In short

The sending controller (sending card, sending box) takes the HDMI, DisplayPort or SDI signal, divides it up between the cabinets and passes it on to the receiving cards over Cat6 cable. It determines how large a wall you can drive, at what resolution, at what refresh rate and with how much latency. The video processor is the fuller version of the same device: scaling, cropping, picture-in-picture, cross-fading between several sources. Half of a LED video wall's quality is decided by the panels; the other half is decided here.

Sending controllers and video processors

The device that translates the video signal into LED video wall language

22 devices · 6 manufacturers · 23 official documents

Content video, stills, schedule Player PC or media player Sending controller sending card / box Cable Cat6 or fibre Receiving card one per cabinet HUB + power out to the modules LED module the image surface Setup software — this is what it configures NovaLCT · LEDSETTING · LEDStudio · HDSet From here the signal speaks LED wall: the image is cut into pieces and addressed cabinet by cabinet. Conventional video signal
Where does it fit in the system? Every stage of the diagram is clickable — it takes you to that category.
A LED-fal vezérlési lánca kiterítve: forrás, processzor, vezérlő, hálózati kábel és a panel hátulján a fogadókártya
The control chain in real life: source, processor, controller, network cable, and the receiving card on the back of the panel. Illustrative image.
One gigabit port ≈ 650 000 pixels At 24 bit colour depth and 60 Hz refresh rate, gigabit bandwidth serves this many pixels. This is the practical design limit. sending controller port 1 port 2 port 3 port 4 cabinets daisy-chained — up to the port's capacity ↑ port 4 would exceed capacity: a new port or a second controller is needed Example: a 6 × 3 m wall at P3.91 → 1536 × 768 = 1 179 648 pixels. 1 179 648 / 650 000 = 1.8 → the minimum is 2 ports, but 3 is sensible for headroom and redundancy.
Port count is not a detail: too few and part of the wall stays dark, and afterwards only a change of controller fixes it. Always ask the quote to state how many cabinets sit on how many ports.

Colorlight

sending card Colorlight S2 Colorlight's compact entry-level sending card for smaller LED displays. 1 documents all-in-one controller / multifunction controller Colorlight X16 Pro The extended Pro version of Colorlight's X series, with all-in-one functions. 1 documents video controller / super controller Colorlight Z6 Pro (Z6 Pro-G2) Colorlight's super controller with four 4K input slots, for large LED walls. 1 documents video controller / sending system Colorlight Z8 Colorlight's high-performance video controller, the upper-tier member of the Z series. 1 documents 3 videos

Kystar

video processor (full colour LED video processor) Kystar KS600 Kystar's full-colour LED video processor, which can also be integrated into AV systems over RS232 control. 1 documents multi-window splicing processor Kystar U6 Kystar's multi-window video wall splicing processor, showing up to 6 pictures at once. 1 documents 1 videos

Linsn

sending card Linsn TS802D Linsn's classic, widely deployed sending card for full-colour LED displays. 1 documents 2 videos sending card Linsn TS902 Linsn's four-port sending card, supporting a 4K input as well. 1 documents 1 videos

Magnimage

LED video processor Magnimage LED-550D Magnimage's 2K LED video processor for small and medium-sized installations. 1 documents 1 videos LED video processor Magnimage LED-780H Magnimage's 4K×2K LED video processor for larger installations. 1 documents

NovaStar

all-in-one video processor (COEX series) NovaStar CX40 Pro 4K NovaStar all-in-one controller with a touchscreen operating interface. 1 documents 1 videos video wall splicing processor NovaStar H-sorozat (H2 / H5 / H9) NovaStar's modular, card-based video wall splicing processor family for large, complex display systems. 2 documents 2 videos LED display controller (sending controller) NovaStar MCTRL R5 Compact NovaStar sending controller for fixed-installation LED displays. 1 documents standalone sending controller NovaStar MCTRL300 NovaStar's entry-level standalone LED controller for smaller, single-card displays. 1 documents 2 videos LED display controller (sending controller) NovaStar MCTRL4K NovaStar's 4K-capable sending controller for larger, continuous LED walls. 1 documents 2 videos standalone sending controller / fibre converter NovaStar MCTRL660 Pro Mid-range NovaStar controller that can be run either as a sending card or as a fibre converter. 1 documents 2 videos all-in-one video processor (COEX series) NovaStar MX40 Pro The flagship controller of NovaStar's COEX series, with rich video inputs and a high port count. 1 documents 3 videos all-in-one controller NovaStar VX1000 The high-performance, all-in-one flagship of NovaStar's VX series. 1 documents 3 videos all-in-one controller NovaStar VX16s Compact NovaStar all-in-one controller for smaller LED installations. 1 documents all-in-one controller NovaStar VX400 Entry-level NovaStar all-in-one controller combining a video processor and a sending card in one box. 1 documents 3 videos all-in-one controller NovaStar VX600 Mid-range NovaStar all-in-one controller for event and fixed-installation use. 1 documents 3 videos

VDWall

LED HD video processor VDWall LVP615 VDWall's HD resolution LED video processor series, for small and medium LED installations. 1 documents 2 videos

Side by side in one table

A like-for-like comparison pulled from the manufacturer datasheets. A “—” means the manufacturer does not publish that figure — not that the device cannot do it.

