Colorlight's compact entry-level sending card for smaller LED displays.
Colorlight · sending card
Colorlight S2 LED wall controller
The S2 is Colorlight's entry-level sending card, physically a card fitted inside a computer: the PCI-E 1x slot supplies it with power only, not with the video signal — that comes on a separate cable from the graphics card's DVI output. If there is no free PCI-E slot, it can also run from DC 5 V.
It has two RJ45 outputs (ports A and B), and the areas driven by the two ports can be set independently of each other. The optional audio input carries sound over the network cable, but this requires a multifunction card on the receiving side. A standard USB A/B cable connects it to the PC for configuration, and the cards can also be daisy-chained on that same USB chain.
The manufacturer specifies LEDVISION 4.18 or later, and the network cable must be CAT5E or CAT6 — with poorer cable the picture stutters, or the cabinets at the end of the chain drop out.
Where the Colorlight S2 sits in an LED wall system
At the head of the signal path stands a continuously running Windows machine: the graphics card picture goes over DVI into the S2, from there Cat5e/Cat6 to the Colorlight receiving cards (5A-75B, 5A-75E), then the HUB card and the module. The graphics card resolution has to be set at least as large as the wall's actual pixel dimensions. LEDVISION offers two modes: Duplicate, where the wall mirrors the monitor, and Extend, where the wall is a separate surface continuing to the right of the monitor — the latter allows playback in the background.
WHEN IT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE
On smaller, simpler LED displays where a compact and cost-effective sending card is what is needed.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
Limited pixel capacity compared with the larger Colorlight models; on a bigger wall the Z series or the X16 Pro is the better fit.
The Colorlight S2 in practice
Commissioning order: install the USB driver, install LEDVISION, set the graphics card mode, then work through `Sending Device Setting` → `Screen Parameters` → `Connection Parameters`. The last step is the physical wiring order of the cabinets, and the software explicitly asks for it from the front view — this is what people get wrong: a chain drawn from the rear view gives a mirrored picture. The minimum machine specification is a 2 GHz processor and a graphics card with a DVI/HDMI output and at least 512 MB of memory. Because the card sits inside the machine, the wall only works as long as the PC is switched on: power management, sleep mode and automatic Windows restarts all leave the wall dark, so these have to be disabled at installation.
Alternatives to the Colorlight S2
If the wall is bigger than two gigabit ports will carry (roughly 1.3 million pixels, because of the ~650,000 pixels per port rule), the Colorlight X16 Pro or the Z series is needed. If you do not want to run a permanently powered PC, a sending card is the wrong device there; use an asynchronous player instead: a Taurus TB30/TB40 or a Huidu HD-A4L. The S2 cannot be used with NovaStar-based cabinets, where the MCTRL300 is its counterpart.
Colorlight S2 manual and datasheet
The documents live on the manufacturer's own site and open in a new window — so you always get the latest version. We do not copy or translate their contents.
Related LED wall controllers
LED wall controller — but what does it go into?
On its own the Colorlight S2 is a component. With us it works inside these displays — design, manufacturing and installation included.
