Have you ever wondered why some LED displays exhibit stunning clarity while others fall short, presenting issues such as flickering or color inaccuracies? The answer often lies in the performance settings of the receiving card parameters.
These settings play a pivotal role in determining the overall visual output of LED displays, balancing the underlying technical elements necessary for high-quality imagery. However, tuning these settings can occasionally bring trouble if not appropriately managed.
In this guide, We will explain the meaning of each factor and how they influence the overall display quality. Here we use the LEDsetting (A sub-application of LEDVision) for demonstration, you can apply the rules to other LED software.
In This Article
What are Performance Settings?
Performance settings refer to the configurable parameters on the receiving card that control the driver ICs, which are responsible for driving the LED pixels on the display. These settings include refresh rates, grayscale, data clock (DCLK), and additional parameters specific to certain chip types like the GCLK for PWM chips.
Identifying Driver IC Types
For a better understaindng of the performance setting, first, we need to know the driver IC. As we all know driver ICs are categorized into Normal chips and PWM chips.
When you access the Receiver Parameters in the Basic Parameters interface, the presence of a GCLK option indicates that you are dealing with a PWM chip. Conversely, if this option is absent, you’re working with a Normal chip. PWM chips typically offer higher refresh rates and more advanced functionalities compared to Normal chips.
Choosing the Correct Driver IC
Before diving into performance settings, it’s important to select the correct Driver IC for the LED modules.
First, navigate to the Receiver Parameters interface of LEDSetting, and in the LED screen module information section, you can see the driver IC model.
Then follow the step-by-step intelligent setting wizard to choose the correct driver IC depending on the LED models. After that, the chip model will be updated on the receiver parameters interface.
It is worth noting that different driver ICs will present different options on the performance setting interface. Next, we will explain the performance settings for Normal ICs and PWM ICs.
Performance Settings Parameters of Normal IC
For Normal ICs, the performance settings interface includes several parameters: refresh rate, grayscale, DCLK, blanking, refresh multiplier, grayscale mode, display mode, and brightness level. Additionally, at the bottom of the interface, you will find two parameters: Brightness Percentage and Minimum OE Time. These two values are calculated by the software’s internal algorithms based on the settings of the other parameters and help determine if your settings are reasonable.
1. Refresh Rate
The refresh rate refers to the number of times each LED pixel on the display lights up and blacks out within one second. For instance, a refresh rate of 1920Hz means each LED pixel blinks 1920 times per second. A low refresh rate causes the screen to flicker, while a high refresh rate results in smoother visuals. However, an excessively high refresh rate is not always better and needs to be controlled within an appropriate range.
2. Refresh Multiplier
The refresh multiplier determines how many times a single frame from the video source is refreshed on the LED screen. For instance, if a video source has a frame rate of 60Hz and the refresh multiplier is set to 32, the effective refresh rate becomes 1920Hz (60Hz × 32). Different chips have varying capabilities for segmentation, and adjusting the refresh multiplier directly influences the overall refresh rate.
3. Grayscale
Grayscale represents the range of brightness levels from the darkest to the brightest. More grayscale levels result in finer and more detailed images.
In performance settings, grayscale refers to the brightness levels after Gamma processing in the LED control system. Typically, the LED display can express 10 to 16 bits of grayscale through the driver IC. If the video source has 8-bit grayscale, it can be converted to 16-bit through Gamma processing, enhancing image detail.
As shown as image above, the Grayscale sometimes use 1024, 248 to express, which means the bit. Here is a relations between bit and value.
| Bit | Value |
| 10bit | 1024 |
| 11bit | 2048 |
| 12bit | 4096 |
| 13bit | 8192 |
| 14bit | 16384 |
| 16bit | 65536 |
4. DCLK (Data Clock)
DCLK, or data clock, is the clock signal used to send RGB data. With each rising edge of the DCLK, one bit of RGB data is shifted into the LED driver chip. The higher the DCLK frequency, the more data the receiving card sends to the driver chips. DCLK influences the capacity, refresh rate, grayscale level, brightness percentage, and minimum OE time.
