NovaStar MX20: setting up the compact COEX controller for mobile LED walls
Set up the NovaStar MX20: compact all-in-one COEX controller with 2 HDMI + SDI inputs, 6 Gigabit ports and 10G optical links for mobile LED screens.
COEX controllers — compact and mobile
The MX20 is the smallest all-in-one controller in the COEX lineup, built for LED screens that travel: meeting rooms, retail displays, mobile trucks and small event walls.
In a rental fleet or a small fixed installation, weight and footprint matter as much as raw performance. The NovaStar MX20 addresses exactly this constraint: it fits in a shallow rack, travels easily between jobs, and covers a single LED wall up to 3.9 million pixels.
This guide targets teams deploying small to medium LED walls where mobility comes first: fast load-in and load-out, frequent switching between a laptop, a camera and a streaming feed, and transport in a standard van. We follow the logical order of a field deployment, from unboxing checks to monitoring through VMP.
Every technical figure below comes from the official NovaStar MX20 specification sheet, revision V1.4.1 dated August 13, 2024. No value that is not confirmed by this document is mentioned.
1. The MX20, a controller built for mobility
The MX20 belongs to NovaStar's COEX family of all-in-one controllers, alongside the MX30 and the MX40 Pro. It stands out as the smallest unit in the lineup and the one with the most modest load capacity, 3.9 million pixels, making it the natural choice for a single small to medium-size wall rather than a full broadcast stage.
This compactness changes the way it is used: the MX20 suits crews who set up and tear down a wall several times a week, transport gear in a utility van, or install an LED screen where rack space is scarce, such as a retail shopfront, a corporate meeting room or a trade-show booth.
- Corporate meeting room: quick switching between a laptop and a video call feed.
- Retail shopfront: small LED display run without a dedicated control room.
- Mobile screen or podium truck: compact gear to load and unload frequently.
- Temporary trade-show booth: fast setup with minimal cabling.
Before ordering an MX20, add up the real resolution of every cabinet on the wall: beyond 3.9 million pixels there is no headroom left, so move up to an MX30 or MX40 Pro.
2. Official MX20 specifications
The table below lists the characteristics published in the MX20 V1.4.1 specification sheet. They drive cable selection, Gigabit port load balancing, and the physical placement of the controller in the rack or flight case.
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Video inputs | 2 × HDMI 1.3 (loop through), 1 × 3G-SDI (loop through) |
| Max HDMI 1.3 resolution | 1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz |
| Max 3G-SDI resolution | 1920 × 1080 @ 60 Hz |
| Network outputs | 6 × Gigabit Ethernet |
| Load capacity | Up to 3.9 million pixels |
| Optical ports | 2 × 10 Gbps (OPT2 mirrors OPT1) |
| Other ports | 1 × Genlock (loop through), 2 × control Ethernet, 1 × auxiliary port, 1 × SPDIF |
| Layers | 3, with Z-order priority adjustment |
| Dimensions | 482.6 × 49.9 × 384.0 mm |
| Net weight | 4.5 kg |
| Gross weight (packed) | 8.1 kg |
| Power input | 100-240V~, 50/60Hz, 2-0.8A |
| Maximum power consumption | 50 W |
| Operating temperature | -20°C to +50°C |
| Control software | VMP (Vision Management Platform), SNMP and Art-Net |
| Certifications | CE, FCC, IC, UL, CB |
The MX20 has only a single 3G-SDI input, versus two on the MX30. If the project needs two simultaneous SDI feeds, this controller is not the right fit.
3. Understanding the two working modes
The MX20 offers two distinct modes: All-In-One Controller, which enables full video processing with layers and scaling, and Send-Only Controller, which shaves off an extra frame of latency by disabling those advanced functions. Rated latency is under 1 ms in Send-Only mode and one frame in All-In-One mode.
For an event where the LED wall simply relays a feed already composed elsewhere, Send-Only mode keeps the perceived delay to a minimum. As soon as graphic overlays or layered sources need to be handled directly on the controller, All-In-One mode remains necessary to access layers and scaling.
- All-In-One mode: layers active, scaling available, one frame of latency.
