{"id":1854,"date":"2022-04-21T14:04:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T14:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/virtual-production\/?p=1854"},"modified":"2022-04-21T18:19:07","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:19:07","slug":"led-panels-for-virtual-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/virtual-production\/2022\/04\/21\/led-panels-for-virtual-production\/","title":{"rendered":"A comparison of LED panels for use in Virtual Production"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left to right: Real in-camera Moire, synthetic Moire rendered in Houdini, and a synthetic panel rendered with a scattered pixel distribution to eliminate Moire.<\/p><\/div>\n

Very happy to announce the completion of a Technical Report based on my LED panel experiments conducted in November 2021.<\/p>\n

Title:<\/strong> A comparison of LED panels for use in Virtual Production: Findings and recommendations.<\/p>\n

Abstract: <\/strong>We evaluate four LED panels from three vendors for use in Virtual Production using experimental conditions. Tests were designed to assess Moire and scan-line artefacts, light reflectivity and grazing angle. We discuss LED manufacturing processes and the implications of these on visual artefacts, power consumption and colour fidelity, and conclude with results and recommendations for LED vendors, practitioners and procurement teams in Virtual Production.<\/p>\n

Paper:<\/strong> Accessible here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supporting Videos: <\/strong>Moire and Scanline<\/a>, Track Test<\/a>, Light Bounce Test<\/a>, Grazing Angle Test<\/a><\/p>\n

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Executive Summary:<\/strong><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Colour reproduction is very important, and influenced by manufacturing decisions (e.g.<\/span> bin<\/span>ning). It is a well\u2013understood practice to replace panels from a set from the same batch to en<\/span>sure consistency. It would behoove any procurement team to investigate samples and (ideally) <\/span>measure the colour reproduction in order to ensure it is appropriate for a particular application.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Manufacturing decisions greatly influence the brightness and cost of LED panels.<\/span> Brighter <\/span>panels need less power to achieve equivalent brightness, so power draw could theoretically be <\/span>cut significantly by choosing alternative manufacturing approaches or selecting LED\u2019s based on <\/span>brightness.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. By modifying the layout of pixels on the display, or adjusting the sampling strategy of the cam<\/span>era, Moire artefacts could potentially be eliminated altogether, although the <\/span>manufacturing and rendering complexity of doing this have not been considered in this paper.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. By publishing both the reflectance distribution function of the back panel and emission patterns <\/span>of the LED\u2019s, manufacturers would allow studio planners to accurately simulate the panel and <\/span>lighting design of a virtual production studio, eliminating the need to publish <\/span>the contrast ratio.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    Acknowledgements:<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    This work would not have been possible without the assistance of multiple parties. Edward Sedgley <\/span>and Rehan Zia assisted in running the experiments and made many recommendations in the config<\/span>uration. Most of the findings and recommendations result from conversations with the LED vendors <\/span>and manufacturers, in particular:<\/span><\/div>\n