NOVASTAR All-in-One Controller VX4S-N User Manual

NOVASTAR All-in-One Controller VX4S-N

StatementThank you for choosing NovaStar’s product. This document is intended to help you understand and use the product. For accuracy and reliability, NovaStar may make improvements and/or changes to this document at any time and without notice. If you experience any problems in use or have any suggestions, please contact us via the contact information given in this document. We will do our best to solve any issues, as well as evaluate and implement any suggestions.CopyrightNo part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent of Xi’an NovaStar Tech Co., Ltd.

Safety StatementTo avoid potential hazards, please use this equipment according to the regulations. In case of damages, non-professionals should not disassemble it for maintenance without permission. Please contact the after-sales department of the company.

• High voltage danger: The operating voltage of this product is 100-240V AC.
• Grounding: This production is connected to ground via the ground wire of power supply. Please ensure good grounding of grounding conductor.
• Electromagnetic interference: The device should be kept far away from magnets, motors and transformers.
• Moisture proof: Keep the equipment in a dry and clean environment. In case of liquid immersion, please pull the plug immediately.
• Keep away from flammable and explosive dangerous goods.
• Prevent liquids or metal fragments from being immersed into the machine to avoid safety accidents.

Appearance

Front Panel

Button	Description
Power switch	Power on or power off the device.
LCD screen	Display the device status, menus, submenus and messages.
Knob	•       Rotate the knob to select a menu item or adjust the parameter value. •       Press the knob to confirm the setting or operation.
ESC button	Exit the current menu or cancel the operation.
Control buttons	•       PIP: Enable or disable the PIP function. −    On: PIP enabled −    Off: PIP disabled •       SCALE: Enable or disable the image scaling function. −    On: Image scaling function enabled −    Off: Image scaling function disabled •       MODE: A shortcut button for loading or saving the preset •       TEST: Open or close the test pattern. −    On: Open the test pattern. −    Off: Close the test pattern.
Input source buttons	Switch the layer input source and display the input source status. •       On: The input source is connected and being used. •       Flashing: The input source is not connected, but already used. •       Off: The input source is not used.
Function buttons	•       TAKE: When the PIP function is enabled, press this button to switch between the main layer and PIP. •       FN: An assignable button
USB (Type-B)	Connect to the control PC.

Rear Panel

Input
Connector	Qty	Description
3G-SDI	1	•       Up to 1920× input resolution •       Support for progressive and interlaced signal inputs •       Support for deinterlacing processing •       Support for loop through
AUDIO	1	A connector for connecting the external audio
VGA	1	VESA standard, up to 1920× input resolution
CVBS	1	A connector for accepting PAL/NTSC standard video inputs
DVI	1	•       VESA standard, up to 1920× input resolution •       Support for custom resolutions −    Max. width: 3840 pixels (3840×) −    Max. height: 1920 pixels (1246×) •       HDCP 1.4 compliant •       Support for interlaced signal inputs •       Support for loop through
HDMI 1.3	1	•       Up to 1920× input resolution •       Support for custom resolutions −    Max. width: 3840 pixels (3840×) −    Max. height: 1920 pixels (1246×) •       HDCP 1.4 compliant •       Support for interlaced signal inputs
DP	1	•       Up to 1920× input resolution •       Support for custom resolutions −    Max. width: 3840 pixels (3840×) −    Max. height: 1920 pixels (1246×) •       HDCP 1.3 compliant •       Support for interlaced signal inputs

 

Output
Ethernet port	1	4 ports load up to 2,300,000 pixels. •       Max. width: 3840 pixels •       Max. height: 1920 pixels Only Ethernet port 1 can be used for audio output. When the multifunction card is used for audio parsing, the card must be connected to the Ethernet port 1.
DVI OUT	1	A connector for monitoring the output images
Control
ETHERNET	1	•       Connect to the control PC for communication. •       Connect to the network.
USB (Type-B)	1	•       Connect to the control PC for device control. •       Input connector to link another device
USB (Type-A)	1	Output connector to link another device

Signal Connections

Connect the required hardware devices according to the previous connector descriptions.

