Novastar - MX20

The NovaStar MX20 is designed for LED installations where video processing and display control need to fit within a particularly compact rack-mount enclosure. Its 1U chassis allows it to be easily integrated into a technical rack, a control room or a mobile system, whilst retaining a sufficiently wide range of connections to handle various video sources.

The rear panel features two HDMI 1.3 inputs and one 3G-SDI input. Each source offers a loop-through option, which facilitates the redistribution of a signal to other equipment or the creation of a chain of controllers. The 3G-SDI supports common SDI video standards and can, in particular, handle interlaced signals with automatic deinterlacing. The video inputs accept 8- or 10-bit streams, with a maximum input resolution of up to 1920 × 1200 depending on the source.

For distribution to the display, six Gigabit Ethernet ports control the LED panels, with a total capacity of 3.9 million pixels. Two 10G optical ports complete this architecture: the first carries data from the Ethernet outputs, whilst the second can function as a copy channel. This configuration offers a solution suited to installations requiring a long-distance link or redundant transmission. An S/PDIF output is also provided for digital audio.

The internal processing provides several useful functions for image formatting. Three independent layers can be superimposed with adjustable priority, whilst four scaling modes allow the content to be adapted to the display area. 14-channel colour correction allows separate adjustment of the primary colours, their derivatives, and black and white. The MX20 also supports Genlock and low-latency processing functions.

The unit can still be operated directly from the front panel via the 2-inch LCD screen, the dial and the back button. For more advanced operation, NovaStar’s VMP software allows the controller to be managed from a computer. The two Ethernet control ports also enable multiple MX20 units to be daisy-chained, with up to 20 units able to be connected to the same network.