Aluvision Hi-LED 55 User manual

02 ALUVISION > Clemence Dosschestraat 44 > 9800 Deinze, Belgium > T: [phone] > [email protected] > www.aluvision.com
Contents
01 HARDWARE 03
01.1 Hi-LED 55 CABINET 03
01.2 CABLES & CONNECTION 04
01.3 POWER FLOW 05
01.4 SIGNAL/DATA FLOW 05
01.5 Hi-LED 55 CHAIN 06
01.6 NOVASTAR CONTROLLERS 06
01.7 MEDIA DEVICE 09
01.8 CORNERS, CUBES AND CURVES 09
02 VIDEO FILE 11
02.1 VIDEO SETUP SIMPLE SCREEN 11
02.2 VIDEO SETUP COMPLEX SCREEN 13
02.3 VIDEO FILE EXPORT SETTINGS 15
02.4 BRIGHTAUTHOR 15
03 CONTROLLING Hi-LED 55 19
03.1 SIMPLE SCREEN 19
MCTRL300 controller setup 19
MCTRL660 controller setup 24
03.2 COMPLEX SCREEN 26
Data flow of a complex screen 26
Configuration of a complex screen 27
03.3 SAVE AND LOAD CONFIGURATION 32
03.4 REMOVE CONFIGURATION 34
03.5 OTHER OPTIONS 35
Simple screen setup in ‘Standard’ mode 35
Multiple data port outputs 36
Full HD screen setup 40
Multiple screens 41
Setup with curved Hi-LED tiles 44
‘Complex’ mode 46
SmartLCT 48
Novastar website 49
03.6 LAPTOP/PC 49
04 Hi-LED 55 CONFIGURATION 51
04.1 FACTORY SETTINGS 51
04.2 FLASHING A HI-LED 55 MODULE 55
04.3 REPLACING THE POWER BOX OR RECEIVING CARD 58

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ALUVISION > Clemence Dosschestraat 44 > 9800 Deinze, Belgium > T: [phone] > [email protected] > www.aluvision.com
01
Hardware
01.1 Hi-LED 55 cabinet
Aluvision offers two types of Hi-LED 55:
• 2.8 (176 x 176 pixels, pitch 2.8mm)
• 2.5 (192 x 192 pixels, pitch 2.5mm)
Please make sure you know what type of Hi-LED
you have and which batch they are. The batch
number and amount of pixels is important when
setting up the Hi-LED configuration.
Each cabinet consists of 4 replaceable LED modules. On the back of each module you can find the batch
number.
• Hi-LED 55 2.8: batch 121, 122, ...
• Hi-LED 55 2.5: batch 201, 202, ...
At the back of the cabinet a power box is mounted, the power box has 4 connectors. There are 2 power
connectors on the right, a power input (male connection) and an output (female connection). On the left
you can find two signal connectors, both can be uses as either input or output.
At the bottom of the power box 2 buttons are available. The test button is used to play a colour or a
pattern to check the brightness, check for broken LED’s… Press the button twice to enter the test modes.
Then press once to switch in between the modes.
Pressing the function button shows some more info about the cabinet on the LCD information display:
software version, current temperature and operating hours .
Input power
Function button
Power box
Output/Input data Output power
Output/Input data
Test button
AB
C
E
G
D
F

04 ALUVISION > Clemence Dosschestraat 44 > 9800 Deinze, Belgium > T: [phone] > [email protected] > www.aluvision.com
Extra specifications
Weight: 8,8 kg (2.8), 9,8 kg (2.5) Horizontal viewing angle: 140°
Panel dimensions: 495,8 x 495,8 mm Max. hanging quantity: 20 cabinets
Vertical viewing angle: 120° Max. stacking quantity: 10 cabinets
(without support)
01.2 Cables & connection
• A Truecom power cable of 10 meters is used to power the cabinets.
EU power cable US power cable Power input
• A Neutric signal cable CAT5E of 20 meters is used to provide the data to the cabinets.
Signal input
• Interlink cables are used to link the cabinets and send the power and data from one cabinet to
another. Interlink power cables can be connected to each other, interlink signal cables can’t.
Truecom Interlink
power cable
(1, 3, 6 or 10 meters)
Neutric Interlink signal/
data cable CAT5E
(1, 3, 6 or 10 meters)