- Send-Only mode: latency under 1 ms, but no layers or scaling.
- Low Latency cannot be enabled together with Genlock.
- With Low Latency enabled, all Ethernet ports should share the same Y coordinate.
On a podium truck showing a single camera feed with no overlay, switch to Send-Only: the responsiveness gain is most noticeable during fast camera moves.
4. Checks before transport and setup
On delivery, or before every job, check the chassis, the power cord and the Ethernet cable supplied as accessories. A net weight of 4.5 kg and dimensions of 482.6 × 49.9 × 384.0 mm make flight-case storage easy, but confirm the case provides enough padding to protect the rear connectors from shocks.
Also prepare the cabinet configuration file supplied by the LED panel manufacturer, along with a computer running VMP for commissioning and for fine settings that are not accessible from the front-panel screen.
- MX20 chassis, power cord and Ethernet cable checked before every trip.
- Cabinet configuration file obtained from the LED panel manufacturer.
- Computer with VMP installed and firewall allowing network discovery.
- Transport case sized for the controller's compact footprint.
5. Wiring the HDMI and SDI inputs
The two HDMI 1.3 inputs accept a maximum resolution of 1920 × 1200 at 60 Hz and a minimum of 800 × 600, across a wide frame-rate range from 23.98 to 144 Hz. Maximum admitted width reaches 3840 pixels and maximum height 2560 pixels, which supports unusual screen shapes such as a very wide banner or a tall column.
The single 3G-SDI input supports the ST-424, ST-292 and ST-259 standards, capped at 1920 × 1080 at 60 Hz, with automatic deinterlacing of interlaced signals. Each input has a loop-through output, with up to eight devices chainable on one HDMI or SDI loop.
- HDMI 1.3: up to 1920 × 1200 @ 60 Hz, max width 3840 px, max height 2560 px.
- 3G-SDI: up to 1920 × 1080 @ 60 Hz, with built-in automatic deinterlacing.
- Loop through available on both input types, up to 8 devices per chain.
- HDCP 1.4 supported on HDMI inputs, backward-compatible with HDCP 1.3.
The MX20 does not support interlaced HDMI signals: confirm the presentation or camera source outputs a progressive feed before wiring it in.
6. Balancing the load across the six Gigabit ports
The six Gigabit Ethernet ports share the total 3.9 million pixel capacity, with a per-port limit of 659,722 pixels at 8-bit 60 Hz, dropping to 329,861 pixels at 10-bit 60 Hz. Pairing with an A10s Pro receiving card raises that 10-bit limit to 494,791 pixels per port.
The two 10 Gbps optical ports enable a long-distance link to a remote receiving rack: OPT1 carries the data from the six Ethernet ports, while OPT2 is simply a mirror of OPT1, useful for feeding a second rack or securing the link. Hot backup between Ethernet ports is also supported.
- Per-port Gigabit limit: 659,722 px at 8-bit, 329,861 px at 10-bit @ 60 Hz.
- With an A10s Pro card, the 10-bit limit rises to 494,791 px per port.
- OPT2 mirrors OPT1: useful for a second rack or link redundancy.
- Hot backup available between Ethernet ports if a link drops.
For a mobile wall assembled and disassembled often, use locking RJ45 connectors: minor unplugging during transport is the most common cause of a dark screen section at power-up.
7. Layers, presets and calibration
The MX20 manages three layers with Z-order priority adjustment, four scaling modes (custom, pixel-to-pixel, snap to canvas, fill screen) and 14-channel color correction covering black, white and the twelve derived colors from red, green and blue. Up to 128 custom presets can be saved and recalled in one click, speeding up reconfiguration of a touring screen moving from site to site.
Since specification revision V1.4.0, the setting previously editable as "Layer Setting" on the LCD screen has been renamed "Layer Parameters" and turned into a read-only display: any layer change must now go through VMP.
- 3 layers with adjustable Z-order priority, managed exclusively via VMP from V1.4.0 onward.
- 4 scaling modes to fit the source to the wall's canvas.
- 128 customizable presets, useful for a screen redeployed across several venues.
