LED Content Mapping for Nonstandard Pixel Matrices

Readability on a real LED facade

Message scale, contrast and dwell time are reviewed on the actual large-format surface.

Engineering foundations

• Pixel Pitch, Resolution and Viewing Distance
• Video Signal Paths: Pixel Maps, Bandwidth and EDID

LED content validation set

Test	Files and review method
Typography	Project-specific sizes, weights, strokes and full messages reviewed from required sightlines
Mapping	Diagnostic grid from creative canvas through transport raster and processor mapping to physical pixels
Motion	Slow, medium and fast sequences checked for judder, detail loss and distraction
Brightness	Day, night and event presets reviewed in the actual ambient condition
Camera	Spatial moiré and camera timing artefacts tested separately with the production camera workflow

A custom LED wall receives a standard UHD signal. Does the content have to be stretched to fill that signal? No: where the source and processor support the required mapping, the image can occupy an exact region of the transport raster. The pixels outside that region need not appear on the wall.

This question appeared in a September 2026 engineering discussion about double scaling. The useful distinction is between placing an image inside a larger raster and resampling that image to fill it. Those operations can look similar in a configuration diagram but have different consequences.

A worked map: 3072 × 1536 inside 3840 × 2160

Hypothetical calculated example. Assume a physical wall of exactly 3072 × 1536 pixels and a UHD transport of 3840 × 2160. To centre the native image, use x = (3840 − 3072) / 2 = 384 and y = (2160 − 1536) / 2 = 312. With zero-based coordinates, the last included pixel is (3455, 1847). Software may ask for width/height, inclusive endpoints or exclusive endpoints; check which convention it uses.

The same arithmetic gives (704, 284) for a centred 512 × 512 image inside 1920 × 1080, ending at (1215, 795). These are mapping examples, not presets for an unspecified processor.

Choose the route the complete signal path can support

A custom output resolution can avoid unused raster area if the GPU, operating system, connection and processor all accept it. A standard transport with a native-size region can be easier to route through equipment expecting standard formats. Deliberate scaling may be necessary for mixed source formats. Assign that scaling to a known stage and inspect its result.

Do not calculate cabinet pixels from a rounded pitch label and wall dimensions when released module dimensions are available. Multiply the actual cabinet pixel matrix by the cabinet layout, then reconcile the result with the processor map. Resolume’s input-map guide explains how the source layout and physical arrangement relate.

Prove the map with a diagnostic image

1. Back up the current configuration and record source resolution, frame rate and processor input status.
2. Send a native-size image with a one-pixel outer border, coordinate labels and cabinet boundaries.
3. Confirm all four corners and every cabinet label appear once, in the correct location.
4. Use separate horizontal and vertical one-pixel patterns to expose resampling. Inspect close to the wall; a photograph can introduce its own moiré.
5. Repeat through the actual playback application. An operating-system desktop screenshot does not establish what the processor receives.
6. Test the real smallest text at the furthest required viewing position. Exact mapping alone does not make small text readable.

Release a map that another operator can use

Record the creative dimensions, transport format, input rectangle, coordinate convention, cabinet matrix, port topology, scaling owner, firmware and test-file revision. Include a photograph of the accepted border test. If the creative master changes, regenerate the map and repeat the checks before playback.

Technical sources

• Resolume: Input Maps — primary workflow reference; software-specific controls vary
• ARRI: Virtual Production FAQ — camera and spatial sampling context

About this guide: Use these project checks with acceptance limits agreed for the supplied configuration. VITREVIA supplies and integrates display systems directly from Shenzhen, China.

Download the editable test record (.txt)

Project checklist

Related product and project pages