Recently, the world’s largest monolithic LED virtual production volume—jointly developed by Absen and Versatile Media—made a high-profile debut, drawing widespread attention across the industry and beyond. As a global leader in LED display technologies and solutions, Absen began investing in virtual production in 2019 with the launch of its first-generation solutions. Over six years of continuous iteration, its latest innovations have now been fully realized at Versatile’s Virtual Production Base. This project overcame a series of industry-level technical challenges, underscoring the technological strength of Chinese display manufacturers in the field of high-end film production.

The LED panels used in this project feature a pixel pitch of P1.8—marking the first time Absen has achieved sub-2mm pixel precision across such a large-scale virtual production setup. This represents a significant step forward for the entire industry. Absen’s CTO, Mr Changjin Shi, noted that most LED virtual studios currently use displays with pixel pitches of P2.5 or larger, while Absen’s team successfully realized the large-scale application of P1.8 pixel pitch. The solution enables real-time pixel-to-pixel driving of 600 million pixels and low-latency rendering, allowing cameras to shoot from as close as 2 meters to the screen.

At the heart of virtual production lies the principle of “what you see is what you get” —a standard that imposes stringent demands on display performance. To meet the high-quality expectations of cinematic content production, Absen conducted three rounds of large-scale testing throughout the project, from initial design to final acceptance. The testing process covered critical performance indicators of LED displays, including ultra-fine pixel pitch, high resolution, and high precision; accurate color gamut and color temperature across different color spaces; consistent grayscale rendering; high frame rate and refresh rate performance; moiré and aliasing optimization for close-up shooting; and thermal control and heat dissipation within a large-scale volume environment.

By comprehensively aligning with world-class standards, Absen’s solution has delivered breakthroughs in HDR image enhancement, suppression of moiré and aliasing artifacts, wide color gamut reproduction, extended viewing angles, and adaptive full-frame-rate performance from 24Hz to 250Hz. In a global first for virtual production, the solution also features a dual-card, dual-standby architecture with hot backup for enhanced system reliability.

Absen’s products and solutions not only meet the rigorous standards of film-grade production but also creatively address the engineering challenges presented by ultra-large-scale LED virtual volumes. The 1,700㎡curved LED wall posed significant demands in terms of load-bearing and flatness. After multiple rounds of testing, the Absen team successfully controlled a horizontal flatness tolerance within 3mm and maintain lateral deviation within 1cm of the steel backing structure for the LED panels.

With the entire 1,700㎡ LED screen operating at full power, thermal management became a critical challenge. According to an Absen service engineer involved in the project, the screen was divided into 54 zones, each equipped with targeted cooling strategies and precise point-to-point cabling. By leveraging a dynamic thermal calibration system, the display ensures consistent brightness and image quality across its entire surface, effectively eliminating visual inconsistencies caused by uneven heat distribution during filming.

In terms of safety features such as water and fire resistance, the Absen LED displays used in this production meet IP41 protection standards and have passed China’s national 3C safety certification, ensuring reliability in demanding filming environments. Additionally, the products are fully certified for international markets—including CE, RoHS, FCC, and UL—demonstrating compliance with the highest global standards for quality, safety, and performance.

Since the launch of the first-generation solution in 2019, which replaced traditional green screens with LED displays, Absen has continued to innovate. The second- and third-generation systems successively tackled key challenges, including compatibility with various color space standards, enhanced high frame rate performance, and moiré suppression. Now, the fourth-generation solution represents a significant leap forward in technical capabilities. Reflecting on the partnership, Mr. Chenqi Shen, CEO of Versatile Media, remarked that from the initial 150-million-pixel project to today’s 600-million-pixel milestone, Absen has consistently turned client needs into technological breakthroughs.

This project not only sets a new benchmark for LED-based virtual production but also showcases the innovative strength of Chinese display enterprises in the global digital transformation of the film industry. As virtual production technology continues to mature and diversify, Absen will further accelerate product innovation to deliver high-quality display solutions and services for content creators worldwide—driving the commercialization of virtual film-making forward.

(Photo credit: Absen)

TrendForce 2025 Global LED Video Wall Market Outlook and Price Cost Analysis
Release Date: 30 September 2024
Language: Traditional Chinese / English
Format: PDF
Page: 302