Insider’s tip: video sync hiccups typically arise on fast-moving content, that’s why during LED demonstrations you will often be shown still images or slow-motion videos which hide these issues. With this knowledge in mind, be critical and keep your eyes open for the following things when comparing LED walls and their processing technology.
Continuing on the first topic of this series - 'showing your content as intended' - this post tackles everything you need to know about potential video synchronization issues and other possible artifacts in your content. Spoiler alert: the significance of a good processor will again prove irrefutable to resolve these problems and achieve optimum results.
Latency is delay. It’s the amount of time that is needed to process and transfer the content from the input source to the output destination. High latency is, for example, translated in those annoying lip-sync issues we’ve all experienced at some point during live events. Increased delay often occurs when a LED display is powered through a combination of an LED processor and a presentation switcher.
With Barco’s processing solutions, you can always keep latency at its lowest thanks to the wide bandwidth and high refresh rates (7680Hz) of the InfinipixTM system combined with the cutting-edge Event Master portfolio.
Motion blur refers to the blurred effect that’s visible on images with rapidly moving objects, as if there’s a focus loss in the content. To optically reduce or eliminate this motion blur, Barco’s LED processing uses fast movement compensation. This tricks the human eye to perceive fluid motion and makes the brain think we’re seeing a smooth movement.
Tears, i.e. when the image jars, are incredibly disruptive to the viewing experience as they pull the audience out of the story being told. Our InfinipixTM platform ensures smooth and flawless video for still, slow-moving and fast-moving images – even when multiple panels or image sources are involved!
An LED wall is configured out of different LED tiles and although technology has evolved dramatically over the years, this still means you inevitably have seams in your display. When the LED modules are too close to each other, you get a bright seam; when there’s too much space between the tiles, you get a dark seam.
But the good news is, processing can do something about it! Our InfinipixTM system takes a picture of your entire wall and analyzes the seams in the image. It then calculates the necessary corrections and adjusts the brightness of the pixels at the edges of the tiles, so your wall becomes optically seamless.
Re-rendering of the content or creation of display-specific content can be quite expensive and take a considerable amount of time! But chances are that the original content will eventually need to be scaled to match the resolution of the available LED display wall. Therefore, the need for quality scaling cannot be underestimated.
InfinipixTM has a state-of-the-art scaler embedded that realizes perfect representation and sharp images on LED systems. The premium anti-aliasing filters make the resized image pleasing to the eye. The phenomenal up- and down-scaling features also guarantee the intended colors and key details are maintained throughout the process, and ensure smooth images in all situations.
The UK headquarters of tech company Hewlett Packard is located in a 67,000-square-foot building at the heart of London. The building also houses an impressive Customer Engagement Centre (CEC) which is of course equipped with the most innovative technologies.
At the entrance hall of the CEC a huge Barco LED wall of eighty tiles welcomes visitors with very high-resolution images of iconic places around the world, as well as HP graphics and specialist content. First impressions matter, so the content on this lobby display always needs to be flawless. Barco's InfinipixTM platform guarantees perfectly scaled images and smooth transitions between the different backgrounds.
You can create memorable moments with outstanding unique content and impressive LED walls, but if even the smallest artifact disrupts the viewing experience people will remember your project in a negative way. The only way to do your content justice is to choose an LED wall and a processor that displays it the way you intended to, and helps you to be remembered for all the right reasons.
LED's talk some more: