Novastar BR460

NovaStar BR460 — power supply and receiving card on one PCB

The BR460 belongs to NovaStar's BR series, a family of integrated control boards combining the AC/DC power supply and the receiving card on a single board. At the back of a cabinet it replaces the usual "power supply unit + receiving card" pair with one item: less internal cabling, fewer connectors, fewer failure points, and depth saved.

It is the entry point of the standard 362 × 195 mm format, and one particularity deserves note: unlike the standard BR860 and BR840, it supports HDR10 and HLG. It is the most complete non-Pro model in the series on image processing.

Key specifications

Load capacity: 512×384@60Hz en 8 bits — 512×256@60Hz en 10 et 12 bits. Avec contrôleur COEX : 512×384@60Hz en 8 et 10 bits, 512×256@60Hz en 12 bits.
Module connectors: connecteur JH1 60 broches, 5 groupes RGB parallèle
AC input: 90–264 Vac, 47–63 Hz
DC output: 3,8 / 4,0 / 4,2 V au cavalier ±2,0 % — 15,5 A nominal
Dimensions: 361,8 × 195,0 × 22,1 mm
Weight: 328,0 g
Operating temperature: -20 °C à +70 °C
Image processing: Color Management Rec.709 / DCI-P3 / Rec.2020, 18bit+, HDR10 and HLG, pixel-level calibration, Low Latency, Loop Backup, temperature and voltage monitoring

NovaStar BR460 — technical analysis

Buying a BR board is not the same reasoning as buying a receiving card. What decides is the available DC current, because it caps the luminance the cabinet can hold at full white. Its 15.5 A under 4.2 V gives around 65 W. That is the entry level of the series: suited to a 500 × 500 cabinet at standard pitch and indoor luminance, but to be checked below P1.5 or at high brightness. In those cases the BR460 Pro doubles the current in a near-identical footprint.

That it carries HDR10 and HLG where the standard BR860 and BR840 do not is a useful anomaly in the range: on a budget-constrained project that must nonetheless accept an HDR source, it is the cheapest board that allows it. It has no Image Booster, no 22bit+, no Thermal Compensation and no One-Click Sleep — those four mark the boundary with the Pro version.

Three design points: the module connector format must match your panels exactly (connecteur JH1 60 broches, 5 groupes RGB parallèle); thermal derating means sizing cabinet ventilation accordingly; and since the board is both power supply and receiver, one failure takes out both — on a critical installation, plan spare stock accordingly.

On the "-1" references: NovaStar publishes a "-1" suffixed variant of this model whose published specifications are strictly identical: same dimensions to the tenth of a millimetre, same weight, same current, same load capacity. The manufacturer nowhere documents what the suffix means. We treat them as equivalent in performance and refer you to the cabinet manufacturer for mechanical compatibility.

• Standard-pitch 500 × 500 cabinets — the entry point of the most common format.
• Budget-constrained HDR projects — the cheapest board in the series accepting an HDR source.
• Corporate and retail display — indoor luminance, standard pitch.
• Estate refurbishment — replacing a power supply plus receiving card pair.
• Volume panel manufacturing — one board instead of two.

• Available current — 15.5 A nominal: enough at standard pitch and indoor luminance; check the margin below P1.5.
• Connectors — connecteur JH1 60 broches, 5 groupes RGB parallèle: check the exact match with your modules before ordering.
• Thermal — -20 °C to +70 °C with no published derating threshold, more forgiving than the Pro versions.
• HDR on a standard model — the only non-Pro board with the BR480 and BR420L to carry HDR10 and HLG.
• Single point of failure — power and reception on the same board: one failure takes out both, plan spare stock.