DeviceLoad capacityNetwork portsVideo inputMax. resolutionBit depth
Colorlight S2 Colorlight —2× Ethernet (RJ45)1× DVI/HDMI—8 bit
Colorlight X16 Pro Colorlight 8 847 360 px16× Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45)HDMI 2.0/DP1.2/DVI/3G-SDI4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz—
Colorlight Z6 Pro (Z6 Pro-G2) Colorlight —4× 10G fibre (2 main + 2 backup)4× (HDMI2.0+DP1.2+12G-SDI)4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz10 bit
Colorlight Z8 Colorlight 13 100 000 px/card16× network output (max)SDI, DP, HDMI (max 6 cards)4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz12 bit
Kystar KS600 Kystar ——2× CVBS, 1× HDMI, 1× VGA, 1× DVI1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz—
Kystar U6 Kystar —1× Ethernet (1000M, RJ-45)8× DVI-U (DVI/HDMI/VGA/CVBS)1920 × 1080 @ 60 Hz—
Linsn TS802D Linsn 1 310 720 px2× Ethernet1× DVI + 1× audio be——
Linsn TS902 Linsn 2 600 000 px4× Ethernet (RJ45)1× DVI + 1× HDMI (4K)—8/10/12 bit
Magnimage LED-550D Magnimage 7 372 800 px—2×VGA/1×DP/1×DVI/1×HDMI/2×CVBS3840 × 1920 @ 120 Hz12 bit
Magnimage LED-780H Magnimage 8 000 000 px—2×DVI/2×HDMI/1×DP(4K)/1×SDI3840 × 2160 @ 60 Hz8/10 bit (HDMI)
NovaStar CX40 Pro NovaStar 9 000 000 px6× Ethernet (5G) + 1× 40G fibre2× HDMI 2.0, DP 1.2, 2× SDI4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz12 bit
NovaStar H-sorozat (H2 / H5 / H9) NovaStar 104 000 000 px16× Ethernet + 2× fibre/cardHDMI, DVI, DP, VGA, SDI, IP4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz12 bit
NovaStar MCTRL R5 NovaStar 650 000 px/port (8bit)8× RJ45 GbE + 2× 10G optikai1× 6G-SDI, 1× HDMI 1.4, 1× DL-DVI3840 × 1080 @ 60 Hz8/10 bit
NovaStar MCTRL300 NovaStar 650 000 px/port2× RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet1× SL-DVI (max 1920×1200@60Hz)1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz8 bit
NovaStar MCTRL4K NovaStar 8 800 000 px (DP/HDMI)16× Neutrik GbE + 4× 10G optikai1× DP 1.2, 1× HDMI 2.0, 2× DL-DVI4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz8/10/12 bit
NovaStar MCTRL660 Pro NovaStar 650 000 px/port (8bit)6× RJ45 GbE + 2× 10G optikai1× 3G-SDI, 1× HDMI 1.4a, 1× DVI1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz8/10/12 bit
NovaStar MX40 Pro NovaStar 9 000 000 px20× Ethernet + 4× 10G fibre3× HDMI 2.0, DP 1.2, 12G-SDI4096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz12 bit
NovaStar VX1000 NovaStar 6 500 000 px10× Gigabit Ethernet + 2× optikai1× 3G-SDI, 2× HDMI 1.4, 2× DVI3840 × 1080 @ 60 Hz8 bit
NovaStar VX16s NovaStar 10 400 000 px16× Ethernet (Gigabit)2× 3G-SDI, 4× DVI, 1× HDMI 2.04096 × 2160 @ 60 Hz—
NovaStar VX400 NovaStar 2 600 000 px4× Gigabit Ethernet + 2× optikai1× 3G-SDI, 2× HDMI 1.3, 1× DVI1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz8 bit
NovaStar VX600 NovaStar 3 900 000 px6× Gigabit Ethernet + 2× optikai1× 3G-SDI, 2× HDMI 1.3, 1× DVI1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz8 bit
VDWall LVP615 VDWall 7 372 800 px—DVI/HDMI/DP/SDI/2×VGA/YPbPr/2×CVBS3840 × 1920 @ 60 Hz—

The data comes from manufacturer documentation and is indicative only. For a specific project, the current manufacturer datasheet always takes precedence.

Videos on this topic

Professional and training videos in English. The player is only embedded when you click it — until then not a single request goes to YouTube.

NovaStar 3 NovaLCT Quick Setup | Sending & Receiving Card Mapping & Connection（NCE 2022）

LEDSCREENPARTS · YouTube · Tutorial

LED Video Wall Configuration with Novastar Controller

Toplight DJ · YouTube · Tutorial

NovaStar How to Configure LED Display with NovaLCT | Full Beginner’s Guide for NovaStar Technicians

LEDSCREENPARTS · YouTube · Tutorial

Tech Talks: Revolutionary LED processors for Virtual Production / with Brompton Technologies

Votion Studios · YouTube · Demo

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