- Full-grayscale calibration possible with a C3200 camera and an A10s Pro card.
Save one preset per room configuration if the same MX20 alternates between video calls and content playback: one-click recall avoids reconfiguring everything on site.
8. Monitoring and control through VMP
VMP centralizes control of the MX20 and can manage a mixed fleet alongside other COEX controllers. The software gives access to layer settings that are now restricted to it from V1.4.0 onward, monitors the state of the six Gigabit ports and the two optical links, and actively reports hardware faults and screen alarms.
SNMP and Art-Net support make it easier to integrate the MX20 into a broader monitoring setup or an existing stage lighting console, which is useful for touring crews managing several mobile screens from a single control position.
- Register every MX20 in VMP at first commissioning to speed up future redeployments.
- Monitor the state of Gigabit ports and optical links from the VMP dashboard.
- Use Art-Net if the wall is controlled jointly with a stage lighting system.
- Enable alarm reporting to be notified of a fault without continuous visual supervision.
9. MX20 versus MX30: which one to pick
The MX20 and the MX30 share the same all-in-one philosophy but do not target the same project scale. The choice mainly depends on the wall's actual load and on how many video feeds need to be mixed at once.
| Criterion | MX20 | MX30 |
|---|---|---|
| Load capacity | 3.9 million pixels | 6.5 million pixels |
| Ethernet ports | 6 | 10 |
| SDI inputs | 1 | 2 |
| Net weight | 4.5 kg | 7.2 kg |
Pick the MX20 for a single, transportable screen; move up to the MX30 as soon as a second SDI feed or a wall above 3.9 million pixels comes into play.
10. Troubleshooting common issues
Field issues with an MX20 most often trace back to an out-of-range source resolution, an unbalanced load across the six Gigabit ports, or an attempt to edit layers from the LCD screen on a recent firmware. The table below lists the checks to run first.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| No image or distorted HDMI picture | Resolution above 1920 × 1200 or interlaced signal | Match the source to a compatible progressive resolution |
| Frozen wall section after transport | Partially unplugged RJ45 connector | Check and reseat network cables at every reassembly |
| Layer setting greyed out on LCD screen | Firmware V1.4.0 or later | Adjust layers from VMP instead |
| Noticeable latency on a camera feed | Controller running in All-In-One mode | Switch to Send-Only mode if no layers are needed |
| Unstable optical link | Non-compliant 10 Gbps module | Replace with a transceiver certified for the rated speed |
Procedure
Check the gear before every move
Inspect the MX20 chassis, power supply, supplied Ethernet cable, and gather the cabinet configuration file.
Choose the working mode
Select All-In-One if layers or scaling are needed, or Send-Only to cut latency on a single feed.
Wire the video inputs
Connect HDMI 1.3 or 3G-SDI sources according to the expected resolution, enabling loop through if a monitoring display is needed.
Balance the load across Gigabit ports
Distribute cabinets across the six Ethernet ports, respecting the per-port limit for the color depth in use.
Set up layers and presets
Build the scene using the three available layers from VMP and save one preset per room configuration.
Monitor through VMP
Register the controller in VMP, check the state of Gigabit ports and optical links, and enable alarm reporting.
FAQ
What is the maximum load capacity of the MX20?
Up to 3.9 million pixels, spread across six Gigabit Ethernet ports, per the official V1.4.1 specification sheet.
Does the MX20 support two SDI inputs like the MX30?
No, the MX20 has only a single 3G-SDI input, versus two on the MX30, in addition to its two HDMI 1.3 inputs.
What is the difference between All-In-One and Send-Only modes?
All-In-One mode enables layers and scaling with one frame of latency; Send-Only mode disables those functions for latency under 1 ms.
Why is the layer setting greyed out on the LCD screen?
Since specification version V1.4.0, the "Layer Setting" parameter became "Layer Parameters", read-only on the LCD screen; changes must now be made through VMP.
Is the MX20 suitable for a frequently transported mobile screen?
Yes, its 4.5 kg net weight and 482.6 × 49.9 × 384.0 mm footprint make it the most compact controller in the COEX lineup, fit for regular setup and teardown.
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