What should a Led screen aimed at virtual production be like??

Luis Garrido Fuentes, executive director of Alfalite, sheds light on the technological features that make a Led display suitable for XR virtual production environments, and points out the possible risks that its buyers may face in the market.

We are going through a time in which more and more companies in the broadcast markets, fiction production, advertising, eSports, just as corporate and educational environments see the virtual production as a tool to achieve your ambitious goals. However, It is necessary to emphasize that not everything goes, but you have to work on a very specific electronic and mechanical design.

Whatever the market to which virtual production technologies are directed, This environment is defined by having a intermediate camera and graphics generation system. These will be supported by graphic systems that launch content in real time, which, in combination with solutions tracking and synchronized tracking, will allow cameras to take advantage of virtual production.

It will be at this moment when you can see with certainty the reliability of the purchased Led screens. And it is that, or have an electronic design developed to offer an absolute reduction of unwanted artifacts such as the moiré or the flickering, or the amount of aberrations that will appear on camera will absolutely limit creativity of those responsible for broadcast production or directors of photography. These profiles should not be worried about technology, but for the creativity.

Level mechanic, It is very important that a specific design is executed for virtual production environments. Most of the Led walls They are curved and, of them, in it 99% of cases are concave. It is necessary to have effective chassis and designs so that this curve is smooth and the angle made up of the straight panels that make up this particular one is not noticeable. polyhedral curve.

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Critical pillars when choosing a Led screen for virtual and XR production

To the elements previously described, A series of specific features of LED screens are added for virtual production environments.. The brightness must be greater than 1.500 nights for him Led wall and of 6.000 nits for Led ceiling and Led totems. Thus, when putting the screen to work at a break-in brightness around 250-300 nits, This will help avoid some of the artifacts previously described..

It is also necessary to have electronics designed to maintain the color temperature of the Led wall, regardless of whether the brightness varies depending on the scene being filmed, Just as it is essential to have a cable-free design to connect the different parts of the panel such as the power supply, the hub PCB and modules. Systems must be built with direct and redundant connections, thus eliminating points of failure to be able to offer a reliable product in an environment as demanding as a movie set..

Other keys to the Led world in XR virtual production environments are the need for the multilayer that covers the face of the Leds to offer a high contrast level and pure blacks; be able to work with a color spectrum higher than 86% REC.2020 coverage; have a frame rate superior a 240 Hz; add one refresh rate superior a 7.680 Hz; operate with at least one sweep frequency of 1/16, or present a low consumption, in which the mean per panel a 350 nits brightness does not exceed 35W.

Beyond these features, there are of critical elements to take into account when making the decision. The most fundamental is to have a electronic design very efficient and specific to achieve a practically absolute reduction of the moiré, but a second key is related to the pixel pitch, which is frequently situated between the 1.5 y 2.6 mm.

In these environments a type of standard technology is used SMD (Surface-Mount Device), but there is a problem: by having a pixel pitch so small, all the LEDs are very exposed in the corners and sides of the panel, leaving them unprotected and potentially causing incidents in processes such as assembly and disassembly, or changes of props.

Alfalite has patented a four-layer protection called ORIM (Optical Resine Injection Module): which enables great protection against shocks and liquids, optical properties that offer up to 175º viewing angle horizontally and vertically, while maintaining its colorimetry, image quality and brightness, also offering dissipation and fire protection properties, as well as an efficient and fast repair process.

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Lies in the screen selection process

Paper supports everything. But the reality is that much of the data that defines market screens is all but exact. For example, If at a certain time a user needs a frequency ratio of 11.520 Hz, This will appear in your specifications. Another thing is that this specification is met.

Los asian manufacturers Our company understands business in a totally different way., which is a European manufacturer whose seventeen years of experience make us more demanding than our own customers. This forces us to be the first interested in the existence of a Minimum law at the level of quality and reliability of the screens.

In fact, when the client carries out the analysis of the Led technology that he is going to choose, We always encourage the client to test each bidder in audits carried out by independent consultants or laboratories. Many times it has been demonstrated with reports that do not comply with those specifications indicated in the documentation., or even situations where it has been discovered that they did not meet the CE certification. We are not talking about unknown manufacturers, but of first swords worldwide in terms of volume of square meters manufactured and sold, and they are even listed on the stock market.

It is very important that the client defends himself and be aware of your rights. But, It is possible that an investment that is already very high becomes a real torture due to incidents and the low level of support, coverage and maintenance.

Led technology in virtual and XR productions offers all kinds of possibilities, but it is vital that customers, whether direct users or rental companies, employ all the tools at your fingertips to be sure that it is making the correct purchase.

Luis Garrido Fuentes

executive director of Alfalite