Signal connectionsIf multiple VX4S-N units are used, please connect the units according to the following diagram.

Multiple device connections

Dimensions

Using Instructions

Knob:

• Press the knob under the main interface to enter the operation interface menu;
• Rotate the knob to select menu or press the knob under the operation interface of menu to select current menu or enter submenu;
• Rotate the knob to adjust the parameter after selecting the menu with parameter; press the knob again for confirmation after adjustment.ESC: Return key, exit current menu or operation.Key lock/unlock: long press knob and ESC key simultaneously.

Main Interface

After starting the controller, the main interface of OLED display is as follows:

First row: Company name; the name and IP of the product are shown alternately;Second row: Main layer 1; signal source; input source signal format;Third row: PIP 2; signal source; input source signal format;Forth row: Status bar. the meanings of all icons are shown below.

Menu Operations

The functions of the VX4S-N are powerful with very simple operation, and multiple operations can be completed with a knob and a return key. The design of more than one shortcut keys makes operations more efficient.Generally, the LED display can be used normally, and the brightness is moderate after conducting the following four steps: Input settings → Screen settings → Brightness → Output settings. Other menus such as screen control and senior setting can help users better control LED display.See the following section for details of operations.

Step 1: Input Settings

Set resolution of input source signal. Resolution can be directly set and changed for digital input interfaces DVI, HDMI and DP. Resolution can only be modified with other input methods on input devices.Input resolution can be set in two methods:

Method I: Preset Resolution.Selection is made in preset resolution of the controller. If there is no preset resolution, you can select the second method and customize resolution. Method II: Custom Resolution.Set Horizontal Res, Vertical Res and Custom· refresh rate and then select “Apply” and press the knob for application. If the application is not confirmed, custom resolution is invalid.

Step 2: Screen Settings

The precondition of Screen setting in shortcut is that the screen must be regular rectangle (not special-shaped), cabinet must be regular rectangle and the size of each cabinet are identical.

• Step 1 The screen being power-on, if the cabinet is in normal display, enter into Step 2; if the cabinet is in abnormal display, first, load the cabinet file, and save it to the receiving card; see detailed operation in Advanced Settings ;
• Step 2 Return to the “Screen Settings” submenu. Rotate the button to switch to submenus of other options respectively to perform configurations, as shown in the following figures:
• Step 3 Set Cabinet Row Qty and Cabinet Column Qty according to the actual situation of the screen;
• Step 4 Set Port1 Cabinet Qty. The device has some limitations on the cabinet quantity of ports. For details, see precautions for screen settings;
• Step 5 Set the Data Flow (Front View). Pay attention to precautions for screen settings c), d) and e) below.
• (a) If the number of ports with loads is n (n≤4), the first n-1 ports must load the same number of cabinets, which must also be an integral multiple of the number of cabinet rows or columns and be greater than or equal to the number of cabinets for the nth ports.Example:For example, if port 1, port 2, port 3 have loads, port 1 and port 2 must have the same number of cabinets, which must also be an integral multiple of the number of cabinet rows or columns. Therefore, you only need to set port 1 cabinet Qty according to the actual situation when setting the screen. The number of receiving cards port 3 loads must be smaller than or equal to port 1.
• (b) In the case of special-shaped cabinets, different cabinet sizes and special-shaped screen, the NovaLCT-Mars software is required to be connected to configure the screen.
• (c) During Data Flow setting, you can rotate the button to see the effects of different data flow on the screen in real time. If you are satisfied with the effect of current data flow, you must press the button to save the setting. You can press the ESC to exit from the current operation.
• (d) During Data Flow setting, you must ensure that the data flow of each port is downward in the same direction.
• (e) During Data Flow setting, you must ensure that Port 1 is the start position of the whole data flow connection.The VX4S-N can load 2.3 million (2048×) pixels in maximum. The width of lateral load can reach to 3840 pixels in maximum (3840×); the longitudinal load can reach to 1920 pixels in maximum (1200×).

Step 3: Brightness

Return to the main menu interface. Press the Knob to select the corresponding value of Brightness. You can rotate the Knob to adjust the value at this time.

Step 4: Output Settings

Output settings are divided into three cases:First one: disable Scaling, i.e., the sizes of output image and input image are the same, and original scale output is used. If the input resolution is smaller than the LED display in one direction, LED display may not become bright in this direction; if the input resolution is greater than the LED display in one direction, the input contents may not be displayed completely in this direction. This option is applicable to the application scenarios requiring point-to-point display. Horizontal offset and vertical offset of images can be set according to the needs, and at this time the displayed contents may move to the left or top at the LED display.At this point [Scaling] is disabled.

Second one: Auto Fit. At this point [Scaling] is enabled, and [Auto Fit] is enabled.When enabling [Auto Fit], the input contents will be fully zoomed to the size of LED display, and the input contents will be adaptive to the size of LED display. This mode is suitable for full-screen playback of the contents.Third one: Custom Scaling. At this point [Scaling] is enabled, while [Auto Fit] is disabled.The following steps should be performed for custom scaling:Step 1: Set the input Capture, i.e., capture part of the interesting screens from one starting point of inputting image and display it on LED display. It is generally required to set Horizontal Res (smaller than or equal to the lateral resolution of input source), Vertical Res (smaller than or equal to the vertical resolution of input source), horizontal X and vertical Y.Step 2: Set output layer, the size of layer is smaller than or equal to the size of LED display; after setting the layer, the images can only be adaptive to the displayed size within the range of layer. This option is applicable to the application scenarios requiring reserving border at the LED display or restricting playing area.

After setting according to the above two steps, the captured contents will only be input and displayed at the set area on the LED display, as shown below:

Image MosaicWhen the display screen is huge, two or more VX4S-N units need to be cascaded for loading the huge screen;Choose the method of Image Mosaic: Equal Division, Unequal Division.

• Equal Division: Each VX4S-N has same load area. It is only required to set total pixel points, rows ,columns of the big screen and the serial No. of each VX4S-N.
• Unequal Division: Each VX4S-N could have different load area . It is required to set the total pixel points and the load area size as well as load area staring position of each VX4S-N.Image Mosaic example: The total number of pixels of LED display is 3000×1000, exceeding the load capacity of single VX4S-N. Two sets of VX4S-N are used for Image Mosaic processing. The connection method is shown in the right figure.

Please choose Equal Division or Unequal Division while setting detailed parameters. The specific parameter settings are shown in the following tables.

Advanced SettingsSeveral setting options of main functions are included in advanced settings, as shown in the figure below. Operation of each function will be detailed for users in the following text.

Control the turn-on/off of PIP, Set input source of main layer and PIP, as well as parameters of PIP.Layout: The position of PIP relative to main layer, including eight modes of layout such as Custom, Left Top, Left Bottom, Right Top etc. When choosing any mode except Custom , the values of horizontal and vertical offset of PIP are able to adjust to the corresponding values of layout automatically. The meaning of each layout mode is shown below:

• Custom refers to that the size and position of PIP need to be set.
• Left Top, Left Bottom, Right Top, Right Bottom, Center refer to that PIP overlaps with the top-left corner, bottom-left corner, top-right corner, bottom-right corner and center of main layer.
• Top Bottom, Left Right refer to that main layer and PIP are distributed from top to bottom or left to right.

Main source/PIP source: Input source switching of main layer and PIP is the same as the role of input source switching on the front panel.

Horizontal Res : Horizontal offset of PIPVertical Res : Vertical offset of PIPHorizontal X : Horizontal width of PIPVertical Y : Vertical height of PIP

PIP Crop Settings: Picture is cropped from the set starting position and is displayed on PIP and its size is set horizontal width and vertical height.Enable this function and then set horizontal width, vertical height, horizontal X and vertical Y. Transparency: the transparency of PIPWindow Swap: swap play content of main layer and PIP.

The Conflict List of PIP Signal Source

	Main Layer Input Source
HDMI	DVI	VGA	CVBS	SDI	DP
PIP Input Source	HDMI	–	×	√	√	√	√
DVI	×	–	√	√	√	√
VGA	√	√	–	√	√	√
CVBS	√	√	√	–	√	√
SDI	√	√	√	√	–	√
DP	√	√	√	√	√	–

• √ denotes the input sources can be used by both the main layer and PIP at the same time.• × denotes the input sources cannot be used by both the main layer and PIP at the same time.• – denotes the main layer and PIP use the same input source.

Redundancy

Set this controller as primary or backup mode.Advanced Attribute

• VGA Auto ADJ: Sampling parameters of VGA input signal are automatically adjusted so that the VGA picture is clear and complete. Select this menu and then press the knob once and perform VGA automatic adjustment once.
• ADC calibration: when analog signal accesses, processors that are not calibrated by ADC may have defects such as color cast or picture dark. The VX4S-N can automatically make ADC calibration based on input analog signal (including CVBS and VGA) to solve the problems above. Select this menu and then press the knob once and perform ADC calibration once.
• Video Synchronization: allow that the input and output of the VX4S-N are synchronous.
• Go Homepage(s): The time period during which the system stops at current interface and then automatically returns to home screen when there is no operation. The system default value is 60s.

PresettingsSave the current configuration parameters as Presettings. The Presettings can be directly loaded next time, and 10 Presettings are saved by default.Custom ButtonFn Settings. The functions of custom button include Black Out, Freeze、VGA Auto ADJ、 Video Synchronization. Press Fn key to directly conduct the function switch.Audio SettingsControl the enabling /disenabling of Audio, volume and Audio mode.For example, when using the audios input via Audio In port, it is required to enable audios first and then select the Audio mode to be fixed; when using the Audio from HDMI, set the Audio mode to be accompanied after enabling audios and then switch source to HDMI, and the Audio we hear comes from HDMI.

Display Control

• Normal: Normally display. Blank Out: The display is blank.
• Freeze: The current play lists are frozen.
• Testing Pattern: There are eight kinds of testing screens in total, including pure color and lines.
• Image SettingsContrast, Saturation, Hue, Color Temperature, Red, Green, Blue and Gamma value are set according to the requirements. After they are adjusted to satisfaction, the parameters should be saved.
• Switching Effect: Set the effects when switching screens, including Quick switch, Fade, Shrink Center, Shrink Left Top, Zoom Center, Zoom Left Top and turning off. After selecting the desired effect, it will take effect after pressing the knob.

Tips: When enabling PIP function, the switching effect will automatically disappear. Only when PIP function is turned off, the special effect function of channel switching can take effect. Inputs BackupTo specify backup for input source and automatically switch to backup source if the signal of input source has faults, which makes it more reliable.

HDMI DP Indicating that DP has been set as the backup of HDMI and main input source (which cannot be changed) is in left side of the arrow while backup (which can be changed) is in the right side;Both main input source and backup can be customized in Custom mode.

Output ResolutionThis function can be used to set the the output resolution of monitoring. Users can set the function according to actual use and choose either Reset Resolution or Custom.

Cabinet Settings

Load Cabinet FilesThe VX4S-N is connected with PC. NovaLCT-Mars runs on PC and the cabinet setting file saved previously is imported into controller.

1. Save cabinet configuration file. After receiving card is configured, click and save cabinet configuration file (.rcfg) to local file on PC.
2. Cabinet configuration file is imported into the VX4S-N.
3. Load Cabinet Files.Save to RV CardAll current configurations about the receiving card of the VX4S-N are saved into receiving card and will not be lost after power fault.

OLED BrightnessAdjust the grayscale of OLED display.Hardware VersionView the hardware version of the VX4S-N. If new version has been published, LCT-Mars can be connected via PC and the hardware program of the VX4S-N can be upgraded.BrightnessAdjust the grayscale of OLED display.Hardware VersionView the hardware version of the VX4S-N. If new version has been published, LCT-Mars can be connected via PC and the hardware program of the VX4S-N can be upgraded.

Factory ResetReset to factory default setting.Communication SettingsSet the communication mode and network parameter of the VX4S-N.The communication modes include USB priority and LAN (local area network) priority. When the VX4S-N is connected to USB control and LAN control interface simultaneously, USB takes priority in the settings, adopts USB control; otherwise, LAN takes priority in the settings, adopts LAN control.The network parameter can be set both manually and automatically. Ensure that the IP address is not conflict with other equipment when setting parameter manually.LanguageSwitch Language.

Specifications

Input
Connector	Qty	Description
VGA	1	VESA standard, up to 1920× input
DVI	1	VESA standard, 1080i input, HDCP 1.4 compliant
CVBS	1	PAL/NTSC standard input
HDMI 1.3	1	EIA/CEA-861 standard, HDMI 1.3, HDCP 1.4 compliant
DP	1	VESA standard, HDCP 1.3 compliant
SDI	1	480i, 576i, 720P, 1080i/p

 

Output
Connector	Qty	Description
DVI LOOP	1	DVI loop output
DVI OUT	1	A connector for monitoring the output images
SDI LOOP	1	SDI loop output
Ethernet port	4	4 ports load up to 2,300,000 pixels. •       Max. width: 3840 pixels •       Max. height: 1920 pixels Only Ethernet port 1 can be used for audio output. When the multifunction card is used for audio decoding, the card must be connected to the Ethernet port 1.

 

Overall Specifications
Power connector	100-240V~, 50/60Hz. 1.5A
Power consumption	25 W
Operating temperature	–20°C ~ +60°C
Operating Humidity	20% RH to 90% RH, non-condensing
Storage Humidity	10% RH to 95% RH, non-condensing
Dimensions	482.6 mm × 250.0 mm × 50.0 mm

FAQ

Questions	Methods
LED display is off	Inspect whether the power connection is correct and the switch has been turned on; Play the Self test image and confirm whether the connection of LED is correct and works normally; Inspect whether the VX4S-N output has signal and shows blank screen; Inspect whether the mode and parameter of screen configuration  are correct;
Monitoring port output is abnormal	Check whether there is image input in input channel and whether it is correctly displayed; Check whether PIP has been turned on, whether there is signal input in 2 channel and whether it is correctly displayed; Check whether monitoring output is connected correctly and it is not loose; Please confirm whether Monitor supports the output resolution of the VX4S-N; Try to cut off the power of equipment and restart it, reset the VX4S-N and operate again;
Phase of VGA input offset	Perform VGA Auto ADJ;
PIP display is abnormal	Check whether there is signal input in 2 channel and it is normally displayed; Check PIP and confirm whether parameter setting is normal;
Fading is abnormal	Check whether Switching effect has been enabled;
Image mosaic is abnormal	Check whether the VX4S-N Image Mosaic switch has been turned on and whether Image Mosaic parameters settings is correct; Check whether input signal source is normal;
Audio is abnormal	Check whether the volume settings is appropriate; Check whether the Audio mode setting is correct; Confirm the VX4S-N is well connected to multifunction card, and the corresponding output port icon on the main interface has been highlighted; confirm whether the audio output mode of multifunction card is HDMI mode (it is required to connect LCT for confirmation and setting);

Please preliminarily investigate problems according to the above steps; if you cannot eliminate the problems, please contact the local dealer or our company’s customer service personnel.There is high voltage inside the machine. In order to guarantee your safety, please do not maintain the processor by yourself.