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01.3 Power flow
Connect up to 18 (EU)/9 (US) 2.8 cabinets and 17 (EU)/8 (US) 2.5 cabinets in one power flow,
but always keep in mind the maximum and average power consumption.
• Maximum power consumption: 590 W/m² (Hi-LED 2.8), 610 W/m² (Hi-LED 2.5)
• Average power consumption: 197 W/m² (Hi-LED 2.8), 203 W/m² (Hi-LED 2.5)
Connecting to many cabinets in one power flow can create a hazardous situation.
Maintain the overview: work in a vertical or horizontal data/signal flow.
01.4 Signal/data flow
The signal/data flow is the order in which the cabinets are connected. The signal/data flow is very
important to keep in mind for the configuration of the cabinets later on.
Maintain the overview: work in a vertical or horizontal power flow.
Horizontal flow Vertical flow
The maximum amount of cabinets in 1 signal/data flow depends on the used controller. See below.
The power and data do not necessarily need to follow the same flow.

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01.5 Hi-LED 55 chain
After all cabinets are linked with interlink power and signal/data cables, use the 10 meter Truecom
power cable to connect the first cabinet in the flow with a power socket. Use the 20 meter Neutric data/
signal cable to connect the first cabinet in the flow with a Novastar controller. The Novastar controller is
also connected to a media device (Laptop/PC, Blu-ray/DVD-player, BrightSign…).
NOVA
powersignal/data
01.6 Novastar controllers
A LED controller/sending box is required to send the correct data to each cabinet. Aluvision makes use of
Novastar controllers. Different types can be used, depending on the amount of cabinets in your setup and
it’s functionalities. Aluvision offers four types:
• Novastar MCTRL300
− Supports 1.3 million pixels, 2 data outputs
− Output maximum: 20 cabinets (P2.8) / 17 cabinets (P2.5)
− Controller maximum: 40 cabinets (P2.8) / 34 cabinets (P2.5)
C
BPC/Laptop connection
(configuration)
Video input
(DVI)
AData output
ports (to cabinets)

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ALUVISION > Clemence Dosschestraat 44 > 9800 Deinze, Belgium > T: [phone] > [email protected] > www.aluvision.com
• Novastar MCTRL660
− Supports 2.3 million pixels, 4 data outputs
− Output maximum: 20 cabinets (P2.8) / 17 cabinets (P2.5)
− Controller maximum: 72 cabinets (P2.8) / 60 cabinets (P2.5)
− No PC/laptop required for basic configuration and testing
− FullHD support
AC
B
Data output
ports (to
cabinets)
PC/Laptop connection
(configuration)
Video input (DVI or HDMI)
D
E
F
Return
button
Navigation &
selection
button
Display
• Novastar MCTRL660 PRO
− Supports 2.3 million pixels, 6 data outputs
− Output maximum: 20 cabinets (P2.8) / 17 cabinets (P2.5)
− Controller maximum: 72 cabinets (P2.8) / 60 cabinets (P2.5)
− No PC/laptop required for basic configuration and testing
− 10/12-bit video support, low latency
− FullHD support
AC
B
D E
FNavigation & selection button
Data output ports
(to cabinets)
Return buttonDisplay
PC/Laptop connection
(configuration)
Video input (DVI or HDMI)

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• Novastar MCTRL4K
− Supports: 8.3 million pixels, 16 data outputs
− Output maximum: 20 cabinets (P2.8) / 17 cabinets (P2.5)
− Controller maximum: 256 cabinets (P2.8) / 224 cabinets (P2.5)
− No PC/laptop required for basic configuration and testing
− HDR support
− 4K support
A
C
B
D E
FNavigation & selection button
Data output ports
(to cabinets)
Return buttonDisplay
PC/Laptop connection
(configuration)
Video input
(DVI or HDMI)
To be sure never to exceed the controller’s maximum amount of supported
cabinets, divide this maximum by the amount of the controller’s data output
ports. Keep in mind: the result is not the port’s absolute maximum, this is a
relative number if you want to use all ports.
Not only the amount of supported cabinets determines what controller to choose, also the supported
resolutions are important to take into account. A resolution is a rectangle with a certain width and height
shown in pixels. All Hi-LED tiles should fit one of those resolutions. Hi-LED’s, or parts of it, beyond this
chosen resolution, will not be supported and will just stay black.
Recommended preset resolutions:
− MCTRL300: 1280×1024, 1024×1200, 1600×848, 1920×712 (pixels)
− MCTRL660 (Pro): 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 1920×1200, 2560×960 (pixels)
− MCTRL4K: 3840x2160, 7680x1080 (pixels)
All resolutions smaller than the ones recommended are supported too. Also
custom resolutions are possible within the restrictions of the controller.
To support more cabinets or larger resolutions, combining multiple controllers
is also a possibility.

