Why test patterns matter for an LED wall
An LED wall is built from dozens of panels that a processor stitches into one image. When a panel is mapped in the wrong spot, a cable is loose, or something in the signal chain is scaling the picture, normal slides can hide the problem until it shows up in the middle of a service. A test pattern makes those problems obvious in a few seconds.
Run a quick pattern check after you set up the wall, after you move or replace panels, and any time the wall starts looking a little off on Sunday morning.
Which pattern to use
Panel grid
Shows every panel with a label like A1 or C4, plus a red 1 px border. Use it after setup to confirm the processor has every panel in the right place and nothing is cropped at the edges.
Color bars
Eight full-strength colors over a gray scale in 10% steps. Use it to spot a panel that's tinted or dimmer than its neighbors, and to check that the darkest and brightest steps are still different.
Gradients
Smooth ramps from black to white, red, green, and blue. Visible stripes mean banding, usually from a low bit-depth setting or a brightness setting that's too low on the processor.
Solid color
Fills the whole wall with one color. Full red, green, and blue make dead or stuck pixels easy to find. White and 50% gray show panels from different batches that don't match.
Checkerboard
Alternating black and white squares. At 1 px, every LED should switch on and off in a clean pattern. If it looks blurry or wavy on the wall, something between your computer and the wall is scaling the image.
Crosshatch
An even grid of lines with circles and diagonals. Circles that look like ovals mean the aspect ratio is off. Lines that bend or jump at a panel seam point to a mapping problem.
How to send a test pattern to your wall
- Set the resolution above to match exactly what your computer sends to the wall.
- Enter your panel size in pixels so the grid lines up with the real panels.
- Drag this browser window onto the display output that feeds the wall.
- Click Show full screen. Click or press Esc when you're done.
If you'd rather not use a browser on the wall output, download the PNG and play it from ProPresenter, Resolume, vMix, or your LED processor. Name each file by screen so your team can pull it up fast.
Tips for an accurate test
- Set display scaling to 100%. If your computer scales the wall output to 125% or 150%, the browser won't draw one pixel per LED and fine patterns will look soft.
- Make sure the resolution fits whole panels. The tool tells you if your resolution lands partway through a panel. That's usually a typo or a mismatch with the processor settings.
- Check it on camera, too. Point your stream camera at the wall while the checkerboard or gradients are up. Flicker or rolling lines on camera usually mean a refresh rate or shutter speed mismatch.
- Label your outputs. Use the label field for names like Center Wall or Side Left so nobody tests the wrong screen.
Frequently asked questions
Is the test pattern generator free?
Yes. There's no account, no watermark, and no limit on downloads.
How do I get the pattern onto my LED wall?
Drag this browser window onto the display that feeds the wall and click Show full screen. You can also download the PNG and play it from ProPresenter, Resolume, vMix, or your LED processor's media input.
What resolution should I use?
Use the resolution your computer sends to the wall. If you only know the panel count, multiply panels across by each panel's pixel width, and panels down by each panel's pixel height.
Why does the 1 px checkerboard look wavy in the preview?
The preview is scaled down to fit your screen, which blends neighboring pixels. On the wall at full screen and full resolution, it should look like a clean, even gray texture up close.
What size is an LED panel in pixels?
It depends on the panel's physical size and pixel pitch. A common 500 mm panel is 192 × 192 px at 2.6 mm pitch and 128 × 128 px at 3.9 mm pitch. Check your panel's spec sheet to be sure.
Does this work for projectors and TVs too?
Yes. The patterns work on any display. Turn off the panel outlines if you're not testing an LED wall.
Made by Grayson Morgan Creative
We design, build, and host custom websites for churches, with Planning Center, giving, and sermon video built in. If this tool helped your team on Sunday, we'd love to help with your website too.