LED walls always consist of several cabinets. For the individual parts to emerge into one coherent image, all cabinets have to be synchronised with each other perfectly. Problems can occur if e.g. the cabinets present the contents differently delayed. This is a situation that can often occur inadvertently due to the new NCP files, especially in the rental sector. Let’s take a look at what can be done:

The Low Latency mode (LLM) is used to minimize the delay of the contents between the reproducer and the LED cabinets. It can be activated at the controller and the receiving card. Activation on the controller requires specially adapted cabling between the LED modules. Activating the LLM via the receiver card, on the other hand, is possible without any special adjustments.

Here it is where it gets difficult in practice: with the newer controls that work with NCP files, the LLM on the receiving cards is activated automatically during commissioning. This happens without the operator having to be aware of it. Especially as the activation of the LLM on the receiver card does not require any special wiring. These newer control units primarily include the devices of the NovaStar COEX series (e.g.: KU20, MX30). The older models (e.g.: VX1000) work with the NovaLCT software and do not offer automatic activation.

This example case is supposed to make clear why this can be a problem: a company owns e.g. 40 m² of an LED wall and orders an event with 20 m² using the KU20 with NCP files. When the wall is commissioned, the LLM on the LED wall is automatically activated, regardless of the type of cabling.

For the next event, the company needs 40m² LED wall, so that now, all cabinets can be combined. For this event, the company is using an VX1000 controller with RCFGX-files which does not automatically start the LLM activation of the connected receiving cards in the LED cabinets. The result is an LED wall, where only half of the wall consists of latency reduced LED cabinets. Hence, a difference of 16ms occurs between the cabinets. Therefore, some cabinets are quicker than others. This delay is already clearly noticeable with the naked eye. The wall is not synchronous and the homogenous image that is typical for LED technology is lost.

Image interference due to various latencies, Quelle: BE 24-7 GmbH

Before any installation of an LED wall, the LLM should be switched on and off manually for all LED cabinets, so that all cabinets are running with the same latency. The problem of different-looking LED cabinets will then be a problem of the past.

By the way: only the activation of the LLM on the controller, as well as on the receiving card, creates the smallest latency possible. If you only select one of the possibilities for the LLM, you save correspondingly less delay time. Two is better than one and it is worth it. If a higher latency is not your first priority, it is sufficient to only activate one of the two options (controller or receiving card). However, it is important to keep the uniformity of the cabinets in mind.

In the following video, you learn how to activate the Low Latency mode:

You are familiar with these problems or are looking for further information on our products? Then get in touch with us! You can give us a call at +49 551 492 493 44 or send an email to vertrieb@ledtek.de. In the meantime, you can take a look at our service offers: service portal, 48h-spare part service and 3-year warranty.