Video: Will Direct LED Replace Projection?

LCD displays have got to the size and sophistication that they can now be installed instead of projectors in cinemas and smaller theatres. This means a choice is now opening up in what equipment to put into high-end home cinemas, shops and more. Whilst there are good reasons to use LCD displays, called ‘Direct LED” in this talk, there are many pros and cons to be navigated.

Michael Heiss joins us in his usual understated style from ISE starting by outlining the key questions to be asking early in any engagement such as the required screen size, resolution, and aspect ratio. Whilst these are basic, there are further questions such as whether there is a brightness requirement, a need for HDR and of course, what the budget is. Answering these questions will help understand if projection is still the better direction to be going.

If you’re building a direct LED screen, the resolution of that screen will be dictated by the pixel pitch of the modules and the number of modules. For a fine pitch, you may just need a 4×4 array of modules. For a wider pitch, perhaps 8×8 to deliver the same HD resolution. This means your choice of screen sizes will be limited as opposed to projection where the resolution is derived from the projector itself and by adjusting its position you can get any screen size you choose, shape of the room permitting. With the cost of the screen being dependent on both the pitch and the number of modules, Michael advises anyone to go to the manufacturer and get them to specify combinations that could work for your project instead of trying to working out for yourself.

Audio is a big issue for larger screens in a film setting as traditionally speakers have been mounted behind the screens in cinemas. The move to LCD screens prevents speakers being behind the screen, but for large settings, people need to hear audio coming from the area of the screen where the characters are talking. Michael explains that the current practice in a cinema near him is to fill in this dead area of audio with sound from the sides bouncing off the screen. This requires a lot of signal processing and specialist knowledge which is not readily accessible and increases the cost of installation.

Direct LED works well for screens outside due to their brightness, for the smaller single-piece screens the simplicity is ideal for retail and it’s very neat. Bringing in the modular design can also work well but there is more complexity in having a frame to align all the modules, you also then need to ensure you have access to the modules when you need to swap them either from the front or the back. This can have an impact on home cinema design, too, as many screens will be flat against a wall.

With price still being in favour of projectors, it’s clear that there’s room in the market for both types of product. As manufacturers such as Samsung continue to experiment and push forward better and cheaper displays, it’s likely the cost element will continue to be eroded opening up Direct LED to many more people.

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Speakers

Michael Heiss Michael Heiss
Principal Consultant
M. Heiss Consulting

Video: The Five Ws of 5G

Following on from last week’s deep dive below the hype of 5G this shorter talk looks both at the promise and implementation challenges of this technology which promises so much to so many different walks of life.

Michael Heiss, takes the stage and starts a short history lesson with 1G (an analogue technology) and shows how it stepped up through 2G A.K.A. GSM and moved into 4G, LTE and now 5G. Michael’s hypothesis is that this is the fourth industrial revolution. The first, he proposes is what we know as the Industrial Revolution which started with harnessing steam power. But until the invention of electricity, you had to be close to your power source. Electricity was the game-changer in enabling people, albeit with the relevant and long wires, to have the machines abstracted from the power generation. Similarly, while data and computing have transformed our world in the past 5 decades or more, Michael says 5G is the technology which will give us that abstraction like electricity to remote people from power production, 5G promises to allow people in general to not have to be next to a computer (where the data is). Michael outlines the ability of higher speeds and lower latency to enable new use-cases. He outlines consumer applications, medical use cases, and business uses.

As with any new technology, there is always a battle for dominance, so Michael outlines some of the different words and phrases used to explain what they mean. If you see “NR”, that stands for New Radio and comes from 3GPP. There are a number of frequency bands which 5G can occupy which Michael introduces. The current bands for 2G and 3G between 700 and 1400 MHz can be used. There are also a number of new frequencies up to and including some C-band frequencies which are in use. These are known, collectively, by some as the ‘sub 6’ frequencies to differentiate them from the millimetre-wave (mm-wave) frequencies which have been opened up starting at 24Ghz up to 47GHz.

It’s an inconvenient truth of physics that higher frequency RF is more highly attenuated in general. This means that the mm-wave frequencies, being so high, are actually only effective with almost direct ‘line of sight’ to the device. They can’t penetrate walls or windows. 5G will need many more cell sites outdoors thanks to the higher sub 6 frequencies, but to use mm-wave, telcos will be restricted to line-of-site transmitter-to-transmitter links or deploying highly local micro or femtocells on lamp posts (light poles) or ceiling mounted internal relays. Michael finishes his talk discussing these implementation difficulties.

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Speakers

Michael Heiss Michael Heiss
Principal Consultant
M. Heiss Consulting

Video: CEDIA Talk: ATSC 3.0 is HERE – Why It Matters to You


That last in the current series of ATSC 3.0 posts. This one is a light, but useful talk which aims to introduce people to ATSC 3.0 calling out the features and differences.

Michael, showing off his colour bars jacket, explains how ATSC 3.0 came about and how ATSC 2.0 never came to pass and ‘is on a witness protection program’. He then explains the differences between ATSC 1.0 and 3.0, discussing the fact its IP based and capable of UHD and HDR amongst other things.

The important question is why is it better and we see the modulation scheme is an improvement (note Michael says ATSC 3.0 is based on QAM; it actually based on OFDM.)

The talk finishes talking about what ATSC 3.0 isn’t and implementation details and the frequency repack which is happening in the US.

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Speaker

Michael Heiss Michael Heiss
Principal Consultant,
M. Heiss Consulting