TESSERA LED PROCESSING

REDUNDANCY

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Brand new in Tessera Version 1.4 is support for redundant cabling. On M2 and S4 processors, it is now possible to configure two outputs to operate as a redundant pair. The first output acts as the primary port, while the second output acts as the backup. A cabling loop can now be created from the primary port, through a string of panels, and then back to the processor. In the case of signal loss or errors with the primary feed, the panels will automatically switch to the backup feed, thus ensuring that video continues to be displayed despite a cable failure anywhere within the loop.

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Redundancy can be independently enabled for each pair of output ports by enabling the tick-box on the System tab. Once enabled, the processor will indicate 'Loop OK' if the two ports are correctly cabled together in a loop with no breaks.

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Redundancy options on the System tab, including the loop status indicator and a double-height load bar for a redundant output pair on ports 1 and 2. Ports 3 and 4 continue to operate independently without redundancy.

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When operating in redundant mode:

• The processor and all panels must be running firmware V1.4.0 or later.

• Panels must be cabled in a single chain of up to 50 panels, with each end of the chain connected back to the processor. Ethernet switches must not be used to 'split' the signal. Other Ethernet hardware (such as fibre extenders) is supported as normal.

• Redundancy should be enabled on the processor before cabling up panels in a loop.

• The same capacity limits that normally apply to a single port will apply to the pair of ports. (E.g. 525K pixels per pair when running at 60Hz, 24bit.) This effectively halves the overall processor capacity, as each output signal is being 'doubled up'.

• The processor load bars for the two ports will combine into a single bar indicating the load for that pair.

• Switching between redundant mode and normal mode will temporarily black-out the video signal for all connected panels on all ports, so should not typically be performed 'live'.

• The active feed (primary or backup) currently used by each panel can be viewed in the Online Panels screen.

• If both the primary and backup signals are operational, each panel may choose to use either signal. If a panel receives a video error on the currently active port, it will switch to the other port for the next frame. In the case of complete signal loss on one port, the panel will switch to the other port within a few frames.

• Each loop must be cabled between the two adjacent ports on the same processor. (I.e. Port 1 to Port 2, and Port 3 to Port 4.)

 

Redundancy is not available on the T1 processor, as this model only has a single output port.

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DARK MAGIC

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We are pleased to announce the release of Dark Magic. This feature substantially improves visual performance at low brightness.

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Often, LED panels are run at substantially lower brightness than their maximum, such as for indoor and 'on-camera' applications. This results in an unavoidable reduction in effective bit depth, which can lead to visible artefacts such as banding and loss of detail, especially in dark areas of the image. Dark Magic helps to alleviate these issues by processing the video signal at up to 26 bits per channel (78 bits per pixel) within the R2 and then increasing the effective bit depth of the output.

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Enabling Dark Magic will typically substantially increase the visual quality of the output when operating at low brightness, though a small amount of 'fizz' may become visible at very short viewing distances. Increasing the viewing distance will overcome this, or alternatively Dark Magic can be disabled using the tick-box on the Global Colour tab. Dark Magic can also be controlled on a per-group basis within the group properties, which can be useful for performing side-by-side comparisons (such as the image shown here).

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The greatest improvements can be seen when running very high brightness panels at a much lower brightness, especially if the bit depth of the driver chips is relatively limited due to the panel design.

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Dark Magic is available for all Tessera R2-based non-subfixture panels, and is enabled by default when creating a new project in V1.4 or later. Project files created in earlier versions of the software will not support Dark Magic; a new project file must be created directly within V1.4 or later.

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LOW END BOOST

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In the same way that the Gamma control adjusts the midtones of video content, the new Low End Boost control adjusts the brightness of darker video content areas. For the most accurate reproduction, this control should normally be left at 0%, but in some cases a higher setting may help to recover detail in dark areas of the content. Care should be taken not to push this control too far as it may start to reveal limitations in the content such as compression aftefacts and camera noise that normally would remain hidden.

 

Low End Boost is controlled from the Global Colour tab on the processor, and can also be specified on a per-group basis within the group properties.

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Low End Boost is available on all Tessera panels, but defaults to 0% when creating a new project for the most accurate reproduction. Project files created in earlier versions of the software will not support Low End Boost; a new project file must be created directly within V1.4 or later.