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01.7 Media device
A media device is required to play content on your LED display. You can use any media device you want:
PC/laptop, DVD/Blu-ray player, game console… or you can use a media player such as a ’BrightSign’
device. BrightSign LS424 (HD) is recommended by Aluvision. For 4K support, BrightSign HD224 is available.
The media device should be connected to the Novastar controller using an HDMI or an HDMI to DVI cable
(only with Novastar MCTRL300).
01.8 Corners, cubes and curves
Aluvision offers, next to the regular flat tiles, also corners, cubes and curves. All can be integrated
seamlessly in the original Aluvision frame system.
• Hi-LED 2D corner
− 2 sides closed
• Hi-LED 3D corner
− 3 sides closed
• Hi-LED cube
− 5 sides closed
Each side of a corner/cube consists out of 4 replaceable LED modules with beveled corners wich are
powered by the same kind of power boxes as the regular flat Hi-LED tiles. Each side consists out of 176
x 176 (Pitch 2.8) or 192 x 192 pixels (Pitch 2.5). The viewing angle (horizontal: 140° - vertical: 120°)
and power consumption (MAX 590W/m² (2.8), 610W/m² (2.5) – AVG 197 W/m² (2.8), 203 W/m² (2.5))
remain the same as for a regular Hi-LED.
Cabling and configuring a corner/cube works the same way as for the regular Hi-LED’s. Handle each
side as a different cabinet.

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• Hi-LED R437 convex
− Outer curve
− Resolution: 300 x 192 pixels (Pitch 2.5)
− Viewing angle (Horizontal/Vertical): 120°/120°
• Hi-LED R437 concave
− Inner curve
− Resolution: 266 x 192 pixels (Pitch 2.5)
− Viewing angle (Horizontal/Vertical): 140°/120°
The curved Hi-LED tiles are ¼ of a circle segment and match a standard Omni-55 R437 frame. They consist
out of 4 flexible (and replaceable) LED modules. The height is the same as a regular 2.5 Hi-LED tile
(192 px), the width is different and depends if the curved Hi-LED is an inner (266 px) or an outer curve
(300 px). The power box looks a little different, but has the same functionalities as the ones for
a flat Hi-LED.
Since the pixel pitch is 2.5, the power consumption per m² is the same as for a flat 2.5 pitch Hi-LED (MAX
610W/m² – AVG 203 W/m²). But be aware, this does not mean you can connect as many curved Hi-LED
tiles as flat tiles in one power flow! Since they all have different dimensions, please take the different types
of Hi-LED tiles into account when calculating the power.
The same reasoning applies to calculating how many cabinets can be connected in one data flow. Keep
the different amount of pixels for each type of Hi-LED tiles into account. Basically 11 convex and 12 concave
Hi-LED tiles can be connected in one data flow. But this number only applies when all tiles are the same
type. Having a combination requires a custom calculation. An easy and safe way for quick calculation is
counting all curved Hi-LED’s as 2 flat tiles.
Since the curved Hi-LED tiles are only available in pixel pitch 2.5, they can only
be combined with other pixel pitch 2.5 Hi-LED tiles.

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02
Video file
02.1 Video setup simple screen
A simple screen is defined as a setup with all cabinets in one big rectangular shaped screen.
The resolution of the video file that is played back by the media device is different from the actual
resolution of the screen. When exporting the video, use standard HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) or 4K
(3840 x 2160 pixels) video resolution. The footage that is shown on the screen (LED tile video) is
positioned in the top left corner within this video. The remaining part of this video should stay black.
Depending on the media player, other resolutions can be used. Below you can
find the instructions how to prepare your video using a BrightSign media player.
Also other workflows are possible, but this workflow makes sure you won’t face
any scaling issues later on.
The resolution of the LED tile video should be exactly the same as the resolution (amount of
pixels) of the screen. This is called ‘pixel to pixel’ and means that every pixel in the video represents
a pixel in the screen.
To calculate the resolution of the screen, first you need to count the amount of cabinets in your screen.
To calculate the resolution width, multiply the amount of horizontal cabinets in your screen with the
amount of horizontal pixels in one cabinet (Hi-LED 55 2.8 = 176 pixels; Hi-LED 55 2.5 = 192 pixels). To
calculate the resolution height, multiply the amount of vertical cabinets in your screen with the amount
of vertical pixels in one cabinet (2.8 = 176 pixels; 2.5 = 192 pixels).