Novastar BR860 Pro

NovaStar BR860 Pro — power supply and receiving card on one PCB

The BR860 Pro 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 most powerful model in the BR series and the only one with multi-layer grayscale calibration. Its long, narrow 492 × 166 mm format suits elongated cabinets with a high module count.

Key specifications

Load capacity: 512×512@60Hz en 8 bits — 512×256@60Hz en 10 et 12 bits (fiche V1.0.5). Driver IC PWM.
Module connectors: 8 × connecteurs JH 60 broches, jusqu'à 32 groupes RGB parallèle
AC input: 90–264 Vac, 47–63 Hz
DC output: 3,8 / 4,0 / 4,2 V au cavalier — 35 A nominal, 40 A max
Dimensions: 492,0 × 166,0 × 23,1 mm
Weight: 430,5 g
Operating temperature: -20 °C à +70 °C (déclassement au-delà de 50 °C)
Image processing: Image Booster, 22bit+ (x64), Multi-layer Grayscale Calibration, HDR10 and HLG, One-Click Sleep, Low Latency at one frame enabled by default

NovaStar BR860 Pro — 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. At 35 A nominal and 40 A peak under 4 V it delivers around 140 W nominal, by far the highest in the range. That is what allows fine pitch at high luminance, where the 15.5 A models saturate.

On image processing it matches the best Armor cards: 22bit+ multiplies grayscale resolution by 64, Image Booster covers Rec.709, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020, and both HDR10 and HLG are native. Multi-layer grayscale calibration, exclusive to this model in the BR series, is the argument for a broadcast or studio client.

Three design points: the module connector format must match your panels exactly (8 × connecteurs JH 60 broches, jusqu'à 32 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 for most BR models a "-1" suffixed variant 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.

• High-luminance fine-pitch cabinets — the current headroom the 15.5 A models lack.
• Broadcast and studio — HDR10, HLG and multi-layer grayscale calibration.
• Premium rental — less internal cabling, faster assembly.
• Long narrow cabinets — 492 × 166 mm, eight 60-pin connectors.
• Panel manufacturing — one board instead of two.

• Available current — 35 A nominal and 40 A max, the highest in the BR series: comfortable headroom at full white.
• Connectors — 8 × connecteurs JH 60 broches, jusqu'à 32 groupes RGB parallèle: check the exact match with your modules before ordering.
• Thermal — derating above 50 °C against 60 °C on standard models: size the ventilation accordingly.
• Multi-layer calibration — exclusive to this model in the BR series, a strong broadcast and studio argument.
• Single point of failure — power and reception on the same board: one failure takes out both, plan spare stock.