NovaStar · standalone sending controller / fibre converter

NovaStar MCTRL660 Pro LED wall controller

The MCTRL660 Pro is NovaStar's mid-range standalone controller: it can be switched between two operating modes, working either as a plain sending card or as a fibre converter. That gives you flexibility if the distance between controller and display, or the cabling used, changes during the installation.

According to the official user manual the device accepts an input signal up to 1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz, and is typically set up paired with the NovaLCT / SmartLCT configuration software. Compared with the earlier MCTRL660 without the Pro designation, it offers extended connectivity.

Where the NovaStar MCTRL660 Pro sits in the signal chain. Every stage of the diagram is clickable — it takes you to that category.

Where the MCTRL660 Pro sits in an LED wall system

Its two operating modes (sending card and fibre converter) determine where it sits in the signal path: in sending mode it goes between the player and the receiving cards, in converter mode it turns another controller's optical signal back into RJ45 at the foot of the wall. Alongside six gigabit ports there are two 10G optical ports with LC connectors, for both single-mode and multi-mode fibre. Each port carries 650,000 pixels with an 8-bit source. NovaLCT or SmartLCT configures it over USB, Ethernet or Genlock; the control priority is GENLOCK > USB > ETHERNET.

WHEN IT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

Where the project may also need a longer, fibre-optic signal run between controller and display, both functions can be covered from a single device.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

The maximum resolution is limited compared with the 4K MCTRL4K; on a larger continuous panel this can be a bottleneck.

The MCTRL660 Pro in practice

The classic mistake is mixing up the two modes: in converter mode the optical ports work as inputs, so the same box behaves differently at the end of the wall than it does at the control desk — and one optical leg always needs two of them, a sender and a converter. Fibre only changes the physical medium: the logical port allocation still has to be entered in NovaLCT exactly as it would be over copper. Firmware is updated from the front-panel USB port. Up to 8 units can be daisy-chained and synchronised with USB IN/OUT or Genlock IN/LOOP (it accepts both bi-level and tri-level signals). The low latency function does not work with an interlaced SDI source — worth knowing in advance with a live camera feed.

Alternatives to the MCTRL660 Pro

If distance is the only problem and you do not need to switch between the two modes, a separate pair of optical converters plus an MCTRL300 is cheaper. For a 4K source, the MCTRL4K (16 ports, 8.8 million pixels); for scaling and multi-window pictures, the VX600. If the wall goes in front of a camera, this class is not enough: the Brompton Tessera SX40 belongs there, with per-pixel calibration and camera synchronisation.

MCTRL660 Pro 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.