Inexpensive LED Video Wall
Stephen Hitchcock and Matt Lathrop
We created a large, modular, LED video display to be used in a variety of activities from concerts, to theatrical productions, to art installations. The wall is made up of 50 4’ x 4’ panels for a total assembled size of 20’ x 40’ and an effective resolution of 200 x 100 pixels.
LED technology has always been expensive, primarily due to the high costs associated with producing batches of quality LEDs to create a uniform image. This video wall was made for roughly 1/10th the cost of a professional product with similar pixel density by using inexpensive LEDs and then imaging our panels with a dSLR to measure relative luminance. Furthermore, we used a color spectrometer to record the gamut, white point, and gamma of the LEDs. With this data we mapped the sRGB color space into the color space of the LED wall allowing us to produce content then display it on the wall while preserving the colors in the final image.
These techniques, combined with the hardware and software design, produced a professional looking video wall for a fraction of the cost of alternatives.
Background
LED Displays
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog