What Should an LED Camera Demo Reveal About Moire?

Quick answer

A camera demonstration should reveal how moire behaves as the camera moves, not whether the wall is moire-free. Ask the supplier to run your exact ordered model, at your planned camera distances, angles, focal lengths and focus settings, with your own content, and to show what changes as each variable moves. Planar describes its LED range as spanning the highest-resolution MicroLED video walls for cinema and on-camera applications through to sports venue video boards, so on-camera work is an application you declare rather than a property every wall shares. Planar Komodo Series is offered as Komodo 0.7, Komodo 0.9 and Komodo 1.2, so a demo written against a series name does not identify which product is being shot. Treat the demo as a written acceptance method attached to the order, not as a promise. (LED Video Walls | Planar; Planar Komodo Series | Planar)

Agree the demo as a written method before you watch it

Decide in advance what the demonstration must show and what record it produces. Name the exact model and pitch, the camera body and lens, the shutter, frame rate and resolution you will use in production, the content that will be shown, and the camera positions that will be checked. Planar describes its LED video wall range as covering everything from the highest-resolution MicroLED video walls for cinema and on-camera applications to the biggest sports venue video boards and touch-based displays for collaborative spaces, which shows on-camera use is treated as a distinct application rather than something every wall shares. Write that application into the brief so the demo is scoped to your shoot. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Anchor the demo to a named model rather than a family. Planar Komodo Series is offered as Komodo 0.7, Komodo 0.9 and Komodo 1.2, and Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is offered as DirectLight Ultra 0.7, DirectLight Ultra 0.9 and DirectLight Ultra 1.2. A demo written against a series name does not identify which pitch, cabinet or module is being filmed, so put the exact model name on the demo line of the order and ask the supplier to confirm the demo will be run on that model. (Planar Komodo Series | Planar; Planar DirectLight Ultra Specifications | Planar)

This is advice, not a documented product capability. Ask the supplier to confirm in writing which camera settings, source types and frame rates are in scope for the demonstration on your ordered model, and treat an answer that names only the series as incomplete. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Make the demo show what changes as the camera moves

Ask the operator to move the camera through the range of distances you will actually use, from the closest working distance to the widest shot, and to hold at each stop long enough for you to see the pattern change. Ask the same at each angle you plan to shoot from, including any off-axis position, so the demo covers the geometry of your shot list rather than one convenient setup. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Focus and focal length belong in the same demonstration. Ask the operator to rack focus through the range you will use and to repeat the pass at each focal length in your shot list, so you can see whether the pattern appears or disappears with focus and framing rather than with the wall itself. Ask for the same pass to be repeated with your own content, including moving text or graphics that will sit on camera, because a supplier test pattern does not represent the material you will shoot. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Where colour accuracy matters to the shoot, say so in the demo scope. Planar describes the Cobra Series models as delivering industry-leading color consistency and outstanding off-axis image quality with virtually no color shift, and describes the Komodo Series as delivering superior color uniformity and wide viewing angles. Those are named-series statements, so ask your supplier to confirm which preset and calibration state the wall will be in during the demo for your ordered model, and record it. (Planar Cobra Series | Planar; Planar Komodo Series | Planar)

Include the processing and the room in the demo

Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is described as featuring an off-board power supply, proprietary alignment technology and the Planar WallDirector Video Controller with its corresponding video wall management software, and the series is covered by the Planar EverCare Lifetime Limited Warranty. Those are statements about that named series, so ask your supplier to state which controller, software and processing are in scope for the demo on the model you are ordering, and how they are identified in the demo record. (Planar DirectLight Ultra Specifications | Planar)

Ask for the demo to be run on the configuration you will receive, not a showroom unit. Planar states that information on its product pages is subject to change without notice, so the record should capture the configuration actually demonstrated rather than relying on a brochure. Ask the supplier to confirm in writing that the demo unit matches the ordered model and its processing. (Planar Cobra Series | Planar)

Record the room conditions during the demo, because the camera captures the wall in a room rather than in isolation. Ask the supplier to state the lighting under which the demonstration was run and whether any part of the demo was shot with the room lights at the level you will use in production. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Record the result and make it a condition of the order

Ask for a signed demo record naming the exact model, the camera and lens, the shutter, frame rate and resolution used, the content shown, the camera positions and angles checked, the focal lengths and focus settings used, the artefacts observed and their disposition, and the person who performed the demonstration. Keep the record with the cabinet map so a pattern seen on camera can be traced to a specific position on the wall after delivery. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Write the demonstration into the purchase order as a defined stage with a defined output. State that the method, the camera settings, the content list and the record format are agreed before production, and that shipment or final payment follows a completed and signed record. This turns acceptance into a comparison against your written method rather than a debate after the wall is installed. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Agree the remedy before the demo. Ask the supplier to state in writing how an artefact is dispositioned, whether the unit or its configuration is reworked or replaced, and how the reworked unit is re-demonstrated on camera before shipment. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Moire demonstration decisions and the evidence to request

Buyer checklist

• Ask each bidder to write the exact model name and pitch on the camera demonstration line, not a product family name. (Planar Komodo Series | Planar)
• State your camera body, lens, shutter, frame rate and resolution in the demo brief, and require the demonstration to be run at those settings. (LED Video Walls | Planar)
• Require the demonstration to be repeated at each camera distance, angle, focal length and focus setting in your shot list, not shown as a single still. (LED Video Walls | Planar)
• Agree a written content list for the demo, including the moving text and graphics that will appear on camera. (LED Video Walls | Planar)
• Ask the supplier to confirm in writing which controller and software are in scope for the demo, in the style of the Planar WallDirector Video Controller listed with Planar DirectLight Ultra Series. (Planar DirectLight Ultra Specifications | Planar)
• Request a signed demo record naming the model, camera settings, content, positions checked, artefacts observed and the person who performed the demonstration. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Frequently asked questions

Can a supplier demonstrate that a wall has no moire?

Treat that as the wrong question. Ask instead for a demonstration at your distances, angles, focal lengths and focus settings, with your content, and ask what changes as each variable moves. Planar describes its LED range as covering everything from the highest-resolution MicroLED video walls for cinema and on-camera applications to sports venue video boards, so on-camera use is an application you declare and scope rather than a property you can assume. (LED Video Walls | Planar)

Can the demonstration be described as testing the series rather than a named model?

No. Planar Komodo Series is offered as Komodo 0.7, Komodo 0.9 and Komodo 1.2, and Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is offered as DirectLight Ultra 0.7, DirectLight Ultra 0.9 and DirectLight Ultra 1.2, so a demo written against a series does not identify which product is being shot. Write the exact model name into the demo line of the order. (Planar Komodo Series | Planar; Planar DirectLight Ultra Specifications | Planar)

Should the controller and software be part of the camera demonstration?

If they are part of your order, include them in the scope. Planar DirectLight Ultra Series is described as featuring an off-board power supply, proprietary alignment technology and the Planar WallDirector Video Controller with its corresponding video wall management software. Ask the supplier to state which controller and software are in scope for the demo and how they are identified in the demo record. (Planar DirectLight Ultra Specifications | Planar)

Further reading

• How Should Buyers Test an LED Screen That Will Appear on Camera?
• How Should an LED Display Factory Acceptance Test Be Specified?
• Pixel Pitch and Viewing Distance: A Buyer’s Method