If the DCLK value is too low, the system will show a red text warning, and you need to increase the DCLK. However, an excessively high DCLK can cause data transmission errors, leading to display issues. It is generally recommended to adjust the DCLK to a lower value that still meets the needs of the other parameters.
5. Grayscale Mode
The grayscale mode is divided into Low Grayscale Uniformity and Video Noise Cancellation.
The default setting is typically Low Grayscale Uniformity mode. In this mode, the gamma curve remains normal, whereas in Video Noise Cancellation mode, a small portion of the gamma curve is adjusted to reduce noise in low-grayscale areas.
6: Display mode
The display mode can be set to “Gray-level First” or “Brightness First.” The default is typically “Gray-level First,” suitable for indoor screens that require high grayscale. For outdoor displays needing higher brightness, “Brightness First” is the better option.
7: Blanking
Blanking helps eliminate ghosting artifacts by introducing brief non-illuminated intervals. Adjusting the blanking parameter can significantly affect visual clarity, especially for high-speed video content, by reducing image remnants and ensuring the display’s sharp transitions between frames.
8: Brightness Level
For Normal chips, the basic parameter interface includes a brightness level adjustment ranging from 1 to 8. You can change the screen brightness by adjusting this value. The principle behind this adjustment is to adjust the minimum OE value while keeping other parameters constant.
Higher brightness levels result in higher brightness percent and a bigger minimum OE value. Generally, the brightness level is set to a high value to ensure that the Brightness Percentage meets the requirements.
9: Brightness Percentage
Brightness Percentage can be understood as the ratio of the time the screen displays brightness within a single frame to the total duration of that frame. It is the percentage of the total time that the screen effectively displays the image.
This percentage is influenced by the refresh rate, grayscale value, DCLK, refresh multiplier, blanking time, and brightness level. It is typically set to higher than 60％. If the screen appears to flicker, you can try increasing the Brightness Percentage to reduce this effect.
10: Minimum OE Time
The minimum OE time refers to the shortest luminous time of a single LED. It should not be set below 8ns. Like the Brightness Percentage, the minimum OE time is also determined by the refresh rate, grayscale value, DCLK, refresh multiplier, blanking value, and brightness level.
Generally, with other parameters remaining constant, higher grayscale values result in shorter minimum OE times, while increased brightness levels lead to longer minimum OE times.
Relationship of Four Main Parameters
For Normal chips, the four primary parameters are the loading capacity of the cabinet, refresh rate, grayscale, and DCLK.
- DCLK provides resources; a larger value supplies more resources but must stay within the module’s limits.
- The loading capacity, refresh rate, and grayscale share these resources. If one parameter is too high, the others will necessarily decrease.
For outdoor screens, prioritize brightness. Set the Gray Mode to Balance Low Gray, select Brightness First for Display Mode, and set the brightness level to 8. Then adjust the grayscale down, increase the refresh rate, and ensure DCLK does not trigger red warnings.
Performance Settings Parameters of PWM IC
Taking the PWM chip ICND2065 as an example, the performance settings include:
- Refresh Rate
- Grayscale
- DCLK
- Blanking Value
- Gray Mode
- GCLK
Additional GCLK Parameter
Compared to normal driver chips, PWM chips have an additional GCLK parameter. GCLK is a concept specific to PWM chips. It represents the clock signal used for display, and the LED driver chip controls the display by counting the GCLK pulses, similar to how OE functions in normal chips. If the display shows flickering blocks in units of driver chips, it may be due to GCLK is too high and the frequency of GCLK needs to be reduced.
Setting DCLK and GCLK
For PWM chips, the loading capacity is still related to DCLK, but the refresh rate and grayscale are determined by GCLK. Begin by setting DCLK to accommodate the resolution of a single cabinet, then adjust GCLK to achieve the required refresh rate and grayscale values.
To Sum up
Understanding the performance settings of receiving card parameters is essential for optimizing LED display quality. Whether using Normal or PWM ICs, each parameter plays a critical role in the overall performance. For any problems, you can contact us at any time for tech support. For more LED display tutorials, check here.
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In addition, You can click the following link to get the latest LEDVision (including LEDSetting) if required for further performance settings.