influence crowds.
Not only do LED display screen provide a dynamic way to communicate for events, but because of their adaptable nature, stage event managers can also easily rearrange the screens to fit the particular needs of the stage. However, just getting a bunch of LED panels doesn’t guarantee you perfect and uniform image quality – it’s up to the LED video processor to ensure that the information is delivered as intended.
What is an LED video processor?
LED video processors are the backbone of delivering perfectly uniform and beautifully colored LED screens. A true LED processor ensures that your content plays perfectly on the LED wall, using features such as scaling and precise content color adjustment, as well as correcting visible gaps or blending batch problems on the panel itself.
Why is video processing important?
Video processing occurs throughout the video signal chain – from the cameras, video playback and media servers on the input side, to the video switchers and screen management systems, to the projectors and LED walls on the output side of the pipe.
The ultimate goal of image/video processing is to realize the vision of the production from the beginning. This applies to Event staging as much as it does to any other market. If the screen looks mismatched or patchy, if the image lags behind the live arrangement or shows strange colors, then the LED display becomes a distraction rather than the enhancement tool it is intended to be.
Without video processing, it is nearly impossible for an LED wall to display content as designed – “good enough” is the best case scenario. Viewers are increasingly discerning about image quality and are used to crystal clear images on their HD or even 4K TVs at home and on their phones.
With proper video processing and features such as HDR (High Dynamic Range), we can share the same beautiful, vivid, realistic images on LED screens with our viewers.
HDR and its benefits
HDR offers a new way to deliver impressive image quality improvements on LED screens. HDR provides a higher range of brightness and color at a higher bit depth, more detail in shadows and highlights, and more space for particularly bright content.
Compared to standard dynamic range (SDR), HDR images appear sharper and more detailed with greater “depth” than standard dynamic range (SDR), providing vivid, lifelike images, even if the number of pixels remains the same.
To achieve a true HDR image, concepts such as NovaCLB Dynamic Calibration, which uses a new method to calibrate the panel, can be applied. The traditional approach is to apply a fixed, factory-specified calibration to all content throughout the panel’s lifecycle. This means achieving consistency by sacrificing brightness and color gamut, forcing each LED to match the darkest and lightest LEDs across the screen. The result is panels that perform below their capacity.
Dynamic calibration intelligently determines the best way to drive each LED. Areas of the image where peak brightness is the most visually important aspect will take full advantage of the LED’s peak brightness. Areas that require extreme saturation will take full advantage of the LED’s maximum color gamut without needlessly sacrificing uniformity in the rest of the image.
Options
When it comes to video processing, customers can choose a basic off-the-shelf solution, often referred to as a sending card, with little room for adjustment (and therefore a high risk of poor image/screen quality). Alternatively, one can choose a more full-featured processor with numerous color adjustment, image scaling, input and output mapping tools.
Higher quality processors offer benefits such as precise color adjustment and correction of colors in the input signal to ensure perfect color matching; or elimination of unsightly color differences in grayscale for a balanced, neutral output – a common problem with many panel types.
The strengths and weaknesses of specific LED video processors can directly affect LED displays, so it’s important to choose a solution that takes into account longevity and ruggedness, and that offers features designed by people who understand the needs of technicians and the staging effects industry.
With LED video processing, event coordinators can truly ensure that their content is visually impressive, making their message even more memorable. Both new and existing LED displays deliver visuals with more realistic colors and unprecedented brightness, evoking a more personalized experience and lasting impact for each and every member of the congregation.