--
Most of us have seen slowly-moving dark bands or thin lines when shooting video with large LED displays in the frame. The LED screen could be the focus of the shot or just in the background, but either way, these unwanted artifacts detract from the visual experience and vary in size, number, intensity, and movement depending on multiple factors. Most of these artifacts are caused by the type of imagers used in the cameras. Modern video and still cameras use CMOS sensors to capture images, and most have been rolling shutter CMOS imagers. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of the latest development in CMOS sensors - global shutter - and how global shutter imagers can greatly reduce or eliminate LED display artifacts.
The Evolution of the Solid State Imager
The original solid state imager was the Charge Coupled Device (CCD), which was developed back in the early 1970s. CMOS sensors are digital devices and were developed in the late 1990s. Today, all solid state imagers use electronic shutters to control their exposure time. The primary difference between CCD and CMOS imagers is that CCDs are analog rather than digital and were (effectively) global shutter devices. All CMOS imagers were rolling shutter devices until recently. Rolling shutter CMOS sensors provide good performance with low noise, and they also cost less to manufacture, which helps keep camera costs down.
Manufacturing costs for CMOS global shutter imagers are higher, as there's a lot more circuitry at each pixel to store and process the readout of the image. Most global shutter HD production or broadcast cameras are also full progressive scan (1080p60). But if you're shooting in an LED environment, the benefits of global shutter are generally worth the extra cost.
Why are Global Shutter Cameras Needed Now?
The use of LED displays and LED lighting can create temporal artifacts, which are commonly perceived as flickering. This is particularly the case with the increasing use of lower-cost LED displays, screen processors and lighting. LEDs are controlled by image refresh frequency, along with Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) frequency for brightness. The relative frequencies of the LED screen refresh rate and PWM compared to the camera's shutter frequency can cause visible artifacts such as flicker, rolling dark bands or thin lines. They can also cause skew - image curving or bending that is caused by fast- moving objects or fast camera movement during the acquisition time of rolling shutter imagers.
The human visual system has a powerful and unique capability called persistence of vision, which allows all these sorts of artifacts to appear normal to our eyes when seen directly. However, rolling shutter cameras acquire images in a way that causes them to see these LED flicker artifacts during acquisition.
Rolling Shutter Image Acquisition
Rolling shutter imagers acquire the pixels in each line of the video frame sequentially. This usually occurs over the frame rate of 59.94 Hz. During this time, the LED display refresh frequency and PWM are varying the brightness of the image as shown by the green pulses in the diagram below. Some lines are displaced in time and will have different brightness from other lines. The image's line readout takes place at the end of each line. When of all the sequentially acquired lines are delivered as a single video frame to the TV or monitor display, this shows as bands of varying brightness. This banding may occur when shooting with LED video displays, LED lighting, or both.
Global Shutter - Image Acquisition
In this context, the term global means all-inclusive, and refers to the fact that global shutter CMOS imagers acquire the entire video frame in one instant. The entire frame is stored in the imager's memory buffer for sequential readout, and the individual line readouts then proceed over the frame time, usually 59.94 Hz. Any difference in timing between the imager's shutter speed and the LED refresh rate (green pulses) is compensated by adjusting the camera's shutter to be an even multiple of the LED's refresh rate. This eliminates moving horizontal banding or lines in the picture.
To help you further visualize the difference between rolling shutter and global shutter imaging, please see the animated video at www.hitachikokusai.com/ShutterAnimation.
Moir
Moir artifacts are generally independent of the imager's shutter type and occur with both video and still cameras. When shooting any pixel-based display or LED video wall, moir is when odd stripes and patterns appear in your images. It occurs when a finely detailed pattern on your subject meshes and conflicts with the pixel pattern of the imaging sensor in the camera, causing viewers to see a third, separate pattern.
There are several ways to control moir . The easiest may be to simply reframe the shot by slightly zooming in or out to change the relative patterns. You can also reduce the image sharpness of the captured LED display by repositioning the screen further in background. Opening the iris has a similar effect by reducing the depth of field, putting the LED screen slightly out of focus behind the subject. You can even use a diffusion filter in front of the lens to slightly reduce camera resolution.
LED Screens and Video Display Processors
When selecting LED displays, screen processors and cameras, be sure to thoroughly test the selected LED display and screen processor with the camera exactly as you plan to use them, before you purchase anything.
Inexpensive LED displays are like most everything else: you get what you pay for. High quality LED screens offer better DC stability, better matching of the individual LEDs, and the capability of higher refresh and PWM frequencies. Higher frequencies reduce flicker.
Like the LED screens themselves, using a hi
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
20/10/2025
Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores could redefine sports workflows By Paul Markham
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 08:57
Print This Story
A penalty...
20/10/2025
Transformational production: Inside TVN's remote production push for the DFL...
20/10/2025
How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDRMulti-year plan harmonizes workflows, simplifies operationsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...
20/10/2025
NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast...
20/10/2025
Under pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus considers the German sports broadcasting ...
20/10/2025
(L-R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the Plainclothes pre...
20/10/2025
In March, we launched Concerts Near You to help listeners find concerts from their favorite artists. Since then, more than 3 million people have used it to disc...
20/10/2025
Em diversas cidades do Brasil, um movimento tem se fortalecido para celebrar o poder, a beleza e a profundidade da criatividade negra. O Dia AMPLIFIKA, agora em...
20/10/2025
In cities across Brazil, a movement is growing that celebrates the power, beauty, and depth of Black creativity. AMPLIFIKA Day, now in its fifth edition, return...
20/10/2025
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft rendering...
20/10/2025
DENVER and MUNICH Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of...
20/10/2025
LOS ANGELES G Morgan has joined Globecast, a provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, as executive vice president of sales, Globecast Am...
20/10/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. Heartland Video Systems and Zixi have partnered to enable broadcast-quality live video delivery over any IP network....
20/10/2025
A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine In an interview with Berklee President Jim Lucchese, the Oscar-winning composer reflects on how courage and...
20/10/2025
Monday 20 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
20/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications Companies work collaboratively to ensure continuity and ongoing support for existing customers...
20/10/2025
RT 's Prime Time is set to host the final Presidential Election Debate this Tuesday night, October 21, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Irelan...
20/10/2025
NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding access to accelerated computing to transform the full spectrum of enterprise workloads, from visual computing to agentic a...
19/10/2025
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026
Entertainment
19 October 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to cl...
18/10/2025
New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...
18/10/2025
NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...
18/10/2025
Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...
17/10/2025
NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...
17/10/2025
Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...
17/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...
17/10/2025
L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...
17/10/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
17/10/2025
(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...
17/10/2025
M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...
17/10/2025
Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...
17/10/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...
17/10/2025
MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...
17/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...
17/10/2025
The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...
17/10/2025
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...
17/10/2025
Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...
17/10/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...
17/10/2025
The University of Arizona (UofA) has significantly upgraded its broadcast communication infrastructure with the integration of Riedel Communications' advanc...
17/10/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North, has selected Harmonic as its en...
17/10/2025
Austin PBS has recently upgraded its facility-wide communications infrastructure, deploying Clear-Com 's Eclipse HX, FreeSpeak II beltpacks, and V-Series ...
17/10/2025
ZEISS announces an open call for the closed BETA testing phase of CinCraft Virtual Lens Technology, the innovative digital tool that brings authentic lens chara...
17/10/2025
Situated in the town of Kokkola, Centria University of Applied Sciences offers higher education across five core fields: engineering, business, social and healt...
17/10/2025
Public information channel in Georgia, USA, to implement a powerful, simple, and cost-effective playout automation platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, co...
17/10/2025
HBO Max is reporting that it has launched in 15 new markets, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Macau, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, boosting the streaming serv...
17/10/2025
Netflix said it will make a major push into video podcasts, inking a wide-ranging deal with Spotify through which it will offer 16 podcasts in the U.S. starting...
17/10/2025
Lexington, Ky. As part of a push to highlight its advanced advertising capabilities, Viamedia has launched a new AI-powered ad tech platform and officially rebr...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK QuickLink has announced the release of StudioPro Version 4, which the company is calling the most significant upgrade yet to its flagship video product...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK and CUPERTINO, Calif. Apple and NBCUniversal said they will sell Apple TV and Peacock streaming bundles to U.S. subscribers starting Oct. 20....
-- 
